HIT:ART & LIBRARIES
Marion Vose
Thank you so much for all your many suggestions! My presentation at the
art museum last Thursday went very well so here then is my compilation of
your many suggestions and my own research. If you have any questions or
comments please feel free to contact me at
mv...@mail.oak-lea.anderson.k12.tn.us.
ART AND THE LIBRARY MEDIA CENTER:
FIVE WAYS TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR ART PROGRAM
by Marion Vose -- Jefferson Middle School, Oak Ridge
1. USE FICTION TO IMMERSE STUDENTS IN THE WORLD OF ART --
Allow students to experience the artistic process secondhand
by reading one or more of the following great titles together! Follow
up and enrich the reading by including extended activities.
ELEMENTARY GRADES:
Agee, Jon. The Incredible Painting of Felix Clousseau.1988. 32p. Farrar,
$15 (0-374-33633-4); paper, $4.95 (0-374-43582-0). Felix Clousseaus
amazing paintings come to life and cause chaos. As a result, the king
imprisons Felix until his one remaining painting, an image of a ferocious
dog, comes to life and prevents a thief from stealing the kings crown.
Bjork, Christina. Linnea in Monets Garden. 1987. R & S Books, $10.95
(9-12-958314-4). A young girl visits Giverny, France and while there
discovers the beautiful gardens and impressionistic artwork of Claude Monet.
dePaola, Tomie. The Art Lesson. 1989. Putman, $13.95 (0-399-21688-X).
Young Tommy decides that he is going to become an artist, but is
disappointed with his first, much anticipated, art lesson.
Garland, Michael. Dinner at Magrittes. 1995. 32p. Dutton, $1499
(0-525-45336-9) A young boy named Pierre has a surreal experience when
he dines with Rene Magritte and Salvador Dali.
Isadora, Rachel. The Pirates of Bedford Street. 1988. 32p. Greenwillow,
$11.89 (0-688-05208-8). A young boy gets into trouble when his desire to
draw causes him to decorate everything around him, until his father
provides a solution.
Johnson, Ann. The Princess and the Painter. 1994. 32p. Farrar, $15
(0-374-36118-5). The events surrounding the painting of Las Meninas --
the greatest work of the painter Diego Velasquez -- are suggested in this
book.
Lionni, Leo. Matthews Dream. 1991. Knopf, $14.95 (0-679-81075-7). A
school visit to an art museum inspires Matthew, the mouse, to become a
great painter one day.
Locker, Thomas. The Young Artist. 1989. 32p. Dial, $15.89
(0-8037-0627-8); Puffin, paper, $4.99 (0-14-054923-4). A young
apprentice paints the truth even when some of his subjects arent happy
with the results.
Moss, Marissa. Reginas Big Mistake. 1990. Houghton, $13.95
(0-395-55330-X). A young Afro-American girl experiences artists block
and then turns an artistic mistake into an original art work.
Rylant, Cynthia. All I See. Illus. by Peter Catalanotto. 1988. 32p.
Orchard/Richard Jackson, $15.99 (0-531-08377-2); paper, $5.95
(0-531-07048-4). Charles learns about painting what one sees within when
he befriends an artist who is painting whales even though none are within
sight.
Waddell, Martin. Alice the Artist. 1988. Dutton, $10.95
(0-525-44385-1). Alice learns to trust her own instincts after a picture
she creates changes as she adds all the details her friends suggest.
Zadrzynska, Ewa. The Peaceable Kingdom. 1994. 28p. M. M. Art Books, 11
Daniel Dr., Englewood, NJ 07631, $14.95 (0-9638904-0-9). The author
investigates the many versions of Edward Hicks painting The Peaceable
Kingdom.
MIDDLE SCHOOL AND UP:
Feiffer, Jules. The Man in the Ceiling. 1993. 186p. Harper Collins, $15
(0-06-205035-4); HarperTrophy, paper, $5.95 (0-06-205907-6) A child
cartoonist learns to work from his own ideas and to persevere with the
encouragement of his artist family.
