the educator
The purpose of Art Education is to allow young artists to better understand themselves through personal introspection, exploration and visual discourse, and to grant them the opportunity to evaluate themselves and their global communities with an educated, open and un-prejudicial eye amongst the overwhelming influences of a visual culture.
pre-kindergarten.
2-4 year olds.
The Explorers: What do materials do?
pre-school art teaching is all about tiny hands doing marvelous things. exploration through process and play are the most important types of discovery and learning in a young mind. My work with primary students has focused on experimentation, flexible purposing and fine motor skill work...and of course getting good and messy...
lower primary
Kindergarten-2nd/ 4-8 year olds.
The Meaning Makers: What does it say?
young artists at this stage are beginning to understand that visual representations have meaning beyond how they appear. they begin to use visual markers as symbolism; i.e.: long hair represents feminine gender identity or that a triangle and a square represent a home. As their guide, I help them interpret and speak this visual language themselves.
upper primary
3rd-5th graders/8-10 year olds
The Communicators: What can I say?
Artists at this phase are trying to make meaning themselves- they are the masters of representational schema in use it often to express ideas. They have yet to feel the insecurity that adults and pre-teens often do about their artistic ability, and have a renewed interest in exploring with various materials. Artists at this age need support to maintain their artistic growth mindset as they continue to develop fine motor skills.
middle school 6th-8th
The Realists: How does it look?
At this phase of development, young artist make a sharp turn from communicating toward technique. They are full of half-formed passionate ideas, but struggle deeply on how to render them- middle school kids can become easily frustrated if the work does not turn out just the way they imagined it. Pre-teens have wonderful imaginations, but lack some of the fine motor skills they need to create them. As a middle school teacher, I put a large emphasis on skill building, technique and tools, so students are equipt to make their ideas a reality.
portfolio class
7th & 8th grade.
These artists are those that have worked with me outside of class in small group sessions to create portfolios that gained them entrance into some of NYC best specialized high schools like, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art, High School of Art and Design and Brooklyn High School of the Arts. Then have gone on to study at Cooper Union, Savannah College of the Art and Design and Bauhaus University. These are the students that have invested time in making art and I have invested time in them. Many have gone on to have successful artistic careers. They make me proud.
MYP
art one.
These students are in both 9th and 10th grade and are preparing to enter our Diploma Program in hopes of earning an International Baccalaureate® (IB) Diploma from Atlanta International School. Artists at this phase are still sharpening skills with a focus on process. IB students are required to document and discuss their artistic choices become profient in multiple techniques and develop skills that will allow them to navigate earning this advanced degree. I am proud to have written all of the lessons for Art One at AIS.
