Jill La Grange
WAEA
Past President '11-'13



Click here to read archived articles on Past President Blog

Presentation to the Oconomowoc School Board.

Read more in "Illuminating the Importance of Art Education" (article below, to right)

Traditionally December is at an accelerated pace punctuated with the school holiday programs, art exhibits, shopping, baking, and family festivities.  December 2011 Holiday Break marked the 22nd year of our family custom of my husband and I traveling to Florida to visit my mom and enjoy a few relaxing days.  Although the anticipated trip was sure to be exciting and enjoyable we had many last minute details to contend with that would ensure our trip would be a success, uploading books to our Kindles, packing the much needed sound cancelling head phones for the flight, confirming our flight arrangements online and uploading our boarding passes to our smart phones, adjusting the programmable thermostat, sharing our garage code with our neighbor, charging the digital camera, checking if all gifts have arrived through UPS track packages, and finally setting our email message to “We are on vacation!!!”. 

Upon reflection I am astounded by how technology shaped our trip plans for 2011 and am keenly aware that all of my student’s lives are enriched and impacted by the ever changing technology of today as well.  Even Santa has gone digital remarked a third grade student: “Ms. La Grange I emailed Santa my LIST and he said that he enjoyed the cookies I had left out for him last year and his elves are making me a special gift.” 

So if Santa can embrace a new method of assuring all the children of the world are blessed with gifts and their wishes come true, art educators can see to it that their instructional approaches are innovative and filled with art making experiences for students that afford them the opportunity to utilize traditional art tools, non-traditional art tools and digital art tools. 

For the 2011 school year I decided to utilize the one piece of technology that I have affixed to the wall in my classroom, a television.  Yes, I know the television is a bit archaic but with a direct wire to my computer the options are endless especially with YouTube videos specifically focusing on art techniques, artists discussing their own works of art and the works of others, art museums and works of art.  Specifically I wanted to give my students an inside look into the lives of artists that we were studying along with a view of the processes and challenges involved in creating a work of art.

I shared the following videos as a precursor to each lesson: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk4LGSiMu-g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK9FgEODF4o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETJhw9_B_X4&feature=fvsr

Talking about her flower paintings, Georgia O’Keeffe said, “Nobody sees a flower, really, it is so small.  We haven’t time-and to see takes time…So I said to myself: I’ll paint what I see-what the flower is to me- but I will paint it big….I’ll make even busy New Yorkers take time to see what I see of flowers.”

As an art educator  we need to “’paint” the power of visual arts in developing human potential to our colleagues, students, community and administrators with the same determination, vigor, vision and passion that O’Keeffe painted her flowers.  If we intend on making busy New Yorkers see the value in art education beyond a frill we are going to have to show what visual literacy, 21st century college and career readiness, and engaged learning look like through exhibitions, media stories and community events.

There are many ways of promoting quality visual art education but it is my belief that the voices and work of students is the most compelling.   Unquestionably Ars gratia artis is one of the central reasons for providing art learning experiences but we must not showcase art in such a limited capacity. As an alternative to exhibited merely student art emphasize how arts are essential in the 21st Century through point-of-display student artist statements, lesson Essential Ideas and Visual Art and Design Academic Standards addressed in lesson, rubrics and photographs/video of project process.

Here are just a few ways I have worked with students to illuminate the importance of art education:

Grade school level projects:

- Presently, Summit Elementary Art and Design Club students are designing a Summit School Little Library in the style of the Little Free Library Movement: http://www.littlefreelibrary.org/.  Students will research the history of a library and architectural styles, draw thumbnail sketches of a little library, create a maquette of a little library, discuss all student designs during a process critique, and finally vote on the design which aligns with the project goals.  Moreover, a parent will saw each piece of wood and then students will assemble the little library.  The little library will undergo a transformation utilizing paint by each student.  Finally, students will move the Summit Little Free Library outside of the school with books donated by parents and ready for lending.  The Summit School Little Free Library will promote literacy and art by affording the community the opportunity to donate a book that they have read for a book they have not.  Besides story books students will also design sketchbooks available for students, parents, and community members to create works of art and return to the Summit Little Free Library.  Please feel free to contact me if you would like additional information regarding the Summit School Little Free Library at past_president@wiarted.org.


