Ready for a new school year!

                                  

                    

After a wonderfully relaxing summer, it's time for those big yellow buses to roll! I will miss my lazy mornings on the deck and the precious time with family and friends, that's for sure, but the coffee is on and the halls are ready and waiting for another group of young artists. It's been a busy few days...prepping the art room and halls, teacher in service day, new student orientation, and Sunday's Open House for parents and students...and now it's showtime!

Over the years I've learned to save work in May to display in August, which makes preparation much, much faster...got it down to just three days this year!

                  

Third grade sunrise/sunset water colors





Yummy ice cream cones by last year's second graders



                          

  

                              

A variety of framed art work by students in grades 2, 3, and 4!

 

An eye-catching display based on a study of Louise Nevelson,  

created by last year's seventh grade students

 

And a featured work by one of my sixth grade students whose portfolio won her an opportunity to attend the Dorothy Myers Yeck Scholarship Studio at the Dayton Art Institute!

 

Thanks to the stenciling by a talented staff member, our students climbed to the second floor to begin the year inspired by the words of Mother Theresa.

 

I hope your year is off to a great start!

 

 

New Year...New Children's Art Gallery!

I am so excited about the new look in our Children's Art Gallery! There is a long hallway connecting the old wing of our building to the newer wing, fondly referred to by most of us as "the ramp" because it slopes downward due to the a change in the elevation of the building site. Over ten years ago, some student artwork was professionally framed and hung on the walls of this hallway, along with two large bulletin boards. The boards change constantly, but the artwork has remained the same for all these years. Don't get me wrong, the artwork is excellent, but those students long ago moved on and are now adults, some possibly even with children of their own!

Last spring, while on Amazon looking for frames for my own home, I came across some fantastic cabinet-style frames with built-in mats. Perfect for a school, I thought! Fortunately, my principal agreed and told me to go ahead and order a sample in each size. They arrived in late May and we knew they were perfect! She found the funds to purchase 22 more, so we now have a total of 27 frames in several different sizes. At the end of last year, I chose some student work for the first exhibit of our new Children's Art Gallery. The week before school started, two members of our maintenance staff, Mike and Suzanne, graciously took the time to mount all the frames to the walls of the new gallery. Suzanne even did the beautiful stenciling above the entrance to the gallery!

The entrance to our gallery

One of the best things about these new frames is the way they can be reused over and over again, making them well-worth the initial expense. Some like the one below, have corkboard backing, which is perfect for canvas panels, relief work, and weavings.

 

My plan is to change the art gallery display every quarter, giving more students a chance to have a special place for their work to be displayed. When the work is removed, it will be returned to the student artist, along with a certificate to commemorate the honor.

 

If anyone is interested in having similar frames, these can be purchased from Dynamic Frames. I chose frames to hold 18x24", 12x18", 12x12", and 9x12" paper because those are the sizes I use the most in the art room. Most of the frames come in black, white, or cherry finishes.

 

At our Meet the Teachers Open House last Sunday, so many parents and students commented on how much they liked the "new look" in our Children's Art Gallery and I must say, I agree!