Save the Date!

Putting it All Together

                                                                                                This has been a busy couple of weeks and the last few days have been joyously intense! We have been busily putting together the Fairfax Region Scholastic Art Exhibition. The show opens on Thursday this week at the Ernst Cultural Center.

The artwork was delivered last Friday. We checked in over 300 artworks, labeled and packed them. Today they were delivered to the gallery and an amazing team of art educators came to help hang the show! Eight teachers worked in pairs to dress the walls! Such a productive way to connect with colleagues surrounded by inspiring student artwork! 

Tomorrow we return to the gallery with a new team of art educators and fresh eyes to look over today's result, label all the artwork, install the animations, sculpture and ceramics portion of the show and add finishing touches!

In case I have not mentioned it, art teachers are made of steel and have the best hearts and strongest work ethic! This show would not happen without their passion and participation on so many levels! 

2020 Cultivating Creative Vision

Starting off the new year with an abundance of art! I love this photo my dear friend captured of me photographing the exterior of the Baltimore Museum of Art. Props to the BMA for committing to expanding their collection with work of only women artists in 2020! 
This year I challenge you to get it together and venture to out to see all the creative and curious art works that are available in your area! Museums have been declared good for your health! So get out there and improve yourself! 

Museum Makers Program

   The National Gallery of Art offers an opportunity to high school students to use the museum collection for research, personal inquiry and inspiration. The program is called Museum Makers and it invites students from the DMV to apply for this rich experience. It is a six week commitment to dive deeply in the NGA collection and all that offers!
   The NGA has been inviting students to this program since 1992 and they happily boast 600 alumni. Many of these individuals still keep in touch and return to visit the current students when they are in town. 

 Today was the culminating event, the students presented their wanderings on an artwork in the form of a research question and then unpacked their findings for us.They also exhibited their own artwork that documented their journey during the program. It was impressive to witness the poise and intellect of these 15 students!   

One of my students based his inquiry around the work of Jean Dubuffet and his disregard for conventional art making techniques. He spoke so eloquently about his findings and the dark childlike images that Dubuffet wished his viewers would experience rather than analyze. There were other students that contemplated the artwork and minds of Hieronymus Bosch, Monet, Whistler and Lichtenstein. The day was a wonderful exploration through time in the NGA permanent collection. 

I commend these students for the sharing all that they learned during this six week journey! The National Gallery of Art is a world class institution and this is such an excellent opportunity! 

Countdown...

Spinning, twirling...blink

the decade fading to black

2020 is rising

Let me introduce you (ongoing series)

Let me introduce you to Mrs. Cho, she is new to the art department at Bonnie Brae Elementary school. Most recenlty she taught art and 4th grade in Korea, we are so lucky she has returned to our county. Currently Mrs. Cho is really embracing the challenge of teaching in a pod space. It is a welcoming environment that inspires curious minds! 

#fcpsart

#fcpsartonaquest

#letmeintroduceyoutofcpsart

Impasto

This past weekend we went to the Reach on the Kennedy Center Campus to view the Portraits of Courage painted by George W. Bush. I was very taken with the impasto style found in several of the paintings. The thick strokes are simultaneously inviting and tormented.