ESPrit de Corps

My Mandala
Rush Gallery with 371k

Educators: Ms. Barghouti with Ms. Lugo and Ms. Salas (paraprofessionals)
Teaching Artist: David Camacho

Grade 8, Special Needs
2009

My Mandala (a group of 8 small oval paintings)
Student Artists: Jason Ceres, Anthony Estrada, Alma Henry, Jason Adolpus, Anonymous, Bryan Ackwood, Damik Suber, Monae Levy
Oval canvas, sharpie pens, shape stencils, watercolor pencils, water filled brushes

Mandalas are tools for introspection, growth and healing.  They can combine conscious and subconscious elements of a personality.  In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of aspirants and adepts; as a spiritual teaching tool; for establishing a sacred space; and as an aid to meditation.  We used it as a vehicle to explore our creative selves.

Carl Jung said that a mandala symbolizes ‘ a safe refuge of inner reconciliation and wholeness, a synthesis of distinctive elements in a unified scheme representing the basic nature of existence”.  Jung used the creation of mandala for his own personal growth.

It was with this personal awareness within his own creative journey, that Rush Education Coordinator David Camacho led the students in the creation of there own personal mandala, based on their own information regarding their personal beliefs, relationship to nature, family and so on.

Guiding the students with a pen and shaped stencils the students began to explore their inner-self, create a unique personal mandala.  This repetitive process provided students with methodical concentration that allowed them to enter into a deeply focused art making session. Once they finish their image, they colored in with watercolor pencils, and use water filled brushes to finish their self-exploration mandala.
Listen to Rush Gallery Director of Education talk about the making of this project, including a synopsis of where this work fit in with a larger year-long theme.
Rush-371k.mp3 (5309 KB)

Memoirs Poetry Pop-Up Books
Young Audiences of Western New York (YAWNY) with Holley Elementary School

Educators: Janelle Baker; Brenda Schurr; Anne Smith; Sue Thorton; Sheri Viscardi
Teaching Artist: Sherry Robbins (Poet/writer) and Kyoko Roszmann (Visual Artist)

Grade 5
March–June 2009

Memoirs Poetry Pop-Up Books
Student Artists: Xander Apicella, Julie Cuccaro, Gillian Gallets, Santino Morales, Mikala Smith

Bound written works and mixed media three dimensional collages

Fifth Grade students at Holley Elementary School worked with Poet/Writer Sherry Robbins and Visual Artist Kyoko Roszmann to create pop-up books that reflect on memories, and how one shapes, collects, and stores them.  The creative writing lesson plans touched on poetic tools like rhythm, rhyme, repetition, metaphor, the 5 senses, alliteration, personification, and shape.  Students were asked to recall their earliest memories, imagine themselves as Superheroes, incorporate a random line from a famous poem, or paint a portrait in words of a family member.  After the writing workshops, origami artist Kyoko Roszmann helped students create pop-up illustrations for each poem.  Sherry and Kyoko collaborated closely with each other and the classroom teachers to prepare the lessons and address the 5th grade ELA and Art curriculum goals.  The residency culminated with an “Artists’ Tea” organized by the teachers.  Family and community members were invited to hear each student read a chosen work.  After the reading, students served their families and friends tea and cookies, resulting in smiles all around.  Both students and teachers at the school responded very positively to the experience.  In reply to the assessment question “What was one thing you learned during this residency?” one student replied “That poetry can silence your mind.”

The included photographs are from the Artists’ Tea.
Listen to Holly Johnson, AiE Director for YAWNY describe the making of these pop-up books, and the culminating event they became part of.
YAWNY_Holley.mp3 (4517 KB)

A Meeting of Art and Music
Arts in Education of Western NY with Pinehurst Elementary

Art Teacher: Laura Glista

Grade 4
3 sessions

A Meeting of Art and Music
Cut paper

Student Artists (top to bottom, left to right):
Trevor Fadale, Juliarose Austin, Melissa Hopkins
Alex Miller, Shelby Burgess, Carter Bates
Joe Krasinski, Justin D’Andrea, John Stahura
Julianna Pellicano, William Balisteri, Devin Shomper, Angela Sarro
Jacob Watkins, Greg Schneider, Mike Bliss

Original music compositions written in notation and then visually expressed with a system of stripes and other representational symbols.

