BrackettArts!

Kindergarten: Fabulous Feasts!

2012-02-06T14:37:00.003-05:00

Many artists use food as subject matter for their work, and food is often present at celebrations of all kinds. Kindergarten students have spent the past few months focused on the many aspects of celebration: masks and costumes, party drawings and now feast collages! After identifying what a “feast” is, students discussed the selected food-related artworks before listing their own favorite foods they would enjoy.
Students were then instructed to create a feast by cutting out appropriate shapes and colors to represent various foods, imagining the colored paper background as their “tabletop”. Small details and texture could be added using oil pastels, and students were encouraged to include and think about other table-setting objects such as dishes, flatware and drinking glasses.

February Masterpiece of the Month: Two Dancers On A Stage by Edgar Degas

2012-02-05T15:03:00.000-05:00

Who made it?

This painting was created by a French artist named, Edgar Degas, in 1874.

Where is the REAL one?

The real painting can be seen at The Courtauld Gallery in London, England.

Why is this artwork important?

Throughout his career, Degas loved to create artwork that depicted moving subjects, such as people and animals in motion. Of the many artworks Degas created, many of them were of ballet dancers, for which he has now become famous. Degas admired the dancer's ability to function like a graceful machine that could crouch, turn, twist and stretch. He saw them as creatures of muscle and bone whose grace and lightness were the result of incredibly hard work. Degas observed dancers backstage at classes and rehearsals, as well as performances. His pictures of dancers appear as though they were created right on the spot. In fact, they were created in his studio, from memory and from quick sketches. Using pastels or thick brushstrokes, Degas could re-create the glow of stagelights upon the dancers, such as the bright light in the Two Dancer's skirts. In every sense, Two Dancers is a typical Impressionist painting, a style that Degas is recognized as working within. Its use of light and its effect on color, its depiction of a scene taken from everyday life and rendered in heavy, quick brushstrokes to capture the movement are all important signs of an Impressionist picture.

February Master of the Month: Edgar Degas

2012-02-05T15:02:00.000-05:00

Edgar Degas was a French artist famous for his work in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing. Recognized as an important artist in his lifetime, Degas is now considered to be one of the founders of an art style known as Impressionism, a style in which artists painted the overall idea of subjects from everyday life, filled with light and color. Degas disliked the term, and preferred to be called a realist, an artist who depicts scenes from real life, in a very realistic style. Degas’ work shows amazing technical skill. He is especially known for using the subject of dance, and over half of his works depict dancers. These artworks clearly show his mastered ability to show movement in a still work of art.

Though he created artwork in many different styles, his involvement with the other major artists of Impressionism and their exhibitions, his dynamic paintings and sketches of everyday life and activities, and his bold color experiments, served to connect him to the Impressionist movement as one of its greatest artists.

Kindergarten: Stick Puppets

2012-01-24T20:18:00.002-05:00

Kindergarteners wrapped up their costuming unit with a lesson on constructing stick puppets. This was also a good segway into our next lessons which will be about celebrations. Students were first shown reproductions of the above artworks and led through a discussion with a series of questions:

“What are the people doing?”

“What are the people wearing?”

“What have the artists repeated in these artworks?” (lines, shapes, colors, patterns, positions of figures, costumes and uniforms)

Children were especially guided to notice the interesting clothing worn by the performers depicted in each of these artworks, and were then told they would be constructing stick puppets of people wearing interesting costumes. Students were first instructed to draw the shape of the person onto a piece of oak tag, then cut out the person using scissors, and finally decorating their puppets using a variety of collage materials made available at their table.

Grade One: Warm and Cool Colors

2012-01-22T08:48:00.000-05:00

]

To introduce a unit on color, first graders discussed the difference between "warm" colors (red, yellow, orange) and "cool" colors (blue, green, purple). Students were able to see how an artist depicting a warm place such as Georgia O'Keeffe's, Red Hills and Bones, and cool places such as Claude Monet's, Waterlilies, can be emphasized using these groups of colors. They also noticed that we associate certain warm or cool things, such as fire and water, with their colors, which help us to distinguish these colors even more.

