NORTHRIDGE : Students’ Art Recalls Quake Experiences

Which of the following activities is the most important thing to do in the event of an earthquake: a) get under a table, b) get out of the way of falling things or c) destroy any unsafe walls or chimneys?

If you talk to some children from Calahan Street Elementary School in Northridge, the answer is all of the above.

These pieces of advice were given by teacher Terri La Masa’s second-grade class after La Masa asked her students after last year’s Northridge earthquake to write and draw what they thought were the most important aspects of their experience--a concept based on a series of children’s books called “The Most Important Thing.”

The stories and drawings the children created have been put together for an exhibition at Cal State Northridge. The exhibit was mounted last week as part of the university’s quake anniversary celebration and will be on display for the next few weeks.

“Right after the earthquake, there was so much they needed to get out in writing and in art,” La Masa said of her young charges.

“When we first got back to school there were only eight children in class, so not only were they upset from the quake, they were missing their friends,” she added.

In addition to this assignment, some children composed short picture books about their experience.

Matthew Petryni, 9, wrote a book called “Earthquake! the Recovery!” that he dedicated to his younger brother, Marshall, to help explain what happened on Jan. 17, 1994.

Matthew’s book chronicles the quake, the devastation that followed and the recovery process. One frightening illustration depicts a set of books falling down on a woman as she screams, “Aaahhhh! Earthquake!” Another, marking recovery from the temblor, shows a boy sitting in front of a television in his repaired home.

La Masa said she has compiled Matthew’s book and all the other artwork from her class into one volume, laminating the pages so they will not fade.

“This is really historic,” she said.