Art Integration Continues at the High Schools on the Eastside Campus

After four years of working with an on-site Art PIR (Triada Samaras), the School of Culinary Arts, Hospitality and Tourism (CAHTS), the School of Government and Public Administration (GOPA), and the School of Information Technology (SOIT), are being asked to maintain their efforts at art integration without such direct support.

The first three lessons of the school year demonstrated clear evidence of the sustainability of the endeavor.

In CAHTS, Art Teacher Reyes presented her students with a lesson that explored a unique culture, that of the Senufo people of West Africa.  The Senufo are famous for their cloth paintings that originated in the 15^th and 16^th centuries.  The Senufo use natural mud to create stylized animals such as birds, snakes, fish, frogs, crocodiles and turtles.  They also depict masked dancers.  Geometric designs are used to embellish the drawings and create patterns.  While these mud paintings are now mostly created and sold as artworks, at one time they had spiritual significance, and were thought to protect the wearers when they were hunting or to bring good luck. 

After researching the art of the Senufo, students developed their own designs.

Students prepared their cloths, dipping them in a mixture of water and clay.  They then stretched them flat, and allowed them to dry before painting.

The final products were in the tradition of Senufo, and honored the art of this vibrant culture.

Across the hall in GOPA, Art Teacher Jones and his students explored more abstract concepts.  The students explored how the creative process works by producing a zentangle (an abstract tangle of lines and patterns).  (Information on zentangles can be found at www.zentangle.com ). 

Starting with a piece of white vellum, students drew the outline of a form, and then filled in the form with looping lines that intersected with and divided existing shapes.  The shapes thus formed were filled in with a variety of lines and patterns, some of which were left white and some colored in.

A zentangle may be purely abstract, but many students chose to incorporate styled animals, some of which were derived from Native American or Asian art, as shown below.

The lesson demonstrated creativity and innovation, while employing valid and reliable research strategies.  As was learned in previous years, the creative process and the scientific method have commonalities—both involve research, developing hypotheses/proposed ideas, testing solutions, and problem solving.

Art Teacher Simon began the celebration of her 50^th year of teaching by presenting her students with a lesson in which students were asked to create an artwork that incorporated both geometric and organic shapes.  They were then asked to take the concept further by expressing their knowledge through a grid design.

Students began by creating two separate works, first drawing one with leaf outlines (organic shapes) and then the other one with the outlines of geometric shapes.  They then colored each work, using watercolors.  The next step was to cut one work into half-inch strips, and make slits at half-inch intervals on the other (leaving a one inch border).  Finally they interwove the strips through the slits, creating a basketweave grid pattern.

The lesson also required students to make journal entries that involved learning the appropriate vocabulary, and researching why leaves turn color in the fall.  They were also asked to make and record observations about the type and predominant color of the most common trees in the surrounding area.  The resulting final artworks are a combination of organic and geometric shapes, combined into a semi-abstract design.