Students were then asked to create an oil pastel drawing using their own subject matter in either warm or cool colors. While it was fine to use other colors as well, students had to decide whether to use mostly warm or cool colors.

Grade Two: Gyotaku Fish Printing, Old and New

2012-01-21T11:49:00.000-05:00

Students in the second grade took their previous printmaking experience from earlier grades to new levels with the introduction of this lesson. Gyotaku printing was traditionally practiced in Japan several centuries ago as a way for Japanese fisherman to record particularly memorable catches before it influenced artists and developed into an artform. Students discussed this technique and its history before examining several examples of gyotaku prints by contemporary artists who have stretched the boundaries of this traditional technique in new creative directions.

Students were then told that they would be combining traditional and new techniques of gyotaku printing in an artwork of their own. First, students were shown a demonstration of printing in the traditional method using black tempera paint and rubber fish models. Thin paper was placed on the rubber fish and gently rubbed to create a print. Then, students were ready to try the technique on their own.

Once completed, the second step was to create a backgroud with which to mount their fish print. Students were given a variety of materials, including watercolor and collage and encouraged to combine materials and utilize previously learned techniques, such as watercolor resist and wet on wet painting, to create interesting and vibrant effects to highlight their fish print.

January Masterpiece of the Month: The Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough

2012-01-19T14:58:00.003-05:00

Who made it?

This painting was created by an English artist named, Thomas Gainsborough, in 1770.

Where is the REAL one?

The real painting can be seen at The Huntington Collection Library in San Marino, CA.

Why is this artwork important?

The Blue Boy is Gainsborough's most famous artwork out of the hundreds he painted. It is believed to be the portrait of the son of a wealthy merchant, however, there is no proof. Most likely it is a tribute to a much earlier artist, Anthony Van Dyck (1559-1641), whom Gainsborough greatly admired. We know this because the portrait features historical costume. The Blue Boy is wearing clothing that was in fashion over a hundred years before this picture was painted. In fact, The Blue Boy bears a strong resemblance to Van Dyck's painting, George and Francis Villiers, which is another portrait of young boys dressed in cavalier costumes.

While being a successful portrait painter, Gainsborough prefered to paint landscapes and would often try to work natural scenery into the portrait backgrounds as he does in The Blue Boy. However, what makes this painting so striking from Gainsborough's other works is the strong, dignified pose of the boy, the glow of his face from the darker background, and the highlighting on his satin suit and left leg as it steps forward. These subtle elements show us Gainsborough's mastery of skill as a painter.

January Master of the Month: Thomas Gainsborough

2012-01-19T12:09:00.002-05:00

Thomas Gainsborough is best known as an English portrait painter. He was well-known during his lifetime, painting the portraits of the English King and Queen and other important people, yet he had little interest in painting portraits and prefered to paint landscapes, instead. For this reason, Gainsborough would often include natural scenery in the background of many of his portraits.Due to his fame, Gainsborough was able to help establish the Royal Academy of the Arts in London, which became a famous institution for artists to exhibit their work and a school to educate people about art. Gainsborough was admired for the speed with which he applied his paint, and he worked more from his observations of nature than from any formal rules. His later work was characterized by a light palette and easy, quick strokes.

Grade One: Drawing Animal Textures

2012-01-19T08:47:00.000-05:00

Students in the first grade have been learning how artists use the element of texture in their work. For this lesson, students examined how artists use pattern and line to give the illusion of texture in a drawing, painting or print that is actually smooth in surface texture. Students first looked at several photography examples which depicted many kinds of different textures and were asked to use their eyes to identify and describe the textures they saw. Then, first graders were shown several examples of animal drawings by different artists and were led to notice that line variations, shapes and patterns must be made to convey differences in hair length, scale size or bumpy skin.

Students were then asked to choose a photograph of an animal to draw using colored pencils and crayons and were required to draw the texture of that particular animal as they saw it in the photograph. Students were also instructed to give consideration to coloring, scale and proportion.

