Hands On Paper Sculpture

5th graders at East Baltimore Charter School explore paper sculpture as an art medium. They cut and formed three dimensional shapes and forms from color constuction paper. I was very impressed with how the students stayed on task and experimented.

A Fruitful Teaching Journey

Yeah! My teaching artist training with TAI (Teaching Artist Institute) concluded today back in Baltimore, where it all began, some four months ago. Teaching artists and their teaching partners, along with staff met for five hours to assess the month's long training, test residences and share experiences as well as devise next steps for continuing our journeys as visual, performing and theater artists in the schools. I'm pictured here with my teaching partner Sandra Alger (left) and visual artist team leader, Maria Barbosa (center). The student pictures are the final  result of my four session residency, "Every PictureTells A Story" at Longfellow Elementary school in Columbia, MD.

The Look and Feel of Water

5th graders expressively painted bulletin board paper with tempera paint to illustrate water's texture, look and feel. These papers will be used later to create collage pictures that relate to water experiences. One of the overarching themes for the 5th graders this term is water quality in their community in East Baltimore. As I build my lessons, it's important for me to tie into the curriculum as much as possible.

Book Beginnings

Second grade students from Oyster Bilingual School in DC, paint with paste and tempera during my school visit. Students brush the paint on paper, then use paint scrapers to create lines and texture. Art teacher, Carole Whelan has invited me over the past 3 years as part of a book project where students are introduced to professional artists and illustrators and create their own artists' books. My first visit three years ago was facilitated by the National Museum for Women in the Arts.

Using color, shape and line, first graders at an East Baltimore school skillfully created a flower garden from cut and torn tissue paper. As a teaching artist, I will be working with 5th grade as well as 1st grade and Kindergarten weekly through May.