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Tanya Robinson
PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY
"Art education touches parts of a child that is usually not reached by the STEM curriculum". Art education encourages curiosity and celebrates creativity. Art is an important tool for learning as well as a basic part of human nature. We create art for our pleasure as well as to communicate. The visual arts provide not only a way for our children to express thoughts, feelings, and hopes but also a means for them to learn more about the past, their culture and the world.
Art is a un ... read moreiversal language. As with our written language, the language of the visual arts has an alphabet (the elements of art), and grammar (the principles of design). In order to engage in art-related dialogue we need to have a good understanding of the fundamental vocabulary. There are also techniques and styles used by celebrated artists that show us how this language can be used effectively.
At Del Mar Pines School kindergarten through sixth-grade students will have sixty minutes of visual arts instruction per week. They will learn the basic components of art by using a wide range of materials, and techniques, and incorporating technology when it enhances the learning experience. They will be provided the opportunity to express ideas, feelings, and emotions in their own personal style; solve creative problems where there is no right or wrong answer; and be encouraged to share, reflect, and evaluate the merits of their efforts. They will also study the works of others and learn to empathize with the concerns and choices made by artists who live in different times and cultures from their own.
Through participation in the Del Mar Pines' community-wide art games and talent shows, local and national contests, city-wide (Del Mar Fair) and global exhibitions (Artsonia's e-portfolios), and fund-raising group projects the children will learn that what they learned in their art class has a value and place in their world.
The framework used at Del Mar Pines to develop the children's visual perception, visual literacy, and visual intelligence will be the National Core Art Standards set by the National Art Education Association. Our art curriculum's alignment with the Core Standards ensures the easy transition of our students from our school to others nationwide.
As stated by Sir Ken Robinson, in one of his talks concerning the role and future of education, "Curiosity is the engine of achievement". In order to better prepare the children for the future, we need to promote curiosity, allow for exploration of the unknown, place a high value on novelty as well as a collaboration towards a common goal. We need to "celebrate their diverse, dynamic and distinct personalities". At Del Mar Pines we strive to "awaken our students' powers of creativity" and "educate their whole being".
FUND-RAISING ART PROJECTS
What do van Gogh, Picasso, and DMP students have in common? What sets apart these two masters from their contemporaries and our students from other elementary school artists?
If you answered that they offer the viewer, a unique perspective, a fresh point of view, you are correct. van Gogh and Picasso were skilled artists who knew how to draw and paint in the established classical way but chose to explore and experiment instead. They created their own unique ways of expressing ideas visually. Their ideas were so new that they were credited with starting new art movements. DMP students are still developing their skills, not quite masters yet, but they too have learned to value original thinking and expression.
True learning does not take place if you simply memorize and mimic the masters (they would roll in their graves to know that they were being copied). Learning takes place when you understand techniques and concepts and use them to launch your own fresh ideas.
I am delighted to announce that each year DMP's artists produce seven original and unique works of art, seven mementos of their year at DMP, which are available through a live auction in springtime.
As the years go by, and your children grow and leave for college, it is these mementos of their childhood hanging on your wall that will bring back a flood of fond memories. I am speaking from experience.
If you are curious to see what your young artists will be working on; or perhaps you have an idea or would like to help with the creation of a work of art, please contact me. I can be reached at trobinson@delmarpines.com.
I would like to thank you in advance for your support of our art department.
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