Konigsburg, E. L. The Second Mrs. Giaconda. 1975. 144p. Atheneum, o.p.:
Aladdin, paper, $5.95 (0-689-70450-X). Set in Milan, Italy, in the 16th
century, this story opens with Leonardo da Vinci taking a young thief,
Salai, as an apprentice. Eventually, Salai leads his master to the
subject that becomes his most famous painting of all -- the Mona Lisa.
Highwater, Jamake. I Wear the Morning Star. 1986. 148p. Harper & Row
(0-06-022355-3). Sitko, growing up in a hostile white world that tries
to make him renounce his heritage as an American Indian, finds refuge in
the pictures he paints.
Oneal, Zibby. In Summer Light. 1985. 149p. Viking Kestrel
(0-670-80784-2). With the help of a new friend, Kate endures a summer
with her overpowering artist father and gains the courage to pursue her
own artistic goals.
Paulsen, Gary. The Monument. 1991. 149p. Delacorte Press
(0-385-30518-4). Rocky learns about the artistic process and at the same
time develops her own artistic sensibilities when an artist arrives in a
small Kansas town to design a war memorial.
Trevino, Elizabeth Borton de. I, Juan de Pareja. 1965. 180 p. Farrar,
Straus, (0-374-33531-1); paper, $4.95 (0-374-43525-1). This 1966 Newbery
Award winner is set in 17th century Spain, and is told in the voice of
Juan de Pareja, a slave, who develops a relationship of friendship and
equality with the court painter Diego Velasquez and goes on to become an
accomplished artist in his own right.
2. USE PICTURE BOOKS AS EXAMPLES OF VARIOUS ARTISTIC CONCEPTS, INCLUDING
MEDIA, TECHNIQUES, ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN, AND STYLES --
The beautiful art now used to illustrate picture books can be a
highly effective tool for clarifying a variety of art concepts. Below is
a list of picture books and corresponding art concepts each exemplifies.
TECHNIQUES & MEDIA:
Acrylic -- The Ugly Duckling, illus. by Troy Howell. Putnam, 1990.
Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters,
illus. by John Thompson. Scholastic, 1994.
Cartoon -- Jack and the Beanstalk, by Steven Kellog. Morrow, 1991.
Collage -- Window, by Jeannie Baker. Greenwillow, 1991.
Chattanooga Sludge, by Molly Bang. Harcourt Brace, 1996.
The Lions Whiskers, illus. by Ann Grifalconi. Scholastic, 1995.
Crayon -- Village of Round and Square Houses, by Ann Grifalconi.
& Pastel Little, Brown, 1986.
Iblis, illus. by Ed Young. Harcourt Brace, 1994.
Etching -- Oink, by Geisert, Arthur. Houghton, 1991.
Fabric -- The Way Home, illus. by Salley Mavor. Macmillan, 1991.
Layers -- Gifts, illus. by Barbara Reid. Scholastic, 1996.
Brown Cow, Green Grass, Yellow Mellow Sun, illus. by
Victoria Raymond. Hyperion, 1995.
Oil Paint -- The Boy Who Held Back the Sea, by Thomas Locker. Dial, 1987.
Paper -- The Very Quiet Cricket, by Eric Carle. Philomel, 1990.
Thump Thump, Rat-a-Tat-Tat, illus. by Lois Ehlert. Harper
Collins, 1989.
Rain Player, by David Wisniewski. Clarion, 1991.
Pencil -- Wing-a-Ding, illus. by Stephen Gammell. Little, Brown/Joy
& Ink Str. Bks, 1990.
Make Way For Ducklings, by Robert McCloskey. Viking, 1969.
The Bear and the Fly, by Paula Winter. Crown, 1976.
Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak. Harper &
Row, 1963.
Photograph -- Shadows and Reflections, by Tana Hoban. Greenwillow, 1990.
Realia -- Amazon Diary, illus. by Hudson Talbott & Mark Greenberg,
G.P. Putnams, 1996.
Scratchboard -- The Ballad of Belle Dorcas, illus. by Brian Pinkney.
Knopf, 1990.
Lucys Christmas, illus. by Michael McCurdy. Harcourt, 1994.
Watercolor -- The Missing Tarts, illus. by Tracey Campbell Pearson.
Viking, 1988.
