The BESt Art Blog

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

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Art is Wonderful!

Now that the Albemarle County Art Show is over and we are working on end of the year projects you should see a lot of art work coming home! Please don't forget to ask your student what they did in Art today...I am sure it was something amazing!

You could ask your...
Pre-Schooler about birds made out of clay
Kindergartener about their paper-mache chicks
1st grader about their torn paper flowers
2nd grader will tell you what they see through their porthole
3rd grader is able to teach you to weave
4th grader would love to share with you their new skill of stitching
5th grader can tell you all about foreshortening and self portraits

Enjoy what they have to say about art at Brownsville!

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

ACPS Art Show!

The art show is up and looks amazing! Please check out BES's art display across from the Hallmark store in an empty store (down by JC Penny) and also on a Kiosk next to Starbucks (in the middle of the mall). Your child will be getting a letter sent home if he or she has art in the show. But even if you don't get a letter it is worth checking out all the amazing work from the art classes in our school system. I bet many of these kids will be famous one day!

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Amazing Collaboration between a BES Kindergarten and AHS's Craft Class

In our Kindergarten class the students create a "Wild Thing" by drawing shapes and patterns and then painting them with watercolors. This year we took it a step farther with one of our Kindergarten classes... I had Mrs. Sefter's class also give a written description of their "Wild Thing" then I sent the pictures along with the descriptions to Mrs. DiGiacomo's Craft Class at AHS. She had her students turn our 2D "Wild Things" into a 3D form. Created with fabrics, shells, recycled material and much more the craft class brought the "Wild Things" to life. You can see some on this blog or go to the Fashion Square Mall and see them on display at The Albemarle County Public School Art Show (April 17th-APril 30th). Enjoy!

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Art, Art Everywhere!

WoW... we have been busy finishing up our projects and Brownsville is covered in ART! But it's NOT just art from the art room but it's Art from the classrooms as well. In 5th grade they have been using art to teach math. In 4th grade they use art to learn about the plant cycle. In science class, 3rd grades built simple machine sculptures and games out of recycled materials. 2nd graders studied China and made pagodas out of boxes and paper. One of our 1st grade classes perfected patterns using oil pastels, lines and hearts. Kindergarten made an entire community with houses and roads. While pre-K learned about dinosaurs and then drew themselves as dinosaurs. There is always something new happening here at Brownsville. Come check it OUT!

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.