New & Improved Website!!

Hi, folks! As much as I love this blog, I was looking for something more user-friendly & sophisticated. So I wanted to introduce you to Welcome 2 Art Class 2.0!! Check it out - it's awesome! - and feel free to explore the many features I wasn't able to have on here. I will only be updating the new website from now on, with important Irvington announcements & recent student artwork. Enjoy!

http://www.welcome2artclass.weebly.com

Donations

It's the beginning of the school year & it's time for me to start collecting recycleables for the art studio! Your trash could be art treasure! Please check my donations page for information about what types of materials I'd love to take off your hands (newspapers, plastic bottles, etc.)

By clicking the picture above, you could also view some wish list art supplies I've selected on Blick's Art Room Aid donations website. As always, thank you for supporting the artistic possibilities for Irvington's students!

New Year, New Beginnings

Beginning in the 2015-16 school year, I will be the K-8 art teacher at Irvington School! I am thrilled at the increase in each student's art experience and am excited to see the masterpieces they churn out this year. As summer break comes to a close, I thought I'd share this awesome video about why the arts are so important. Enjoy :]

See you in September!

School's OUT for SUMMERRRR!!

Farewell to Faubion: 5th Grade

Faubion's building, which opened in 1950, will be getting demolished this summer for a complete rebuild. While the new school is being constructed, all Faubion staff, students, & even furniture will be temporarily placed at Tubman School. To help the students with the transition, all K-5 students worked on school tribute art projects for the final weeks of the year. 5th grade students created Mascot Mona Lisas, replacing the original model with a bulldog. These were put up for sale at the Farwell Faubion BBQ Event, and students were able to experience being paid artists for the first time! Great job, 5th graders :]

Farewell to Faubion: 4th Grade

Faubion's building, which opened in 1950, will be getting demolished this summer for a complete rebuild. While the new school is being constructed, all Faubion staff, students, & even furniture will be temporarily placed at Tubman School. To help the students with the transition and to reflect on their positive experiences at Faubion, all K-5 students worked on school tribute art projects for the final weeks of the year.

4th graders wrote essays about what Faubion means to them and what their most memorable experiences at school were. I used these essays as a jumping off point for their first Faubion tribute project: school pride shrinky dink keychains! Students designed keychains representing their favorite people or activities at Faubion. Some drew the playground or gym, some drew their friends or teachers, and some used symbols to represent their favorite field trip or subject area.

The 4th graders also created one giant Faubion banner, with each student completing one small piece. The rectangular pieces were arranged vertically and horizontally to create a woven, quilt-like appearance. This collaborative tribute artwork is on display in the Faubion Writing Gallery, and will be displayed again at Tubman next school year!

Farewell to Faubion: 3rd Grade

Faubion's building, which opened in 1950, will be getting demolished this summer for a complete rebuild. While the new school is being constructed, all Faubion staff, students, & even furniture will be temporarily placed at Tubman School. To help the students with the transition and to reflect on their positive experiences at Faubion, all K-5 students worked on school tribute art projects for the final weeks of the year.

3rd graders learned about Keith Haring and created stylized figures for a collaborative mural. You can read a more detailed description of this lesson's objective below, along with close ups of the final artwork (sorry for the glare-it's laminated!). This beautiful mural is on display in the Faubion Writing Gallery, and will be displayed again at Tubman next school year!

Farewell to Faubion: 2nd Grade

Faubion's building, which opened in 1950, will be getting demolished this summer for a complete rebuild. While the new school is being constructed, all Faubion staff, students, & even furniture will be temporarily placed at Tubman School. To help the students with the transition and to reflect on their positive experiences at Faubion, all K-5 students worked on school tribute art projects for the final weeks of the year.

2nd grade students creative full-body self-portraits in an action pose, which were placed into blown up photographs of the Tubman campus. You can read a more detailed description of this lesson's objective below, along with close ups of the final posters. These beautiful collaborative artworks are on display near the 2nd grade classrooms, and will be displayed again at Tubman next school year!

Farewell to Faubion: 1st Grade

Faubion's building, which opened in 1950, will be getting demolished this summer for a complete rebuild. While the new school is being constructed, all Faubion staff, students, & even furniture will be temporarily placed at Tubman School. To help the students with the transition and to reflect on their positive experiences at Faubion, all K-5 students worked on school tribute art projects for the final weeks of the year.

  

1st grade students discussed the purpose of mascots and reasons why they are proud to be Faubion bulldogs. They wrote down these reasons, along with what makes them happy to come to school, on the back of their soon-to-be-painted-on canvases. Their responses were darling! Many kids wrote about specific teachers, the friends they have, or what the building gives them access to, such as the gym's rock wall or the library's book inventory.

I carved a bulldog portrait into a linoleum block and printed it onto each 6x6" canvas. Before painting their bulldogs, the students learned about & looked at artwork by Andy Warhol. They mimicked his bright, colorful style when painting these mascot masterpieces :] You can see these on display in the Faubion Writing Gallery up until the last day of school.

Farewell to Faubion: Kindergarten

Faubion's building, which opened in 1950, will be getting demolished this summer for a complete rebuild. While the new school is being constructed, all Faubion staff, students, & even furniture will be temporarily placed at Tubman School. To help the students with the transition and to reflect on their positive experiences at Faubion, all K-5 students worked on school tribute art projects for the final weeks of the year.

The kindergarten teachers took photos of their students at their favorite school spot, so I used them to help the kiddos create a photo collage, spelling out the letters of our school name. In the background, the students drew their favorite people or activities at Faubion. You can view this beautiful collaborative artwork near the main office, and again when it is on display at Tubman for next school year! Great job, kindergarteners :]