Grade Three: Monochromatic Paintings about Feelings

2011-12-27T13:18:00.000-05:00

Third graders began this lesson by viewing several selections of reproductions taken from Pablo Picasso's blue period and were asked if they noticed anything similar about the pictures depicted. Students were quick to notice that the dominant color in each of the pictures was the color blue, although students also noticed that the people in each image appeared very sad, lonely and poor. As students were led through a discussion of these observations, they were informed of that fact that all these pictures were also painted by the same artist, and were given a brief background on how Picasso came to enter a "blue period" in his work due to a personal tragedy and difficult turning point in the artist's life. Students were led to notice how Picasso used a monochromatic color scheme to capture the feeling of these subjects.

Students were then asked about events or memories which made them feel a particular way: "What makes you feel excited? happy? angry? afraid?" Students were told to choose something which generated a strong feeling for them and depict it in a monochromatic painting in the color which would best communicate the feeling of their idea. Students were instructed to use and mix different values of the same color in order to depict their image most effectively.

Observational Drawing: Contour Drawing, Blind and Sighted

2011-12-06T19:47:00.000-05:00

Fourth graders were given the opportunity to revisit a drawing practice they had originally learned in second grade. Contour drawing is a style of drawing which focuses exclusively on the contour outline of any given shape or object. Skills are often forgotten when not practiced regularly, so it was an exciting venture to rediscover this activity two years later! However, now that the students are older, a new twist was added with the addition of blind contour drawing, an exercise which required the person drawing to NOT look at the object they are drawing and allowing their hand to to be guided only by their sight. This exercise helps to train and co-ordinate the hands and eyes for better observational drawing.

Students were given simple tools and everyday objects, which they also used in second grade for a different drawing activity, and instructed to "warm up" with 10 minutes of blind contour drawing. Then, students were instructed to draw regular contour drawings for the remainder of class time. Students were only allowed to use pen for their drawings, as contour drawings are traditionally done in ink to force the artist to concentrate without the safety of using an eraser to correct mistakes.

December Master of the Month: Beatrix Potter

2011-12-04T20:46:00.000-05:00

Potter is best known as an author and illustrator of children’s books, but she was also a botanist (someone who studies plants) and conversationist because of her interest and study of nature. Her family was artistic and interested in nature, and Potter’s talented were recognized when she was very young. She was given private art lessons, but she preferred to develop her own style and also enjoyed working in watercolor.

Potter spend a great deal of time in the British countryside, where she lived and vacationed with her family. She also had many pets, including two rabbits, Peter and Benjamin, who inspired some of her most famous stories such as The Tale of Peter Rabbit in 1901.

December Masterpiece of the Month: The Taj Mahal by Ustad Ahmad Lahauri

2011-12-04T20:45:00.000-05:00

Who made it?
A team of architects worked together to design this building, most likely led by chief architect, Ustad Ahmad Lahauri, during the years 1632-1653.

Where is the REAL one?
The real building can be seen in Agra, India.

Why is this artwork important?
In 1631, Shah Jahan, emperor during the Mughal Empire's period of greatest prosperity, was grief-stricken when his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, died during the birth of their 14th child. A year later, the Taj Mahal was designed to be her mausoleum, or tomb. Taking more than twenty years to complete, the building employed thousands of artisans and craftsmen. It is widely recognized as the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Turkish and Indian architecture.
The Taj Mahal is constructed of white marble and contains elaborate decoration on both the inside (interior) and outside (exterior) of the building. This includes inlayed semi-precious stones, abstract and geometric forms, bas relief of flowers and vines, and calligraphy with lines taken from the Qur'an, which is the holy book of the Islam religion. There are also complex gardens outside the Taj Mahal, which are considered an important architectural and symbolic feature of this building.

Grade Two: Stained Glass Window Design

2011-11-29T08:48:00.000-05:00

For this lesson, second graders examined several examples of historical and contemporary stained glass art works. The art of stained glass originated in the form of windows. Students discussed places and buildings were they have seen or might expect to find stained glass windows. Homes, churches, temples, restaurants and public buildings are among the most common buildings to find stained glass. Students were informed that stained glass windows were originally intended to give medieval cathedrals the feeling of being a special place during the dark Middle Ages.

Students were instructed in how to make their own "mock" stained glass using plastic transparency sheets and black construction paper. Once students cut symmetrical shapes and designs into the black paper, the transparency was painted with tempera paint on the back, allowing the sunlight to illuminate the colors when help up to the light.

