Treasures From The PMA & Delphi, Part 3: The Product

by Elizabeth Van Allen  for scribblesbyartteachervanallen.blogspot.com

My students loved drawing from 
and learning about works by Monet 
and other Impressionist masters!

All field trips are special, but visiting a world-famous art museum and seeing your own artwork on display really makes the experience one to remember. With the arrival of 2016 came our final field trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  This trip was the culmination of our 2015 8th grade experience with artist-in-residence Doris Nogueira-Rogers, made possible through the generosity of the Delphi Program Foundation.  When the big day arrived my students tried to play it cool, but they were just as bad at hiding their excitement as they are at trying to convince me that they can't draw.

Our CityYear corps member
'Mr. Marc' conversing with a few
of our budding young scholars

These young teens were treated to a wonderful "greatest hits"-style tour, viewing Impressionist landscapes, The Moorish Chief (my personal favorite painting), Medieval armor, and a real Japanese teahouse.  They impressed me with their drawings, intelligent questions, curiosity, and genuine interest in the exhibits we viewed.  I was one proud art teacher, and the best was yet to come. 

 

This young artist's use of shape,
texture and pattern really
brought their box to the next level!

When I first started teaching these students three years ago I never dreamed that they would come this far.  I knew that they were capable of greatness, but when it came to this long-term project these young artists far exceeded my (high) expectations.  When we came into view of our exhibit the students (and teachers) were so excited.  I loved hearing the exclamations of "that one's mine" and "look there's your box!"  Many a contraband cell phone appeared for pictures of friends at the exhibit and selfies with their projects.  I must admit that I was no different.  Instead of a vigilant teacher and chaperone I transformed into the proud mama of 20 young artists, snapping pictures like it was my mission in life. 

A happy & excited
student poses for
yet another picture

To all of those out there who work with children: if you keep your standards high and your outlook positive, most kids will exceed your expectations most of the time.  These students succeeded because we believed they could.  Sometimes it just takes one person to convince us that success is possible.  If you tell someone enough times that they can achieve, they will start to believe it.  I put myself out there for my students with this opportunity because I believed that they were up to this challenge, and I told them that from day one.  They succeeded because we as adults made our actions match our words.

Top: The outside and inside of a well planned and constructed, six-sided box

Bottom: I love how these two students interpreted the 
same set of directions in such different ways!

I would like to thank several of the other adults who also made their actions match their words. A big thank you goes out to Doris Nogueira-Rogers and Lisa Bowe.  Without their hard work, unwavering dedication and support, this experience would not have been possible.  A big shout out to Teyona Jackson and Tammy Salvadore for their flexibility and positive outlook when our road got a little bumpy.  Thanks to Rasheed Clark for his encouragement and for always having my back.  Thank you to Dr. Andrea Coleman-Hill for giving me the support and space needed to provide an environment that is truly conducive to teaching and learning art.  Lastly, I would like to extend a huge thank you to the students of Ms. Bowe's homeroom, A1.  Without your willingness to work with us crazy adults towards trying something new, none of this would have been possible.  

My students' work on view
in the Education Gallery at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

To access the first two installments in the series

 Treasures From The PMA & Delphi:

Click here for Part 1: The Program

Click here for Part 2: The Project

Disclaimer: Normally I don't show any students in my articles due to privacy & legal considerations. 

These students and their guardians all signed waivers allowing for their images to be used.

Treasures From The PMA & Delphi, Part 2: The Project

by Elizabeth Van Allen  for scribblesbyartteachervanallen.blogspot.com

Sculpture has never been my go-to art form 

Weeks 4-5: Assemble & Gesso

for student projects.  It's not that it intimidates me or that I'm not good at it, sculpture just doesn't come to me as naturally as drawing does.  When I first started brainstorming project ideas for the PMA-Delphi Art Partners Project with my artist-in-residence, Doris Nogueira-Rogers, I was delighted to discover that sculpture is one of her areas of expertise!  We chose to focus our efforts on a three-dimensional project that the students could actually use.  Doris took our project idea and fleshed it out into a 12-week masterpiece!

The Project: Treasure Boxes

Project Objectives: 
Students will create treasure boxes by constructing and decorating them with hand-made tiles.  They will use inspirational words, quotes, or original poems as part of the design. 

