“Make your mark.”
Those three words sum up the message of a popular children’s picture book, “The Dot” by Peter H. Reynolds. The tale follows Vashti, who believes she can’t draw, until her teacher inspires her to keep drawing. A simple dot she draws becomes the spark of her creativity, and she explores many different artistic mediums using this form, inspiring others who once felt like she did. This book has gained popularity throughout the 22 years it has been circulated throughout families and schools and has been read millions of times by small children and adults alike.
The Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) celebrates the impact of this amazing story with International Dot Day, which returned to Boston on Sunday, Sept. 14. A six-hour day full of dot-related activities, book signings and book readings, International Dot Day is an action-packed and inclusive event for all who resonate with the book and its message.
As I walked up to the MFA grand entrance, small signs were scattered around the perimeter of the museum, each representing a page of the tale. This charming detail was a sweet introduction to the day and made me feel welcomed as I walked through the front doors of the museum.
The first event of the day was a book reading and film screening, led by author Peter H. Reynolds and his twin brother, Paul. They brought an eager kid from the audience to act out the book and showed the animated short film of Peter H. Reynolds’ follow-up book, “Ish.” Following the screening, the brothers opened up the floor for questions from the audience and even invited some children to join them on the stage to make their own art pieces.
According to Reynolds, 17 years ago a teacher from Iowa and his students started the first celebration of the day in a small party held in their classroom and, after sharing it online, they influenced many other teachers to celebrate as well. A few years later, it had become recognized all around the world.
“It has become International Dot Day because teachers in other countries have picked up on it, so there are dots being made in Japan and South America. It’s just amazing to see what teachers are doing with this theme,” Reynolds said.
Following the reading and screening, visitors were welcomed out into the Huntington Avenue Lawn, where arts and crafts tables were set up. We were encouraged to build “dot suncatchers,” where you could paste tissue paper and reflective dots onto a circular piece of plastic and hang it up on a window to refract around your room. Many families worked with their young ones to create these crafts.
MFA staff member Caitlin Doyle said this event has evolved throughout the years it has been held at the museum. She said that Reynolds and his team have played a huge roll.
“It’s an event that they’ve been doing. They’ve been expanding their Dot Day locations throughout the city, and they have been raising awareness about creativity and making your mark,” Doyle said.
Reynolds came out to sign copies of his books as the arts and crafts event continued. Many families lined up for him and took pictures once they reached the front of the line. Visitor Stacey Scofield said the messages Reynold’s places in his books are important to her children.
“We’ve been reading Peter’s books to our son Marlo since he was a baby, and now he’s almost four,” Scofield said. “We were excited to come meet Peter and to further emphasize the message about being creative, being yourself and embracing whatever identity you’re choosing to represent.”
Reynolds said he hopes his event, and the story it proudly emphasizes, inspires all, not just children, to be brave and make a difference.
“For young kids, I want them to be proud of their work and be excited to create more, and I think for older people, I want them to return to the art party,” Reynolds said. “Then, if they’re ready, to dive in a bit deeper to understand what it means to make your mark, because ‘make your mark’ means to draw, but it also means to have impact, and all of us can have impact.”
