MAC March Student Spotlight: Hayden

One of the best parts about our job is how many schools we get to visit, and how many amazing kids from different communities we get to work with! As you may know, MAC has a Student Art Show coming up in April, so we have been visiting all of the Mono County schools to talk to the students about what to expect, and how to submit their art. We have also gotten to observe and participate in some incredible Music lessons in those schools. This month, we got to talk to 5th grader, Hayden, in Bridgeport. Read on, and you will see he's an entrepreneur as well as an artist!

Why do you love art?

I like making bird houses and wind chimes! I do it at my house - I have an old fence that we use for the wood to make things. I’ve made a lot of wind chimes - I have some on stand-by for gifts or to sell. I use tin, a metal press and I make chain links from wire. Then I put on bottle caps to make the chime noise. I sold one for $20 to my aunt - she requested a special wind-chime for her house in San Diego.

Do you have a favorite piece of art you have created? Or one that has inspired you?

The birdhouse is!  I want to make another bird house for the upcoming Student Art Show. I chose a bird house because it was something that sounded easy and a way to make some money - it’s for my grandma’s birthday present.

What would you say to a friend to get them interested in art?

Once you find your hobby -it’s fun.! If it isn’t painting, if it’s building - you can build things. I played piano for a while because we had a keyboard - and I thought I’d try it out. I liked that you didn’t have to remember too many notes at first; once you get better, you have to - but it’s easy to start.

Do you think art is important? Why?

I do think it’s important because it can encourage people to create art even more.

What's an art form you with you could try?

Engineering is something I’d love to do more - I like building things. I have learned how to code - so that helps me because sometimes I code something online - and then you can see what it would look like IRL (with 3D printing).