Summer Art Camp!

End ot year Art Room News

Dear Fayston Families,

As this school year draws to a close, I am preparing to hand the art room reins to Alexandra Morse for the 2015-2016 school year.  I have been granted a one year leave of absence from Fayston School in order to spend more time with my family.  I will return to Fayston for the following school year. Students know Alex from her time as a paraeducator at Fayston and as my long-term sub while I was on maternity leave.  They are very excited that she will be the Fayston Art Teacher next year.  

Thank you to all who helped make this year’s Bridge Street Art Fair and Children’s Art Auction immensely successful!  Thanks to beautiful weather and a lot of hard work by artists, musicians and volunteers, this fun-filled day was enjoyed by all who attended.  In addition to providing students a wonderful opportunity to see their artwork displayed in a gallery setting, the Art Auction raised $1700 for our PTO!  Many, many thanks go to Jill Ellis for hours of hard work and incredible dedication to this fundraiser! Please let me know if you are interested in helping plan for next year’s event or would like to help by leading an art activity at the Art Fair.  I will be working with Alex Morse to prepare for next year’s Bridge Street Art Fair, which is tentatively planned for Saturday, May, 21, 2016.

I still have spaces available in my Art Camp at Fayston School from June 22-26.  Camp runs from 9 am to 1 pm and will include a wide variety of art activities, including clay, paper mache, painting, book making, jewelry, nature art and more.  Cost is $140, which includes all materials, and I offer per diem rates as well as pay-what-you-can scholarships.  I am also available for childcare after camp most afternoons.  Please contact me to reserve a space for your child!  

Helen Day Art Center in Stowe also offers excellent opportunities for students who wish to participate in summer art classes and camps.  In order to make their classes available to all students, they offer a needs-based scholarship for 70% off of the cost.  Please contact me, Mr. Berthiaume or Mr. Stevenson if you would like more information about this scholarship.

Remember to stay on top of what is happening in the art room by following the Art Blog at www.FaystonArt.Blogspot.com and following ArtClass_AllDay on Instagram!

I hope your plans for summer include opportunities for creativity and exploration!  Remember, Every Child is an Artist!  

All the best,

Nora McDonough

Under the Sea Silk Painting by Grades 5 & 6

Fifth and sixth grade artists painted silk hoops with various sea creatures.  These circles decorated our school's window for the last couple of weeks of school. 

Mexican Sun Metal Tooling

Here are our Mexican Metal tooling suns by grades one and two: 

First and second graders looked at examples of Mexican Folk Art Suns.  This image stems from the Aztec culture, which revered the Sun God Tonatiuh as the leader of heaven.  Now it is a common theme throughout Mexican folk art.  First and second graders used these images to inspire their own sun faces, then transferred their drawings onto thin sheets of metal.  Metal tooling is a traditional Mexican folk art, so we used this technique to make brilliant sun faces. 

Student post on Instagram!

I have been posting images from our art class on Instagram at ArtClass_AllDay.  I have found that it is a great way to connect with students and share our artwork.  I often come upon students posts that show great creativity and artistic vision.  Here's a photo a sixth grader posted to Instagram last week.  Students, keep sharing! 

Animal paintings inspired by the "Blue Dog" artist George Rodrigue

George Rodrigue was an artist from New Orleans, Louisiana who became well know for his colorful paintings of "Blue Dog."  The original Blue Dog painting was based on the Cajun folk tale of loup- garou.  Rodrigue died in 2013.

First and second grade artists made paintings on canvas panels based on the artistic style of George Rodrigue.  Like the Blue Dog, their animals were painted in non-realistic colors on colorful backgrounds. 

Inspired by "The Great Wave" by Hokusai

Kindergarten artists used different texture painting tools to paint waves inspired by Japanese woodcut artist Hokusai's print "The Great Wave." Here are close ups of their wave paintings.

Clay masks

First and second grade artists modeled their clay masks in art class today!