Listen to Art Teacher Laura Glista talk about the making of this project
Pinehurst.mp3 (4313 KB)

Drawing Connections
Flushing Council on Arts and Culture with JHS 189Q

Educators: Helen Robinson
Teaching Artist: Karen Fitzgerald
Student Artists: Elizabeth S. (top) & Kevin (bottom)

Grade 6
June 2009

This unit engaged students in two distinct drawing techniques as a means of making new connections to language.  They learned contour drawing and carefully observed some of their everyday objects such as backpacks, shoes and personal items.  They also learned gesture drawing and thought through various characters in an author study using the skill to record their peer’s poses.  Finally, they created detailed contour drawings of their hands and used earlier drawings as source material to create a non-traditional “composite self-portrait collage”. Students were pleased and excited to notice the extraordinary differences in composition choices, and how those choices reflected aspects of their character.   They reflected that “drawing can tell stories just as well as words can, sometimes even more detailed; and that there is more than one way to draw and it doesn’t necessarily need to be neat.”  They also realized that “we had our own feelings to each of our pictures or poses; we could put our feelings into our drawings.”  And they did!

Listen to Karen Fitzgerald talk about the making of this project.
JHS189-Flushing-SPort.mp3 (5493 KB)

Listen to ELA teacher Helen Robinson talk about the making of this project, including the curricular connections and her takeaways as a classroom teacher.
Flushing_CompCollage.mp3 (2935 KB)

Bookmaking and Non-Fiction Narrative
Flushing Council on Arts and Culture with JHS 189Q

Educators: Helen Robinson
Teaching Artist: Karen Fitzgerald

Grade 6
December 2008

Fire, Kate Kim
An origami Book consisting of 3 pages, illustrated and with text.  What to do if there is a fire!

More Recess Please, Kenny Zhou
An origami Book consisting of 3 pages, illustrated and with text.  Persuasive text and images regarding the issue of more recess time for students during their school day.

Paper, cardboard and found images

This unit engaged students in writing personal/persuasive narratives.  Students identified a topic and then created an origami book to inform someone of the topic, or to persuade them about an issue.  As educators, we were surprised by the experimentation and excitement the students exhibited in the choices and effort they went through to create their books.  They responded very strongly to the lush colors of the pages, and used basic color selection to set the tone for their book contents.  Using collage as a basic technique, they exhibited great creativity in finding commercial images and re-purposing them in their books.

Listen to Teaching Artist Karen Fitzgerald talk about the making of this project. JHS189Q-Flushing-Orig.mp3 (5522 KB)

Listen to ELA teacher Helen Robinson talk about the making of this project, including the curricular connections.
Flushing_Origami.mp3 (3451 KB)

Yearlong Multi-disciplinary Collaborative Arts Residency
Community~Word Project with PS 132M

Educators: Ms. Garcia, Ms Vasquez (classroom teachers) and Mr. Nahabedian (art specialist)
Teaching Artist: Ellen Hagan and Leticia Perelstein

Grade 2
October 2008 – June 2009

Collaboratve Mural: En El Otoño
Student Artists: Ms. Garcia and Ms. Vasquez’s Classes
Acrylic on canvas

A collaborative mural created by students and their families to illustrate an original line of poetry inspired by a collaborative Community~Poem created and performed by the class.

Listen to Community~Word Program Director talk about the making of this mural, including the role of parents.
CommunityWord.mp3 (5865 KB)

Radial Symmetry
Studio in a School with 213Q
Kindergarten

Teaching Artist: Mary Elmer-Dewitt
Student Artists: Daria Podosenina, Heewon Yang, Logan Grodsky

Tempura paint, oil pastel, paper

Kindergarten students at PS 213Q used ordinary objects and tempera paint to make stamped designs, adding color with Craypas if they chose to (9×9 pieces). Students then took two days to complete a larger, painted piece (14×14 piece).

Alphabet Book
Studio in a School with 309K & 213Q

Educator: Ms. Renee Wiley
Teaching Artist: Ascha Drake
Student Artists: Ms. Wiley’s Grade 1 class

Collaged pages from book.

