Art Club - Scientific Method

The Art Club explores 'Color'.
Steps of the scientific method
1. Name the problem or question
2. Form an educated guess (hypothesis)
3. Test your hypothesis by doing an experiment
4. Check and interpret your results
5. Report your results
Second graders, Justin Harbilas, Promise Santos & Desitiny Bivins wondered how to make silver paint. They pose here with their exhibit displaying the evidence of their research.

Third graders, Emili Pearson, Destiny Dunaway and Elaa Singh wondered how many different shades of brown could be made by mixing the primary colors (yellow, red and blue).

Current Curriculum

Kindergarten through 2nd grades are studying proportions of the human figure, learning the techniques for representing the human form in natural poses.
Third grade is studying 'warm and cool' colors and analogous colors. They are using these color schemes and relationships in creating a oil pastel picture in the style of Georgia O'Keefe.
Fourth grade is just finishing up a Still-Life project.
Fifth grade is completing a project on Linear Perspective.

JFest 2008
June 14 & 15.
Some of our students will have art work on exhibit at the Juneteenth Arts Festival this summer. Ms. Lindquist is in charge of the youth art exhibit and welcomes volunteers

(Call 352-339-1698).

Students working with clay

Kindergartener, Samuel Freeman with his modeling clay sculpture.







Fourth grader, Isaiah Smith with his Timucuan-syle clay pot.

. . . and Tavaris Jones.

*The Timucua were an American Indian people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia.

Harn Reception

It was a spectacular evening celebrating our talented students and their art achievements at the Harn. Thank you to 5th grade teacher, Laura Maxwell, for attending.

Last Friday, guest artist Adam Eccleston, gave a presentation about making jewelry to the students in

Ms. Ulrich's kindergarten class, Ms. Skipper's 4th grade class and Ms. Davis' 2nd grade class. The presentation was fascinating and our students were so interested and respectful.

Mr. Eccleston had his jewelry on exhibit at the 5th
Avenue Art Fair.

GRU / Wards Canvas Earth Day Bags

Beautiful and smart art. Our students decorated canvas grocery bags that were given away at Wards supermarket last Tuesday, Earth Day. It was a team effort, from kindergarten through 5th grades to get all 100 bags completed within a week.
We received a "Thank You" card from a man in Alachua, Florida (as copied)
"I was so pleased to receive one of your hand painted bags when I went grocery shopping on Earth Day. The bag is beautiful and I will use it every time I go shopping. You must truly love the earth to create so many bags to save the Earth's resources."
- David Williams

Williams' student DO love our Earth!!!!!

Art Club Announcements

Williams Art Club

The last Art Club meeting will be on May 20.

We have finished our projects using the scientific method to explore ideas of “Color”.
For our last project we will be creating acrylic paintings on board, a la Matisse, “Scenes of the Seasons”.

This Tuesday’s Art Club meeting (April 29) is cancelled. I will be going to Tallahassee with the School Board and ACEA (teacher’s union) to talk with our state legislators about school policy and budget issues. If you have any words you would like me to pass on your behalf, write me a note or call. I'd be happy to.

Thank you,
Jennifer Lindquist
352-339-1698

Juneteenth Festival & Juried Art Show

JFest 2008

June 14 & 15, 10:00am - 8:00pm

I will be teaching a variety of lessons inspired by the upcoming Juneteenth Festival & Juried Art Show both in art class with our students and periodically here in this blog for the last couple of weeks of school for everyone. It is an historic event both in what it commemorates and as the first arts festival of it's kind in East Gainesville. The event encompasses the ideas of African Heritage, the arts (visual, music and performance) and culture.

Also, many of our students will be participating in the Youth Art Competition and Exhibit!

Lesson #1 - What is Juneteenth?
History (Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia)
Though the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued on September 22, 1862, with an effective date of January 1, 1863, it had little immediate effect on most slaves’ day-to-day lives, particularly in Texas, which was almost entirely under Confederate control. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day Union General Gordon Granger and 2,000 federal troops arrived on Galveston Island to take possession of the state and enforce the emancipation of its slaves. Legend has it while standing on the balcony of Galveston’s Ashton Villa, Granger read the contents of “General Order No. 3”
The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.[6]
That day has since become known as Juneteenth, a name derived from a portmanteau of the words June and nineteenth.

Go to Gainesville's JFest website to know it all -

http://www.cce.ufl.edu/JFest/index.html

Carnival, 4th Grade DVD cover designs & news

Good news:
The Williams Annual School Carnival and Spring Arts show is this Friday the 25th. Please come and celebrate with our school family, support the PTA and revel in the artistic talents of our students!
The 4th Grade DVD cover designs for the "Let It Be Told!" oral histories project of Williams' alumni pre-integration have been receiving compliments in the community. They are very impressive. I invite you to view an example interview of what our students used as inspiration for their DVD designs.
Go to http://www.documentary.org/resources/fiscal_sponsorship_donate.php?film_id=3022
Not so good news:
I'm sure you aware of the budget cuts that are affecting the planning for next school year. It is hard for me to believe that our school board/district would allow the arts to be cut from the school curriculum as a means to lower expenses. But with the recent press . . . (please review the article in last Wednesday's Gainesville Sun http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080416/NEWS/804160360
As parents, you see the value of arts programming in your child's education. I urge you to contact our school board members for more responsible measures for dealing with our budget issues and to express any and all of your thoughts about your child's education.
Thanks, and get your face painted by Ms. Lindquist at the carnival.