Ways To Extend Learning Outside of the Classroom
Hello all! As a way to extend learning outside of the classroom I have decided to give you some links on where you can enjoy, participate or observe art around you! These websites have great ideas about how to get out an explore the world of the visual arts! I encourage you to see what's out there! Learn without knowing that you are! It happens all the time, we just have to look for it!
1. http://gallerydellapiana.blogspot.com/
Here is a blog of a woman who runs the Gallery Della Piana. The gallery is located right in Wenham, Massachusetts and is a great way to explore art of visiting artists, or even local artists of all ages. Just recently the gallery has hosted illustrator and auther Tomie dePaola's art seen in his world famous children's books. In our class we will be looking at some of his works are starting points and inspiration for some book illustrations, so I encourage you to make the trip over before it closes on May 14th. Going to galleries such as this one, is a great way to get exposure to the arts around us! Because this is such a local gallery, I am looking into opening a show of our class's works, as well as some other works from our school. This would be a great oppurtunity to strut our stuff! Not to mention, a great chance to be in the middle of the art world! The owner of the gallery can be reached on this blog, so go to her with any questions about the gallery, its history, its upcoming shows, you name it!
2. http://www.mfa.org/
The MFA is a great place to go explore the history of fine arts! There is everything from mummies to early European art work. There are exhibits of jewelry, photography, paintings, drawings, prints, instillations...practically anything you can think of having to do with the visual arts! Keep posted for some exclusive exhibits that come through! There have been some absolutely fasinating pieces and my students should never miss out on a time to explore! This museum is great for something to do on the weekends, as well as a possible educational field trip! Not only is going to the museum a great way to experience what we are learning outside of class, but you can also learn a lot on their website. The link that I provided shows multiple images of art displayed at the museum, as well as historical context to some of the pieces and exhibits. This link will also provide you with other shows that will be coming around the area or pictures of shows previous. There is great information on the artists that shouldn't be missed. It is truly a great site!
3. http://www.museumofbadart.org/index.php
At first glance, this website just seems to be full of, well, some bad art. But I encourage my students to have fun on this website, as well as going further and actually going to the museum. Located in Dedham and Somerville Massachusetts, the Museum of bad art is a great resource to look that the other side of the art world. This is art that may not be loved by all, but shouldn't be missed! This kind of exploration of art allows students to get a glance at the art that didn't make it into the finest of museums or galleries. Some of the pieces come literally right from the trash or yard sales. It is important to see that this means that art is in the eye of the beholder. Students may hate something of theirs that they make, but it is refreshing to see that even bad art can be celebrated! Art in whatever form it comes is meant to be fun, expressive and meaningful. I believe that all pieces can find meaning in someone. And that someone might just be you!
So have fun at these places that I have suggested for you! Visit, explore and get a real sence of the art around you! Then come back and share what you found.
Happy searching!
Miss Fontaine
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Subject area help!
Hello students and parents! I would like to take the time now to list off some great sites for help in the visual arts area! We will be doing lots of projects that invite parent involvement in or out of class. I encourage you to look around and find the answers to any questions that you may have about the visual arts!
1. http://www.artjunction.org/
The Art Junction is a great website for getting ideas on projects and teaching strategies. But not only is this a great place for teachers, but also for parents. I suggest to all my students to explore this website with a parent! Here you will find great tips on project management, materials, topics and different ways of exploring an idea through the visual arts. The projects link takes you to a page of some suggested projects for all different groups or individuals. The blog is a great spot to hear about what is going on in the art world! It is really important that my students and parents stay updated on current events in art because we will be talking about it in the classroom. Students may be asked to find a current event on an artist or museum and be asked to present some information on it. This makes this site so valuable! Great inspiration, feedback, current events and a great way to get help with a project or gathering ideas for an assignment we may do in class! Art junction is a great tool for students and teachers alike.
