Students at School 9 from the Paterson Public Schools visit William Paterson University

On March 30, 2023, 30 eighth graders and their teachers from Paterson School 9 

visited William Paterson University for an all day field trip. This visit exposed the students 

to the arts in two forms: visual art and music, social studies and an introduction to 

university culture. This group of students will enter high school in the fall of 2023.

Above:  The group pose for a photograph outdoors on the WP Campus.

Above:  Their first stop was the Power Art Center at WP where they toured the Center for New Art that features a lab where students can use 3D printers and giant carving robots to create life-size artwork. 

Above: Paterson students experiment in front of the the screens at the Power Art Center.

Above:  The Center features other technology for WP students including: a CNC gantry mill, a laser cutter, and a wealth of software in the computer lab to create 3-D art. 

Next they visited an art exhibition at the Power Art Center (see below).

Above:  School 9 students observe and discuss art works in the William Paterson Student Photography Exhibit.  LINK. The exhibition, Telling Stories, was curated by Robin Schwartz, Professor of Photography. It features 20 large prints taken by students in three photography course levels: Photography I, Photography II, and Advanced Photography.

Next students walked to Shea Center for the Performing Arts where they visited WP music students rehearsing in choir and jazz ensembles.

         Later they went to the WP Center to visit the bookstore and for lunch (see below).

Above Students pose for a photograph in front of the WP Student Center.

Below:  Students then went to the to main auditorium at WP Shea Center for the Performing Arts  to listen to and view a musical performance.

This field trip day was a great success!

Students at Joseph A. Taub School from the Paterson Public Schools visit William Paterson University

On March 9, 2023, 8th grade students together with three teachers from the Joseph A. Taub School visited William Paterson University for an all day field trip. Their day included a gallery visit to the Ben Shahn Center for the Visual Arts to view the exhibition: Ink, Press, Repeat followed by a hands-on printmaking activity.  In addition, they walked to University Commons for a visit to the bookstore and lunch, and a performance at the Shea Center for the Performing Arts.  This visit combined the arts in two forms: visual art and music, with social studies, civics and an introduction to university culture for students entering high school in the fall of 2023.

Above:  Ink, Press, Repeat curated by Susan J. Goldman

“The exhibition, on display in the Court Gallery, showcases a variety of print media including etching, intaglio, lithography, monoprint, screen printing, and woodcuts.” 

According to Goldman, “many of the works in Ink, Press, Repeat represent printmaking’s long tradition as well as its evolution. The artist's imagination is limitless and continues to respond to an unknowable future,” she says. “Themes of figuration, nature, realism, abstraction, formalism, compositional playfulness, humor, and tragedy navigate from darkness to light in a way that only printmaking provides.”

LINK

Above: Students observe prints with Gallery Director, Casey Mathern, who gave them a tour of this exhibition. 

LINK

Afterwards they moved to an art room and created works inspired by themes in the exhibition with Nadia Estela, workshop leader and gallery coordinator.

Above: Taub Art Teacher Patty Kamiski watches her students create art in the hands-on workshop given by Nadia Estela.

Above:  Students created prints in a hands-on art workshop related to themes in the exhibition.

Above: Students migrated to the University Commons for the next leg of their tour where they caught a glimpse of student life. They visited the bookstore and ate their lunch there as well.

At the Shea Center for the Performing Arts, they listened to a concert as part of the Center’s Composer's Series held middays at WP. a voice/piano recital.

The music department offers free concerts every Thursday during common hour.

Above:  Taub students, teachers, and Dr. Heejung An pose for a photograph outdoors on the WP Campus.

 

Arts Integration at School 21: Three-D Printing

Recently, students at School 21 worked with art teacher, Raquel Ford, to create a 3-D printing project with her students using Makerbot printers in her classroom. This arts integration project had multiple stages.

Students first learned about what 3-D printers are and how they work. They reviewed safety information and procedures. Next, students created  accounts on Tinkercad connected with their school gmail accounts. 

Ms. Ford commented:

"Tinkercad is a great website to guide students in learning and creating designs. It is a 3D modeling software, used online. There is no program to download, everything is free. The website comes with a selection of tutorials to help new users learn how to use the software. The students are able to go at their own pace, review, and practice the various functions on their own. Students learned how to manipulate objects in 3 planes of space (x, y, and z). The tutorials help them practice how to select, move, rotate, scale, duplicate, group, and create negative space."

"After the initial ten tutorials, students practiced their skills on their choice of sample projects. These guided projects have goals like create a button, create a castle, make a toy, etc."

Students were thoroughly engaged in this project and learned about technology, math and art throughout. This lesson included 7th and 8th grade general ed, bilingual. The software is only available in English however Ms. Ford is bilingual (English/Spanish) and could help her Spanish-speaking students understand the text.

From Ms. Ford: 

"Our main project was to design their own personalized keychains. They used text and objects to create a personalized keychain for their own use. They practiced saving, sharing, downloading, and uploading the file to the printer software."

         

"Our 3D printers are MakerBot Sketches. The classroom set comes with two printers, two full set of tools, and several rolls of the PLA filament. The software is easy for a teacher to use. I created an upload link and shared it with the students. The upload link lets them enter their information and files. The requests are funneled into the teachers dashboard. The teacher can review all submitted files to ensure the print will be successful. The teacher can approve or reject the file submitted. Once approved, it automatically queues into the connected printer wirelessly. Once the printing bed is clear, the teacher starts the download and the machine begins extruding the material." 

"School students really enjoy watching the printers move and print their projects in real time. Each printer has a see through enclosure so students can watch but not touch. When the print is done, the print can be removed with a spatula and any extra support or structures can be snipped off with the included clippers. Students learned about tool safety and used the tools to prep their keychains for painting.They clipped and sanded as needed."

"Students used acrylic paint to create a design of their own choice. After painting, they took pictures of their designs and created a collaborative display of their creations. They then wrote personal artist statements reflecting on the process and their designs." 

                                 

Below are some of the students' statements:

"I made a 3D keychain and I used an app called Tinkercad. Tinkercad helped me design my keychain so it can be printed. I use a 3D printing website to help print my keychain. The art looks like a keychain that is waiting to be painted. I feel happy with my art because I have never 3D printed before, If I could go back and change something about my art it would be nothing." - Madison D. - 7A

"I 3D printed a key chain with my name on it. First I 3D printed the key chain then I took off the thing in the back then I painted the key chain. My chain is white and has Ray on it with a star. I feel very good about my art because in my opinion is so cool. If I could go back I would put more color on it so it would be white and blue." - Raynelis P. - 7A

"I made a keychain Ms.Ford helped me make it she has a 3D printer so she made it for me and I designed it when it done I had to take all the extra plastic off and then paint it I made it for my father because he always carries something that can remind him of his kids. The keychain has my name on it with a heart." - Joshua O. - 7B

"I made a keychain. I 3D printed it and then painted it. I describe my art as unique and colorful. I personally feel like my art is AMAZING! If I could go back in time I would change the color." - Dayvion D. - 7B