Cubism results

Here are just a few completed cubist paintings. Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

Friday was a big day at Ballou. It was a half day, the Friday before Halloween, and homecoming! During the half day, I only had 30 minutes with each class so I improvised a lesson using a silkscreened cardboard "Headlines" that I received from the National Gallery of Art. The headlines were inspired by Andy Warhol's headline series which are currently on view at the NGA. They came up with some creative Halloween inspired headlines. Unfortunately not everyone finished so we'll have to complete them this upcoming week.

Painted Cubist Collage

The students learned about Picasso this week (I had to stifle a laugh when I heard a student call him "P-costco") and tried their hands at creating a painted cubist collage. First, the students chose an object to draw from 4 different points of view then painted the objects using tints and values of a single color. Lastly, they cut out the painted objects and collaged them onto a painted background. Above you can see the different steps the students took: final cubist painting of a bird, painted tea kettle, and a coffee mug drawn from 4 different angles.

I love art PD

I LOVE DCPS art pd days! They are a great opportunity to learn from each other and learn new skills. At the first PD, I learned how to create a blog to document my teaching experiences and at the second, we had a full day learning about museum programs available to us as educators. Each museum had a booth and we were able to learn information from them and also make sample artworks. The pictures above are from the National Gallery table where I created a headline inspired by Andy Warhol (and scored the leftover 'headlines' materials!) and the Corcoran where I created an artwork based on text. I am already looking forward to the next one.

Research & Writing

Ballou is pushing literacy this year. In addition to making art, our students are also writing a research paper on the life and work of an influential artist. While most students chose historically significant artists, a few in my class chose DC artist Tim Conlon as a subject. The students emailed him a list of interesting questions asking about everything from his childhood to his goals for the future. The students were thrilled when they received responses directly from him and he seemed excited as well stating:"These are actually great questions and better than some I've gotten from reporters doing interviews in DC!" The painting at the top of the post is an example of Conlon's work. This particular artwork was exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in 2008, at that time, I worked there as a gallery educator.

More still lifes

Sometimes good art takes extra time to produce. The last of the fractured still lifes were finished during lunch and after school today. This week we are combining our collage and painting skills to create cubist compositions inspired by Picasso.

Phillips

Aside from teaching at Ballou, I work as a gallery educator at the Phillips Collection. This past week, I gave two spotlight lectures on Degas' Dancers at the Barre and one tour of the permanent collection. I also have two artworks in the staff show that I created as a response to my work at the Incarcerated Youth Program, the DCPS school I worked at as a first year teacher. It was amazing and nerve wracking to see my own artwork on the wall of the Phillips. Although the picture of me with Renior's Luncheon of the Boating Party turned out blurry, I think it is a fitting look for a photo with an impressionist artwork.