Private Art Student Wins Silver Key Scholastic Arts & Writing Award

Nothing brings me more happiness and pride than the success of my students! I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to teach this amazing young lady in her artistic journey. My private art lesson student, Cecily, won a Silver Key in the 2020 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for her graphite drawing, “Globe Artichokes” She took her reference picture at Longwood Gardens and began working on it independently. She brought the drawing every week to her lesson and we’d talk about her progress and discuss techniques for rendering the various textures of the plants and leaves. Can you spot the tiny spider?

Mason Jar Workshop

Saturday’s painting workshop was a lot of fun!  Everyone did a wonderful job creating their stylized flower bouquets in an aqua mason jar 💐

Meeting Tedd Arnold

Throwback to the time I met Tedd Arnold! When I was a public school art teacher, the district elementary librarians organized an “Author Day” where a contemporary author/illustrator would visit the schools. I created a lesson that was used to introduce third grade students to that year’s special visiting artist and author, Tedd Arnold.

In preparation for his visit, students created a diptych inspired by his book “Shoo Fly Guy!” As a class we analyzed Arnold’s artistic style and his use of calligraphic line (scribble that resembles letter forms usually associated with cursive). Students then utilized line, color, and calligraphic line to create a diptych (two pictures, viewed together) of two different view points of food, inspired by Tedd Arnold’s style. 🖋 Students also chose adjectives to describe their food illustrations.

One of the most amazing moments in my public school teaching career happened during the third grade assemble with Mr. Arnold. He was discussing his style while doing a drawing demonstration. He called the lines inside of his drawings, scribbles. A student raised their hand and shared about the art project we made and that they were called calligraphic lines. He was surprised and impressed and asked who had taught them that. EVERY single third grader turned around and pointed at ME! I was so proud that they shared what they learned and were able to tell him in person! 

Tedd Arnold and I

Student artwork example

Excerpt from “Shoo Fly Guy!” By Tedd Arnold

Speaking at the Salem County Art League

Last night I had the honor of being the guest speaker at the Salem County Art League meeting. I explained the different types of acrylic paints, mediums, and shared some of my favorite supplies and tricks. I also walked through the creation of “Sickler’s Mack” and explained my process from beginning to end. It was great to meet so many other artists and answer their questions about my favorite medium. 🎨

If you’d like me to present or speak at your organization, please email me at 💌: kimberlydenglish@gmail.com 

Picture courtesy of Vicki Dyer

The Problems With Painting Parties and How I Intend to Address Them

Chances are you've seen them or participated in one: painting parties. A social phenomenon that has swept the nation and social media with group pictures of finished projects.

Years ago while I was a tenured art teacher, I would search the internet to see what other art educators were doing in their classrooms and somehow through the tangled web of the internet came across studios offering these, then unheard of to the east coast, painting parties. After doing some further research, I realized that there were not many, if any, places offering them around the Tri-State Region. I thought it would be a great idea to offer them after school hours, but let's face it, as a teacher there were not many hours left in the day.

Fast forward to when I resigned from public school teaching to stay home to care for our daughter: I started my own art business and after some demand, began offering painting parties. I have met some wonderful people and shared many laughs through painting parties! I believe they are a great way to engage people in the creative process through an approachable format. However, as an art educator and professional painter, I have found some problems with painting parties:

EVERYONE is offering them as a service

Like some sort of sorcery, people are coming out of the woodworks as, ahem, "art teachers", and jumping on the bandwagon of offering painting parties because of the overwhelming demand for this social phenomenon.

It's not enough time
During these two or three hour workshops, I have found that it is not enough time for participants to learn and implement new techniques. Most of the time I have to abbreviate a certain type of painting technique to fit it into the time allowed for the workshop. While some students who have painted with me for a while can be more independent and creative, newer participants don't have the experience or confidence.

They are creating a need for more in-depth instruction

This is actually a great problem for me! A lot of my regular adult workshop participants have been asking for more in-depth instructions on painting and other artistic subjects like drawing and photography, just to name a couple. Which got me to thinking: If they are asking to learn more than just replicating a painting, there has to be more out there that want to do the same. Right? As a certified art teacher with experience teaching vast mediums and age ranges, I'm totally up for expanding people's knowledge in the art world!

In order to address these issues, I will be offering more in-depth painting classes for those interested in investing the time and effort it takes to truly learn how to paint. It will be structured as a small group lesson where students will be painting images of their choosing. I will guide the group both collectively and independently to a successful completion of an acrylic painting.

For more information and to sign up to be notified when I will be offering these painting classes, please click here. 

Art Materials & Ideas to Encourage Artistic Development

Today's blog post is a follow up post from last week's Experiencing Lowenfeld's Stages of Artistic Development with Children in Your Life. Please refer to the previous post for the descriptions of each artistic stage of development. Below are some examples of materials and ideas to encourage the child(ren) in your life at their current phase of artistic development:

Scribble Stage (Ages 2-4)
Use materials that allow the child to choose different colors and experience different mark making. Encourage the child to talk about their creations. In the beginning their drawings may not mean anything until they reach the later portion of the scribble phase known as "Naming".

