Art Is Messy

After reexamining my curriculum from last year, I noticed that I focused too much on thematic artwork. While my students were exposed to a great number of different artists who worked with similar themes, I felt that my students didn’t have a strong grasp of the lives of individual artists. So in order to address this issue right off the bat, I decided to begin the year with a lesson about Leonardo da Vinci. For this unit, students will learn about da Vinci’s charcoal portraits, his life, as well as some fun interesting facts. For example, did you know da Vinci was a vegetarian? Nope, I didn’t know either.

While searching internet for online resources that my students can use, I came upon these resources that I thought were well worth sharing. So here we go….

The first site that I really liked was Brain Pop. I knew that my school had a Brain Pop account, but I always kind of figured it was a site that focused on the Science and Math. Boy, I couldn’t have been more wrong!! To my pleasant surprise Brain Pop has a whole section on Art and Music! I clicked the Famous Artist and Musician link and found a little icon of da Vinci staring right back at me. His tiny expression seemed to say to me “Dummy, why didn’t you check me out before?” In the section about da Vinci, Brain Pop has a great little animation that answers the question “Why do so many people talk about da Vinci?” In addition, the da Vinci section has quizzes, activities, and a small time line.

Brain Pop also has animations about art movements, techniques, and other artists. I think this has now become my new favorite online resource for kids. I can just kick myself for not looking into Brain Pop sooner!

The second online resource on Leonardo da Vinci is the Universal Leonardo Museum, sponsored by the University of the Arts, London. While some of the text may be advanced for 5th graders, the galleries are great for exploring the vast variety of work that da Vinci is famous for. The images may be accessed through clicking the Explore and Browse tabs in the main navigation bar. What’s most exciting is their Play section. Here visitors to the site can make hybrid monsters, take a quiz that makes the Mona Lisa smile with each correct answer, practice Mirror Writing, and much, much more!

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. David and I just arrived in Shanghai last week. Since then, our time has been taken up with preparing our classes and creating lessons for this upcoming year. No matter how much prep time you are given as a teacher, it never seems like it is enough. This might actually be a good thing though. The more time I have, the more I try to cram in it.

So here’s the forecast for the first project in art this year. I am currently planning for grades 2, 4, and 5. I’ll give you a small preview now and then a fuller explanation later. Second graders will begin the year by looking at the work of Carman Lomas Garza. They will then use crayons and watercolors to create their own family portraits. Fourth graders will be looking at how artists throughout time have portrayed friendship in their work. They will then use oil pastels to create a drawing about their own friendships. Finally, fifth graders will be learning about Leonardo’s charcoal drawings and then will be creating their own. I’ll be sure to post more information, once the lessons are complete.

Sorry for the long delay in between posts! I have spent the last few days being a tourist in NYC. After living there for 12 years it felt *really* strange not to be a resident. When I lived there I used to get annoyed at tourists who would spend countless minutes desperately trying to decipher subway maps in hopes of reaching final destination. Now, I’m sad to say that I am slowly turning into them. It took me a few seconds to recall which train to take to get to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. My New Yorker membership card should be revoked.

Despite the slight brain hiccup, getting to the Met was like riding a bike. When I walked in I was immediately greeted by familiar sights: the Greek and Roman sculptures, African carvings and Modernist paintings. In addition to my old favorites they had two special exhibits that I absolutely loved: Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy and J.M.W. Turner.

First, the fashion. I really loved this show! In addition to having the original costumes worn by the actors and actresses who played Spiderman, Superman and Cat Woman (by the way, Michelle Pfeiffer’s costume was TINY!), they also had avant guard fashion designers’ take on the superhero body. Designers addressed such issues as the mutant body, the graphic body, and the aerodynamic body, just to name a few. If you can’t make it to NYC, click here to read more about the show.

(Begin soap box speech here)…..I think incorporating comics into the art curriculum, while controversial to some, is a great way for kids to learn about art. All the formal art principles and elements are found in comics: movement, line, color, etc. By using a medium that addresses issues important to kids, it is my belief that students will be able to better access the work than if they were shown images that do not directly relate to their lives. (End soap box speech. Sorry about that!)

Now onto Turner! The Turner show at the Met is the first time that a large scale retrospective on the artist has ever been done in the States. The artwork that the Met showed were nothing short of stunning. As a long time admirer of Turner’s oil paintings, it was incredible to see his magnificent skies, complete with layers of pinks, blues, and yellows, up close and personal. His watercolors were equally as amazing. As a someone who loves the medium I would give anything to be able to paint with just a small fraction of his skill.

When I first saw Obama speak during the Democratic National Convention I called my mom during his speech and told her that I was going to marry him. Things didn’t quite work out between Barack and I. The fact that he was oblivious to my existence kind of put a damper on any potential amore. Oh, and the fact that I was dating my future husband had an impact as well.

Despite the heartbreak, I was very excited to see him eventually become the Democratic nominee and equally happy that IDW Publishing decided to do a comic about him (oh, and one on that other guy). For the article about the soon to be released comic book, click here.

Sadly, the comics do not picture Obama and McCain duking it out while wearing flowing capes and spandex. Instead, the text tells their life stories. What saves the disappointing plot line is the fact that the covers are done by one of my favorite comic book artists, J. Scott Campbell, creator of Danger Girl.

I really hope this comics speaks to those who are usually alienated by politics and encourages them to get involved and vote (for Obama). Can you sense my liberal bias?