Wings, illus. by Dennis Nolan, Harcourt, 1991.
Valentine & Orson, by Nancy Ekholm. Burkert. Farrar, 1989.
Woodcut -- Whaling Days, illus. by David Frampton. Clarion, 1993.
Black Swan/ White Crow, illus. by Chris Manson. Atheneum, 1995.
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN:
Color -- Animal Homes, by Brian Wildsmith. Oxford, 1980.
Apt. 3, by Ezra Jack Keats. Macmillan, 1971.
William Tell, by Leonard Everett Fisher. Farrar, 1996.
Form -- The Night of the Gargoyles, by David Wiesner. Clarion, 1994.
Line -- The Desert is Theirs, illus. by Peter Parnall. Atheneum, 1975.
The Cremation of Sam McGee, illus. by Ted Harrison.
Greenwillow, 1986.
Shape -- Piggins, illus. by Jane Dyer. Harcourt, 1987.
Round Trip, by Ann Jonas. Greenwillow, 1983.
Space -- Black Swan/ White Crow, illus. by Chris Manson. Atheneum, 1995.
Texture -- Rumplestiltskin, by Paul O. Zelinsky. Dutton, 1986.
Value -- O Jerusalem, illus. by John Thompson. 1996.
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN:
Balance -- A Boy Called Slow, illus. by Rocco Baviera. Philomel, 1994.
Knoxville, Tennessee, illus. by Larry Johnson.
Scholastic, 1994.
Contrast -- Smoky Night, illus. by David Diaz. Harcourt, 1994.
The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales,
illus. by Lane Smith. Viking, 1992.
Emphasis -- Flight, illus. by Mike Wimmer. Philomel, 1991.
Movement -- The Sorcerers Apprentice, by Inga Moore. Macmillan, 1989.
Pattern -- Math Curse, illus. by Lane Smith. Viking, 1995.
Rhythm -- Free Fall, by David Weisner. Lothrop, 1988.
Unity -- Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters,
illus. by John Thompson. Scholastic, 1994.
OTHER ART CONCEPTS:
Borders & -- Saint George and the Dragon, illus. by Trina Schart
Panels Hyman. Little, 1984.
Cupid and Psyche, illus. by K.Y. Craft. Morrow, 1996.
Perspective -- June 29, 1999, by David Wiesner. Clarion, 1992.
Unbuilding, by David Macaulay. Houghton Mifflin, 1980.
Flight, illus. by Mike Wimmer. Philomel, 1991.
Placement on Page -- Math Curse, illus. by Lane Smith. Viking, 1995.
Shadow -- The Night of the Gargoyles, by David Wiesner. Clarion, 1994.
STYLES:
Baroque -- The Boy Who Held Back the Sea, by Thomas Locker. Dial, 1987.
Folk or Ethnic -- Babushka Baba Yaga, by Patricia Polacco. Philomel, 1993.
The Song of Mu Lan, by Jeanne M. Lee. Front Street, 1995.
The Twenty-Five Mixtec Cats, illus. by Leovigildo
Martinez. Tambourine, 1993.
Gothic -- The Night of the Gargoyles, by David Wiesner. Clarion, 1994.
Impressionism -- The Creation, illus. by James E. Ransome. Holiday House,
1994.
Medieval -- Illuminations, by Jonathan Hunt. Simon & Schuster, 1989.
Modern -- The Great Migration, illus. by Jacob Lawrence. Harper
Collins, 1993.
Alphabet City, by Stephen T. Johnson. Viking, 1995.
Primitivism -- Island Boy, by Barbara Cooney. Viking Kestral, 1988.
Renaissance -- Leonardo Da Vinci, by Diane Stanley. Morrow, 1996.
Shakespeare and Macbeth, illus. by Tony Karpinski.
Viking, 1994.
Romanticism -- An Indian Winter, by Russell Freedman with art by Karl
Bodmer. Holiday House, 1992.
Surrealism -- The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg. Houghton
Mifflin, 1985.
Jumanji, by Chris Van Allsburg. Houghton Mifflin, 1981.
