Into The Woods Road Art Studio: Field Trips

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Visiting Princeton

First grade did their annual visit to the Princeton Art Museum where we had a guided tour by several docents. We examined a variety of representational and non objective art inside the museum and did a tour of the sculpture garden outside. We even had time to sketch the Bengal tigers. Students were shocked to learn how these two male and female tigers arrived on campus the same year the school became coed.

Exploring the Grounds!

Third grade spent the day visiting Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton Township. We were able to examine a variety of sculptures from representational to abstract. Students enjoyed viewing the different artworks as well as exploring the different trails and hidden pathways. We were able to see how artist and founder of the grounds Sewart Johnson recreates many famous 19th century paintings by transforming them into three dimensional spaces as he explains "to allow an intimacy that the paintings do not allow themselves."

Mrs. Banker- The Art Teacher at Woods Road Elementary

In addition to being an artist myself, I find even more joy aiding in the art making of children. I am surprised all the time by how much young artists can discover on their own and I try to aid in that self discovery as much as possible. Each unit I design, starts off with an exploration of some sort, so students can really see all the possibilities of a particular material/media. Although we do look at many past and present artists to get inspired and see how other successful artists problem solved, it is never a goal to create work that that looks like a "Picasso" or a "Van Gogh." It is a priority for me to make sure each lesson is crafted with enough freedom for students to express their own personal interests and passions. In addition to my experience as an artist and teacher, I earned a Master's degree in Art and Design Education from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.