Past projects 8
Fashion Design Introduction
Funded Aug 3, 2023My students are thrilled to be using the art supplies that you helped to provide for the Fashion Art elective course taken by 11th and 12th grade Fine Arts students. For the first major project of the fall semester students learned that fashion designers often create a Mood Board, or Vision Board, which charts the sources of inspiration that they will draw on to create a line of clothing with a theme, style, or aesthetic that guides the creative choices. To begin their Mood Boards, students began by sketching and gathering reference images. Next, I was able to provide my students with many richly patterned papers, drawing materials, scissors, glue sticks, and fabric scraps that they could choose from to create the final product - a collage that includes printed images, textures, colors, and fabrics that they are interested in for future fashion designs. My students loved sifting through all the materials and choosing the ones that they liked best. The project took several weeks and we concluded the project by reflecting on the artistic choices they made, and presenting their work for small group critique discussions. I've gathered photographs of my students work to share with you, and I know you'll be impressed. We are so grateful for your generosity!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schwarz
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 9 other donors.Summer Drawing Class
Funded Jun 6, 2022Thank you for your support of my project "Summer Drawing Class"! It was a joy to host another group of motivated young artists in my art studio classroom this past summer! The class is a two-week summer intensive drawing class in which students explored a variety of art materials and techniques and planned their own original artworks based on concepts and subject matter that interested them most.
Students love the opportunity to work with a variety of quality art materials. During the two-week course students used Charcoal, Ink, and Tempera Paint to create powerful, rich artworks that relate to their personal interests. Some students explored portraiture, others landscape imagery, and still others drew upon their interests in wildlife scenery.
Among the students who took the summer course were some who don't have the opportunity to study Visual Arts through their regular school schedules, and others who crave the involvement in their craft during the summer. Your support of my classroom is so generous, and we all thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schwarz
Summer Enrichment Art Class
Funded Jun 30, 2021In June and August I was pleased to offer my students rich art-making experiences using the materials that you provided us. The program the students participated in was the Summer Rising program to offer students the experiences that they may have missed out on during the 2020 - 2021 school year when many students opted in to fully remote schooling.
Each day of the Summer Rising program students would begin by exploring techniques in drawing and painting using the variety of materials you provided. Students used charcoal, ink, tempera paint and acrylic paint during the 4-days. After exploring techniques, each student planned and executed a piece responding to open-ended prompts. I'm pleased to share their artwork with you.
The Summer Rising art students truly loved working with the materials that you provided. Thank you for your support of my classroom!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schwarz
Fun Acrylic Painting Techniques!
Funded Apr 6, 2021Hello! Thank you so much for your support of my students! I am truly so proud the wonderful paintings that my students have made in this unusual year. This year my students had so many changes to their typical school experience, and they have proven to me how strong and resilient they are - not just as young people, but also as artists. The majority of students began their studies with me remotely, then we had 6 weeks of in-person classes, and then we were remote again from mid-November until Spring. I loved listening to my students share what they learned during the Final Presentations we held on the last day! It was a wonderful way to end the year together! Each young artist came away with a list of their strengths in painting!
The matte medium that you supplied our class went towards the creation of many paintings! I'm so happy to share this link to the Spring Semi Annual Art Show, so that you can see their paintings! https://www.lagartstudiopa.org/semiannual-art-show-spring-2021”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schwarz
Provide Young Artists with Materials
Funded Aug 11, 2020Thank you for your generous donation to my classroom. This semester students used the collage art-making supplies that you gave us to create two projects. The first (not pictured) are handmade accordion-style books describing the Elements of Art and Principles of Design. You can see examples of this work by following my art teacher Instagram account (@msschwarzartstudio) dedicated to sharing my students' artwork. I only share the artwork of students who have given their consent.
The second project is a Travel Postcard created in cut paper collage. We looked for inspiration in travel postcards of the past, and specifically the WPA National Parks Posters created in the 1930's and 40's. We looked at how those artists simplified the complex details of the landscape into an effective design that caught the attention of viewers. Next, students imagined where they would love to travel to - if it were safe and time and money were available. We all miss the opportunity to travel during the pandemic.
My students enjoyed working with the materials that you provided. We have a full range of brilliant colors for the students to choose from, and I am so impressed by the artwork they have produced! We're now moving into an art project studying typography, in which students can choose the medium that best fits with their idea.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schwarz
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 13 other donors.Bold Chiaroscuro Drawings in 9th Grade
Funded Sep 23, 2019What a pleasure it is to see my students building confidence in their art-making skills using charcoal! For this month-long project students began by exploring charcoal. Students used a variety of types of charcoal; including vine charcoal (a light-weight charcoal that is good for preliminary sketching and mapping out areas of shadow), compressed charcoal sticks in a variety of values (some perfect for getting the darkest shadows possible), charcoal pencils, and white charcoal pencils (to achieve the highlights). All of this was made possible with your generous donations. There are real challenges in using charcoal, and I am so proud of my students for persevering through the difficulties. This project was by far the most difficult and complex of the entire semester. In addition to the subject matter - self portraiture - students used the "grid method" for the first time to transfer the composition from the photograph to the drawing paper. Students also learned "chiaroscuro" - the dramatic lighting technique!
I am so proud of my students' finished drawings and proud to be exhibiting them in a big school-wide student art exhibit in January!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schwarz
AP Art History Students Need Access to a Printer
Funded Oct 31, 2018Hello and thank you for your generous support! My students and I are so grateful to now have a printer in the classroom for our needs. The AP Art History course is a rigorous one, and the students are required to know over 250 specific artworks from the curriculum. To aid in their ability to thoroughly study each artwork, we use a graphic organizer, which we refer to as a Snapshot - to record all of the relevant information about each artwork. These handy Snapshot sheets are used to record their class notes, textbook reading notes that correspond to the artworks, and further study resources, also. We have 34 students in the class, and each student needs a Snapshot sheet for each artwork we study - so you can easily see where our need for the printer came in. We have all thoroughly enjoyed the ease of printing the Snapshot sheets (each prepared in advance with the artwork images in the center of the page) at the beginning or end of class, so that everyone is well-prepared.
Additionally, it's important that we gather information about the artworks, artists, and art movements that we are studying from a wide range of sources. This week I used an article about the artist Francisco de Goya (published by a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art) as a way to begin to discuss Goya's work during the early 1880's when he was influenced by the ideals shared by other artists we now associate with Romanticism.
Thank you for choosing to fund our project, we are so grateful to have the ease of printing! One student, Jasmine, who sits near the printer, has become so helpful to the entire class because she can quickly and easily make copies or prints as needed! The printer has also eased the time I spend preparing for class, which has freed me up for more meaningful tasks, such as planning for small group activities that enhance the learning that's happening in the classroom, and creates a more collaborative and lively classroom atmosphere! We are all benefiting greatly by the efficiency and convenience of being able to print in our classroom!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schwarz
Rich, Fantastic Illustrations!
Funded Oct 25, 2017Not only has this art-making unit been rewarding for each of my students, but their artwork has gone on to receive much acclaim and congratulations from fellow students within the school community due to displays of the Illuminated Manuscripts illustrations in both the display boards outside the classroom AND the work featured as part of the Semi-Annual Art Exhibition, which ran from January 5 - 25, 2018. I received many, many compliments on the work, which I then passed on to the students.
Further, we are putting together a book, through the self-publishing website, Blurb, which we hope to share with the school community soon! We are putting the finishing touches on the book right now!
We are all grateful for your generous contributions to our supply closet, as it enabled us to create these fantastic illustrations.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schwarz