In His Image by William Zdinak: This is cute skit that teaches the children the lesson in performance art form.  The volunteers to go into the classroom and act out or volunteers children pick a character, practice ahead and perform in classroom or just pick classroom volunteers the day of the lesson (you'll always get little hams of the class ready to perform).  Bring 2 Phones, Print turned backwards and Paint Brushes to let Children get really into Character.

Narrator:

 Mr. Zdinak is an artist who made a promise to do a painting for a religious art show. 

Lady:

 We are having a religious art show.  Can you do a painting for it?

Mr. Zdinak:

 Yes, no problem.

Narrator:

 Five months later, Mr. Z had forgotten his commitmment and tried to lie to get out of it. 

Narrator:

 "Ring, Ring, Ring"

Mr. Zdinak:

 Hello. (act like you pick up phone)

Lady:

 Hello Mr. Z, the art show is tomorrow and we're looking forward to your painting.  Is it finished?

Mr. Zdinak:

 No.  It turned out to take longer than I thought.  I would need at least another whole day to finish. 

Lady:

 That's OK.  What size is it?

Mr. Zdinak:

 Oh, it's extra large.  It may be too big to display.

Lady:

 That's OK.  I'll save a place for it.  Goodbye.   (hang up pretend phone)

Narrator:

 Mr. Z was trapped.  He had to do extra work and he would get no money for it. 

Mr. Zdinak:

 (MAD) Why did I say I'd do this painting?  It's 2:00 already and I have no ideas. 

Narrator:

 He prepared to work all night long.  He found a stretched canvas that was the right size.  Yet everything he tried was a failure.

Mr. Zdinak:

 (Act like you're painting)  This is just another failure in my life.  Just like those "get rick quick" schemes I tried.  My accident in Canada almost ruined my ability to paint and caused me to lose my studio in New York.

Narrator:

 It is now 2:00 AM

Mr. Zdinak:

 (SHOUTS)  That's what I get for lying.  GOD, I'll never lie again.  (grad brushes, jump up and throw them on floor. 

Narrator:

 At that moment, a flash of light filled the room.  For a split second Jesus' face appeared on the canvas.  The torment of all the years vanished with that flash and a tremendous surge of energy filled him.

Mr. Zdinak:

 That's It. (pick up the brushes and start painting on the back of the print)

Narrator:

 He picked up his brush to follow the shape of the face he had seen.  He painted a "T" for the eyes and nose.  He then rushed around the studio gathering up pictures of people's faces.  Men, women, children, and famous people.  There was no preliminary sketch, no blocking, no planning.  He started painting the face that would be the nose, then the face next to it.  He kept it up for 15 hours.  (Turn print over)

Mr. Zdinak:

 My God, did I do that?

 

Lesson - Continued:    

Play like News Bowl, Distrubute "The Faces" Handout or entire Handout Booklet (both found in the art awareness closet) :

  1. Look at "The Faces" paper.  Can you pick out a face you recognize?  What did that person do?
  1. Dr. Jonas Salk - Developed vaccine for polio
  2. Senator Robert F Kennedy - brother of JFK assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan
  3. Ex-Governor of NY State 1955-58, Averell Harriman
  4. Mahatma Ghandi - led Indians to freedom from British rule in 1947 using peacefule protests
  5. President John F. Kennedy - youngest president ever elected, assassinated
  6. Pope John XXIII - pope from 1958-1963, held 2nd Vatican council that updated Roman Catholic Church
  7. Dr. Martin Luther King - fought for civil rights for all people, assassinated "I have a dream"
  8. Bishop Fulton Sheen - had television show that covered religion and world events
  9. Pope Paul II - pope since 1978, first non-Italian pope.  From Poland.
  10. Pope Pius XII - pope 1939 - 1958
  11. Henry Luce - published Life magazine, Sports Illustracted, and Time.
  12. Alexander Graham Bell - invented the telephone.  Co-founder of the National Geography Society.
  1. Some of the faces are of Mr. Zdinak's wife and children.  Can you find them?
  2. It really doesn't matter which persons faces are depicted because we are all one in Christ.  Hurting one, we hurt all.  Helping one, we help all. 
  3. If you could put your face into a picture, what type of picture would it be? 

 

Activtiy:

 

  

Use the collage outline to have children create an image for themselves of their schoolmates.  Use school pictures. 

  • Scan from yearbook.  Have pictures pre-cut and in baggies.  (request specials class list from office)

  • Make a copy of the each hoomroom picture sheet.  Children make collage of homeroom.

  • Or have children each bring in small class photo to create one collage for the teacher.