At 6, a Bangor artist reflects on ‘Cows’

BANGOR – It’s not every kindergartner who can bring her own published artwork for “sharing time.”

But Charlotte Zelz fit that description when she went to school with the January issue of Highlights for Children containing her own artwork.

The choice of topic, “Ballerina Cows,” was an obvious one for the 6-year-old daughter of Abby and Eric Zelz, who was 5 when she made the piece.

“I like cows,” she explained seriously, “and I think that I like something about ballet.”

The brown-eyed youngster actually takes dance lessons – “half ballet, half tap,” as she puts it. Charlotte has had other works published, most prominently in the story “Drawing with Dad,” which her graphics editor father wrote for the Style page of the Bangor Daily News on Father’s Day weekend 2002.

The Highlights for Children work seemed perfect for showing to her classmates in Martha Pojasek’s class at Abraham Lincoln School in Bangor.

“At my school on Friday I brought it in to share time,” Charlotte recalled.

She’s not the only family member drawn to art.

“Blossom likes to draw, too,” Charlotte said. “She’s my favorite cow – black and white, and she has pink ribbons on her shoes.”

That type of cow is called a Holstein, she said, adding that cows have four stomachs – rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum.

For now, Charlotte does not aspire to be either an artist or an animal specialist, but has in mind a job that contains a bit of both.

“I want to be a kindergarten teacher,” she said, “because I know it would be fun.”