Adalberto Ramos sat in his Union City apartment and began to empty a large storage container filled with pencil drawings and paintings.
“We kept everything,” said Ramos, as he handed over a drawing that his 10-year-old son Marcial had completed in an art class when he was 5 years old. “He really improved his painting when he started going to art class.”
“My father saw how good I was and took me to art classes,” said Marcial, a student at the Woodrow Wilson School. Marcial still attends art class twice a week.
Marcial’s art classes began after he and his parents immigrated to Union City five years ago from Cuba. “It was really scary,” said Marcial about the move. “I didn’t know any English when I came here. I learned English mostly with friends and being around people who spoke English.”
Some people consider Marcial a child prodigy because he first began drawing when he was about 2 years old. “He would draw for hours,” said his father.
“I only used to draw people and monsters when I was younger,” said Marcial, who now has accumulated a collection of complex abstract paintings.
“He wants to throw everything away,” said his mother Ileana Ramos while showing off a paper with scribbling on it that she said Marcial did at 10 months old. “We go to the garbage and pick them out,” she said, explaining the hundreds of drawings that are stored in a container.
Although Marcial is able to delve into many types of art, he said that he enjoys painting the most. “I like to use a lot of color and blend it,” said Marcial.
Natural born talent
It is quite possible that Marcial inherited at least some of his talent from his father, Adalberto, who taught Marcial how to sculpt, but most people would say that he was born with the gift.
“We don’t know how to paint or anything,” said Marcial’s mother. “He was born with that.”
And the teachers at Woodrow Wilson School, the art integrated school for the gifted and talented in the Union City school district that Marcial has attended for the past three years, seem to agree.
“It is rare that such a young student not only possesses the technical aspects, but has the ability to imagine and execute such brilliant work,” said Mary Ellen Rosa, one of Woodrow Wilson’s visual art teachers.
“His talent seems to be almost innate,” added fellow visual art teacher Graceyn Lipari. “It seems that he was born with the talent as opposed to forming it through the foundation of experience.”
“A lot of his work is reminiscent of Picasso and also suggests some modern masters,” said Rosa, even though Marcial claims that DaVinci is his favorite artist. “But I do believe that his work is truly unique and beautifully composed.”
Becoming a master
Woodrow Wilson School uses art to enhance the teaching of their content area subjects such as social studies, math and science. Principal Ronald Trainor explained that the school’s students are chosen through a nomination and interview process based on the student’s academic and artistic potential.
“This system really gives the students a full spectrum of a real education,” said Trainor.
“Marcial was so much beyond his years,” said Trainor about the vision and imagination he saw in Marcial’s work during the acceptance process.
With such a large emphasis on art, Woodrow Wilson is an ideal school for Marcial to develop his artistic skills. “It is good that he still has people that he can work with and learn from,” said Rosa about Marcial’s classmates, who were also accepted based on artistic ability. “You know that the creative energy will be nurtured.” However, Rosa and Lipari both feel that Marcial’s classmates look up to him as a role model.
“The kids are well aware of his talent,” said Rosa. “He is a very typical fifth grade boy, but he stands out.” Lipari added, “It is also motivational to his peers to have him in their classes. It makes then want to do their work and focus.”
While Marcial feels that his classmates do look up to him, he also sees the merit in their work as well. “When we do group work with drawing, everybody wants to pick me [for their group],” said Marcial. “But there are other kids in my class that also draw very well.”
“He is quite humble about his gift,” said Lipari. “He has a genuine sweetness about it.”
“I still have a lot to learn,” admitted Marcial. “They still haven’t taught me everything.”