Celebrate Friendship Mural Chosen for VSA Calendar!!

A mural done by students in Ms. Leston’s class for the Very Special Arts Festival in May 2009 has been selected for the VSA 2010 calendar and will appear as the image for the month of February. The artwork, which is a paper mosaic was created entirely out of small scraps of reclaimed paper, making it not only attractive, but GREEN too! The artwork will travel with the other VSA murals to the Queens Museum of Art where they will all be displayed in January, then on to Albany later in the spring for an exhibit in our state capital. Great work everyone!

Coral Reef Community Moves to 400 First Avenue

The Coral Reef Community Mural, created by K-2 students at the main site has moved on to the District 75 Offices at 400 First Avenue in Manhattan. The artwork, which is a collage of painted, printed, drawn, and /or textured paper, was created entirely of reused, recycled, and rescued materials. The background, for example, was cast-off bulletin board backing “rescued” from the trash – accounting for the rough and jagged edges of the mural. Students learned about the creatures that inhabit the coral reef and composed informative text to accompany the artwork.

The Cavemen Cometh!

Cave Painting Mural

Visit our display outside the main office on Henderson Avenue to see our “cave drawings” inspired by the Stone Age cave paintings of Lascaux, France. Then, visit the first floor gallery to see watercolors inspired by the work of modern artist, Elaine De Kooning, who after visiting Lascaux in 1983, created a series of paintings in her abstract expressionist style. After examining and discussing the elements of both the ancient and the modern, students were asked to draw inspiration from one or both and create their own watercolors. Read their comments to see how they were inspired in their own work.

Write, Pose, Walk Like an Egyptian

Check out the new display on the first floor! Students from our upper grades have been studying ancient Egypt and learning about hieroglyphics, cartouches, and friezes. The students have created their own cartouches (name plates) to not only display their names, but have added many symbols used by the ancient scribes to tell about the pharaohs who were their leaders. Next, students created friezes like the ones found in the pyramids. Can you pose like an Egyptian? More to come – next the students look at who in modern times has been influenced by the art of the Ancient Egyptians – artists like Alberto Giacometti and Romero Britto. What does Egyptian art inspire you to create?

Celebrate New York Mural Chosen For Mayor’s Awards Festivities

A mural inspired by images that are iconic New York and creted by students in the main building has been receiving a lot of attention since it debuted at the Very Special Arts Festival in May. “Celebrate New York”, a mixed media collage creeted by Edrisce Dunn, Joseph Sola, Gwendolyn Brown, Edward Owens, Ciavion McCullom. Justin Messado, Adrian Umana and Zion Wade, was chosen by Mayor Bloomberg’s office to be the featured artwork as well as, the cover design for the invitation to the 2009 Mayor’s Awards in Honor of The Americans With Disabilities Act. The event, on August 12, 2009 will take place at Gracie Mansion and will be attended by many prominent figures from across the city, including Superintendent Bonnie Brown and District 75 Arts supervisor Kathy London, and of course, Mayor Bloomberg.
On August 10, 2009, students who had participated in the creation of the mural were invited to visit and tour City Hall. There they learned about the history of our City Hall, and visited rooms reserved for special guests, such as the Governor’s Room, “The Bull Pen” where the mayor and his staffers gather to conduct city business, and Council Chamber, where the legislative branch meets. Students received some momentos of their trip and will each receive a copy of the invitation featuring their wok.

Check Out Getty Museum!

Just added to the blogroll is the Getty Museum for Kids where you can access Getty Games. Here you can find jigsaw puzzles of famous works of art, play concentration and matching games, and even test your skills at being an art detective! Check it out and let me know what you think. Have fun!

Going Green in The Art Room

Summer is here and we are going greener than ever! We are stepping up our efforts to increase our use of found and reclaimed objects, paper scraps, and recycled materials to create our art. Classes have been challenged to create sculptures out of these and other materials that would have been headed for landfills and recycling plants. Artists have always been concerned with conservation and the environment and have looked for ways to use readily found materials to create art as well as to send messages about how to protect our planet for future generations. Look for our “green” creations and our tips for conserving and creating “green” art!

Very Special Arts Festival 2009

The 2009 Very Special Arts Festival was held at Columbia University’s Thorndike Hall May 27 -28, 2009. Three classes from our Main Building participated in creating murals to be displayed during the festival. Afterwards, the works of art will travel to Queens, where they will be on display at The Queens Museum of Art. The classes created beautiful murals, each with a different celebratory theme.
Ms. Vivaldi’s students created “Celebrate New York” depicting various New York icons under a sky lit with fireworks. The students learned about what makes something “iconic New York” and then researched and created their iindividual pieces which were assembled to create their mural.
Ms. Gunderson’s students made hand painted papers, and studied creatures found in a garden to create their “Celebrate the Garden” mural, bursting with life and bright color.
Lastls, Ms. Leston’s class created “Celebrate Friendship” a paper mosaic mural, in which they recycled many scraps of colored papers to bring their artwork to life.
A beautiful job by all, which received many compliments from attendees at the Festival!

Celebrate New York

Celebrate Friendship

Celebrate The Garden

Mr. Knudson’s Class Trip to the Noble Maritime Museum

Percussion Performance with Marquis Studios Click On the Picture to Watch.