Understanding the Arts, a Multi-Cultural Program

Understanding the Arts Multicultural Program provides the opportunity for students to learn and appreciate art worldwide from the past to the present. It aims to develop the artistic talents and creativity of children in a variety of mediums and multicultural styles. The program broadens the students’ understanding and knowledge of art in all forms, exposing them to well-known work and to obscure, rare or unusual art that would ordinarily be overlooked. Numerous pieces will be featured at our annual student art show, where parents and teachers may also submit original work. Each child will receive one award for one of their projects.

Project themes provide students the opportunity to interpret art from around the world, revealing the students’ personal perception of themselves and world cultures. Students will soon notice a connection between art projects and classroom curriculum in subjects such as literature, geography, math, music, history and science. It is amazing to see students’ artistic achievements as their imaginations come to life through a variety of mediums.

click here for curriculum
click here for supply list
click here for The Perk Club P.E.
click here for special projects
click here for Shakespeare program
click here for mock trial program
click here for summer program

CLICK HERE FOR 2011 ART SHOW PICTURES

CONGRATULATIONS TO Mrs. Majka's class for their winning exhibit at the Del Mar Fair.
CLICK HERE

CONGRATULATIONS TO Sam Bigham, Jackie Bonner, Nani Espiritu & Siena Meng - Finalists in the Helix Water District 2011 Poster Contest . CLICK HERE

CLICK HERE for San Diego Museum of Art Young Art Show Winners - Jackie Bonner & Michael Chandler, Nani Espiritu & Siena Meng, Sam Bigham and Aaryan Booter

CLICK HERE for Curriculum from Past Years

Students also prepare artwork for submission to The San Diego Museum of Arts Young Art Exhibition (every two years). Accepted artwork will be displayed at the museum or local libraries. If our artwork is accepted, students, parents and teachers will be invited to the opening reception as well as complimentary tickets for admission to the museum after the show officially opens.

The students also participate in community, city and county sponsored art contests such as the Helix Water District Poster Contest and the Del Mar Fair.

Since 2006 our students have had 10 out of 12 projects accepted into 3 of SDMA's bi-annual young art shows. During the past 3 years we have had 7 finalists in the Helix Water Poster Contest with two posters chosen for the Metropolitan Water District's annual calendar. Our display at the 2011 Del Mar Fair won an award for special recognition.

study  -  exploration  -  artmaking  -  studio  -  praxis (art in context)
presentation  -  critique  -  award

Traditions - Students will use various tools, substrates, materials and medium when creating art projects. These projects will be created using watercolor, tempera, acrylic, and markers. Projects will include: Jamaican Worry People, Chinese Lantern, Painted Eggs, Traditional Dress, Wedding Cakes, County Fair, Parade Floats, Cotillion, Tea Time, Harvest Festival, Valentine’s Day, Picnic, Mardi Gras, Morocco Berber, Greek Market, Sari Painting, Malaysian Naïve Art, Peruvian Market, Korean traditional jewelry boxes, Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, Maypole, Headdresses, Quilt Patterns Dust Bowl  Tradition, Thai Coffee Painting, Nelson Mandela Posters, Palau Art, Lai See Envelopes, Blue Grass, Flash – National Holidays, Photoshop – Months, and Powerpoint Presentation – A History of Shoes. 

