Past projects 32
Hatching Colored Food Pop
Funded Dec 20, 2019Thank you so very much for your generous donations. Because of people like you my students will get the chance to be creative and use the colored pens to enhance their watercolors. It is a great feeling to know that there are people out there who care for children and their artistic development.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Pastora
Water Mapping a City
Funded Jun 4, 2019Thank you very much for the donation of watercolor palette and pan refills. The impact of this donation is huge. When I tell them that kind and generous stranger purchased these art supplies were purchased for them to use to create fabulous watercolors, students were surprised and genuinely happy that people were thoughtful enough to care about their success.
Having these watercolors will give students confidence in their artistic abilities. They will learn about color theory and apply color schemes to their work. This will also teach them about the process artists go through while analyzing other pieces. Thank you very much”
With gratitude,
Mr. Pastora
This classroom project was brought to life by Google.org and 3 other donors.Paint Your Way Through Lettering.
Funded May 3, 2019With materials donated, my students were able to demonstrate their skills learned in class. They spent time practicing how to design letters by hand using lettering guides and rulers. Once they obtained this preliminary skill, my students learned how to hold a brush to paint straight lines as well as curved lines. After some hard work and lots of repetition, my students were able to design and paint signs made up of inspirational words, names, and cities. In addition to the acrylic paint that was donated, we also used the crayola markers to engage the students and teach them a form of cursive calligraphy. The impact these items have on the students will be long lasting because it with these items that they fell in love with the satisfaction of working with your hands.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Pastora
This classroom project was brought to life by LIFEWTR® and 2 other donors.Like Watching Paint Dry!
Funded Aug 23, 2018The supplies and equipment I received is a great way to organize my students artwork that have been painted. The drying racks are especially designed to store many students work to help avoid missing pieces. Having over 180 students makes storage a premium in my classroom. I didn't have the proper storage before and it limited what I could do with the students. The students are happy that I can teach them how to paint in watercolor. It wouldn't be possible without your generous donation. My students generally feel like no cares about them and your actions speak volumes to them. Thank you kindly.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Pastora
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 7 other donors.Make a Mark using Art!
Funded Mar 6, 2018Having decent art supplies for many students is very tough to do. I try my best to get the best materials so my students can do their best. Having watercolor markers makes a tough medium a little bit easier. My students often have no access to real quality art materials. Without the generous donations of people and organizations like donors choose, we would not have as many great supplies to give my students confidence and a sense of artistic relevance. When teaching art, the tough part shouldn't be how to obtain good supplies, it should be how to get great ideas being expressed. Thank you again for your donation and know that it makes a huge impact with my students”
With gratitude,
Mr. Pastora
This classroom project was brought to life by Golden State Fund and 6 other donors.If You Fund It, They Will Paint!
Funded Aug 29, 2017First I want to thank all of you again for your donations. It's good to know that there are people who care about the quality of education that our young students deserve. We are excited about the watercolor paint and brushes we received. Students are now excited to to make other things using the the watercolor palettes. We made a painting based on Surrealism and now the students are excited about doing landscapes.
My students were told that we received these items though donations from donors choose. After explaining how it works, the students were very impressed and very happy that people they never meet can be so generous and caring. A few even asked why did they do this? I told them that many people people care and because its for children to benefit. Students were very excited to open the boxes. They got to see new brushes, paint palettes, and watercolor paper. Opening up new materials is always fun for children and adults alike. I also get a joy from seeing the materials unpacked.
We are learning about perspective right now. It is a very difficult task to give instruction on a technique that is very precise. But after two weeks of instruction and practice, they are starting to understand and use it. The project will consist of small buildings that consist of restaurants, churches, and public structures. After the students have completed their perspective drawing, they will ink it and then apply watercolor paint to hand paint their buildings. It should be a lot of fun. Thank you again.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Pastora
This classroom project was brought to life by H&M and 8 other donors.Letter Me This and Letter Me That!
Funded Mar 12, 2017I can not begin to say how much we appreciate the generous gift you have bestowed on my students. Having this great gouache paint makes the students work better. This paint is smoother and cleaner then other paint we have used in the past. Using gouache makes the students appreciate the quality of materials and therefore are more careful how they use it. Besides the appreciation, the students also see how much better their letting skills are presented with the use of quality paint. Students now are very proud of the hard work they have put in and are now getting the satisfaction of good old hard work.
My students are working on typography like the old sign painters of yesteryear. They have worked all year on how to create, measure, and paint letters. We could only afford tempera paint which is not easy to work with and colors are uneven and quality is not to par with the work the students have put in. Having the experience with this new paint which is a higher quality of watercolor paint will allow students more confidence to attempt more difficult tasks like script letting.
As a teacher, I am extremely proud of the work my students have done and its even more exciting to see the students enjoy themselves doing work that is very difficult. In fact, they say its fun. I think that it's fun because it gives them satisfaction to see themselves create something beautiful with their hands.
Again I want to thank you for your generous donation to my classroom making it possible for my students to achieve more than they think they can through hand made lettering.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Pastora
This classroom project was brought to life by an anonymous donor and 6 other donors.Calligraphy and Technology
Funded Mar 9, 2016Dear Donors,
My students and I are using the calligraphy supplies to be able to make beautiful writing. The class started a month ago and I had the students start by learning to hold the pen holders correctly by using two pencils taped together. At first, I could see that they all had a little trouble getting used to the pen holding technique I was teaching them. Secondly, when they submitted a couple of pages of this practice, we moved onto the actual calligraphy supplies. I need to show them everything from loading the ink to the pen to how to insert the delicate nib into the pen holder and how to properly clean the nib to avoid oxidation. Now that we have had a month of practice, I can honestly say that every student has had practice making letters and calligraphic strokes at least 800 times. We have more practice to do before they start getting noticeably better.
My students were in awe because they did not know the names of all the supplies they were receiving. They felt special because I only have two classes that are learning calligraphy and they feel privileged to be part of it. I have already heard stories that students are sharing this new thing called calligraphy with parents and friends. My students take pride in sharing with others that although it is difficult to do, they are not giving up. I also introduce other supplies to my students such as parchment paper and they are amazed at how well it absorbs the ink without bleeding.
It takes approximately 12 weeks to become proficient at calligraphy. Some students now are demonstrating they can do the letters well. Others, still need more practice. The next few steps are learning the upper case letters and then spacing concepts. Through this, students will learn about measuring and balance. Ultimately, my students will create quotes in calligraphy and work on making literary gifts. One idea I have is to have each student make bookmarks with teachers names in calligraphy and distribute to teachers as thank you gifts.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Pastora