As a child Malissa Diaz dreamt of being an artist.

Now her childhood dream of showcasing her talent has become a reality through the children she teaches.

At the age of four, Diaz, of Point Fortin, found her love for art and in October her students had their work on exhibition at Arnim's Art Galleria, in La Romaine.

Diaz, 38, started a day care camp in her garage with just five girls and eventually expanded after getting positive feedback.

"I did not plan to go beyond that camp at all, after that camp there was a demand," she said, and later formed Oodles of Art Doodles.

"Art helps to develop self-esteem, give a sense of accomplishment, motor skills in kids allowing them to be expressive, thus having more upstanding men and women tomorrow."

Like many, during the last two years of the pandemic, Diaz faced a dilemma when the world was at a standstill owing to covid19. She had two duties, to provide for her family, and to keep the children at her school happy.

[caption id="attachment_983201" align="alignnone" width="683"] Malissa Diaz, organiser of the Oodles of Art Doodles exhibition. - Marvin Hamilton[/caption]

She transitioned her classes to online.

"I could not stop, I wanted to give kids the opportunity to create an opportunity that I did not have as a child, there is when I decided that I have to take it online and continue.”

She said the demand grew beyond TT and attracted students from "London, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Bahamas Barbados to name a few, it was a joy, a dream.”

"We created workbooks online especially for the younger kids to serve as guidance in teaching, where they will have someone sit in as a guide, which worked"

Going online with Oodles of Art Doodles helped the children channel their energy into something positive, Diaz said.

"Art served as an antidepressant. Art during the pandemic became a distraction for me, like others I too did not know would have happened, so it was all timely placed,” she said.

Diaz said she has always been blessed to have wonderful group of students, who are well mannered, loves art and eager to create.

“I must admit it was easier to deal with younger ones as they are open to everything, whereas the older ones it took a little extra, because of the fact they already have an idea what they like.”

As a teacher, Diaz does not promote competition in her classes, her space is for developing creative minds.

“We don’t compete internally, we are not just creating for doing it sake, the aim is to focus on getting them into shows, showcasing our work, we are focused on who you were yesterday versus today, here we are a family, so this is all part of the parcel, it's how we live.’’

She believes teaching art to children at a very young age has a host of benefits, if it is incorporated into a school’s curriculum it can have an important place like math and English.

She hopes to exhibit her students' work on a continuous basis and one day establ