Kindergarten: Masks

2011-11-17T15:15:00.002-05:00

Kindergarten students are now beginning their first extensive unit of the school year. This unit deals with various forms of costuming and celebrations. As we think about art which is worn on the body, masks usually come readily to mind. Discussion begins with asking students about the many uses of masks and listing them on the board: disguise, theatrics, festivities, ceremony, protection, etc.

Students are then shown two examples of African masks and are asked for what purpose they think these masks may have been used for. They are also asked to find various shapes, either geometric or free form, within the design and structure of the masks. Kindergarteners are asked about facial expressions and what they are. After making several different facial expressions of their own, students are shown two more examples of African masks and asked to identify their expressions.

This lesson takes several weeks to complete, as even paper masks are very time-consuming to construct. Each week consists of new teacher demonstrations and students are shown two teacher examples which convey strong facial expressions. Students are then instructed to think about what kind of shapes can be used to help convey the expression they will choose to depict on their mask, i.e. how will sharp triangular eyes differ in expression from large, circular eyes? What kind of shapes can be used for eyebrows in a shocked expression, or an angry face? Once the facial expression was completed, students were instructed on embellishing the mask with hair.

Grade One: Printing A Stencil

2011-11-17T13:11:00.003-05:00

First graders continued their exploration of shapes and patterns by examining the minimalist painting, The Gift by Kenneth Noland. Students were led through a discussion and series of questions to help them decipher and understand how Noland created this carefully planned painting in order to repeat the shapes of the circles.

Once the process of stencil-making was explained, students were instructed in making their own stencils and how to print them using tempera paint in a variety of combinations to make repetitive patterns and designs.

Grade Four: Graphic Design: Cereal Box Package Design

2011-11-14T14:38:00.003-05:00

Fourth graders were shown three consummable items (a bottle of glue, a box of mints, etc) and asked to look carefully are their packaging to identify what all three had in common. Students noticed that all three packages had use of colors, pictures, company logos, and fonts and letterstyles. Students discussed why packages of items we purchase make use of special design elements, and that such elements are planned and designed by artists known as graphic designers. The role of the graphic designer was explained and a list was generated of the many things which employ text and pictures that graphic designers plan, which we use and see everyday.

Students were also shown several examples of laundry detergent bottles and were led to notice that planning all the visual and text elements within package design can convey visual messages to consumers. Classes were then told they would be designing a package for a ficticious cereal brand called ‘Big B’. They were encouraged to invent mascots, logos and company names, as well as slightly change the name to fit an appropriate or interesting idea they had for the cereal. They were required to include pictures and lettering, as well think about fonts and font sizes, colors, placement and visual elements.

Kindergarten: How Artists Use Shapes

2011-11-13T19:43:00.002-05:00

This project marks the first of activities which will span longer than one week to complete, throughout the year. It is important for students at this age to strengthen their fine motor skills. Learning to control and manipulate scissors and drawing utensils is challenging and takes time and practice. What better time in the year to introduce kindergarteners to the element of shape?
Week One: Students were first shown flash cards of some easy (and some not-so-easy) to recognize geometric shapes. Their attention was then brought to Mondrian’s painting, Tableau 1, and asked if he used any of those shapes in his painting. Students were then given an envelope to store up to five geometric shapes they had chosen from a selection pre-cut by the art teacher. Once their shapes were selected, they were allowed to embellish the shapes with markers to make their selections even more special. They were also allowed to decorate their envelopes and then store their shapes for safe-keeping until the following week, when they would use these shapes in a creation of their own.

Week Two: Students reviewed the geometric shape flash cards. This week, however, they are delighted to find some new surprises: organic, or free form, shapes amid the geometric ones. Students were introduced to both groups of shapes and how they differ from each other. They were then instructed to take their previewly chosen geometric shapes from last week and arrange them into a creative composition. What can be made from your shapes? How can they be turned into something other than a square or triangle?

Once shapes are glued into place, students were instructed to cut and add an organic shape to their composition. Markers were used to help further clarify their idea.

November Masterpiece of the Month: Bust of Queen Nefertiti by Thutmose

2011-11-10T15:14:00.005-05:00

Who Made It?

