October Arts

Early Childhood A  students studied the work of artist Alma Thomas, an expressionist painter who viewed nature as a colorful, abstract mosaic.  The students created their own mosaics inspired by her work.

Early Childhood B students created sun catchers by pin punching sea animals and painting coffee filters to look like the sea.

Early Childhood students have continued their work with the Montessori Bells. There are multiple games that they play to awaken and train their ears to match and grade the bells. Each and every EC child has loved their time at the bell table.  

In addition, they continue to use MusikGartens’ multisensory approach to learning tonal and rhythm patterns.  Their focus at this time are Major tonal and Duple rhythm patterns. They repeat these patterns through different types of play, movement, and the use of instruments. Their small group learning style has also taught the children patience and develops respect for their friends. The children are growing in the joy and the love of music as well as developing their skills.

Lower Elementary students finished their collaborative installation piece for their playground. Thanks to Upper Elementary and Middle School students who helped them, they created a hopscotch set of the solar system out of mosaics. 

Lower Elementary students have been exploring color as an element of design.  They also studied the technique of pointillism through the work of Georges Seurat.  Then they created a color wheel using this technique.

 Lower Elementary students explored texture as an element of design as they illustrated the layers of the earth.

Lower Elementary students continue their study of the elements of design by exploring line and shape.  They learned about the Spanish artist, Joan Miro, and his use of lines and shapes in abstract paintings.   The students created their own abstract paintings influence by Miro's work.

Lower Elementary students learned some interesting facts about goats while observing them at work on the Abintra campus.  They created oil pastel drawings of goats inspired by what they learned and observed.

There has been a lot of singing going on in Lower Elementary's music class! Learning new songs as well as revisiting some familiar ones can quickly fill up the work cycle. Reinforcing tempo, rhythm and dynamics can be easy with movement songs and activities. Some of the lessons students are provided egg shakers while some are interpretive impersonations of nature and animals. More complex activities of counting as a group and teamwork building are being added to the curriculum to apply past lessons.  

Through a series of exercises on line and shape, Middle Elementary students drew lines that flowed, turned corners, climbed stairs, and intersected.  They invented organic and geometric shapes that overlapped and repeated.  One of these exercises involved cutting and collaging "families" of tissue paper shapes.

Middle Elementary students are currently been investigating basic printmaking from stencils based on drawings of natural objects to crayon rubbing and the inking of fallen leaves.

Middle Elementary music has included folk songs and rounds, many in different languages: French, German, Finnish, Italian, Hebrew, and Swahili.  The plan is to continue to travel the world through music.  Lessons have been focusing attention to dynamics, rhythm, and tempo.  More movement will be incorporated into the round by clapping out rhythms and singing while marching.  Students are encouraged to bring in sounds from other countries. 

Middle Elementary students visited the Nashville Symphony for their first Young People's Concert, Picture This:  Musical Imagery.

"Music has the power to evoke powerful imagery. It has the power to stir our imaginations, express beautiful landscapes, and create thrilling stories. Tis concert will explore images created by some of the world’s greatest composers including Rossini, Grieg, Stravinsky, Prokofev, and Ravel."

-Vinay Parameswaran, Conductor 

Middle Elementary and Upper Elementary students visited the Nashville's Children Theater to see the production of Einstein the Dummy.  The musical was an enjoyable exposure to Einstein's theories set to music and a delightful invitation to think "outside the box."

Upper Elementary students studied ancient Greek art and created drawings of pots inspired by Greek pottery and design.  

Upper Elementary students continue their study of the Timeline of Art by learning about Renaissance art and the discovery of one-point perspective.  The students created their own one-point perspective drawings.

Upper Elementary students are discussing the dramatic changes in music of the Renaissance! To keep everyone on their toes, there are also complex group activities that use rhythm and timing to reinforce creative application. Listening is also an important part of the cycle as the innovative music of long ago can be responsible for what is heard today. The Renaissance offers a variety of lessons about intellectual evolution, innovative instruments and the social importance of music in a changing world.

Middle School students continue the practice of drawing from observation and working with clay. As learning to draw is first and foremost about learning to see with greater accuracy, their still life practice provides the opportunity for the development of this discipline. The practice of rendering basic shapes, such as cubes, cylinders, and prisms, reinforces awareness that objects are primarily composed of these shapes. Also, the students recently brought their attention to the drawing and construction of faces in the form of a mask-making project. They studied and drew masks from Central America and Africa and had a discussion of how facial features can be simplified, stylized, and exaggerated. Before receiving clay for this project, they were asked to draw several designs which display a consideration of varying sizes, shapes, and textures.  

In preparation for their upcoming trip to the Frist Museum and the viewing of drawings by Michelangelo, students researched his life and work. As the discussion that followed was lively and enthusiastic it is obvious that they are looking forward to this exhibit!

  

Middle School students visited TPAC to see the performance of I on the Sky. "With a rich blend of acrobatic dance, physical theatre, music, and video, this performance wordlessly explores the journey and resiliency of people who seek new lives, either by choice or exile."

After School Art students explored positive and negative space by creating collages overlaying stencils they designed. 

After School Art students explored the technique of definition where the painting defines the drawing.

After School Art students learned about the portraits of Pablo Picasso and created portraits inspired by Picasso's work.

The Digital Art students have finished with the school photo website and are ready to move on to the yearbook!   We are excited to announce that last year's yearbook won 1st place for Page Design and Honorable Mention for Cover Design in the 2014 National Yearbook Contest!  This is our second year to place in this contest. This year's Digital Art/Yearbook students are excited to take on the challenge of creating another great yearbook!