Inspiration/Resources:

Containers, chests, trunks, and boxes designed to hold items of value or importance from various collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Cross-Curricular Connections: 
History (compare & contrast historical objects in the museum), 
Math (geometry & measurement), 
Language Arts (composition, poetry)

Field Trip #1- merging art & writing 

Time Budget: 
12 90-minute periods and 2 field trips

Timeline:
Week 1: Facilitate the creation of a student-designed behavioral contract, introduce Artist-in-Residence, discuss our project with highlight on mosaic art.

Field Trip #1: First field trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, focus on containers designed to hold items of value or importance from their 

Week 2-3: Plan, design, make prototype

various collections.

Week 2: Design a 3D box, make a 
prototype using poster board and 
masking tape.

Week 3: Transfer box shapes to 
board (artist will cut them out),
develop ideas for inspirational words/writing activity focusing on 
student strengths, design tile shapes.

Week 3: Trace prototype onto board

Week 4-5: Assemble boxes using 
archival tape. Paint the inside of
boxes and gesso the outside. 

Week 6-8: Paint the outside of boxes, polymer clay 
demonstration, start tile making. 

Week 9: Tile Painting

Weeks 4-5: Assemble boxes 

Week 10-12: Tile assembly & adhere to boxes,writing final draft in and on boxes, final varnish, 
deliver to museum.

Field Trip #2: 
Final field trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, view the exhibition, reception.

Weeks 6-8: Polymer clay tile making

Join us again next week for the exciting conclusion to our Treasures from the PMA & Delphi series and see the treasure boxes created by our talented students!

Weeks 9-12: Paint & attach tiles to boxes 

To access the other installments in the series

 Treasures From The PMA & Delphi

Click here for Part 1: The Program

Click here for Part 3: The Product

Disclaimer: Normally I don't show any students in my articles due to privacy & legal considerations. These students and their guardians all signed waivers allowing for their images to be used.

Treasures From The PMA & Delphi, Part 1: The Program

by Elizabeth Van Allen  for scribblesbyartteachervanallen.blogspot.com

Selfie with Students on the Rocky steps 
at the Philadelphia Museum of Art 

I've always believed that being respected in your field is the greatest professional honor that you could have, but  when actions reflect that respect, it means even more.  This year I was fortunate enough to receive a nomination from my district's Director of Art Education to participate in the Delphi Art Partners Program at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, proving to me that I am definitely doing something right in my classroom.  

Our artist-in-residence, Doris 

Nogueira-Rogers, in conversation 

with a student at the PMA

Out of 300 public schools in Philadelphia, I was selected as one of 6 art teachers to participate in this fun and intensive 30-hour artist-in-residency program.  Plus, of those 6 only 3 of us teach in a traditional, non-charter school!  When I was given the responsibility of starting my school's art program back in 2012 I certainly didn't see this coming.  From early October through the end of December 2015, one specially selected eighth grade class was able to spend a block of 90 minutes every Monday morning with our wonderful artist-in-residence, Doris Nogueira-Rogers.  Using the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art as inspiration, she and I brainstormed a residency plan for an engaging project that built connections between art and literacy.

Learning about types of treasures
from different cultures and the boxes
that were created to keep them safe.

Over the next few months, our 'Treasure Boxes' project transformed my students from kids in an art class into motivated young artists. Through the generosity of the Delphi Project Foundation, we were able to bring 20 eighth graders on two trips to the PMA and we were given an amazing budget to buy the types of supplies that us art teachers only dream of ordering- things like binding tape and polymer clay.  The icing on this cake was seeing my students' work is on display in the Education Gallery of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Inspired by the work of Dave, a slave from
the American South, we experimented
with introducing writing into our artwork.

These images are from our first museum visit, the event that began this very special experience.  I am so excited to be able to share our journey with you, stay tuned for highlights and a step-by step guide through our Treasure Box project! 

Disclaimer: Normally I don't show any student faces in my articles due to privacy and legal considerations.  These students all signed waivers allowing for their images to be used.

Special thanks to the following people for their part in making this project possible: Lisa Bowe (8th grade teacher), Dr. Andrea Coleman-Hill (School Principal), Deb Klose (Director of Art Education, School District of Philadelphia), Doris Nogueira-Rogers (Artist-in-residence), Teyona Jackson (PMA Delphi Coordinator), Marc Rowell (CityYear Corps Member), Rebecca Hoenig (PMA Museum Educator), and -of course- Tammy Salvadore (Executive Director, Delphi Project Foundation).

