Artist/Storyteller Captivates Phoenix Students Through Educational Program

PHOENIX – Stories came to life as Emerson J. Dillon Middle School students were transformed into the leading characters during a recent Arts-in-Education presentation.

Artist and storyteller Christopher Agostino captivated the audience of sixth and eighth graders with a combination of original stories, Greek mythology and folktales.

While telling each story, he also illustrated the characters by using students’ faces as his canvas.

“He ties a lot of elements and principles of design into his presentation,” said EJD art teacher Beth Pritchard. “Our students will be creating a sketchbook using some of the ideas and design principles that they learned about through the ‘StoryFaces’ demonstration.”

In addition to weaving captivating tales of fiction, the artist also infused history and cultural lessons into his performance.

Students learned about the symbolism of elements in Native American and ancient Chinese art.

They also learned about hubris and how excessive pride often led to the demise of many people in Greek mythology.

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