March is a busy month in the Art Studio! We will celebrate Youth Art Month in MANY ways. Activities will include: special receptions at HCPS School Board offices, Suntrust Bank, and Our Lady of Hope Health Center; 4th graders will share artist information on the morning announcements; 5th graders will decorate the school's front doors and windows; a display with teacher's thoughts about the importance of Art; the library will feature a collection of Art and Music books; DAILY NFES Art Studio blog entries (did I say daily?!:); 4th grade-created artwork and stage sets for the their PTA program on March 18th; and teachers will meet to create their own art during a special "Art Afternoon!" Thank you for all you do to support creativity and the importance of the arts with your children.
As a note, in past years there has been a Youth Art Month art exhibit in March at Virginia Center Commons. This year HCPS will start a new tradition by presenting a whole county Fine Arts Festival at Glen Allen High School in May. More details to come...
We say goodbye to Ms. Susie Kim, VCU student teacher, who has been with us for the last eight weeks. She has done a fabulous job and has taught many wonderful lessons. We wish her continued success with her next placement in Chesterfield and want her to know that she will be missed!
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Here is a message from Ms. Kim:
Hello all! I can’t believe my time at Nuckols Farm is coming to an end. I have enjoyed my time with your little artists.
What have the students been working on? After reading “The Kindness Quilt” by Nancy Wallace, Kindergarteners were asked to recreate acts of kindness. On red hearts, students drew a time when they were being kind and on white hearts, they water colored a time when someone else was being kind to them. They turned out super cute and will be displayed together in the hallway. First grade is finishing their Alliteration Illustrations. Inspired by “Animalia” by Graeme Base, students learned about and created their own alliterations along with color illustrations. Second grade completed clay coiled jars inspired by Ancient Egyptian canopic jars. For their lids, they were asked to create the head of the animal they most related to. In addition, they also created three charms that represented the reasons they choose that animal. Discussing aspirations, third grade created sock puppets representing what they would like to be when they grow up. During this lesson, students learned a new skill – sewing! After sewing on the eyes, nose, and mouth, students created uniforms and other related items using construction paper. Fourth grade is finishing up with self-portraits. After looking at portraits done by the contemporary artist, Kehinde Wiley, the students water colored their self- portraits that will later be attached to a patterned background, a unique style of Wiley’s work. The patterned background is created by a repeating a symbol that each student created. Lastly, fifth grade will be finishing up on narrative self- portraits, inspired by Marc Chagall’s “I and the Village.” In these self-portraits, students were asked to draw a side profile of themselves including symbols of their favorite hobbies or what they like, their family and important people in their lives, their home or community, and their favorite memory. All these are common issues that Marc Chagall represented in his famous painting.
My experience at Nuckols Farm has been absolutely wonderful. The Nuckols Farm family and staff have been nothing but supportive and helpful. I hope the students have learned something new about art during my time “on the Farm!”
Sincerely, Ms. Kim
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Happy Youth Art Month!
Mrs. Hampton