The Art Lady

My first class sat before me, most likely wondering why they were there. They knew I was “a PTO mom,” but they'd already had art class that week, so why were they back in the art room? “Who can tell me what pointillism means?” I asked. A very sweet 4th grader sitting in the front row timidly raised her hand. “Yes, sweetie.” I said, as I pointed in her direction. “Um,” she thought and then hesitantly guessed, “It's pointless?” It took everything I had not to laugh out loud. So instead I asked her to give me a high five and praised her for being brave enough to venture a guess. Welcome to being The Art Lady, I thought to myself, this is going to be fun.

I was very excited when the principal of my children's school agreed to let me start the Art Lady program. I had heard of a similar curriculum in an adjacent school district and wanted to bring the same enrichment activity to our own. And while our school has a very dedicated art teacher, I hoped to bring an element of art appreciation and history to the students that she does not have the time or resources to cover. Michigan is home to The Detroit Institute of Arts, a premiere art museum. Its beautiful neoclassical structure houses many treasured masterpieces, most notably the stunning Diego Rivera murals in the grand Rivera Court. My personal favorite is John Singer Sargent's portrait of Madame Paul Poison. Unfortunately field trips to the art museum aren't high on the list of things to do for many Michigan schools or parents hard hit by funding cuts and the economy. So, if the kids can't go to the museum, why not bring the museum to the kids?!

So far this school year we have delved into the lives and styles of George Seurat, Paul Cezanne, and Vincent Van Gogh. Next month I'll build on their new knowledge of Cezanne and introduce Pablo Picasso. But I'm especially excited about juxtaposing the abstract art of Piet Mondrian and Jackson Pollock. We begin with a quick overview of the artist's life, i.e. his name and when and where he was born. Next we talk about his style. I purchase a book about the life of the artist and read it out loud. The book is available for them to check out in the school library. And then there is the unveiling. It's my favorite part. The kids are so quick to appreciate beauty and talent. There has never been a class where the gasps are not audible and the excitement is not palpable.


This month I introduced expressionism with the artist Vincent Van Gogh. His work Starry Night seemed a worthy example of the style. We talked about line and color and how an artist uses them to show how he or she feels about their subject of choice. Then after a brief discussion about the painting it is their turn to draw their own masterpiece. My friend Alanda was taking pictures for the school yearbook and gave me permission to use some of her photos.

Here's a cute kid. Someone should tell his mother he needs a haircut.

This little guy was drawing an elaborate chemistry lab complete with fiery explosions.

Because I only have 20-30 minutes with each of the 17 classes I give some direction as to what I would like them to draw. For instance, when I introduced Seurat's “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte” I asked each class to think of their favorite thing to do at the park and then recreate that memory using pointillism. By the way, their enthusiasm for the style totally ruined the 2nd grade teacher Ms. Marshall's fine-tipped markers. The direction for this month was to draw how they felt about a food or a subject in school by using colors and lines that indicated their feelings. As you can see there weren't very many students who chose to draw how they felt about school. By their use of color and line, can you tell how these students feel about their food of choice?

This kindergartner and I share a similar enjoyment for chocolate chip cookies.

He told me that the lines show he is “crazy” for strawberries.

Blueberries rock!

Most likely inspired by the movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

After I've met with all the classes I choose a few excellent examples and they are hung in the hallway next to the work of the artist of the month. The program has been really well received and I think the teachers enjoy the break, although some have sat in on the class and enjoyed a few moments coloring with the kids. My hope is that our time together will contribute to these children developing a lifelong love of art in all its forms. I know that oftentimes the arts are dismissed as frivolous or unimportant when compared to more objective subjects like math and science but I think with an appreciation for the arts comes humanity. And we can all use a little more of that.