Expressionists & Impressionists - Students will discover, study and interpret techniques of famous international artists from the past and present in studio sessions using pencil, charcoal, chalk, watercolor, tempera, color pencil, and markers. Projects include studies of: Plein Air, French Expressionists – Georges Braque, Georges Rouault, French Impressionists – Edourd Manet, Paul Gaugin, Paul Cezanne, Henri Toulouse-Latrec, Henri Degas, Alfred Sisley, Berthe Morisot, Austria – Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Henry Koerner, Norway - Edvard Munch, Denmark – Per Kirkeby, Germany – Gabriele Munter, Franz Marc, Ernst Ludwig Kirchir, Poland – Gershon Iskowitz, Italy – Renato Guttuso, Spain – Jose Manuel Merello, Joan Miro, Juan Gris, Joaquin Sorolla, Croatia – Tonko Smokvina, Mexico - Carlos Orozco Romero, Leonora Carrington, Guillermo Meza, Colombia – Fernando Botero, America – William Johnson, Elizabeth Catlett, Bob Thompson, Reginald K. Gee, Valerie Wolf, Grant Wood, Randell Henry, Homer Winslow, John Sloan, Alexander Calder, China – Fanz Zeng, Li Xiongcai, Japan – Hiroshige Ando, Vietnam – Trinh Khoa, India – Nandalal Bose, Korea – Kim Chong-hui, Australia – Adam Orti, Nigeria – Chidi Okoye, Dilomprizulike, Sokari Douglas Camp, South Africa – Hardus Koekemoer, Tracey Rose, Mali – Abdoulaye Konate, Fresco

Words & Numbers - Acrostics, Palindromes, Onomonopaea, Shape Poems, Alphabets, Initials, Numbers, Decorative Ages, Art Nouveau, Newspaper Collages, Numbers with Illustrations, Installations, Street Signs, Ivy League Umbrella Stand, Keyboards, Playing Card Collages, Dewey Decimal System, Sign Language, Crazy Eights, Squared and Cubed, Diamonte Poems, Alphabet Poems, Dipthongs, Number Collages, ART, Scrabble Tiles, Cryptograms, Greek Etas, My Name, SCHOOL, Other Alphabets

Linear & Beyond - Line, Value, Color, Shape, Texture, Space, Form, Balance, Emphasis, Rhythm, Unity, Chair, Monochromatic, Swirls, Dream Room, Soap, Still Life, Pattern, Horizon Lines, Silhouettes, Stacked Architecture, Pottery, Infinity, Highways & Biways, Geometrics, Cobblestones, Caterpillar Circles, Season Wheels, Color Wheels, Pomanders, Embossing

The March Art Show will showcase students' work from these 4 categories. Each classroom will be devoted to one of the categories with background music appropriate to each theme. Each themed room will display artwork from all grades. All of our students are amazing artistic talents. Each child receives an award for one of their projects, although it has proven to be extremely difficult to choose one from each students' portfolio of extraordinary work. Art is subjective. There are no harsh critiques of any student work. Each student has developed their own style and all of the work is important and frame-worthy. The students take great pride each year in their displayed work, so it is important that parents, family members and friends support our show with attendance. If you would like to volunteer to set up or clean up please contact the office or the art instructor, Deneen Underwood.

  Pre-Kindergarten - Miss Chandima

CONGRATULATIONS TO 2009 WATER POSTER CONTEST FINALIST SAM BIGHAM, Grade 1

CONGRATULATIONS TO K-5 STUDENTS!
All 4 art projects submitted to the SDMA Young Art Show "Expressing Literature" have been accepted.
Kindergarten & Third Grade Projects were displayed at the San Diego Museum of Art April 18 - May 31, 2009.

Tonga the African Elephant Story by: Debbie Buttar Artwork: Haley Banks, Aaryan Booter, Seth Borrayo, Lucy Conroy, Isaac Cota, Jeremy Gulley, Benjamin Lewis, Amelia Norkowski, Andie Ramos, Nicholas Stilwell, Amberly Tran & LeDamion Willis Kindergarten

Rikki Tikki Tavi, the Jungle Book by: Rudyard Kipling Artwork: Jackie Bonner, Michael Chandler, Sydney Hendricks-Tricks 3rd Grade

First/Second & Fifth Grade Projects were displayed at Joan Kroc Community Library April 18 - May 31, 2009.

The Road Not Taken by: Robert Frost Artwork: Gabe Argimon & Sam Bigham 2nd Grade and 1st Grade

Charles Dickens Victorian House Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, The Pickwick Papers & Nicholas Nickelby Artwork: Will Bigham, Veronica Chandler & Paola Espinal 5th Grade