Art & Language Arts Online

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!

: Teachers had fun arranging objects in preparation for their own still life collages.

: Participants cut shapes out of colored vellum for their still life collages.

: Colored vellum sure does pop on black construction paper!

: A few lines can turn a two-dimensional shape into a three-dimensional form.

: Teachers learned how to paint on a budget by supplementing Alphacolor Biggie Cakes with paints made with kool-aid and coffee.

: After building a vocabulary of marks, teachers created patterns.

: A 20th century painting of a celebration inspired teachers to create a painting of their favorite celebration.

: Guess the celebrations depicted in these works!

: Sonia Faye did a “bang up” job on her painting of a celebration. (Pun intended!)

Categories: Art supplies, Art-making activities, Getty programs

Tags: Getty programs, painting, still life

New Videos: Artist Kim Abeles, Poetry and Art Lessons

June 7th, 2012 Theresa Sotto Comments off

Find inspiration in the work of artist Kim Abeles and in poetry lessons that connect to works of art in the Getty Museum’s collection. These videos were excerpted from the 2012 Culminating Event of the Art & Language Arts program.

Artist Kim Abeles Discusses Her Work at the Getty Center
Los Angeles-based artist Kim Abeles addresses social, political, and environmental issues in her innovative works of art. In this video, she describes her work, process, and inspiration.

Elementary Teachers Share Arts-Integrated Lessons at the Getty Center
Elementary teachers present their unique ideas for how to connect Impressionism, a still-life painting, and poetry to their classroom curricula.

A Poetry and Art Lesson by Paula Rucker
Teacher Paula Rucker describes how she engaged her fourth and fifth grade students with Impressionist paintings and then discovered that she, and not just her students, could create art and make it a part of her life.

Categories: Art-making activities, Arts-integrated language arts lessons, Reflections on Getty workshops, Videos

Tags: Getty programs, lesson ideas, painting, poetry

800-Year-Old Manuscripts Connect to the Present Day

January 30th, 2012 Theresa Sotto Comments off

Teachers in this year’s Art & Language Arts program discovered just how illuminating medieval books can be! Last Saturday at the Getty Center, teachers learned how books were made in the Middle Ages, created laws for imaginary kingdoms, illuminated tales of dragons and angels, and more!

: In the exhibition Gothic Grandeur: Manuscript Illumination, 1200-1350, we were impressed by naturalistic drapery precisely painted on tiny figures.

: After a lively tour led by curator Elizabeth Morrison, teachers were excited to learn more about the art of illuminated manuscripts.

: Artist Sylvana Barrett brought in an array of materials to demonstrate the pigments, tools, and techniques involved in making illuminated manuscripts.

: You can still see a little bit of fur on this piece of parchment!

: Sylvana demonstrates how to cut gold leaf and then apply it to the pages of books.

: In medieval times, lead was used to make white paint, so illuminators had to be extremely careful. You can bet that little jar in Sylvana’s hand is kept tightly closed.