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Locals,
by Author
Sister
City artist bridges cultures through children’s tile project
Patrick Dragon of Marquette shuffles into a classroom struggling to
keep his balance in slippers four sizes too small, but his feet are
the least of his worries. He pauses and looks at the thirty-three Japanese
children awaiting his lesson.
He doesn’t speak Japanese and they don’t speak English.
“For the first ten minutes, I needed to have someone interpret
for me so I could bridge the gap with the communication problem,”
Dragon said. “After the initial lesson was presented, language
was not really an issue because then we were dealing with a language
that we had in common, which was the elements of art, using line and
texture and composition. So we were beyond the verbal communication
at that point.”
Dragon was the guest artist of the Marquette Sister City delegation
to Higashiomi (Japan) in May. As part of this role, he taught art to
fifth graders at Misono Elementary School in Higashiomi.
“I showed them some of the techniques that I’ve developed
drawing and painting with clay on tile,” said Dragon, who specializes
in ceramic pottery.
After Dragon handed out supplies and had an interpreter explain how
to do the project, the students quickly became absorbed in creating
their images. They used black clay paint on white tile to draw pictures
of their favorite television show characters, food, animals and other
images from their lives. From the time the lesson began, the students
enjoyed it and completely focused on their task.
“The most important thing that I took from the experience is the
love that children have to learn,” Dragon said. “They have
a natural need to learn and experience different things. I could see
that throughout the expressions on the faces of the Japanese children.
Hopefully I will see the same sort of expressions with the American
children when I do the project here.”
Dragon brought back fifty tiles to be displayed in Marquette. He plans
to complete the exchange by helping a fifth grade class in Marquette
do a similar project to send back to Japan.
“In order to develop a long-lasting relationship, we need to develop
a relationship with the children,” Dragon said. “So I feel
as though with this exchange of our art projects, we can keep our relationship
ongoing.”
The project was a logical choice for Dragon because of his many years
of experience as an art teacher. Dragon, a Skandia native, graduated
from Gwinn High School and Northern Michigan University with a Bachelor
of Science in photography and art education. He taught elementary school
art in Orlando from 1974 to 1986.
“I would do a lot of clay projects with the children, and then
I found myself getting there before school and after school and working
on my own projects,” he said. “One of the reasons I’ve
been so intrigued with ceramics for so many years is that the possibilities
are never-ending as far as technique and form.”
Dragon moved back to the Upper Peninsula in 1999 and opened Dragon Clay
Studio in Marquette, where he continues to work. Last year, a chance
encounter with Japanese artist Taro Kojima led to Dragon becoming the
first guest artist from Marquette to Higashiomi.
Kojima, a well-known ceramics artist from Higashiomi, initiated the
artist exchange program. In 2002, Kojima visited Marquette with the
Japan delegation from what was then the city of Yokaichi.
During his stay in Marquette, he held an exhibition and sale of his
art. He donated more than $6,000 in proceeds to fund an artist exchange.
A few remaining pieces are for sale at the Marquette Arts and Culture
Center in Peter White Public Library.
During Kojima’s stay in Marquette, he happened to meet Dragon at
the New York Deli. The two artists struck up a conversation and Dragon
invited Kojima to his studio, which the Japanese artist greatly enjoyed.
It was then that Dragon learned about the artist exchange program, and
he immediately was interested in it. He was chosen as the first guest
artist from Marquette.
Dragon’s airfare and art shipping expenses to Japan were paid from
the exchange fund.
He held an exhibition of his work in Higashiomi and is donating the
proceeds from the sale of his work to the artist exchange fund. He hopes
future artists in the exchange will continue this pattern, donating
to the best of their ability.
“By having an exhibition of my work and selling it, I’m able
to actually put monies back into this fund for the next person,”
Dragon said. “So perhaps with the sale of our artwork on a continuous
basis this program will continue to live.”
—8-18 Media
Editor’s Note: This story was written by Gerald Peterson, seventeen,
and Pryce Hadley, fifteen. They were part of the Marquette Sister City
delegation to Higashiomi (Japan) in May. 8-18 Media is a youth journalism
program of the U.P. Children’s Museum in Marquette.
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