An Egyptian artist named, Thutmose, created this sculpture in 1345 BC.

Where Is the REAL One?

The real sculpture can be seen at The Neues Museum in Berlin, Germany.

Why Is This Artwork Important?

Ever since its discovery in 1912, this sculpture of Queen Nefertiti has been surrounded by controversy that still continues today. Nefertiti was the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian pharoah, Akhenaten of teh 18th dynasty. This bust is identified as Nefertiti because of the crown she is usually shown wearing in other works of art. However, very little is known about her, and even more questions surround this famous sculpture of her. The archeologists who first identified this artwork did not take very detailed records of their discovery of this piece, which has raised questions about whether the sculpture is truly an ancient piece and whether Germany had legal ownership of the sculpture instead of Egypt. Recent x-rays of the sculpture have revealed that there is a limestone carved bust underneath layers of plaster that appear to have been added later, suggesting that the real Queen Nefertiti may have looked different that she appears in this sculpted version of her. In many ways, this bust is not at all typical of other ancient Egyptian artwork in its style. This has led some people to believe that this is not an ancient sculpture after all, but rather a fake created in 1912! Whatever the truth may be, one thing is certain: this sculpture has caught people's attention and changed the why we see the beauty of the human face.

November Master of the Month: M.C. Escher

2011-11-10T15:11:00.003-05:00

Marits Cornelius Escher is famous for his work as a printmaker, which is an artist who carves a design into a flat surface such as wood or metal, and prints it on paper to make many copies. Escher often showed optical illusions or impossible spaces in his work, which was both highly imaginative and very well crafted. His ideas were often mathematically inspired and featured impossible constructions, explorations of infinity and tessellations, which are a group of shapes that blend into each other to form a patterned design. Esher was inspired by many things around him, including landscapes, architecture, animals and his travels around the world.

Observational Drawing: Everyday Objects, Up Close

2011-11-07T19:54:00.000-05:00

Students in the second grade had a chance to examine everyday objects up close and notice small features about them they might not otherwise notice. A variety of hardware tools, cooking utensils, office supplies and art-making equipment was placed at each table, allowing students to explore them via touch and sight. Students were instructed to draw from these available objects and encouraged to try shading and texture techniques. Some chose to focus on one particular object, while others drew from several.

Grade One: Printing Patterns

2011-11-07T19:46:00.001-05:00

First graders were guided through a discussion of how shapes can form patterns, what constitutes a pattern, how patterns can be found in the natural and man-made world. Students noticed many patterns emerge in photographs of such subjects, whether they were comprised of shapes, colors, lines, size, etc.

Students were then given stamps in a variety of shapes and instructed to create patterns of their own design.

Grade Two: Cardboard Relief Sculpture

2011-11-07T19:32:00.000-05:00

Students in second grade have begun the year learning about positive and negative shapes, which is a considerably different way of viewing and thinking about shapes from the initial kindergarten/first grade introduction to basic shape types. Understanding positive and negative shapes is of key importance when viewing a work of art. For this lesson, students looked and several examples of relief sculpture and were asked how a sculpture such as this is different from a sculpture such as the Statue of Liberty. Students are usually pretty quick to point out that the Statue of Liberty is a free-standing sculpture, seen from all sides, whereas a relief sculpture, such as seen in many ancient artworks, can only be viewed from one side as it is carved halfway onto a flat surface. In essence, the positive shapes are raised up from the flat, negative background.

To help students understand this concept, students were instructed to create their own cardboard relief using pre-cut and sorted pieces of mat board and yarn and gluing them onto a cardboard background. Careful attention was paid to layer the pieces of varying sizes and shapes, so as to create a raised design.

Once complete, the reliefs were covered in tin foil to create a visually unified effect.

Grade One: Looking at Shapes in the Human Portrait

2011-11-07T19:16:00.000-05:00

For the past few weeks, first graders have been studying shape and how it differs from the natural to the man-made world. Most students can identify and cut basic shapes, but using them in a meaningful way and using them to represent various subjects is something which takes some focus and practice.

