This is Artie, our very own Greek goddess, from France. Don’t be fooled by her diminutive stature – her power and her personality are plenty enough to fill her name – and the school – all the way up. She chafes at being told what to do; she knows what she wants and that’s what she does.
Usually what Artie wants is to get busy in the mud kitchen with Sukie, “playing sisters” and “baking cupcakes and chicken pot pie, and strawberry shortcake for dessert” (don’t try to tell her that cupcakes are dessert food too). They share their mud and sand food liberally, with any random passerby in the playground – outstanding hospitality. They work as a team, dividing labor and anxiously checking on things baking in the oven, or asking each other to cover their tasks while they run to the bathroom. Artie’s smile is so sweet and big and genuine, and she is so keen to serve up her creations, I admit to having eaten sand to please her. And one piece of wood (it was very small). Artie loves making bright, cheerful art, and singing and playing the keyboard. She likes watching the Theater Cooperative rehearse and is thrilled by the idea of “one day being an actor.” She sometimes cooks easier to digest food with the Kitchen Cooperative, and she is the president of the Playroom Cooperative, for which she has big plans. Artie says she appreciates that at HVSS “you could do whatever you want. And you don’t have to go listen to things you don’t want to hear.” She speaks French and Dutch and makes us feel a little provincial.
Artie is hoping to move back to France because she misses her grandparents so much. Tu vas nous manquer, Artie, but we want you to have what you want, of course. That’s why we’re here. But if for some reason you can’t go to France now, or you come back, please know that we will still be here, and for you, we will get bright new markers, preheat the oven, and eat all the sand you serve us.