The BESt Art Blog : September 2015

Welcome

Welcome to the Brownsville Elementary School art blog. We hope you enjoy exploring the art gallery created by the students in grades Preschool - 5th. The art projects we do with our students allows everyone to experience art through different mediums...

DRAWING

pencils, pens, crayons, markers and colored pencils

~Students start out in the lower grades learning how to draw animals using shapes. Then in the upper grades they learn proportions of the human face and figure. Then they learn how to shade and add value to make their drawings look realistic.

PAINTING

watercolors and tempera paint

~Students start with painting in Kindergarten and build on these skills all throughout elementary school. They learn how to properly use the paints and take care of the brushes.

SCULPTING

clay, wood, wire and found objects

~Clay is a favorite medium in all grades. Each year our clay projects build on each other so that by the time you are in 5th grade you use all the skills to create your sculpture. Kindergarten also uses found object to make faces. Second grade also uses wood to make Kachina Dolls and 4th also uses wire to create wire figures.

PLUS A FEW EXTRAS

print making, weaving and stitchery

~We print in many ways but mostly in 2nd grade, in 3rd grade we love to weave and in 4th (or 5th) we learn stitchery.

All of our students get to be in the studio for 45 mins. a week but they are constantly creating throughout every day.

Artfully yours!

your art teachers, Shannon Horridge and Tetyana Wittkowski

Thursday, September 3, 2015

We have officially begun...

creating our Square 1 Art pictures!

For of you who are new to our school let me just explain what I mean by "Square 1 Art" pictures...
Square 1 Art is a fund raiser the Art Department does in order to raise money for our amazing art program, without these extra funds we would not be able to purchase the supplies we use with our students. Being that the budget we are given for art supplies is extremely limited we have discovered that having this fund raiser is our best option for all. Not only do we raise money to cover the cost of paints, paper, nice markers, clay and much much more, it also helps our classroom teachers by allowing us to be able to give them supplies if they need them as well as help out our music program. The students and families also come home with amazing works of art which can be reproduced onto amazing gifts and mementos that they will cherish forever.

What is Square 1 Art?
Square 1 Art is a company that scans each child's art work into their system. Then they return the child's work along with an order form and a sheet of stickers of the child's work(for them to keep). If you are interested in purchasing items from the order form with your students work on it you may do so by going online or sending in your order to the art department. All orders turned in by the date noted will arrive to school before the winter holiday. A portion of your purchases comes back to us and directly supports our program. If you decide later to purchase an item you may do so via the internet and going to their website. www.square1art.com Please feel free to ask your art teachers any questions you may have about this amazing fundraiser.

check out some of the projects we have done in the past for Square 1 Art...

Kindergarten-Apple Tree

1st grade-Bee

2nd grade-My Community Picture inspired by Heather Galler

3rd grade - Self Portraits

4th grade- Paper Cut Out picture inspired by Henri Matisse

5th grade - Radial Design using the students name

Mrs. Shannon Horridge

I have always had a love for art. After graduating from the University of Georgia with a bachelors in Art Education I moved to Charlottesville, VA. I began teaching at Brownsville in 1999 and taught until 2006. Then decided to stay home with my 3 young children for 4 years. During that time I volunteered as an art teacher at their school and volunteered with the Boys and Girls Club of Central VA. In 2011 I went back to Brownsville as a teaching assistant in the art room and in 2012 became a part-time art teacher again. I LOVE my job.

Ms. Tetyana Wittkowski

Growing up with a mother who was an artist and architect, creating art was just something that I would do. I grew up in Maryland and went to Vermont College for graduate school. My masters degree is in Art Therapy and I hold an art teaching certificate in grades K-12. Living in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador for 9 1/2 years I was able to gain a broader understanding different types of art and culture. In 1996 I started my career in Canada and later with my family moved to Fairfax, VA where I continued with Art therapy and began teaching art. With my children all grown and on their own I decided to get back to nature and move to Charlottesville. In the summer of 2016 I was hired as the full-time art teacher at Brownsville. I enjoy ceramics, sculpture, mixed media and have a passion from land art. I look forward to getting to know the community and beautiful countryside.