Although the quality of art is subjective, the need for art is not. It's something Mantachie teacher Rose Williams believes in whole-heartedly.

"Art is very important," said Williams, who recently helped develop a teacher/community-supported art program for the school. "We need art here. Our kids need to have that. We know money's tight, and we don't actually have an art teacher here at the elementary school, but art just gives the kids another outlet to express themselves and enhances their academics."

The school's cafeteria is currently filled with hundreds of pieces of art, cobbled together by twice as many hands, each piece a small reflection of its creator's personality and feelings. Lining the walls are mosaics, chalk drawings, coffee paper butterflies and construction paper scarecrows.

The art comes as part of what is planned to be an ongoing series of projects. With full support from Principal Jamie Dill and her fellow teachers, Williams helped develop a makeshift art program for the school -- a big step in the right direction. The goal was to inspire students through art, exposing them to creative thinking at an early age. The goal was idealistically sound; the only problem was money -- specifically, the lack thereof.

"We talked about doing grants, but most of the ones we looked at required matching money. Well, we don't have matching money, so we knew we'd have to come up with another way," Williams explained.

That "other way" was from both teacher and community support. Educators helped raise money through a "blue jean day," in which they could pay $5 and wear jeans to school. Parents helped support the program through donations -- more than $200 so far -- all of which is being used to purchase more art supplies for future projects.

Dill, thrilled by the support the "art program" has garnered, said it was a testament to how important both parents and teachers felt art is to the kids of Mantachie.

"Because it's a community supported program, it just shows how much involvement we have with our community," he said. "If you don't have participation from the community and parents, your school's not worth very much; you don't have a very good school climate.

"Just because you don't have money doesn't mean you can't do worthwhile things like this," the principal added. "This is a very community-oriented project; it's brought everybody together."

Work in progress

The artwork on display now is only the first of what both Williams and Dill hope are many projects. According to Williams, future projects will include quilt-making and painting on canvas.

Williams said she'd also like to expand the educational aspect of the program, eventually integrating lessons.

"The first nine weeks, we just told teachers to decide what they wanted their grades to do, and we would get them the supplies. We didn't really have any goals," Williams said. "But, eventually I would actually like to bring someone into the classroom -- like someone who does paint -- to come speak to the kids."

Williams added that she'd also like to have a potter visit the school to speak to the students and expand upon their concept of what art can be.

"We want to show the kids different forms of art, not just drawing on a piece of paper," Williams said. She claimed the best part of the starting such a massive project is seeing how it inspired the kids. For instance, each third-grader mosaic is vastly different from the others, mirrors of their makers' personalities. Some constructed fairies; some wildlife; others sports logos; but all expressed their interests through art, which, to Williams, was the point all along.

"The thing is, all kids can do this. Every kid -- preschool through sixth grade -- is participating in this program," she said. "One of my former students brought me one section of the art, and he had to find his and show it to me before he left. He was so proud of what he had done."

She said the lessons learned through artwork will inspire the students for years to come.

"To me, when you are sparking that creative thinking, you are getting them to that point where they're using those higher-level thinking skills," Williams said. "I think the more ways we give them to express themselves, and the more they have to use that, it helps them academically."

Adam Armour can be reached at 862-3141, by e-mailing adam.armour@itawamba360.com or by visiting his blog at itawamba360.com.