 | Welcome to the Visual Art Program
We are excited for an Art-filled year!
Our three primary goals for the LMS Art program are to explore a range of materials and techniques, to inspire each student's self-expression, and to encourage creativity and problem-solving.
Please feel free to contact us anytime. We are eager to work with your children.
Sue Galeros sgaleros@lexmontessori.org
Margie Gibbons mgibbons@lexmontessori.org |
MS Architecture Students Play with their Food
4/1/2013
Why do we humans build structures? How do we build these structures? How does site play into our structures? And what role does collaboration play? We are designing and building structures this trimester in our MS Architecture elective.
During our first week in class, we discuss these foundational concepts and then students team up to design a building. "What do we build with?" Students are handed Savoy cabbage, brussel sprouts, leeks, red cabbage, kale, and clementines. Each of these can be used as a whole or broken down into smaller components. "Can we trade?" Sure. "Can we use glue guns and skewers to keep the parts together?" Sure. Kale is stripped from its spine, wire threaded through the stems to hold it in a circle, and leafy greens function as the walls and roof. Brussel sprouts are skewered together vertically to make a skyscraper and, when we discover it is difficult to make it stand, are re-positioned to make a horizonally-formatted motel. The clementines are both kept intact and separated, skewered together with toothpicks to create a citrus man-cave. Savoy cabbage is carefully taken apart, reconstructed with lighter, internal greens on the bottom, darker greens becoming the roof, surrounding a deep, hidden chamber with a secretive door. Students playfully construct quirky, imaginative structures as they collaborately experience the creative process.
|
Drawing is Seeing
11/27/2012
“If you take a photo, you can only take a picture of what is. If you draw, you can draw anything and go anywhere.” --- UE student
In Art, we set out objects for students to examine and draw: plastic animals and dinosaurs, cell phones, bicycles, typewriters, models of hands and horses. Students chose and then settle in to draw for 10 minutes at the beginning of each class.
“Look at the object. Put your pencil on the paper and s-l-o-w-l-y draw the edges---the outlines and the edges within the object. Only look at your paper from time to time. Instead really look at the object. Keep your pencil moving slowly but look mostly at the object. It really doesn’t matter what the final drawing looks like. What matters is that you are looking closely at your object. The rest will come.”
What do the children learn from drawing exercises?
“Even when I draw really specific details, it always looks
different than someone else’s drawing.”
“Drawing frees your mind.”
“Draw what you see. Be unique in your own little art world.”
“A drawing is like a fingerprint. Each one is different.”
“I really like it. I really feel good and feel like a real artist
when I draw something from nature. I like feeling that way.”
“It’s getting easier because I’m practicing.”
“It’s fun and it’s all about concentrating. I really like drawing!”
“At first, I feel restless but after a few minutes, it is so relaxing
and I can concentrate for so much longer. I love how peaceful it feels.”
As teachers, we see the students:
-slow down and settle into a focused state;
-expand their attention span over time;
-study an object with intention---texture, form, color, detail;
-develop heightened skills of observation;
-strengthen fine motor skills;
-gain self-confidence in individual expression and sense of self.
And what are the outcomes of developing drawing skills?
Besides a deeper appreciation for art (we are all for the arts-for-art’s-sake argument), we see children develop creative communication and problem-solving skills.
When math teachers in high school asked our own children to solve problems, they would often draw a picture to understand the mathematical concepts. In science classes, they draw as a part of their data collection. They create films, dances, and graphics to convey ideas. And they came to this through a belief that words alone are not always sufficient---that self-expression and communication extend beyond words.
|
2012-2013 Art Schedule
9/3/2012
Art happens in all LMS classrooms and is integrated into the curricula. In addition, CH students come to the CH Art Room once a week for 45 minutes. LE and UE visit the Art Room in the New Building for an hour each week. Middle School students are on a trimester/elective schedule and work in the Art Room for a two-hour session on a focused topic.
|
| | Visit the new Education Studio at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum with your family and try your hand at creating hands-on art projects! Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. No pre-registration is required, but space is limited.
While you are there, pick up the fun Family Guides that are thematically organized: Containers, Heroes and Legends, Bird-Watching, Face-to-Face, and Joyful Noise. Wander through the museum with the guides in hand---a delightful way to spend a weekend afternoon with your children. |
| |