First Fridays in Raleigh

(As you read the paragraphs below, click on the underlined words to find links for further information. For my student readers, some of the underlined words will lead to word definitions.)

A few great things about living close to NC's capitol city, are all of the museums and events Raleigh has to offer.

One of these events is First Friday, which is held during the first Friday of every month. First Friday is a day when museums, art galleries and art studios stay open later to show off new art exhibitions. The event usually last from 6pm to 9pm, but some places may stay open later.

At each venue, there is a map that will lead you on your self-guided tour around downtown Raleigh to the participating locations. You may visit as many or as few as you would like. This is a great opportunity for parents and kids to spend time together exploring our state capitol and viewing art of all media, and subjects.

Since art is one of the oldest forms of self-expression, it naturally lends itself to promoting discussion among the viewers. This is a great time for parents and children to have conversations about the subject matter of the art, what it is made of or why they think the artist made the choices they did.

Often, people feel intimidated when talking about art, fearing that what they have to say will not be "right". One interesting and wonderful thing about art is that each viewer sees the artwork through their own experiences and understanding. This means that each viewer can understand a piece of art differently, and each can be "right". Even when we do not understand the subject of the artwork, the artist can often evoke a feeling through their use of line, color, technique, etc.

When talking about art in the classroom, we first talk about what we think about the art before even learning the name of the artwork. We talk about what we think is going on, what we think the artist is trying to say, and how it makes us feel. Then we learn the name of the artwork. Sometimes learning the name may make us feel or interpret the artwork differently. Sometimes the artist will provide us with an Artist's Statement. This is usually a few sentences or more that help us to know a little more about the artist or artwork. Having this information may also change how we view or understand the work.

This upcoming Friday, September 2 will be the next First Friday. I hope you will consider coming out to check out the new artwork that will be displayed for this next month. I will be out there looking around and would love to run into you.

If you are concerned about where to start, I suggest Artspace as a good starting point. It is near Moore Square. Artspace has a wide selection of artists' studios and offers classes for children during different times of the year. Here, you can pick up a map and follow the First Friday flags through the city.

Hope to see you there!!!

Lazy Daze Festival Canceled

Unfortunately, the Lazy Daze Arts and Crafts Festival has been canceled due to the hurricane. Please continue to check the blog for more updates on art events in our area.

More information about the festival cancelation.

Lazy Daze Arts and Crafts Festival

There is a fun, family-friendly art event going on this weekend in downtown Cary, weather permitting.

The 35th Lazy Daze Arts and Crafts Festival will take place on Saturday August 27th from 9am to 5pm as long as the hurricane doesn't spoil the fun. This festival will exhibit over 350 artists and fine crafts people from our area and all over the country. They will have work for you to purchase or just enjoy looking at. This is a great time for kids and adults to see lots of different types of art and even have a chance to talk to the artists. The featured artist this year is Grace Li Wang.

Along with visual art, the festival will have performing artists like musicians and dancers. You can sit down and enjoy many different types of music like jazz, blues, rock, reggae, bluegrass and more. There will also be a "Kid's World" with make-and-take art activities and a misting tent in which to cool off.

I encourage you to check out the links in the paragraphs above. They will lead you to more information about the festival. I hope you will also come and check out the event. This will be my first time attending the festival, and I would love to run into you there!

Directions to the festival.

New Art Link

I added a new link to our Art Activity Websites list to the right! Periodically, I will add links that will lead you to websites with fun art related activities. I encourage you to explore these websites and test them out for yourself.

One of the great things that technology has done is to create new ways for artists to express themselves, and as technology changes, art changes as well. Technology has changed how architects draw out their plans and the materials they can use in their structures, how photographers take their pictures and work with their images, and how cartoonists and animators create their characters.

This website lets you splatter paint like Jackson Pollock but without all the mess of actual paint. I know, kids, you’re saying “what’s the fun in that?!”, but believe me its still lots of fun, and your parents will love not having to yell at you to clean it up.

Jackson Pollock was an artist that created huge paintings on huge pieces of canvas that he would then splatter paint all over. He wasn’t trying to make his picture look like anything recognizable. It was more important to him to express himself just through his use of color and form, two of our elements of art. This approach to art made him an important artist in a style of art called abstract expressionism. Through this style and the popularity of his work, he helped to make America a leader in the modern art world.

On this website, you will also have the challenge of creating a piece of artwork with "paint" that is dripping and sloshing everywhere. Just move your mouse around the canvas and paint will start to splatter. You can change the color by clicking your mouse.

Check it out and have fun!!

Welcome Back to the Banks Road Art Room!

I’m excited to have everyone back in the Banks Art Room for another year of creativity and learning! We started the year by meeting some new faces, welcoming back old ones and refreshing our memories of the procedures and rules of the art room.

Second and Third grade started off the year as videographers, using flip cameras to create videos showing others how to use the art room materials and perform art room tasks correctly. Hopefully we will see some of these videos up on the blog soon.

Fourth and Fifth grade started their year by creating the sketchbooks that they will use for a year-long sketchbook assignment. The assignments in these sketchbooks will be completed on days when there is a sub in the artroom or when they have extra time after finishing other projects. These assignments will challenge students to examine different types of artists, styles, and methods of art making, explore different media and think critically when creating their own art and critiquing the art of others.

I look forward to another year, and can not wait to see what all of my wonderful Banks Road artists come up with!!!

Be on the lookout on the blog for art happenings in the school as well as in our community and around the world!

Spring 2010 First Grade Ocean Habitats Project