Students discussed the shapes found in the human face and how they vary from person to person. They were then instructed to cut out shapes to depict the human face in a collage portrait. Students were allowed to construct a self-portrait, a portrait of someone they know, or a random portrait of no particular likeness.

Grade Three: Using Color to Depict Emotion

2011-10-08T17:29:00.003-04:00

Students in the third grade began this lesson by viewing five examples of painting done in the abstract expressionist style. Students were instructed to consider how color can be used to represent non-concrete concepts such as emotional feelings. Each of the four paintings were shown in slide form and shown to students, during which time, students described the emotions they felt were best represented in each painting, or any emotions the colors in each painting evoked within them.

Students were then shown a demo for using watercolor paint in different techniques so as to effectively convey different color qualities, such as bleeding colors together or painting with minimal water to achieve crisp brushstrokes. These techniques would be necessary to consider when students had to make their own color decisions when depicting a specific emotion in their own painting. Each individual student was assigned an emotion to depict, from four possibilities: joy, fear, anger and sadness. Students were encouraged to make thoughtful decisions, and to also consider shape, line and paint quality, in addition to making color choices, to best represent their assigned emotion.

JOY

SADNESS

FEAR

ANGER

Grade One: Understanding Organic and Geometric Shapes: Shape Collage

2011-10-08T17:25:00.002-04:00

Students in the first grade begin the year by building upon the basics of art they learned about in kindergarten, focusing primarily on the elements of design. In order to understand the element of shape, students were informed that our world is composed of two different types of shapes: geometric and organic (also known by young students as "free form" shapes). We then examined The Flight of Icarus by Henri Matisse by looking for examples of these two kinds of shapes, how the piece was created and how Matisse used the shapes to tell the story of Icarus.

Students were then instructed to cut examples of both geometric and organic shapes from colored paper to use in a collage, and to consider various ways to arrange these shapes to make their collage visually interesting.

Grade Two: Understanding Positive and Negative Shapes

2011-10-08T17:22:00.000-04:00

Second graders learned that the shapes one notices first are the positive shapes, while the shapes one notices later are the negative shapes, such as in a background. They also discovered that negative shapes can be planned to be just as visually important as positives shapes.
Students looked at works by various artists, including M.C. Escher, which depicted this careful use of both positive and negative shapes. To help reinforce this concept, students cut their own positive shapes from complimentary colored papers, and then reconstructed the positive and their negative counterparts on the opposite side of the paper, achieving a “mirror twin” in which both shapes are of equal importance.

Observational Drawing: Still-Life

2011-10-08T17:10:00.002-04:00

This month's observational drawing activity for second and third graders consisted of a still life composed of many different types of objects and textures. Many students have been using their newly acquired shading skills, and while this activity did not focus on value and light differences, many students did attempt to convey such value differences. Students had the option of adding color using pastels and/or colored pencils and were encouraged to think about overlapping objects to depict space, as well as texture and detail.

Grade Three examples:

Grade Four examples:

Grade One: Using Line Constructively: Tree Drawings

2011-10-08T17:05:00.000-04:00

For their first lesson of the year, first graders revisited the element of Line and discussed how lines can be found everywhere in our world and that artists can use different kinds of lines to express their ideas more fully. Students examined and discussed several examples of drawings by various artists, explaining how each artist used Line. Next, students were shown several paintings of trees done by different artists and explored how each tree was represented differently using various and often unexpected types of lines. Students were led to notice how using a particular type of line changes the way we expect a tree to look.

Finally, students were instructed to draw a tree of their own using lines. They were also allowed to include other items in their drawings, if they choose and were encouraged to think about how lines can be used to represent the many parts of a tree and different species of trees. Students were given artworks created by Asian artists which depicted different species of trees during different seasons to help them think about the many ways line can be used.

September Masterpiece of the Month: Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Artist's Mother by James McNeill Whistler

2011-09-13T11:52:00.005-04:00

Who made it?
This painting was created by an American artist named James McNeill Whistler in 1871.

Where is the REAL one?
The real painting can be seen at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, France.

Why is this artwork important?

