ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITOR

At Art

. his one is mine!" a little boy called as he pulled
his parents to a multicolored painting hanging
at Temple Emanu-El.
To the untrained eye, it looked something like a
blob of blue and brown, indistinguishable from much
of the other paintings around it. But to the boy's par-
ents, his teacher and his nursery-school directors,
it was nothing less than exquisite.
Last week, Temple Emanu-El hosted its second
annual "Young Masters' Art Exhibit," featuring
work by children in the temple's nursery school and
kindergarten. More than 500 paintings, drawings -
and other works of art hung throughout the build-
ing, while on a table in the social hall a collection of pa-
pier mache heads waited to greet admirers. Older
children also created works of art from clay, which were
fired and glazed.
The exhibit was organized by Temple Emanu-El nurs-
ery school co-directors Rena Cohen and Michaelyn Sil-
verman, who spent much of the night before the opening
hanging the masterpieces. Planning for the event be-
gan in September.
"At the beginning of the (school) year, each child is
given a portfolio, which the teacher fills with artwork,"
Mrs. Silverman said. "Before the exhibit, the older
children get to select which pieces will be shown, while
the teacher will help younger ones choose some of
their creative art.
"Of course, children get very excited because the
show becomes a major event, which is exactly what
it should be. The idea is to tell the children in a very
concrete way how much we value what they're do-
ing, that what they have created is wonderful, and
everyone should see it." ❑

Picasso, Modigliani,
Rembrandt:
Eat your heart out.

Above: Budding artist Ben
Levin is really "a head" of his
time with this masterpiece.

Left: Assistant teacher Efrat
Tal admires work by the
young artists.