3. USE BOOKS TO ENCOURAGE AN APPRECIATION FOR ART --
Your library media center contains a wealth of books that
deal with a wide variety of art topics including art history, biographies
of artists, how-to-do-art books, etc. Take advantage of this rich resource
as you cover art in the classroom. These books are too numerous to list
here, but a few good series to look for are provided.
Art For Children: Miro, Earth and Sky; Picasso, a Day in His Studio;
etc. Chelsea House.
The Art of: The Vikings; China; The Old West; etc. by Shirley Glubok.
Macmillan.
Artists by Themselves: Degas by Degas; Monet by Monet; etc. Alfred A Knopf.
Behind the Scenes: Painting; Sculpture; etc. by Andrew Pekarik. Hyperion.
Come Look With Me: Animals in Art; etc. by Gladys Blizzard. Thomasson-Grant.
Draw 50: Dinosaurs; Dogs; etc. by Lee Ames. Doubleday.
The ... Eye: Sculptors Eye; Painters Eye; American Eye. by Greenberg and
Jordan. Delacorte.
Eyewitness Art: Monet; Gaugin; Impressionism; Watercolor; etc. Dorling
Kindersley.
How to Draw: People at Work; Heads and Faces; etc. by Arthur Zaidenberg.
Abelard-Schuman.
The Key to: Renaissance Art; From Romanticism to Impressionism; etc. Lerner.
Looking at Art: Faces; People at Work; etc. Atheneum.
Sketching Outdoors in: Spring; ... ; Winter. by Jim Arnosky. Lothrop, Lee
& Shepard.
A Weekend With: Picasso; Velasquez; Renoir; etc. Rizzoli.
What Makes a: Monet a Monet; A Van Gogh a Van Gogh; etc. by Richard
Muhlberger. Viking.
Shapes; Stories; Lines; Colors; People; Places. by Philip Yenawine.
Delacorte.
4. USE OTHER RESOURCES AVAILABLE THROUGH THE LIBRARY--
The library media center surely has more than books! Make use
of the many other items housed there to augment your art instruction.
Some general suggestions of what to look for are:
Art prints -- Shorewood or others with accompanying guides.
Audiovisuals -- Filmstrip kits, Videocassettes, Laser Disks, Slides, etc.
Computers -- Reference CD-Roms, Internet (http://www.art.net/), Art
software, Hypercard, Hyperstudio.
5. COOPERATE WITH THE LIBRARY IN AN ART ACTIVITY --
The library media center is more than a means of accessing
information -- it is also a place of action! Approach your library media
specialist with one or more of these art activities and work together to
not only promote art through reading and research, but also by "doing" art.
Bookmark Contest -- This is great for National Library or Book Week. Set
size limitations, a theme (if you want one) and allow students to create
their own bookmark. Be sure to announce the winners and make color
photocopies of their entries to distribute to the entire school. Use all
entries to create an eye-catching bulletin board. (Everyone who reads is
a winner!)
New Book Jackets -- After students have finished reading a book for a
book report allow them to create new book jackets, or covers, for their
books. Ask the librarian to actually use the new covers. Students will
be able to show off "their" new books in the library!
Decorate the Library -- The library is a great place to display student
work so that a wider audience will be reached. Art of any kind --
paintings, drawings, posters, sculpture, masks, mobiles, dioramas -- you
name it, is usually more than appreciated!
Art Prints in the Library -- Display art prints in the library and: A)
Let students research answers to thoughtful related questions -- a
scavenger hunt of sorts. B) Have students use library resources to
figure out who painted each picture. or C) Have students use library
resources to decide in what chronological order they were painted. This
could be a team activity and have prizes for fun (M&Ms for colorful good
taste in the world of art?)
Artist Visits -- Use the library as a central location to bring in guest
artists and have them demonstrate their craft. This is especially good
when studying the art of illustration and could also be done with the
artist-in-residence program.
An Artsy Potpourri -- Here are a few other suggestions in brief:
Let students bring in their own arts and crafts from home and
display them in the library along with corresponding books.
Do origami in the library using available books -- a great
exercise in listening skills or reading directions -- then display the
results there.
Students could put together a hyperstack, hyperstudio, or
computer slide show using web images and other computer resources in the
library.
Make paper together! (What could be more bookish?)
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