Art materials:

1. Large crayons
2. 12" x 18" or 18" x 24" paper for drawing and painting to capture large movements
3. Large painting brushes with thick handles for easy gripping
4. Tempera paint
5. Air dry clay/ play dough for sculpting

Ideas to Explore:

1. Allow the child to draw freely
2. Ask the child what their drawing represents

Pre-Schematic Stage (Ages 4-6)
Encourage the child to make connections from their experiences in the world and their artwork

Art Materials:

1. Large crayons
2. 12" x 18" or 18" x 24" paper for drawing and painting to capture large movements
3. Large painting brushes with thick handles for easy gripping
4. Tempera paint
5. Watercolors
6. Colored chalk
7. Construction Paper
8. Glue
9. Air dry clay/ play dough for sculpting

Ideas to Explore:

1. Size Relationships
2. Feelings
3. Body Parts

Schematic Stage (Ages 7-9)
Allow children to draw/create what they want with new art materials. Encourage them to depict natural and imaginative environments.

Art Materials:

1. Multimedia Paper
2. Paint Brushes
3. Tempera Paint
4. Watercolors
5. Graphite Pencils
6. Colored Chalk
7. Oil Pastels
8. Paper Mache
9. Construction Paper
10. Glue
11. Clay

Ideas to Explore:

1. X-Ray Pictures
2. Front and Profile Views 
3. Emotions
4. Experiences in their world (going to school, dance practice, etc.)

Dawning of Realism Stage (Ages 9-11)
To encourage children to develop their artistic skills, have them draw from observation and explore other art mediums to express themselves and illustrate the way they view the world.

Art Materials:

1. Multimedia Paper
2. Paint Brushes
3. Tempera Paint
4. Watercolors
5. Watercolor Pencils
6. Graphite Pencils
7. Colored Chalk
8. Oil Pastels
9. Paper Mache
10. Construction Paper
11. Glue
12. Clay
13. Print Making Materials
14. Book Making Materials
15. Photography
16. Weaving

Ideas to Explore:

1. Art from around the world
2. Drawing from observation
3. Elements and Principles of Art

Experiencing Lowenfeld's Stages of Artistic Development with Children in Your Life

While I was studying to become an art teacher, I was required to take many child and adolescent development classes since I would certified to teach grades K-12. In these classes we discussed the physical, emotional, and social growth that happens within childhood and how it will affect learning in a classroom setting. In my art education classes we also learned about a different type of child development: The Stages of Artistic Development by Viktor Lowenfeld. Today I am going to briefly describe these stages so you can better understand the ways in which children begin to express themselves visually.

The first stage is the Scribble Stage which occurs when children are between 2-4 years of age. In this stage children begin by scribbling their kinesthetic motions onto paper (and sometimes walls). In the late portion of this stage, children begin to name or tell stories about their drawings. This is the shift from the kinesthetic thinking to imaginative thinking with the ability to visualize pictures.

Children then move into the Pre-Schematic Stage when they are approximately 4-6 years of age. This occurs when children begin to draw images that represent either animal or human figures. They create connections with the shapes that they draw to objects in the physical world around them. The most important aspects of the subject are emphasized and the use of color is more emotional than logical.

The next stage of artistic development is the Schematic Stage which occurs when the children are about 7-9 years old. In this stage, shapes are assigned to objects and they are attempting to communicate with the images they create. Another important development is spacial awareness and the appearance of sky and ground relationships.

Children then move onto the Dawning of Realism stage when they are about 9-11 years old. Realism is more about the experience with the object rather than photographic representation of it. Drawings at this stage also have defined steps to the process. Enhanced understanding of space with the use of overlapping also appears. This is also the time in the development of children where self awareness appears as well as self criticism which can hinder the development of their artistic abilities.

The final stage of artistic development in childhood is the Pseudo-Realistic Stage which occurs when children are about 11-13 years old. In this stage, the product becomes more important than the process. They try to mimic the shapes and values that they see in the real world to create works of art that are ready for "stage presentation". Children will also make visual and emotional connections to the objects from the physical world through their drawings. 

Credit: Laurie E. Meyers showcasing Viktor Lowenfeld's Stages of Artistic Development

As a mother, I am now experiencing the beginning of Lowenfeld's stages with my oldest child, Courtney. She is currently in the Pre-Schematic Stage where she is beginning to draw things that represent people or animals. Below are some unprompted pictures drawn by Courtney. It is so much fun to listen to her talk about her drawings and what she is trying to represent with her creations. In a future blog post I will provide you with suggested art materials and ideas to share with your child to encourage their development in their current stage.

References

Clements, Robert D., and Frank Wachowiak. Emphasis Art: A Qualitative Art Program for Elementary and Middle Schools. Allyn & Bacon, 2010

“Lowenfeld's Stages of Artistic Development.” LOWENFELD, www.d.umn.edu/~jbrutger/Lowenf.html.

“Viktor Lowenfeld's Stages of Artistic Development.” Ms. Lewis' Art Stars, www.mslewisartstars.com/viktor-lowenfelds-stages-of-artistic-development.html.