What do you mean the year is almost over?!? We aren’t done learning! We aren’t done making art! If you haven’t noticed, teachers tend to buy a ticket to the crazy train as soon as people start talking about the end of the year because it’s hard to understand where the time went, what will we try to cram in last minute and what will we do differently the next year...we have to make note before we forget! This year has meant so much to me in so many ways. I love teaching art! And I love when students find their artwork and education meaningful. When given choices in the artmaking process, students gain ownership and the experience in turn becomes meaningful. When our experiences become meaningful on a personal level, we invest and actively engage, which is what we want the educational experience to be! Self-portraits are a guaranteed personal experience, but they can also be intimidating since drawing the human figure can be quite difficult. First and second graders took on their self-portraits with enthusiasm and then gave them extra character, which made the experience that much more meaningful, as they added either royal, pirate or super hero features.

Did you know that Vincent Van Gogh only sold 1 or 2 of his paintings in his lifetime? It is mind blowing to think that the artist so widely recognized & popular beyond the study of art, who made such an influential mark, that he had no idea the magnitude of the mark he had made. Do you ever wonder what kind of mark(s) you have made or are you making a mark today? I hope the marks that I make in my lifetime are colorful, kind and loving, and that they make people laugh.

The 6th and 7th graders have been studying the Renaissance Period in which Michaelangelo is a noteworthy artist who made a significant mark during that time with his amazing sculptural work as well as the paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

What better way to connect curriculums than to create artwork to attach to the ceiling tiles of the middle school? Each student was given the task of creating only a section of a historical masterpiece that will eventually come together in our Sistine Chapel inspired artwork assemblage. They all worked hard to pull their weight in their part of the group assignment and I didn’t want their effort to go unrecognized, so I encouraged them to make their mark. After tackling the main idea of their section, they were allowed to add any personal touches they so desired. I hope when we get these pieces up that they stay up as long as possible, like the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, because there is no doubt these kids have made a mark at St. James Day School and especially in the art room.

I can’t believe we are soooo close to summer! I have so many ideas and so many art projects that I still want to do...but if I’m lucky I might get one or two more squeezed in before these amazing students of mine say “so long art teacher!’ Then they hop, skip and jump right into summer without looking back. Because I have so many ideas, I rarely hop on the holiday art train. For one, the artwork is at risk of not being on display all year around and two, there is no guarantee we will finish the artwork before the holiday comes and goes. But sometimes I just can’t hop around it and this time I’m glad I didn’t! The bunny’s we created in Kindergarten are full of personality and a quick splash of color. The bunny’s created by 1st and 2nd grade are everything spring...clean and colorful!

Third grade is still busy with self portraits. I cannot wait to put them on display for their tours of the TRAHC! And lastly, things are still Gogh-ing well in the middle school art endeavors.

Spring is in the air! The flowers are blooming everywhere and Van Gogh’s famous sunflowers are inspiring artististic bloom in the art classroom. Van Gogh is such a fun artist to study because just one artwork covers so much...color, value, texture, and personal expression. First and second grade are creating mixed media still life pieces that include texture as well as bright colors, both trademarks of Vincent’s work.

Third grade is half way done with their expressive self-portraits that will be on display for their tour of the TRAHC building. Fourth grade is finishing up their tree weavings and getting ready for Gogh time.

Fifth grade is embarking on a surreal weaving journey. Sixth and Seventh are combining the techniques of Michaelangelo and Van Gogh in our attempts to divide and conquer ceiling tiles in artistic fashion.

As an art educator, it is my job to equip my students with the knowledge and skills to problem solve, invent and create. Although I can teach the elements and principles of art and provide opportunities for students to apply them, I cannot teach creativity. Creativity is personal and unique. Creativity is the individual extension of what is learned to a new idea. Sometimes these creative moments are intentional and sometimes they are happy accidents. I absolutely LOVE getting to witness both! One of my favorite things about teaching art is that no matter the lesson and no matter how specific I might be in instruction, each artwork is one of a kind. Each student has a different understanding and perception of the world around them and when these play out in their artwork, it is out of this world. It’s as if we are all reaching for the stars, but with a different star in mind or different way of reaching or coming upon one as a happy accident. The collaboration of art and science has been quite exciting and I hope you all come to enjoy it at the Science Fair!

If I said we’ve been clowning around in the art classroom, I’d be lying. I take art making and the learning process very seriously...although it’s always super fun in my book and silliness is my 2nd nature. The truth is, art is priceless. Theses pieces of art created by each of my students, each a treasure in it’s own special way. Not each piece is a guaranteed masterpiece, but I remind them as often as possible that perfection is NEVER our goal and that mistakes can add magic to our art. First and Second grade have been working on clowns with our new neon paints and oil pastels. Although some of these clowns are as silly as their artist, our inspiration is the joy found in art. Not too long ago, I was approached by a student’s parent regarding the artwork of her St. James alum. She mentioned how her two older children had created portraits of a clown during their 1st grade year at St. James and how she hoped for another from her current 1st grader. Well of course I’m going to grant that wish of joyful art!!! Art is a documentation of time, an expression of feeling and personality and for these young artists it is an expression of growth, creativity and moments in their life that will never be so young and innocent as they were then and such fruitful gifts are these works of art, the child and the artwork.

In collaboration with what the older students are learning in science, 5th-7th grades have been reaching beyond the stars in their solar system artwork. They are far out! We are juggling more than planets though as we continue in our learning of different art making processes as well as creating our doodle for google entries which are due March 18!

Charles Schulz, who is most well known for his Peanuts cartoon, used simple characters and everyday happenings in life to help readers look at life a little more light-hearted. Although he is no longer with us, his legacy lives on through Peanuts. There is a Peanuts calendar that I am gifted each year that starts each month with “Love is…” and it is always followed by a kind gesture that we can demonstrate to one another because: Love is...a choice and an action. I am constantly impressed with the kindness the students at St. James demonstrate to one another as well as me! When my classroom gets quiet...like really quiet, I always stop everyone and say “do you hear that?!?” and they look at me confused until I excitedly tell them it’s the sound of art being made! And then of course I go on and on about how much I looooove it and how it makes my heart full when my classroom becomes so engaged in art making that you don’t hear a peep. Because on a daily basis for me, love is...art. My goal is to be an example of love and kindness in my efforts to teach art and I will have days that I struggle and days that I succeed.

But, when I hear that beautiful silence of students actively engaged in their creative process, I know I’m doing something right and it fills my heart with all the love and its feelings. In celebration of such great love and Valentine’s Day, the artists Jim Dine, Romero Britto and Chris Uphues, were introduced to students and used for our inspiration in truly beautiful work.   

Did you know that Winter Blues is a real thing? Seasons no doubt affect us whether it be our mood, allergies or both. We get so excited to see the sun for warmth of course, but also during the winter the little of color left on the ground or in the trees seems to illuminate under the sunlight just enough to remind us of great color to come in spring. The color brought forth in the art room lately can cure any kind of gloom. All grades have been busy working on their Art to Remember fundraiser piece and they are all so great! No spoilers here though.

In preparation for Valentine’s day and Grandparents’ Day, all grades are channeling bright colors and happy feels in their artwork to bring our prehistoric cafeteria back to life. These are the kind of flowers I hope to get on Valentine’s day!