Enjoying a spectacular view during lunch at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

To access the other installments in the series

 Treasures From The PMA & Delphi:

Click here for Part 2: The Project
Click here for Part 3: The Product

An Odd Coupling: Student Death & Professional Validation

by Elizabeth Van Allen  for scribblesbyartteachervanallen.blogspot.com

Hector in 8th grade, sketching
for my class during a field trip to
the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

I recently attended a memorial service for a former student.  While I knew that the loss of a student would probably happen at some point in my career, I was hit hard by Hector's death- and not just because it is a new experience for me.  Reflecting on this topic was important to me because there are plenty of other teachers out there who have gone, are going, or will go through the same type of experience and may not know how to start processing this type of loss.  While all of our personal journeys are different, I hope that by sharing my experience I can help others work through their losses in a healthy way.

When you haven't seen a student in 6 years, how are you supposed to feel?  I'm not ashamed to admit that I was a mess.  Kids are NOT supposed to die at just 21 years old.  I found out about his death on Facebook one morning just before I left for work.  It was tough keeping myself together through the school day, but I (mostly) managed.  I taught Hector several times a week through his middle school years, starting on the first day of my first official job teaching art at Girard College.  Since the middle and high school classes there are held in the same building, I was in the unique position of being able to see my students grow and mature long after they had left my classroom.  Hector's easy smile and his kindness towards others made him the kind of kid that you can't help but like.  I remember how shocked I was the first time I saw his game face at a 

Founders Hall at Girard College
picture from www.girardcollege.com

wrestling tournament.  When I surprised the school's team with snacks and support at a match near my home one Saturday morning, I didn't expect to see him get so serious so quickly!  Most of all, I remember what a special person he truly was.  When the memorial service was announced, I knew that I had to honor his memory and attend.

As I struggled to find an open seat in the jam-packed funeral home, I was surprised at how naturally the name of the first student I saw came to me.  Part way through the service the woman next to me had run out of tissues.  I found an embarrassingly art teacher-y, crayon box printed pack in my purse, and as I passed one to her I realized that the woman was a former student all grown up.  As I glanced down the row and on to the next I recognized every last face.  Somehow, without realizing it, I had found my seat smack dab in the middle of the Girard College class of 2011.

I had been experiencing the grief of loss, but now a new emotion arose: guilt.  Who was I to be participating in this very personal ritual?  They had all grown up together with Hector, I'm just some former teacher from years ago.  What is my loss in comparison to theirs?  After thinking for a few moments my guilt started to subside.  Hector had obviously touched many hearts and lives in different ways.  The question that I should have been asking is this: Who am I not to grieve the premature loss of this young man?  I looked around again and realized that my 'kids' are no longer children.  They are now adult peers, and by gathering in that place we were sharing in the loss together.  Even though we were grieving in different ways and for different reasons, we were all there because we cared.

above: A student-designed clay
mask.  This assignment was used
by a former student as inspiration
for some of her college artwork!

As we gathered outside after the service, I received some truly unexpected professional validation.  Two former students had recently taken a college art course together, and they shared with me something that I never could have anticipated.  They had based some of their college art work on assignments and concepts that I had taught them back in middle school.  They were so proud, showing me pictures and close ups.  One is even considering a career in the arts!  It filled me with such joy to know that my students remember me for what they learned in my class so many years ago, not as a talking head who once taught them in middle school.  I never imagined that I would receive such a wonderful affirmation.  To know that I am appreciated for doing the best that I could all of those years ago is a real gift, especially since I taught them at the beginning of my career- a time when I felt like I was just trying to keep my head above water. 

What gives me solace is the possibility that I may have made a positive difference in Hector's life too.  Having a student pass on is a terrible feeling, even if you haven't seen them in years.  I'm working through it in the most honest way that I can, feeling my emotions as I have them, allowing myself to experience the grief, getting through it instead of getting over it.  I'm trying to focus on making my current students' experiences as supportive, diverse, and inspiring as possible.  I never want to have regrets about not harboring a student's creative potential.  To me, this honors Hector's memory better than any other gesture I could make. 

This article is dedicated to 
Hector Colon Jr., 1993-2015.