Springs Magnolia Student Center 10th grade student Ruben Navarro is a gifted artist. He can make a dinosaur out of “almost anything,” said his mother, Beatrice, and he has had an interest in dinosaurs from a young age. He makes other animals as well, including birds, reptiles and rodents; he watched the animated movie Ratatouille, for example, and made a rat out of clay.
Ruben uses a variety of materials to create his art, including clay, paper, leaves, long grass, Fruit Roll-ups, Cotton Candy and pipe cleaners. He also enjoys taking a sketch pad to the beach or a park to draw things he observes in nature.
Besides art, he enjoys comics. Ruben also shared “I am autistic, and my autism has impacted me in positive ways and negative ways. I’m so thankful for my teachers who care about me deeply and also my friends, who see me for the kind of person that I am.”
Magnolia Principal Beverly Voechting describes Ruben as “an amazing artist.” She remarked, “His passion is dinosaurs and you can often find Ruben making dinosaur art in drawings, cut-outs or clay. The amount of detail matches his knowledge of each dinosaur he creates. He is so thoughtful and kind. He regularly gives away his creations as gifts for birthdays or to add to the room decor.”
Mrs. Voechting added, “Ruben is a polite 10th grader with a bright future in 3-D art as he can make quality pieces out of anything, even pipe cleaners and fruit roll-ups!”
