First Place in Mayor Marty Walsh’s Fair Housing Poster Contest!

Congratulations to sixth grade Brooke Mattapan scholar, Shakira, for placing first in the middle school category of Mayor Marty Walsh’s Second Annual Fair Housing Poster Contest. 

The contest was open to all students who live in the city of Boston and was created to celebrate the signing of the Fair Housing Act. “The purpose of this contest is to foster better sense of understanding, acceptance and appreciation for the diversity in our neighborhoods, and throughout our communities.This contest is also great way to teach children about the importance of civil rights.”  Voting took place during the last two weeks of March and was open to all.

On Monday, April 27th, three finalists from each grade level category were celebrated and honored in the Mayor’s Eagle Room in City Hall.  It was an exciting event!  Shakira even mustered up the courage to stand in front of a full house and talk about her poster.  That’s confidence!  Bravo, Shakira!!

Brooke/Institute of Contemporary Art Partnership Day

It was a fun Saturday for scholars and families who attended the Brooke/ICA partnership playdate this past Saturday.  Save the date for our next Brooke Network/ICA partnership playdate on Saturday, May 30th, 2015.  Information will be coming home with students soon.

Looking through materials in the Art Lab.

Working on building structures in the Art Lab.  Inspired by work the work of Beverly Buchanan (below) which was part of the When the Stars Begin to Fall: Imagination and the American South exhibition.

 

Sharing the interior, which was thoughtfully designed.

 

Seventh & Eighth Grade Notan Designs

Seventh and Eighth grade Notan cut-outs are on display in the cafeteria.  They look so great displayed together and translate visually regardless of where one may happen to be in the large space.  I was really impressed with what they were able to achieve with no access to an x-acto/craft knife.  They used only scissors to cut out their shapes.  Nicely done, scholars!

Notan (a Japanese word meaning “light-dark”) is a guiding principle in Eastern art & design and focuses on the interaction between positive and negative space.  Students learned about positive and negative space and about the interplay between a shape and it’s background.  Students also considered and discussed the concepts of contrast and variety.

  Each of the three groups was presented with the challenge a bit differently.  One class was given an example notan, a piece of large, rectangular white paper, a smaller square of black paper, a pencil and additional supplies upon their request; they were challenged to recreate what they saw.  There were some interesting approaches to solving the problem.  Eventually, working together with classmates, everyone got there.  The other two groups were given more background on Notan, the design concepts, and process of creating a Notan paper-cut-out.  These students pursued their own designs.

Honoring and celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the art classroom

This past Friday, in honor of the upcoming MLK jr. holiday, first and second artists drew portraits of MLK jr.  They first looked at two portraits on display, identified the man in the portraits, and discussed with a partner what they knew about MLK jr.  They then quickly got to work observing photocopies of the portraits on display and created their own.

Ms. Aliberti, I drawing a self-portrait with Martin Luther King, Jr.!!

Also, check out today’s Google homepage.  The featured artwork is by a Boston based artist, Ekua Holmes.  Ekua will be the visiting artist at the ICA playdate on Saturday, March 28 and also during April vacation week on April 22!  Learn more about the artist here and check out the article about her in today’s Boston globe by following this link. 

Kindergarten & first grade update in images: Check out what’s been going on in the Brooke Mattapan SMFA Art Studio

Kindergarten: Self-portraits

There was palpable focus in the studio last week.  Kindergarten students were looking closely at themselves in the mirror after  mastering understanding of a what a portrait is and how to realistically draw facial features the week before.  They did an fantastic job.  Look for an update with completed portraits coming soon.

Kindergarten pre-winter break: Line & Color

The images of Piet Mondrian (seen below) were used as inspiration for a late fall unit focused on reinforcing understanding of line type and direction and an introduction to primary and secondary colors.

    

Students began by identifying colors, horizontal and vertical straight lines colors and the shapes they create when they intersect in Mondrian’s paintings.  They next drew their own intersecting lines with oil pastel and followed this by painting the resulting shapes with primary colors.  They learned about brush technique, proper use of tempra cakes, and brush rinsing.  It was pretty exciting to see the color of the water change as new colors mixed together when rinsing brushes.

They then learned about the secondary colors that are created when mixing a pair of secondary colors.  The following video (one of my favorites!) was very well liked by the kiddos who asked for it again and again. http://youtu.be/yu44JRTIxSQ  After learning about secondary colors, scholars manipulated secondary color paper strips to add a three-dimensional element to their work of art.  Students displayed their understanding of which two primary colors create a particular secondary color by gluing each end of the paper to those colors.

Next we experimented with mixing secondary colors.

