December 11, 2019, Chico State Arts Collaboration Space, Arts Building for an Honors Course Gallery Walk.

Lily Derecktor Gaul, an Honors student and Early Childhood Development Major at CSU Chico, helped conceptualize and produce this project. Students were prompted with three questions. Who and what are you thankful for? What helps your gratitude grow? What do you hope to have or achieve in your future?

Derecktor Gaul says about her motivation to teach, “Children, like flowers, are delicate and need to be watered with hope. Children’s dreams and ideas are what keep the world spinning. The art they create and the words they write are signs of development and improvement. As impressionable as they are, it is important to indulge and protect their imaginations to keep them as authentic as possible. Children are beautiful because of the authenticity of their honesty and hope which is shown in all that they create. When they come together and work on a project their art is enhanced. The Gratitude Flower is a demonstration and reminder of the hopefulness and authenticity children bring into the world.”