Past projects 25
Drying Racks for Art
Funded Feb 17, 2024Having space for artwork to dry flat so important in a busy art room and you have provided beautiful drying racks for us to use. Your generosity has made a big difference in my art classroom. The large drying rack has wheels and the spaces on each shelf are great for small work. I love this rack. It's a dream! I've been teaching for 25 years and I've always wanted this kind of drying rack! The smaller rack is great because it can hold paintings and drawings and envelopes full of collage material and it fits with the racks I have already. It's great to have a couple different kinds so we can use them for our needs. I would not have been able to get these without your help. Thank you so much.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Fitzpatrick
Creative Crafting in Arts Classes
Funded Mar 14, 2024Paper punches were a new thing in the art room this year, thanks to your generosity and the generosity of other donors. We used them to make decorative sketchbook covers, collage and stop motion animation. Students enjoyed punching out designs in decorative paper that donors you provided. Squeeze bottles were also new this year and were used for a glue batik assignment, where students made bandannas. I put washable school glue in the squeeze bottles and the students used that to create a resist on cotton fabric. Once dry, they painted the fabric with diluted acrylic paint, then I washed them. This glue method was very successful and you helped make that possible. We plan on using the combs for weaving and felting projects planned for the month of May. The photos I uploaded show engaged students and beautiful work they produced. I am very thankful for everything you did to help make my classroom a hive of activity.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Fitzpatrick
Make Magic With Markers & Paper
Funded Feb 8, 2024Being able to give my students high-quality markers and colorful paper allows their efforts to shine even more. My students work hard and are very grade oriented. Many have never had art before coming into my classroom. In our academic magnet school, art becomes an opportunity for students to tap into innate creativity. As they explore media they build confidence, because their craftsmanship improves. Students used the fantastic marker sets that you provided as they made drawings that look a lot like paintings. The color variety is astounding. Student drawings reflect how they took advantage of this variety. The paper provided by this grant allowed us to do paper sculpture and pop up books, as well as collages and make new sketchbooks.
Thank you very much for your generous donations. Your kindness is truly appreciated.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Fitzpatrick
Get the Gelli Prints Going!
Funded Sep 5, 2023All 5 classes I teach used the materials you provided for our Gelli printing lesson. The acrylic paint, stencils, paper and tools made this work possible. Every student made one-of-a-kind sketchbook covers using the Gelli monoprint technique. After the covers dried, student sewed pages into their book covers. This was a winning activity because it was fun, students worked closely with each other, and they made real artist books that they'll use for months. They learned a great deal! We have enough supplies leftover to use them again. Thank you for your generous donation. You made all of this happen for us!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Fitzpatrick
Cleaner Air, Thanks To New SlabMats
Funded Aug 28, 2023Your generosity allowed me to have a class set of slab mats for my ceramics students. By providing us with slab mats, you improved air quality in the classroom studio. Slab mats also make clean up easier.
A slab mat is like a placemat where students wedge clay and build their pots and sculptures. The mat replaced pieces of canvas we had used for years. The canvas is porous and holds ceramic dust, so each day everyone in the room was exposed to clay dust, no matter how careful we were. Slab mats are easier to clean and make the studio experience so much better.
I can't begin to tell you how much these materials have improved our routines in our ceramics classes. Thank you for helping us out and thank you for using Donors Choose. Over the years, this organization has helped me bring so many needed supplies to my art room. I really appreciate your generosity and support!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Fitzpatrick
Embroidering From the Heart
Funded Jan 26, 2023My student numbers increased this year in Crafts class. I didn't know what to do because I didn't have enough embroidery hoops. Your donation allowed my third class of Crafts students to use their own embroidery hoops, instead of sharing them.
Students had autonomy and a sense of ownership as they worked on their embroideries. Each student made a sampler of 10 stitch techniques, including a letter and appliqué. When we hung the work up, they learned from each other and got recognition for their hard work.
Students used their skills to plan and begin making embroideries of their own design. They felt confident with their new skills. Some of the students are making patches that they'll sew on jackets or book bags. We appreciate your support. Thank you very much for your generosity!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Fitzpatrick
This classroom project was brought to life by A Philly Special Christmas and 3 other donors.Claymation From Home
Funded Dec 28, 2020Everyone was impacted by COVID-19, especially our children. It was my hope with these materials, students could make claymation from home. Unfortunately a series of circumstances prevented me from handing out the supplies. Each time I scheduled a day for students to come to school to pick up the materials, events had to be canceled because another staff at my school came down with COVID-19. However the materials are safe and I will be using them in September as soon as school gets started. Usually in September I am waiting for supplies to arrive, but these are safely stored in my classroom right now, waiting for students to use them. I am most grateful for your generosity and support for my program and my students. When we go to use the supplies in the fall I will tell them where the supplies came from and my students will learn how wide their community of support is. Take care.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Fitzpatrick
Super Teens Need Sketchbooks
Funded Aug 24, 2020Since March 13, 2020 and I've been in our school building only 3 times. The logistics of this endeavor have been a challenging experience. Sketchbooks would be a boost to students. Working from home, students needed something that said, "art class." After some stock issues delaying their arrival, half the books arrived in November. With the support from Donors Choose, the missing books were reshipped.
In December, following social-distancing guidelines, I set up a couple days for students to pick up their sketchbooks. They excitedly scheduled times to come in. The day before our 1st distribution day, a staff member tested positive and I was forced to cancel. Next, inspectors found exposed asbestos at our school and my students are still not allowed to get their books. We're on hold until the school district gives the go-ahead.
The day I organized distribution, I gathered several books and other supplies, just in case. Right away, I delivered those to my International Baccalaureate students. While most of my students still await supplies, a handful have gotten the books, and they are thrilled. They're producing beautiful work on the pages. The majority of my students may not get their hands on these wonderful sketchbooks until September. The past 12 months have taught all of us to pivot. This scenario is yet another case in point. Thank you so much for your support!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Fitzpatrick
This classroom project was brought to life by A Generous Donor and 13 other donors.Exploring Sculpture Media in IB Art
Funded Aug 17, 2019Most of my urban public school students never used sculpture materials before or rarely have. Initially it took some effort to get my choice based students to try out the materials. Soon, they realized this was a chance to build something more substantial than what they were used to. Students grabbed the opportunity and experimented, then made art that shows creativity and excitement.
Getting a chance to work in 3D has been an awakening for my curriculum. Using wire, screen, plaster-cloth, and more gave students new ways to solve creative challenges, such as using objects as molds for plaster cloth or making wire armatures for hollow paper mache sculpture.
In the future, I look forward to introducing this range of media to students right away.
I am grateful for your generous donations which continue to provide us with this new way of making art. Adding more opportunities to work in 3D has made learning art in my classroom even more dynamic!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Fitzpatrick
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 10 other donors.Display That Art!
Funded Jan 18, 2019My International Baccalaureate seniors were planning their spring exhibitions but worried how they'd display their paintings, collages, drawings, and relief sculptures until you came through for them. The students were awestruck when I told them the good news that our display tri-folds got funded and would be here in time for their art shows.
We located the tri-folds in room 101 and our senior artists worked in teams to mount their exhibitions. With 20 students, 2 or 3 students at a time took over the room and mounted their shows. After all the work was hung, we had a small opening reception where the students explained their work. The student audience asked questions and we took lots of pictures. Then, the next round of students put up their work. The display fixtures made the whole thing possible. In addition, we will be able to use these tri-folds over and over again, for years to come. I am not actually sure what we would have done if this project wasn't funded, so thank you very much.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Fitzpatrick