- Created an Interactive Pictorial Map Mural utilizing traditional art media and a Smart Board.  Summit students presented the Pictorial Map Mural Project to the Oconomowoc School Board. See photograph of a student presenting to the school board and hand-out.

- Annual Digital Student Art Exhibit, (see the Power Point PDF).

- Created a Mandala Mural and Jackson Pollock Style Mural.  The Art and Design Club presented the Mandala Mural project to the Oconomowoc School Board.

- Student led docent tours of annual art exhibits displayed throughout the hallways

- Student led art workshops during the Annual Digital Student Art Exhibit

- Students created smocks embellished with student art for each Summit Elementary School teacher to wear when creating works of art during their regular class time.

High school level projects:

- Secured 40,000 in donations from parents to build a student gallery, CADE, in Oconomowoc High School.  Donations funded: a stained-glass window created by over 100 students, steel casting gallery sign, and construction cost of a gallery comprised of three freestanding display cases supported by pillars.  Forty thousand dollars seem like a huge undertaking, but the dream of having a student gallery all started with a sign requesting donations for an art gallery that I had on top of my desk during Parent Teachers Conference. By the end of the night I had the owner of a construction company, a local plumber, and stained-glass artist offer their support and ultimately build a gallery!

- Students designed High School Senior Art Awards (Messenger bags designed by art students and student works of art) for all-school assembly and an annual School Board Meeting

- Students created photography businesses. This project included developing a mission statement, business cards, works of art, and creating a solo exhibition in the community. Business project aligned with real world of a professional artist.  The businesses were named Shutterly Amazing Photography, In Your Face Photography and Alliance Photography.  Shutterly Amazing Photography secured a job with Neroli Spa and Hair Salon to photograph Neroli hair models and works of art on display at salon.

- Developed a High School Art Department website. Digital Photography students researched cyberspace galleries, used studio lighting to photograph student art, and arranged images and a multiple page website.  The art department website includes:  the art department’s mission statement, course descriptions, sample projects, art teacher biographies, special events, student senior portfolios, art links, and art course assessments.

- Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital Scarf Project- students created scarf head wraps for cancer survivors, see photograph.  I can’t think of anything more significant in my career then when each of my Visual Design students presented a painted scarf to the Cancer Patient Center at Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital. We received a letter from a cancer survivor sharing how touched she was by the thoughtfulness of our students to “add color to her life that had been filled with grey.” See attached article.

- Created the OHS Alumni Permanent Art Display - organized 25+ works of art for the walls of OHS by alumni artists and students.

- Photography students designed 28” x 13” banners to display in the hallway identifying each academic area at Oconomowoc High School.  Each student investigated symbolic imagery capturing the course focus, photographed subject matter, and utilized Adobe Photoshop to manipulate compositions.  Finally students saved images to a disc and Kinko’s printed two-sided banners.  The banners were mounted on poles attached to decorative plaques, built by Building Trades students.

Cross-grade level projects:

- Created student exhibit spaces in the following community locations- Waukesha State Bank, Oconomowoc Library, Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital, and My Place Coffee Shop

- Created Gallery 113, a K-12 student art gallery, in downtown Oconomowoc with Oconomowoc High School student docents and curators. This gallery features exhibits by local artists, alumni artists, K-12 art students, twelve area school districts, and teachers. (See photograph of Gallery 113)

- Worked with high school art students to provide grade school art classes for the City of Oconomowoc Parks and Recreation Department

- Exhibited student work in all-school displays at the Oconomowoc Festival of Arts, Oconomowoc Gallery Night, district offices, Oconomowoc Public Library

I have always admired O’Keeffe for her paintings but more importantly for her cavalier manner and determination to grab the brass ring.  So I challenge you to paint bold strokes this year about your student’s artistic spirit!!!