For Parents Eyes

The Art Room

iPhone photo by Mechal Harward

"Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life."

Pablo Picasso

This Post Is For Parents

     It is my privilege to work with your children. They are some of the most creative teenagers on the planet- young people who bring creative solutions to assignments, solutions that provide an opportunity to see into their world. It is a world often guarded. Sometimes the questions they ask are revealing. One of my students asked recently, "Why is art important?" I sensed that he sincerely wanted an answer he could wrap his brain around. Here are a few thoughts that came to mind:

Art restores wonder.

Art allows us to see through another's eyes.

Art is a Lingua Franca.

Art reminds us we are human.

Art is the wardrobe of our imagination.

     Here is a brief update on the art classes:

Art History- Raphael

Photography- Pinhole cameras complete, photos being taken

Printmaking- Etchings proofed, hand-colored

Sculpture- Assemblages with found objects provided by one of our parents (thank you Adrienne Fisher!)

Recommended Reading

for the artfully curious:

Great Themes in Art

John Walford

I was first introduced to Great Themes in Art many years ago when I taught at Crichton College in Memphis, TN. I used Great Themes as a primary text, at Crichton and at Westminster Academy. It is possibly the best art appreciation/history text ever written.

Rainbows For The Fallen World

by Calvin Seerveld

Rainbows For the Fallen World changed, not only the way I teach art but, more importantly, the way I see and make art. My wife and I were blessed to have Dr. Seerveld spend a weekend in our home. Though the visit was years ago, I am continually reminded of the conversations and the afternoon walk we took together.

To read an excerpt from Rainbows click here.

My Name is Asher Lev

by Chaim Potok 

In My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok has articulated the artistic process clearly and succinctly. If you have ever wondered what is going on in the mind of an artist, read My Name is Asher Lev.

and, hot off the press:

Art As Spiritual Perception

James Romaine, Editor

Simply amazing.

Third Quarter Begins

"To become an artist means you become a professional imaginator in order to help your handicapped, unimaginative neighbor."
Calvin Seerveld

Third Quarter is rapidly moving forward.

Here are a few pieces

from the end of second quarter-

Graphite Drawing
Austin Carpenter

Davis Martinec

Time
Katherine Irwin

Emma Carter

Watercolor
Ian Easterbrook

Oil on Wood Panel
Samuel Carter

In the Third Quarter, students begin working with printmaking.

Relief
Styrofoam
Ben House

Relief
Emma Carter

Relief
Nick Cohen

Relief
Rachel Levi

Relief
Travis Cashwell

Relief
Alan Massi

Isaac speaking with Tim Troyer

Friday, Trinity had a visit from Tim Troyer, founder and director of

The Reckoning International.

Here is a clip from The Reckoning's Website-

The Reckoning International began exploring innovative and lasting solutions to poverty over ten years ago. We first redeemed 150 slaves among the Tharu in Nepal, then provided them with opportunities to create a livelihood.

Since that time, we have been slowly growing into an efficient organization that is overcoming poverty with opportunity. Through micro-loans, business training, and development initiatives, we've pioneered successful economic development projects in impoverished areas of Central America, Ukraine, Uganda, Burundi, and Kenya.

Thank you, Mr. Troyer. You left the students and faculty with many things to consider!

Ideas Have Consequences

"Pedagogy is the study of making mistakes."
Calvin Seerveld

Rule of Thirds
Watercolor
Austin Carpenter

He changed the direction of Western art. Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone was his birth name but his friends called him Masaccio. This week's theme is Ideas Have Consequences (yes, I borrowed it from Richard Weaver's book of the same name, an excellent read). Masaccio noticed that the natural world follows rules, viz:

light produces shadow (chiaroscuro)

straight lines recede at an angle (linear perspective)

color appears lighter and cooler as it recedes (atmospheric perspective)

humans appear to be in proportion to their surroundings (scale)

Tribute Money

Masaccio

Brancacci Chapel, Florence

He also showed the world that paint can express emotion.

Expulsion From the Garden of Eden

Brancacci Chapel, Florence

The consequence of Masaccio's ideas? Other painters took note. Michelangelo and Leonardo, to name two, studied and copied Masaccio's work.

Art is about discovery. Sometimes the most important part of the process is to discover what doesn't work. Art students should be allowed the freedom to make mistakes. The Art Room is a safe place for that to happen. This week I watched amazing things happen. Here is a sampling:

This week a few students resumed work on the Visual Timeline Mural (click here to read more about the Timeline). More on that later.

Stop, Hey What's That Sound

in boustrophedon form

The Buffalo Springfield

"Art is methodical play."

Teresa West-Carter

Self Portrait in 10 Parts

Watercolor

Mitchell Warnken

It seems like only yesterday that Kevin Sullivan began painting the Trinity Eagle on the wall of our Celebration Room. Now, books are being gathered for summer storage, final numbers typed into SnapGrades, and artwork is going home. As I survey my room, the art room, I realize something- it's a mess. But then, art is messy because people are messy. Life is messy. And that is as it should be, for in the midst of messiness surprises occur- learning occurs.

I am looking at one of the final self portraits by Mitchell Warnken. There is, in Mitchell's watercolor, the beauty of ordered chaos; a unifying element of line provided by a black expo marker. The painting reminds me of a Miro, with a child-like quality that mature artists yearn for. It makes me smile.

Here are a few more pieces from my students, with a parting word from my friend, Calvin Seerveld:
"If you can make art, for God's sake do it!"

Ink Wash

Maddie Keller

Acrylic and Watercolor on Wax Crayon Drawing

Jason Matthews

Hang On

Block Print from Sheetrock converted to Cyanotype

Grant Smith