Art & Language Arts Online

Artist Alexandra Grant, the Common Core, and More: Connecting Art & Language Arts

April 23rd, 2013 Theresa Sotto Comments off

On Saturday, April 20, we celebrated our 13th year of graduates from the Art & Language Arts (ALA) program.

We spent the afternoon being inspired by teachers who now give their students more opportunities to be creative and to discuss works of art critically. We were captivated by contemporary artist Alexandra Grant’s text-based work. We learned why we should be excited about the Common Core Standards, thanks to Talia Gibas, manager of Arts for All. And we were greatly impressed by the ALA class of 2012–2013 and the work of their students!

Congratulations to participating teachers from Carlos Santana Arts Academy, 42nd Street Elementary School, Jaime Escalante Elementary School, Robert F. Kennedy Elementary School, and Woodlake Elementary Community Charter School!

: Museum educator Theresa Sotto congratulates teachers on another successful year of the Art & Language Arts program.

: Contemporary artist Alexandra Grant describes how she incorporates language into her work.

: Sometimes the words in Grant’s work are written backwards to teach us the “difference between seeing and perceiving,” as a student once observed about one of her paintings.

: Is there a better word to place on top of a house? Alexandra Grant describes her Love House project.

: Talia Gibas, Arts for All Manager at the Los Angeles County Arts Commission discusses connections between arts learning and the Common Core standards.

: Great news! Teachers in the ALA program are already teaching the Common Core standards without even knowing it.

: Third grade teacher Raymond Little presents on his lesson on workers in the community, which was inspired by depictions of workers in the Getty’s collection and a sculptural sketch for a fireplace overmantel.

: First grade teacher Daniel Santoyo describes how his students learned about lines through a drawing by Vincent van Gogh and about color through a painting by Claude Monet.

: Students at Woodlake Elementary Community Charter Community School dreamed up elements of their own fantasy kitchens, part of a creative lesson by art teacher Sonia Faye and first grade teacher Diana Bosworth.

: Students created kitchen collages after discussing a kitchen depicted in a photograph by Alex Harris and a painting by Frans Snyders and Jan Boeckhorst.

: The Art & Language Arts Class of 2012–2013!

: Participants enjoyed our reception of baked brie, lemon bars, and lemonade.

: Noelia Moñarrez and Daniel Santoyo set up the displays for their lesson plans. Look at all that color!

: Teacher Bill Steffes describes the sculptures that his students made.

: Teacher Blanca Serrano used Van Gogh’s Irises as the basis for an art lesson on flowers.

: Teacher Will Covely organized a contest on his students’ photographs, and analyzed the winning photographs with his class.

: Expressive portraits can be created with so many different kinds of media.

: Curvy lines in key places can evoke a range of emotions.

: Participants admire the colorful animal drawings of the students of Donna Massenburg and Judy Matsumoto at 42nd Street Elementary School.

: Where are the people in Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s La Promenade going? Karen Lee-Park’s students come up with imaginative possibilities.

: Congratulations to the second cadre of teachers at Carlos Santana Arts Academy who completed the ALA program!

: Teachers at Jaime Escalante Elementary School pose with the evidence of their hard work and achievements over the past year.

Tags: drawing, Getty programs, lesson ideas, photography, sculpture

Mark Bradford and Douglas Kearney Inspire Alumni of the Art & Language Arts Program

August 16th, 2012 Theresa Sotto Comments off

Elementary teachers get creative during the 2012 alumni event for graduates of the Art & Language Arts program. This year’s event on Saturday, August 11 focused on the theme of “Creativity & Innovation.” With the inspiring words and works of artist Mark Bradford and poet Douglas Kearney, and the creative spirit of the participants and Getty staff, we discovered a whole slew of innovative, meaningful ways to bring art into the classroom.

Learn about the day’s activities and view more images of the 2012 Art & Language Arts Alumni Event on Flickr.

Categories: Art-making activities, Arts-integrated language arts lessons, Getty programs

Tags: alumni event, decorative arts, drawing, Getty programs, lesson ideas, poetry, recycled materials, sculpture

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.