Art & Language Arts Online

Teachers Explore Playful Activities in Day 3 of the Summer Seminar

August 1st, 2012 Theresa Sotto 4 comments

How can we make learning fun? By cultivating a playful spirit! And we certainly did just that in the third day of the Art & Language Arts Summer Seminar.

If you participated in today’s program, post a comment that describes one way that you can use play in your classroom to enhance student learning.

: Today’s media exploration focused on sculpture. Teachers came up with all sorts of imaginative sculptures using wire and clay.

: Teachers were encouraged to explore a variety of textures by using plastic utensils, straws, and modeling tools.

: Try using coated wire to add a playful, textural element to clay sculptures.

: Two teachers, two colorful bowls, two different ways!

: When given the opportunity to use your imagination, a variety of subjects emerge–both living and man-made sculptures were created.

: Our extraordinary and talented intern Iris Hu is to blame for all the fun teachers had while exploring clay.

: And museum educator Theresa Sotto is to blame for making teachers read articles after making art.

: Curator Charissa Bremer-David captivated teachers by describing the history of this magnificent bed.

: Charissa demonstrates the swiveling action of a chair on which Marie Antoinette once sat while her servants fixed her hair.

: It’s amazing to be able to peek inside desks we’re not allowed to touch. Thank you, Charissa!

: Can you see the mark of the desk’s maker near Charissa’s right hand?

: Charissa’s talk is both informative and entertaining, as evidenced by our huge smiles.

: We gaze up at a chandelier that was designed to hold goldfish in its glass bowl.

: Upper elementary teachers pause for a Kodak moment.

: Graduate intern Elizabeth Osenbaugh leads a tour of the sculpture collection.

: Teachers look closely at the textures that Bernini was able to render in this marble sculpture when he was only 19 years old.

: This object is affectionately known internally as the “little pot.”

: Museum educator Kelly Williams explains a writing activity that teachers can do with our decorative arts collection.

: Teachers tell their partners about all the details they can find in a work of art.

: Our period rooms are terrific places to go to transport students back in time.

: Inspired by Franz Xaver Messerschmidt’s Vexed Man, teachers created their own expressive heads thanks to the guidance of teaching artist Judy Blake.

: Look at the fantastic details on that sculpture!

: So much expression can be communicated in sculptures no taller than three inches.

: The creativity of the teachers shine through in this “class picture.”

: After working with sculpture, teachers were invited to create dream beds and place them in settings.

: The playful nature of this activity is evident!

: Who doesn’t want a feather bed?

: Perhaps all beds should have feathers.

: A bed fit for a queen.

: A boat-shaped bed sets sail.

Categories: Art supplies, Art-making activities, Getty programs, Reflections on Getty workshops

Tags: decorative arts, Getty programs, lesson ideas, sculpture, summer seminar

K-5 Teachers Discover Strategies for Helping Students to Draw

July 31st, 2012 Theresa Sotto 6 comments

During the second day of the Art & Language Arts seminar, we were drawn to drawings! We explored different drawing tools, experienced a special VIP talk by a curator in our drawings department, and tried an activity that made us feel comfortable drawing—even those who were most skeptical of their artistic abilities.

For those who participated in today’s program, please share a strategy for helping students to overcome the fear of creating a drawing that doesn’t meet their expectations. How do we help students move past the idea that their pictures need to “look right”?

: Today’s media exploration encouraged teachers to build their own drawing vocabulary using different drawing tools and then create a collaborative work of art.

: Even at 8:30 AM in the morning, teachers are all smiles. Is it because of the art activity…or the delicious breakfast burritos? (Note: There’s no trace of the breakfast burrito on the plate!)

: Teachers are armed with cups of coffee and Art Stix—a winning combination!

: A painting by John Everett Millais sparked a lively discussion about what is going on in the picture. What IS going on in the picture anyway?

: Teachers spend time analyzing the clues in a painting.

: We look closely and admiringly at Joseph Mallord William Turner’s depiction of turbulent waters.

: In partners, teachers share what they see in a painting and then describe their partners’ observations.

: After discussing what they see, teachers share what the painting makes them wonder about. Then they think about possible responses to their wonderings. It’s an adaptation of the See-Think-Wonder thinking routine.

: Teachers view animals in our collection and select one to draw.

: It’s not so intimidating to draw an elephant when you break it down into different shapes.

: Two teachers successfully took on the challenge of choosing one shape and varying its size in order to create fantastic turkeys.

: A cow made up of a combination of triangles!

: Teachers discuss possible directions for their arts-integrated language arts lesson plans.

: We’re hunched over not because it’s the end of the day, but because we are imitating the pose of the figure in Jean-Francois Millet’s Man with a Hoe.

Categories: Art-making activities, Getty programs, Reflections on Getty workshops

Tags: drawing, Getty programs, lesson ideas, painting, summer seminar

Storytelling, Still Lifes, and Celebrations: Day 1 of the Art & Language Arts Program

July 30th, 2012 Theresa Sotto 11 comments

We are so excited to work with teachers from Jaime Escalante Elementary School, 42nd Street Elementary, Robert F. Kennedy Elementary School, Carlos Santana Arts Academy, and Woodlake Ave Elementary! We spent the day roaming the galleries while they were closed to the public and creating works of art bursting with color.

To the teachers who participated today, what is a specific strategy or activity that you will take back to your classroom?

: Every day begins with art! This morning teachers played with a variety of paints and techniques to create different textures.

: Teachers explore the vibrant colors produced by Alphacolor Biggie Cakes.

: Try lightly blowing on wet paint through a straw to create interesting effects.

: Teacher Rosa Bogarin holds up her colorful work of art.

: Participants received a site tour of the Getty Center on a beautiful sunny day.

: Since the galleries are not open to the public, four teachers were able to write about Van Gogh’s Irises without having to push through the crowds.

: On a curator-led tour, teachers discover how artists use the tools of their trade to help them tell stories in their paintings.

: A teacher looks closely at the thin coats of paint applied by the artist Titian. Thankfully we can still see the thin layer centuries after the painting was made!