First grade pre-winter break: Sleeping self-portraits with crazy quilt

Students began by reviewing and learning about a variety of different line types.  After drawing number of these different lines with oil pastels, students used tempra paint to define the shapes created.

Using rulers as straight edges and a tool to measure out equal spaces, first graders created grids on the back of their paper.  The squares were then cut out and rearranged in a quilt-like pattern after reading the short, sweet, and imaginative book The Quilt.

Borders were added.

The final part of the lesson was to draw sleeping self-portraits.  Some students added dream bubbles, others their favorite stuffed animal.  The completed works of art are quite fantastic!

Dancing Calacas inspired by Dia de los Muertos

Ghost Wings is a great way to introduce Dia de los Muertos to elementary students; though there is the element of loss, it communicates the celebratory nature of the the Mexican observance.  Students learned about the meaning, presence and importance of marigolds during the celebration.  Inspired by the significance of the flowers, students created a patterned border of flowers on their construction paper.  Next they looked at an array of sugar skull (calavera de acuzar) designs and created their own to top the skeleton they were about to construct.   Basic instruction of how the bones in our body are structured and allow us to take a number of positions was the next step; a big visual misconception is that the bones in our arms and legs connect directly to our spine. Not so!  We can’t forget about those all important collar/shoulder bones and our hip bones!!

Experience and create ART in Boston this January

Link to PDF of above flyer here: Upcoming Art OpportunitiesMFA-ICA011115

For more information about additional opportunities at the MFA, ICA and other Boston area museums check out this post:

https://artbrookemattapan.wordpress.com/2014/11/20/museumopportunities/

Fun, free/low-cost, accessible opportunities to engage with art in Boston

The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston

On the last Saturday of each month (excluding December) The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston hosts Play Dates for families in the Boston area.  This is a great opportunity to take your child/children to one of the great cultural institutions in Boston where kids and adults alike will engage with contemporary art and have the opportunity to participate in hands on, creative, art-making activities. Best of all, visits on Play Dates are FREE to children and two adults per family!!!

From the ICA’s website: “Play Dates offer a full day of activities for families–including hands-on art-making, performance, family gallery tours, films, and more. On these days, admission is free for families (up to two adults per family with children 12 and under). Play Dates may include films, performances, art-making activities, gallery tours, and more. All activities are designed for children and adults to do together. No prior registration is necessary, but families are encouraged to arrive early to take full advantage of the day’s events.”

The next Play Date is coming up soon on Saturday, November 29 from 10am-4pm.  This month’s Play Date features concerts by Mr. G at 12:30 and 2:30; free tickets will be given out one hour before each performance on a first come, first serve basis.

For more information about family programming and Play Dates, follow this link.

ICA Free General Admission

• For youth 17 and under are always FREE!!
• For all visitors every Thursday from 5 – 9 pm during ICA Free Thursday Nights
• For up to 2 adults accompanied by children 12 and under during Play Dates, offered on the last Saturday of every month
  (except December)
• In cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance, any individual who presents their EBT Card at time of admission will be provided one free general admission ticket.

 

Museum of Fine Arts Boston

**The Museum is free to all visitors on the following Open House days:

Monday, October 13, 2014 (Fall Open House)

Monday, January 19, 2015 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day Open House)

Saturday, February 21, 2015 (Lunar New Year)

Monday, May 25, 2015 (Memorial Day Open House)

**Youth ages 7-17 receive free admission on weekends, weekdays after 3pm, and Boston Public School Holidays.  Children 6 and under are always free.

**Wednesday nights from 4pm on, admission is by voluntary donation

**EBT Discount: Massachusetts residents who present Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards at a ticket desk may receive up to four $3 tickets good for adult, senior, or student admission. Youths aged 17 and under are always free.

 

The MFA also offers Kids and Family programming (check out the link here.)

The Art Cart Program is offered September through June: Saturday and Sunday, 10 am–4 pm and July and August: Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, 10 am–4 pm.  Information from the museum’s website: “Discover the MFA with fun (and educational!) activities designed for children ages 4 and up to do with adults in the galleries. Piece together puzzles, learn mythical tales, and uncover ancient Egyptian mysteries. Choose from our ever-changing array of interactive activities, books and Art Cards. Borrow a tote bag equipped with a sketch-book and colored pencils, and the Cart’s staff will point you on your way! Look for the Family Art Cart in the Shapiro Family Courtyard.”

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

**Admission to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is FREE for youth under the age of 18, on your birthday, and always for visitors named Isabella.

**Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) Card: Show your Massachusetts EBT card plus a photo ID and get discounted admission at $2 per person! The Museum does not process EBT transactions—cash or other payment must be provided. This discount applies for up to four people per EBT card, per visit. Children under 18 are always free.

 

Additional Resources and Programming

The Harvard Art Museums offers free admission to Massachusetts residents on Saturdays from 10am-12pm and youth under 18 are always free.

The Boston Public Library offers passes that will enable a BPL card holder free and discounted access to several museums and cultural institutions in Boston.  More information available by accessing this link: BPL Museum Passes.

 Ways to save at the Boston Children’s Museum.

The MIT Museum offers free admission on the last Sunday of each month (September – June.)

Bank of America customers: BOA has a program called Museums on Us; cardholders get free admission to 150 museums nationwide on first full weekend of every month.  A full list of museums here.

“Art is a Face Made with Apples and Grapes…” Kindergarten Fruit Face Collages

To start of the year in art, Kindergarten students listened to, and equally importantly looked at the images in, Bob Raczka’s book Art Is…

Tucked into the wide spectrum of all of the things that the visual arts can be, Raczka tells us that “Art is a face made with apples and grapes.”  Each of Raczka’s simple statements about what art is is paired with a well known work of art ranging from prehistoric to contemporary times.  “Art is a face made with apples and grapes” features the painting Autumn by the 16th century artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1526-1593.)  More about Arcimboldo here.  Students usually get quite a kick out of this strange portrait.

The first unit in kindergarten art is dedicated to line and shape.  After a lesson all about lines, students jumped into turning those lines into shapes.  The Fruit Face Collage learning activity was broken up into several mini-lessons beginning with learning how to draw basic geometric shapes free-hand (circles-oranges & apples-eyes; oval-watermelon-face; crescent-banana-mouth.)  In addition to drawing these shapes on their own, kindergarten scholars added color and then worked on sometimes learning, and always improving, their cutting skills (which can be a challenging endeavor… luckily, we had great opportunity presented to us to make a “ribbon” for our new playgroup opening ceremony.  We had lots of practice cutting straight lines when we made our paper chain ribbon for the opening festivities.  There was also great practice with glue sticks!  Check out the chain in this picture, and then take a look at the rest of the playground build images with the New England Patriots!!!)  The culminating activity was immediately preceded by creating a trapezoid and two triangles out of a rectangle. Scholars placed the two triangles together to make a neck (either a rectangle, triangle, or parallelogram) and used the trapezoid as shoulders.  Once the neck and shoulders were down, students added the head and primary facial features.  They then had an opportunity to add their own special flair.  Below are a few images of the working process:

Enjoy the final works of art below. They are also featured in main office area and in the cafeteria at Brooke Mattapan!

Just in case you weren’t sure, the name on the right side of the artwork is my name: mialbrd, or Ms. Aliberti!!

The red shape coming out of the mouth is NOT a tongue, it is a whistle!!

Baby Man is a fan favorite!

Mustaches were a common attribute in one class’ collages.

Earrings, eyebrows, and the subtle checkerboard pattern on the shoulders make this one specia

It’s never a surprise when there is a reference to SpongeBob in art class, either in conversation or equally as frequent, in the artwork!!

Check out the awesome car and driver this artist included in his collage; so cool!

Really digging the arms in this one!

And the long lashes in this one and the one below!

The gentleman above has not one, but two hats on!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope these collages made you smile as much as they made me smile!

 

Jamaica Pond Lantern Parade: Art in the Community

As part our second grade’s year long focus on community, scholars created lanterns to light up the evening at a local community happening: the Jamaica Pond Lantern Parade.  This year’s parade was the 20th annual event organized by Spontaneous Celebrations (more information here http://www.spontaneouscelebrations.org/festivals-events) and was well attended by Brooke scholars from across the network.

The lantern creation began with second grade families sending in 2 liter plastic bottles; many thanks to all of those who sent bottles in.  Prior to lantern making, scholars had embarked on a shape journey, learning about geometric and organic shapes. The lanterns were made by first covering the bottles with warm colored, geometric shapes using tissue paper and watered down Elmer’s glue.  During the next class period students got darker, mostly cool color tissue paper with which they created organic shapes to create an abstract design atop their warm color base.

Jamaica Pond Lantern Parade: Tonight!!

Meet us tonight to the right of the Jamaica Pond Boat House at 6pm to join in our Network Brooke Charter School parade around the pond.  There will a Brooke sign and we will have battery operated tea lights for use.  There are also candles for sale at the event.  We will begin our walk at 6pm sharp.  Looking forwards to seeing excited second graders tonight!!

Additional information below in the pdf file:

JP Lantern Parade2014