Ever since its first showing in 1872, this has been one of the most famous and least understood paintings of all time. When people think of Arrangement in Grey and Black, they often think it is supposed to be loving tribute to a family member. But actually, what makes this painting so successful is the simple and carefully planned use of the lines, shapes and colors. Whistler was more interested in how images could be simply about what you see, and how carefully chosen elements can work together to create visual harmony. In fact, he gave musical titles to his paintings (harmonies, arrangements, etc.) because he felt the musical notion of the harmony was more appropriate than that of subject matter (portrait, landscape, etc.) The identity of the model was unimportant to Whistler, and was not meant to offer any emotional meaning for the painting, something that was totally different from most artworks at that time. Whistler only added the subtitle, The Artist's Mother, due to pressure from viewers and critics who could not understand the original title. Nonetheless, many people can't help but feel interested in the woman in this painting and even feel that Whistler's use of these colors, as well as the model's position, make us think about what her personality and character may have been like.

September Master of the Month: James McNeill Whistler

2011-09-13T11:45:00.005-04:00

James McNeill Whistler was born in Lowell, Massachusetts but moved in Russia when he was a child. At age eleven, he began studying art at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts. He spent most of his life studying and working in several European countries, most notably in England. Whistler’s artwork is known for using colors in tones and shades: values of a few colors rather than many colors. His most famous painting, Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Artist’s Mother, depicts Whistler’s particular interest in how lines and shapes should balance each other and create visual harmony. He was not interested in the stories behind his pictures, but rather in their visual impact. Whistler is also known for having titled most of his artworks with musical suggestions, such as arrangement, symphony, etc., because it was his belief that elements such as color and line, when used correctly, could achieve harmony.

Welcome Back!

2011-09-08T15:23:00.000-04:00

I hope the new school year is off to a great start for everyone. Classes have begun smoothly in the art room. As I have been meeting with all the classes for the first time this year, it has been interesting to hear of the student's summer art adventures. I have been impressed and pleased with the number of students who have traveled the globe this summer and included a trip to the art museums in the cities and countries in which they were visiting. Students were also eager to share the stories of the artworks they created on their own and at local art camps. In addition to catching up with students on their first art class of the year, students in grades 1-5 have been creating their art folders for the year, in which they will store all the artwork created this year. These folders will go home in June. In their second class, students in grades 2-4 will be creating their own sketchbooks for use during observational drawing and painting activities throughout the year. This week, I have also been meeting with Kindergarten students for the first time, beginning with the start of a series of drawing activities to ease them into the art class curriculum while getting to know this new group of youngsters. Please be sure to check back soon as new posts and projects will be posted here in the near future. Thanks for your ongoing support!

Announcing the Arlington Friends of the Visual Art!

2009-09-23T14:46:00.008-04:00

The Arlington Public Schools K-12 Visual Arts Department would like to announce the formation of the Arlington Friends of the Visual Art. The mission of the Friends is outlined below. If you are interested in joining or if you are interested in helping the K-12 art department in some of the ways outlined below, please contact Interim Director of Visual Art, David Ardito at ydpaa@yahoo.com or by contacting me at dchisholm@arlington.k12.ma.us.

Mission of the Arlington Friends of the Visual Art

The Arlington Friends of the Visual Art supports the K-12 Visual Art Department in Arlington's nine public schools by advocating for art education, fundraising, providing
publicity and by helping with events such as student and staff art exhibits.

The Arlington Friends of the Visual Art promotes the belief that art education is essential to the full intellectual and emotional development of all children.

Arlington Friends of the Visual Art will:

Increase public awareness of the Art program
Support K-12 Art teachers
Raise funds for professional development for teachers, art events, field trips, scholarships and equipment

Funds raised by the Friends of the Visual Art will not supplant school budget funds and will provide special opportunities for visiting artists, professional development for teachers, arts events, special field trips, scholarships and equipment that would otherwise be impossible.

Members can opt to attend monthly Friends of the Visual Art meetings, to help with specific projects and/or to become officers who will set meeting agendas and who will be the liaisons between FOVA members and the K-12 art teaching staff and the K-12 Director of Visual Arts.

Why Art Education?

2008-02-17T12:22:00.007-05:00

Throughout my years of teaching, I have encountered several different philosophies about what the role of art education should be within our schools, both by administrators and parents. In the last fifteen years, huge strides have been made to reform our society’s ideas about why art education is so important to everyone’s education. We know that art education in schools improves test scores. We know art education enhances critical thinking and problem solving. We know art education fosters a well-rounded student. But there is more.

