Hundreds of brightly colored works of art paid dramatic testimony to the success of a volunteer art program at Lake in the Hills Elementary School.
Students wandered through the Second Annual Art Festival last week looking for their artwork. Each of the 728 students had at least one piece of art displayed. Some had three or four pieces on exhibit.
The artwork included watercolor paintings and sketches made with pastels, chalk, charcoal and crayons. Three-dimensional work included colorful masks molded from the artists’ faces, sculptured penguins, Native American dwellings, kachina masks and jewelry.
The art festival is quite an accomplishment for a school that doesn’t have a full-time art teacher.
Three years ago, the school was trying to staff an art education program with parent volunteers. Jane Koeppler, an art volunteer, directed the program, but it was hard to get volunteers and supplies.
“Some volunteers were intimidated by getting up in front of the class and having the teacher watch them,” said Koeppler. “At that time there wasn’t even one paintbrush in the school. The only art supplies were the individual watercolor paints the students bring to school in the fall.”
Principal Helen Moore, who is very supportive and involved in the arts, approached Sharon Kranz, a parent with a background in art education, to help Moore apply for a grant for the art program.
They received a $3,500 grant and used the money for Kranz to write up the art curriculum. They obtained supplies from parent donations.
The art program that began with the 1995-96 school year was very well-received by the teachers. Even though taking part in the art training and art education in the classroom was optional for the teachers, all of them participated.
“As the grant developed, we realized it was just as important to give the teachers some hands-on training in addition to a curriculum and lesson plans in order to have a successful program,” said Kranz.
Kranz provides training for the teachers four times a year. She explains the projects, and most importantly, the teachers get to do the project before presenting it to the students.
“The key is the teachers get to do it beforehand,” said Kranz. “They get the feel of a brayer (for printmaking) and get to work with clay before showing the students how to do it,” she said.
The program also stresses art education as part of the complete curriculum. The students are taught about different artists’ styles, art periods and principles of design.
