Artist and children’s book illustrator Michael P. White says his career as an artist really took off once he let go of something he thought was important – his eraser.

“My art teacher in college told us to throw it away and never pick it up again,” he told students at W.E. Parker Elementary School last week. “Once you do that and see that you don’t need it the sky is the limit. Then you can do anything you want because it means that you don’t have to draw like anyone else.”

White spent several sessions in the school Media Center inspiring class after class with his beautiful drawings. But he didn’t stop there. His drawings all developed from a collaborative and interactive effort between the artist and the students.

“What if we put have him doing this?” White says as he uses his airbrush to slowly create a pretty dramatic turkey figure. “There’s so much talent here. I can see it.”

He encouraged the children to always sign their names to their artwork and to enter as many art contests as possible because “you never know who is looking at your artwork.”

Teachers Kristi Palma and Pam Haynes were just as impressed as their students.

“We thought (the program) was magnificent,” said Ms. Palma. “The kids loved it.”

“All of those kids left there feeling proud of themselves and what they had done,” added Ms. Haynes.

Second-grader Phillip Merriweather also gave White two thumbs up.

“He was really fun,” said the youngster. “My favorite drawing was when he did the dolphin. I liked that one. He showed me that being an artist can be a lot of fun.”