It is National Arts in Education Week, but Hartford Public Schools is working to bolster art programs year-round. One way they are doing that is through a new Artist in Residency program, which pairs students with a local artist working in the city.
Category Archives: School Murals
Mural Intervention Program Part 2
Well, it was a looooong winter! To say that students and teachers alike were all ready for a break by April was an understatement. However, we did something that kept us going. We had a purpose and a project thanks to UConn. By April my classes had produced 6 collaboratively designed murals. I noticed early on that getting the kids the art kits was one thing. Having enough consistency between students to all produce fully painted artworks was quite another. We took those challenges of inconsistency and turned them into positive expression.
The Mural Intervention Program: Part 1 – It Began with a Little Help from Everyone.
Last year I received the Rogers Innovative Educator Grant from the Neag School Education at the University of Connecticut. The plan was to implement a mural program at the school where I teach art, McDonough Middle School of Hartford Public Schools in Hartford, CT. But plans are just ideas on paper and paper is easily altered.
2019-2020 A Social Emotional Learning year thus far…
Emotional color theory self portraits. We studied Plutchik’s emotional color wheel which lead us to self portraits as defined by the colors we chose to represent the 8 basic emotions. “Psychologist Robert Plutchik states that there are 8 basic emotions: joy, trust, fear, surprise, sadness, anticipation, anger, and disgust. Plutchik’s wheel of emotions illustrates theseContinue reading “2019-2020 A Social Emotional Learning year thus far…”
Hartford Passion
I had no idea how talented the kids up in Hartford are. Well, these Middle Schoolers got some mad skills, yo! I challenged one 8th grade class with what they would want to see in Hartford in the future and show it in a mural. We decided to inspire future McDonough students to make thatContinue reading “Hartford Passion”
McDonough Middle School – Hartford CT
At McDonough Expeditionary Middle School in Hartford CT I have enjoyed my first semester as a full time Art Teacher. Here’s some of the work we completed in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade art classes. We explored line, shape, form, and did a LOT of work with pattern. Ultimately, we created one acrylic painting onContinue reading “McDonough Middle School – Hartford CT”
Ever Upward
The Excelsior District of San Francisco’s only public sculpture completed in 2014. It was a great project with A LOT of creative freedom and a fabulous community to work with. A true community accomplishment! I’m proud to have played a part. And it still looks great in 2018! “A tremendously talented and dedicated Project Team was organizedContinue reading “Ever Upward”