Meet Maria, Proud Parent of Aspiring Performer

Maria is the proud mother of two daughters, Carina and Ariel. Although Carina is too young to participate in the programs at the Cook Arts Center, her sister Ariel, pictured below, is very involved. After living in the Grandville Avenue neighborhood for several years, Maria has reached out to the staff at the Cook Arts Center to let us know how happy she is with our programs and services.

“Ariel has been through a lot in her little lifetime, and the Cook Arts Center makes her feel like she is doing something. The classes make her feel special and worthy. Those are important things to know as a child,” Maria said. “When I was young I felt like what I did didn’t matter, but Ariel looks forward to every day here. It pushes her to do better in everything she does.” 

Ariel, a 7-year-old who attends Bursley Elementary School in Jenison, falls in the 85th percentile in school. Although she succeeds academically, her true passion lies in the arts, especially singing, acting, and dancing. At the Cook Arts Center, she attends piano, animal drawing, hip hop, and pottery classes.  She told her mom, “I don’t want to be a trash picker or someone who works at a desk all day long. Instead, I want to be a dancer and a performer for my career.”

Maria, who is from Texas, moved around a lot with her parents, who were migrant farm workers. She attended a variety of Grand Rapids Public Schools including Franklin, Hall, and Burton. She also attended GRCC but then became pregnant with her second daughter, Carina. Although Maria needed to take time off to raise her infant, she plans to go back to college.

For fun, the family enjoys attending Grand Rapids First Church, going to the movies, and attending ArtPrize. Their favorite activity when it’s warm is going to Grand Haven to walk on the pier. Maria plans to include Ariel in drop-in programs at the Cook Library Center this summer and looks forward to continuing her relationship with the staff at the Cook Arts Center.

 “I tell Ariel that we must try hard in everything we do. We can’t just show up,” Maria said. “That way, at the end of the day, we can say we tried our best.”

Meet Gabby, One of Grandville Avenue’s Happiest Fifth Graders

Read about this inspiring fifth grader and overall happy kid:

Gabby playing drums at the 2014 Cook Arts Center Spring Recital

Gabby's recent crocheting project

Gabby is a fifth grader at Cesar Chavez Elementary School. His nicknames include but are not limited to Gabby Fabby, Grabiel, Gabby Toddy, and Yaddy. Gabby’s favorite subject is reading, and his favorite authors are Dr. Seuss and Roald Dahl. He loves chapter books because “You can use your imagination! You can see if you’re in the story.” His grades at this school are mostly A’s. His class is currently working on a song to their parents, which Gabby described as “…really a touching song. It talks about how you grow up, and how our parents take care of us.”

Gabby has four brothers and three sisters.  “My older brothers and sisters pick on me. They get on my nerves a lot,” he expressed with a casual, toothy grin. In his free time, he loves to play chess and tennis. Gabby’s best friends at the Cook Arts Center are Daniel, Bryan, and Dominic. 

One of the things that makes Gabby unique is his remarkably positive attitude. He does everything with a smile, including his avid participation, adoration, and appreciation for the arts at his very young age. He is at the Cook Arts Center every day possible.

His favorite class at the center is pottery, because “You can use your imagination,” he said again. “You can make anything! You can make a troll face, an ogre face, your face, or any other face you want! Or you can make a pot, a vase, a basket, little cups, bowls, or even tea cups!” Not only has he already created a fully painted Santa Claus sculpture for the Program Director, but his new plans are to shape a tea cup with a heart-shaped handle for her.

Gabby also enjoys crocheting because, “You can make any clothing you want!” he exclaimed. “You can make shoes, little booties, socks, scarves… I am only in the beginner’s class, but I’m going to be in the intermediate class soon. I am halfway there! If my mom wants a dress to wear, or something like that, there you go! I can make her a dress,” he said, beaming. His class is currently making a blanket, and each student is responsible for twenty rows. “My colors are green, blue, and white, and I only have eight more lines to go!” he reported excitedly. When finished, they will donate the beautiful blanket to a neighborhood clinic.

Gabby also loves rock band and has played both bass and piano. He loves the keyboards because he said that “You can use the buttons to change the sounds. It’s like a violin in a movie when they are walking through a hotel!” he exclaimed.

He also participates in many dance classes, including Hip Hop and Mexican Folkloric dance. “Dancing helps you in music,” he explained. ”You can make a dance in a group so that everyone in the class performs. It helps you get active, move, and exercise. You can even make up your own moves in class!”

This blissful fifth-grader’s life goal is to become a chef. He loves cooking for his family, saying, “They even like my grilling better than by dad’s.” He elaborated, “It’s just a hobby for me like pottery and drawing, but it’s a big one.” The future of his culinary creations is bright. “My Uncle Tyler said that he would hire me when I’m 19.” The Cook Arts Center will accommodate his desire in cooking as well, as there will be a Cooking Club this summer.

So what is this joyful child’s favorite things about the Cook Arts Center? He explained that he keeps coming back because he’s “…allowed to be a part of the program. It helps you be more creative in art. I have made pottery, drawings, and even guitars out of cardboard.” The programs through Grandville Avenue Arts & Humanities’ Cook Arts Center allows this happy-go-lucky, creative kid to express himself through the arts in a variety of forms. For such an affirmative partnership, both he and the organization should consider themselves lucky.