Last week, the 4th graders received a special art lesson from David Shannon, an author and illustrator of children's books! The lesson was a continuation of the Westridge Artist-in-Residence program.

Shannon first presented to the entire Lower School about the process of creating his children's books, explaining that many of them were inspired by real-life experiences and real people. He said that when he was a kid, he loved to draw superheroes but no one thought that was real "art" at the time. He kept drawing comic book art and now uses much of what he learned in his illustrations and books. Drawing inspiration from that experience, the 4th graders were asked to sketch and create their own comic book characters; final drawings included a frozen yogurt character, a ghost named Fred, and more! The 6th graders also participated in the exercise.

Who is David Shannon? Shannon is a Los Angeles-based author and illustrator of children's books including the award-winning "No, David!" as well as "How Georgie Radbourn Saved Baseball" and "A Bad Case of Stripes."

What is Artist-in-Residence? The Maxwell Artist-in-Residence program brings artists to campus, allowing students to benefit from the resources of innovative talent in the Greater Los Angeles area and beyond. The program, established in 2004, is named after Cynthia Clark Maxwell '71 to honor her memory and experience at Westridge. Read about another artist-in-residence visit here!