Montessori Art Program for Elementary Students

Students in the elementary art studio have been focusing on learning, relearning, and practicing basic drawing. We began with formal exercises exploring all of the pencils and erasers available, scribbled line gestures (focusing on drawing the entire object all at once in 30 seconds!), slow, careful contour line drawings (careful inspection of all the edges we can see, which describe changes in value, texture, plane, color), and negative space/shape (familiarizing and re-familiarizing ourselves with seeing and drawing the shapes of the “empty” spaces around the object we wish to draw (focusing on the shapes that share a common edge help to side-step the brain’s insistence on drawing from memory).

We are also exploring brush and ink in support of the upcoming trip to China in which some of our students will attend the Montessori Model United Nations program. They will no doubt see some beautiful examples of Chinese brush work and calligraphy. We are learning how to properly hold the brush, load the brush, move the brush, make marks of all sorts, and those specific to bamboo brush painting. We are looking at examples and talking about the Six Guiding Principles of Chinese Brush Painting.

Students are also working on independent projects in all media: weaving, painting, clay, papier-mache, tile mosaic, and more. Some students are finishing works that carried over from last year. Everyone is very excited to get back into the swing of making art!

Also, Mural Class has started and plans have been made! The "Nature Zone Mural" is progressing well. Influences of the work of Henri Rousseau will certainly find their way into the mural as we study and learn about his life and work.