The Art of Science

As Leonardo da Vinci understood, the power of observation is a very important tool in understanding both Art and Science. His books are filled with many notes and drawings of his scientific studies and included a wide range of topics. He would spend hours writing and recording meticulous details such as how facial expressions change to reflect the moods of man or of the anatomy of a birds wing and how it shifts as the bird takes flight. These observations not only helped him both in understanding the natural order of things, but they enabled him to create highly realistic works of art and amazing inventions.
Art and science often go hand in hand. The First Graders have just finished their unit on Portraits in Art. We have learned that a Portrait is a picture of a person, and created Fancy King Portraits in the style of Holbien. We learned that when an artist creates a picture of himself it is called a Self Portrait, and we created Self Portraits in the style of Van Gogh. We learned that Group Portraits include more than one person and we created Family Portraits in the style of Renoir. We even learned about Abstract art and created Grid Portraits in the style of Close and Cubist Portraits in the style of Picasso.
In Science the First Graders have been learning about shadows with Mrs. Henry. They leaned that every shadow must have three things, a light source, an object and a surface.
The Fifth and Sixth Grade Girls have also been learning about portraits. We spent several sessions learning about the proportions of a face and how each subject has his or her own personal features. Using mirrors, and special measuring tools (that they made themselves) they are in the process of creating Portraits in Proportion that include some of their own personal features.
And all of these lessons came together on Thursday, November 12th, when the fifth and sixth grade girls joined the first graders in the Science lab to help them create Shadow Portraits. The first graders’ heads were the objects. The older girls helped them by holding up the light sources and tracing the shadow of their profiles onto the surface (a piece of drawing paper). Then the younger children took the papers and shaded in their portraits and Mrs. Henry mounted them onto black construction paper.
The results are of course wonderful to look at but the lesson learned was even more valuable. Often children separate the subjects they learn in school into different categories and it is our job as teachers to show them how that these subjects relate to each other and to the world around them. Sometimes the connections are obvious, sometimes they need to be pointed out. And sometimes all it takes is a trip to another classroom to see that this is so.

Welcome back to another wonderful school year. We are having a great time in the art room getting ready for another creative adventure. We spent the last two weeks reviewing the basic elements of art from last year and preparing our portfolios for this year.

Please help us stay green by sending in shoe boxes, magazines and (clean) yogurt and egg containers.

If you would like to observe, help out with or participate in an activity, please feel free to e-mail me at chanyf@bellsouth.net.

Have a happy and sweet New Year.

A big Yashar Koach to all the children (your children) who produced the art work for this show. They certainly worked hard this year! As you can see ... Picasso was right ... Every child really is an artist. I hope that you all had a chance to get a little nachas as you looked through their portfolios with them. I would like to give a special thanks to Josh Kahane, Shaina Sommer, Ronit Brakha, Barbara Radinsky and Dr. Joel Kahane for helping to make this Gallery a big success. Have a great summer and enjoy the video below.

The Museum Of Our Future

6th Grade at The Brooks

We had such a great time visiting the Brooks Museum of Art. Our docents led us on an adventure through the Museum on the People Places and Things tour and the students really got a chance to see what they were learning about in art come to life. Even though we were there for over an hour we still didn't get a chance to view even half of what was there. I strongly encourage you to take your children back to the Museum and let them show you around and teach you what they learned this year. If you would like more information here is a link to the museum http://www.brooksmuseum.org/ .

The First Grade Parents Did a Great Job!

Thank you Mrs. Katz and Morah Chavi! We all enjoyed the Siddur Play so much. I would like to give a Yasher Koach to all the parents who worked so hard on the siddur covers. Your children are delighted! A special kudos goes out to Sherry Samuels who designed the fantastic scenery and to Cindy Weinstein, Sarah Rapp, Shani Braverman, Lilly Morris and Meredith Wanderman, who helped us paint it. Enjoy the show!

Some very exciting things are going on over the next few weeks in the art room. The first is that we are starting to work on those great siddur covers. The first grade parents are doing an awesome job and I'm sure that the children will be delighted with the results.
The students are learning early on the value of giving back to those who help you out. They are enthusiastically creating wonderful projects for the PTA auction. I hope that everyone will come to the auction and bid on these amazing hand made items that they worked together to create.
The halls are proudly displaying the work that our students have been creating. We have spent the first half of the year learning about lines and how they can be used to express movement and emotion. Our children have created some really wonderful drawings, collages and paintings. Some of the older children have been working on Inner Self Portraits. These introspective Montages are very enlightening and allot of fun to examin closely. I am very excited about our Portraits in Motion Project (see video below). The 7th and 8th grade girls did a remarkable job combining the styles of Degas and Haring with their own unique sense of creativity. I am so happy with the results. Feel free to come by any time to look at the exhibits, ask me any questions or watch our students in action.