2. http://www.artlex.com/
ArtLex is a great place to find more than 3,600 terms from the visual arts world, as well as images and quotes to support you in your exploration! I encourage my students to go on this site, with a parent, and do a search on the specified unit or lesson plan. To use the example of our Native American pottery unit, you could look up America Indian pottery and the artlex search engine will bring you to an appropriate page with other references, images and very thorough information. This is a great site to just explore and to have students and parents look further into the topics we will touch upon this year. It is always important to find ways to apply what is done in my classroom, in the student's everyday life. If you have no specific search ideas, you can use the alphabetized list on the far left side to bring you to some pretty exciting pieces of art in history or art cultures to discover.
3. http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/artartists/artartists.html
What is art? What is an artist? This website truly explores these questions through links to exhibitions. The student could choose their area of interest, or what we are focusing on in class and further develop their understanding by viewing hundreds of examples of the arts! On the far left side, the exhibition categories are listed from decorated pottery to painting. This categories are key in narrowing down your search. Let's say the student wanted to do some follow up research on our unit on Asian prints. The student would go to the prints link and then go down to the Color woodblock link. There they can see more examples of the work that they will be shown in class. Under the image of the designated search is tons of information solely on that topic. This is a great way for students to look further into the art that we will be looking over and for them to truly grasp key aspects of the art. I may use this help site as a way to see what my students can gather on a subject before introducing it to the whole class. This way the students can all become "experts" on a specific topic covered in class!
Hope you enjoy these links and truly get an appreciation for the visual arts and cultures that we will address this year. It is so important to dig deeper into subjects covered in class to truly allow the students to jump right in and explore!
Have fun and let me know what you find!
Miss Fontaine
1. http://www.artjunction.org/
The Art Junction is a great website for getting ideas on projects and teaching strategies. But not only is this a great place for teachers, but also for parents. I suggest to all my students to explore this website with a parent! Here you will find great tips on project management, materials, topics and different ways of exploring an idea through the visual arts. The projects link takes you to a page of some suggested projects for all different groups or individuals. The blog is a great spot to hear about what is going on in the art world! It is really important that my students and parents stay updated on current events in art because we will be talking about it in the classroom. Students may be asked to find a current event on an artist or museum and be asked to present some information on it. This makes this site so valuable! Great inspiration, feedback, current events and a great way to get help with a project or gathering ideas for an assignment we may do in class! Art junction is a great tool for students and teachers alike.
2. http://www.artlex.com/
ArtLex is a great place to find more than 3,600 terms from the visual arts world, as well as images and quotes to support you in your exploration! I encourage my students to go on this site, with a parent, and do a search on the specified unit or lesson plan. To use the example of our Native American pottery unit, you could look up America Indian pottery and the artlex search engine will bring you to an appropriate page with other references, images and very thorough information. This is a great site to just explore and to have students and parents look further into the topics we will touch upon this year. It is always important to find ways to apply what is done in my classroom, in the student's everyday life. If you have no specific search ideas, you can use the alphabetized list on the far left side to bring you to some pretty exciting pieces of art in history or art cultures to discover.
3. http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/artartists/artartists.html
What is art? What is an artist? This website truly explores these questions through links to exhibitions. The student could choose their area of interest, or what we are focusing on in class and further develop their understanding by viewing hundreds of examples of the arts! On the far left side, the exhibition categories are listed from decorated pottery to painting. This categories are key in narrowing down your search. Let's say the student wanted to do some follow up research on our unit on Asian prints. The student would go to the prints link and then go down to the Color woodblock link. There they can see more examples of the work that they will be shown in class. Under the image of the designated search is tons of information solely on that topic. This is a great way for students to look further into the art that we will be looking over and for them to truly grasp key aspects of the art. I may use this help site as a way to see what my students can gather on a subject before introducing it to the whole class. This way the students can all become "experts" on a specific topic covered in class!
Hope you enjoy these links and truly get an appreciation for the visual arts and cultures that we will address this year. It is so important to dig deeper into subjects covered in class to truly allow the students to jump right in and explore!
Have fun and let me know what you find!
Miss Fontaine
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