Art Masters

Students will begin each lesson with an interactive assembly which will be followed up with a classroom activity taught by Art Masters staff, parent volunteers, or classroom teachers.

This program will involve students, teachers, and parents alike! Parents are always welcome to attend the assemblies and help with the studio art lessons. Please support this valuable program by volunteering. For more information, please contact your student’s teacher.

Even if you cannot be a volunteer for the program, please use this information to ask your students about their experiences as part of the Art Masters Academy program.

Art Masters Paragraphs

ART OF THE ANCIENT AMERICAS

Scholars explore the art of the ancient Americas in this Art Masters lesson. By studying mysterious artifacts, sculptures, and monuments from the Olmec, the Maya, and the Aztec, students make a connection between people living thousands of years ago with those living today.
Inspired by this ancient art, the classroom activity focuses on designing an icon using colors and patterns related to that region.

NATIVE AMERICAN LEGACY

After a brief overview of Native American art, scholars will focus their attention on the works of Jerome Tiger who was part Seminole and part Creek. He was a narrative artist whose art focused on telling little known stories including the Trail of Tears, as well as showcasing life in a Native American community. The works of Fred Beaver and R.C. Gorman, which are included in the lecture, also lend inspiration to the classroom art activity which utilizes colors and patterns in a drawing using either oil pastels or chalk pastels & colored pencils.

ART MASTER RAFFAEL

This lesson is all about color! Scholars will be introduced to Joseph Raffael who was a contemporary American realist. His vividly colored, photo-realistic works range from detailed portraits of animals and people to plants and flowers. Raffael originally worked with oil paints but transitioned to watercolors, creating enormous paintings on two or more canvases. The classroom art activity focuses on color value using watercolor pencils to enhance the experience.

AFRICAN LEGACY

Following a brief overview of African art, Art Masters scholars delve into the world of Lois Mailou Jones, a 20th century American artist, whose works were inspired by African masks, patterns, and designs. Through her use of brilliant colors and bold shapes, Jones created modern art with ancient images and symbols. For the classroom art activity, students will design their own African motifs using oil pastels and paper collage.

ART MASTER LICHTENSTEIN

The playful, colorful world of Pop Art is the focus of this Art Masters lesson. Pop Art is created from images in our modern culture. American artist Roy Lichtenstein was an influential member this movement with works focusing on comics, advertisements, and everyday objects. His fine art paintings and mixed media sculptures provide inspiration for the classroom activity which emphasizes a balanced composition using paper collage and Ben Day dot paper.

ART MASTER WRIGHT

The designs of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright introduce scholars to the art principle of perspective. By studying the exteriors and interiors of some of his most famous buildings, students learn about Wright’s dedication to preserving the environment and his theory of Organic Architecture. Wright’s drawings of some of his incredible accomplishments serve as inspiration for students to create a perspective drawing in pencil.