My philosophy mirrors that of my training at the Rhode Island School of Design art education department and the National Association of Art Education, which is that in addition to providing the above-mentioned qualities, art education must be taught in a way that will address those issues AND provide a vehicle for students to learn about art, talk about art, make informed opinions and decisions about art as they get older and have the confidence in their own abilities to do so.

The mere presence of art class in schools will NOT increase test scores. Nor will it make your child more creative or better at solving complex problems. The content must be presented by a trained professional in a manner which is stimulating and challenging, which has a goal and meaningful purpose, and which will teach students skills they can and may apply later in various ways.

I want my students to understand that art is something they CAN do. I want them to have the confidence and motivation to view works of art and design and make informed decisions about it without intellectual intimidation or ignorance. I want my students to understand that art is not limited to a talented few, nor does it come easily to anyone, but rather it is part of the human experience, something to be learned, cultivated and practiced.

Recently, the National Association of Art Education (NAEA) published an advocacy pamphlet for parents to help communicate the goals and services of arts education in schools. One of their key statements was as follows:

Art Means Work.

Beyond the qualities of creativity, self-expression, and communication, art is a type of work. This is what art has been from the beginning. This is what art is from childhood to old age. Through art, our students learn the meaning of joy of work—work done to the best of one’s ability, for it’s own sake, for the satisfaction of a job well done. There is a desperate need in our society for a revival of the idea of good work: work for personal fulfillment; work for social recognition; work for economic development. Work is one of the noblest expressions of the human spirit, and art is the visible evidence of work carried to the highest possible level. Today we hear much about productivity and workmanship. Both of these ideals are strengthened each time we commit ourselves to the endeavor of art. We are dedicated to the idea that art is the best way for every young person to learn the value of work.

I completely agree with this statement, both as an artist and as an art educator. I try to help my students realize that creating artwork is a challenging process for artists, myself included. As students grow older, their confidence often begins to diminish and uninformed, negatively biased opinions about art and their own abilities, begin to take hold unless a system has been previously put in place that will help them rise above such misconceptions. Accompanying these feelings is also often a notion that art should be simple, easy, and solely recreational. This attitude only serves to eventually diminish the importance of art and art education in the adult minds of our society, who then try to deem it as irrelevant. One of my prime objectives, and one shared by millions of art educators nation-wide, is to eliminate this attitude towards the purpose and function of art education in our schools. To be sure, art education serves a unique role in school, but it must not be confused with recreation, therapy or “busywork”.

Take a Virtual Tour!

2006-10-10T17:41:00.009-04:00

The art room is a busy place, where 500+ students enter it's door at least once a week. It can seem a little mysterious to those who have only heard about it or have not yet ventured up to the third floor.

Each month an artist will be featured in our Master of the Month display. I try to select past or present artists who have some connective strand to what many of the grades will be learning about during the chosen month.

Being on the top floor has it's advantages with its treetop view and skylights.

The carpeted area provides a place for gathering at the beginning of class, where we touch base on the previous week and introduce lessons. The meeting area also serves as an excellent place for reconvening together as a group at the end of class to discuss our work.

The art room is a spacious, engaging place which allows students to focus on their work without being overly distracted, while still providing adequate stimulation.

Pictures and magazines provide visual reference tools to help students formulate ideas into reality. A student reference library provides pictorial books to help students gain inspiration or visual assistance.

The nature lab is full of natural specimens often used for still lifes, observational drawing or choice time activities.

The choice time area provides a carpeted reading area with illustrated books, art games, and optional free time drawing supplies.

Carefully planned activity centers allow students to explore artistic concepts, while an ever-changing still life arrangement is set up for those who wish to practice their observational drawing skills in their free time.

Computers loaded with art software are available for student use.

Keeping track of the work of 200 students can be challenging! Students in grades 1-5 create a portfolio on the first day of class which stores all their work until the end of the year. Each class is color-coded, allowing me to keep a quick visual reference of each group. Portfolios provide invaluable tools for assessment throughout the year.