District Art Show is a Huge Success!

Natalie, a contributing artist for the Monet Water Lilies Mural

We had a terrific turnout for last night's opening reception at Ridgefield High School! I would guess we had between 150 and 200 people at the show which included visual arts displays, musical performances, and interactive performance art. This is one of my favorite events of the year, because we get to see artwork from all of our schools, kindergarten through 12th grade. I was very happy to see so many community members come out to support these young artists, including our school board, Ridgefield city council members, and and many local artists! This was also our first show using the new display boards the district has purchased, which are a major improvement on our old system. A great night overall, thanks to everyone who participated! If you missed it, the work is on display through Friday, so be sure to check it out. More pictures after the break!

You're Invited!

Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?

Getting ready to paint...

What to put on that big blank paper or canvas? Students in 6th grade learned to use viewfinders and thumbnail sketches to come up with a variety of ideas for their artwork. Georgia O'Keeffe is our inspiration and students should be painting by next week. 

Shadow Puppets Return!

Wyatt and his Godzilla puppet

The shadow puppets are back, and I'm excited to see what this year's fourth graders come up with! I've changed the format of the lesson to emphasize story telling, and they're coming up with some great ideas. King Arthur and the Knights of the Square Table, Paul Bunyan Vs. Godzilla, and Goldilocks and the Three Teddy Bears are just a few of the titles they're working on. More pictures after the break, as always.

March is Youth Arts Month!

(Image courtesy of Ridgefield School District)

March is Youth Arts Month, which is well celebrated in Ridgefield! There are after school classes and performances (learn more at the official website), as well as student displays in local businesses throughout the downtown area. I am so pleased to work in a district and community that is so supportive of the arts! You can learn more about Youth Arts Month from this article in the Ridgefield Reflector. 

Famous Frames App

Great art deserves a great frame...and a new app lets you do just that! Eli Wilner deals in antique frames that are used for priceless artworks around the world. With his new app you can browse his inventory and put your own artwork into the same frame as a Picasso or a Rembrandt. Something fun to try out for your digital collection! Learn more through this New York Times article.

 (image from nytimes.com)

Second Grade Rock Stars!

 Sage and Carter, in the band "The Kitty Cats"

Union Ridge second graders are designing and building guitars to learn about collage techniques. When they finished they joined up with friends to form bands, and made posters to advertise their upcoming shows! This is a new project for my classes and has been extremely popular with the kids, and a lot of fun for me. Imagine twenty-five seven year-olds playing air guitar and you have a pretty good idea of what my afternoons have been like the last few weeks. Click through for more pictures!