Students researched 4-legged animals. Each student created a collage animal. Individual students’ collages were then turned into an animal ABC book. The book was reprinted using tinyprints.com and exchanged with Grade 1 students at PS 213Q who worked on the same project. Students from PS 309K visited their partnersing class at PS 213Q to share their respective projects with one another. During the inter-visitation, students worked with their art partner to create a composite collage animal, combining features and characteristics from their original animals.

Picturing Poetry: Respect
CEPA Gallery and Highgate Heights, BPS #80
2008–2009

Teaching Artist: Amy Luraschi and Karen L. Lewis
Classroom Teachers: Ms. Fulcher, Ms. Berry, Ms. Berg, Mr. Herring, Ms. Coover-Reid, Ms. Daley, Mr. Grannell

Student Artists (left to right, top to bottom):
Respect is a Wheel of Joy, Jamie King (Grade 5)
Untitled, Morerees Montgomery (Grade 5)
Love is Respectful, Deja’h Tompkins (Grade 5)
The Little Girl and the Spirit, Prince Page (Grade 5)
Family and Friends, Romeiro Amos (Grade 5)
Untitled, Déjà Fuller (Grade 5)
Blue Sky is Respect, Tayah Coleman (Grade 5)
I Love You, James Lindsay (Grade 5)
The Children, Mikayla Badgett (Grade 5)
Perseverance, Devan Humphrey (Grade
Noble, Kelisha Moran (Grade
Collaboration, Tajenay Stevens (Grade
Untitled, Tonenysha Bragg (Grade 5)
Flourish, Tia Pryor (Grade

CEPA Gallery is thrilled to be collaborating with Highgate Heights, BPS 80 with the goal of bringing the arts into every classroom. This year’s Picturing Poetry theme in the fifth-grade was RESPECT and was led by CEPA’s teaching artist Amy Meza Luraschi and Just Buffalo teaching artist Karen L. Lewis. Fifth through eighth grade students participated in the News Club where they produced a bi-monthly newspaper called The Highgate Heights Chronicles.  Students contributed articles about current events and news pertinent to their school community. They took a field trip to the Buffalo News and visited CEPA Gallery to experience the darkroom. Teaching Artist, Amy Meza Luraschi and Education Director, Lauren Tent also worked with the Art teacher, Mr. Herring and his eighth grade students on a project called WordPower. Students explored four of the school’s Character Traits to being a good citizen: Flourish, Perseverance, Noble and Collaboration. They were shown photographic examples of the four words and created their own definitions based on the images. After capturing their own photographic examples of the words, the students picked their best one and wrote a statement about how it illustrates the word. The final product was displayed in the eighth grade hallway and left as their gift to the school. This year, the second grade students also participated in the Principal’s Book of the Month Club.  It was a great year and we are excited to be planning projects in additional grade levels for next school year!

“Writing With Light” encompasses the education programs of both Just Buffalo Literary Center and CEPA Gallery. The student work exhibited in this gallery represents Just Buffalo’s partnership with Frederick Law Olmsted Schools and CEPA Gallery’s partnership with Highgate Heights.

Expressive Hands
Dreamyard and PS/MS 95

Educator: Ms. Malandrino
Teaching Artist: Yvonne Lamar-Rogers

Grade 8
January 2009

“Who Am I?”
Student Artists (from top to bottom, left to right):
Unknown, Jorge Camilo, Mike Galvez, Argenis Lavigat, Daniel Cintron, Alex Variashkin
Paper, metallic pencils, gold pen, and found text.

Through a series of drawings, sculptures and collaging self portraits, students explored who they were and what was important to them.  Students answered questions to help guide them through creating different self-portrait pieces.  In this series of work, students used two-dimensional applied design, integrating text and image to demonstrate clarity of a message through the expression of their hands.  Students created a contour drawing of their hand and used words, symbols, lines, shapes and color to express their positive energy, dreams and desires.

Listen to Teaching Artist Yvonne Lamar-Rogers talk about the making of these mixed-media images.
Dreamyard_ExpressHands.mp3 (4664 KB)