Abintra Art - Early October 2013

Early Childhood Artists were introduced to the work of the American painter, Jackson Pollock.  They created their own Pollock-inspired art by moving a marble dipped in paint around on a piece of paper. One week they focused on using primary colors, and the next week they used secondary colors.

LE friends had fun working on their theater project with Christy Berryessa, an Abintra graduate. They prepared their theatrical demonstration of the two African folktales Kitoto the Mighty and Mabela the Clever.

Each student had an important and active role in the theater production. Their practice helped them learn to bring mindfulness to their voices, body language, eye contact and placement relative to the other performers. They learned to project their voices as they retold the stories to an audience. Students had great fun with this project, from acting and staging, to creating props and backdrop.

Kitoto the Mighty by LE 2nd year students

Mabela the Clever by LE 1st year students

Lower Elementary friends have rehearsed their songs for the play with Vanessa. 

They started the plays with an Arabic greeting song and closed the plays with a South African folk song.

 

In preparation for The Great Lessons Play, Middle Elementary artists have drawn a variety of planets with pastel on black paper, and painted large planets to be used as props 

in the performance.

Middle Elementary and Upper Elementary students visited the Nashville Children's Theater to see the production of A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle.

Upper Elementary students also visit the Nashville Symphony to see the Young People's Concert, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!.  This concert features Stokowski’s arrangement of Bach’s Little Fugue in G Minor, Stravinsky’s Royal March from L’Histoire du Soldat and Ives’ Variations on America.





Middle School Artists have been working on drawings as the result of two September afternoons of "en plein air". As the stark white paper can be inhibiting, they first applied a beautiful tone of pastel pigment to the surface. After discussing various techniques and selecting tools - graphite, charcoal, colored pencil, pastel, and erasers - each chose a quiet location upon the Abintra campus to begin drawing. Students were encouraged to meditate, contemplate, and to strengthen their powers of attention and observation.

by Shira

Aftercare artists have been studying the work of the artists James Rizzi and Joan Miro.  Inspired by their bright and playful work, they created these paintings using watercolor and oil pastel as resist.

 James Rizzi inspired painting by Avery

Miro inspired painting by Zach

Friends in chorus are practicing how to keep the beat together. This exercise encourages active listening to others playing the beat around them and to the metronome while tapping the rhythm sticks or shaking the egg shakers.