classroom spotlight
Local Artists Lend Real-World Expertise
Good artists, like good students, need just enough confidence to be willing to explore.
That's one of the lessons local artist and Museum School parent Jen Singh taught third graders while working with them on recent art projects.
"They're not five years old anymore where you just put it down on paper and it's a masterpiece," Singh explains. "Third graders have a self-consciousness about their work and need a little encouragement to experiment with art and see that there is no wrong way to create."
Some students needed a gentle nudge to overcome initial fears, but "once they put the color down, they were excited," Singh says.
Meaningful learning
Singh is one of several guest artists who work with Museum School students as part of the school's ongoing goals of involving the community and offering students a wide-ranging education.
"The artists provide students with hands-on opportunities that align beautifully with our program," notes Principal Katherine Kelbaugh. "It is very important that we expose our students to a variety of activities, projects, careers and opportunities. Local artists help us address all of these areas."
Guest artists bring mastery and expertise of a variety of skills and concepts that expand beyond what any one teacher alone can provide. In addition, they provide exposure to a wider variety of art media and open students' imaginations.
"Students are exposed to real-life artists, creating real-life, meaningful projects, just as our program creates opportunities constantly for students to learn through meaningful outlets," Kelbaugh adds.
Spontaneous evolution of art
Singh, a painter, commercial illustrator and graphic designer, spent two weeks working with The Museum School's art teacher to help students create collaborative artwork centered on positive character traits. Third-grade teacher Emily Gardner had approached Singh with the idea of having students use art to illustrate the character traits and the famous American leaders they had been studying in class.
To both exemplify those character traits and reinforce classroom lessons, Singh chose artists who shared those traits and then explored those artists' techniques. For example, for a project on courage, she picked artist Marc Rothko, who lived during the same time as Lyndon B. Johnson and Thurgood Marshall and was a civil rights activist. "It was kind of cool to parallel those three figures in the project," Singh said.
Students painted color washes, as Rothko did, experimenting with color theory and applying and combining color. They used rectangular blocks of color on a single piece of wood, chose complimentary and similar colors and then added print imagery in a collage-style, just as Rothko did.
"It didn't turn out anything like I thought it would, which is great, because the kids directed it," Singh said. "It was a spontaneous evolution of the piece."
For another project on diligence, students focused on Cesar Chavez and Paul Revere. They selected colors, started with a landscape and used a spirograph technique, which often requires diligence itself – and sometimes a pep talk.
"The accidental stuff freed up the work," Singh says of the paint marks students often considered mistakes. "It didn't look static and tight. It looked loose and artful."
The third graders were thrilled with the results, which debuted at The Museum School's first Exhibit Night are now on permanent display in the school's media center.
"I want parents to know their kids were involved in this awesome project that they did on their own," Singh says. "I directed it, but they pretty much did it themselves."
