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Art Programs

  Alphabet Puppets

Students will use a variety of everyday materials to create their own stick puppet that represents a letter of the alphabet in this program that combines language arts with visual art. Fine motor skills will be used as we explore clay, wire, fiber and paint to create our characters to complete our puppet alphabet. Older students will create puppets based on characters from a story.

Grades K-2
Content Standards: Art 1-6; Language Arts 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 3.2

 
  Wool Carding and Felting

This program focuses on fiber arts and the many materials that can be created from working with wool. Students will card, dye, and make felt from fleeces from the Farm’s sheep while they learn about the history behind this natural handcraft. Students will visit the sheep and learn about other animals whose fleeces we use. We will discuss the process that takes the wool from sheep to felt and finish by felting wool into a finished project. 

Grades K-4
Content standards: Art 1, 2, 4, 6; Social Studies 1-3, 9, 12, 13, 15, Science 3.4

 
  A Quilt of American History

Based on the book “Quilt Block History” by Mary Cobb, students will view the experiences of the pioneers through the artistic lens of the various colored quilt blocks that were developed during their travels. The students will make connections between their American history studies, art and math as they complete their own blocks using geometric understanding. 

Grades K-4
Content Standards: Art 1-6; Social Studies 2-4, 9-13, 15; Math 6, 8.

 
  Mosaics

Mosaic is the art of decoration with small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other material. It can be found in many of the grandest cathedrals and also in your neighbor’s house or garden. This program will explore the world of mosaics by looking at various examples of  mosaic art both historical and contemporary. We will also relate mosaic design to tessellations and geometry. 

Grades K-4
Content Standards: Art 1-6; Social Studies 2-4, 9, 14; and Math 5, 6, 8.
 
  Dot the Day Away

Aboriginal art derives from materials that are available to the artists and depicts how they see their world. This program will highlight the intricate connection between art and nature as we learn how easy it can be to create art with dots. We will learn where Aboriginal art comes from, discuss how the tribal customs influenced the various art forms, and learn some traditional Aboriginal art symbols. We will use these symbols to create our own dot paintings. 

Grades K-4
Content Standards: Art 1-6; Social Studies 2-4, 9, 12.
 
  African Folk Masks – Symmetry and Spirit

African masks were worn to celebrate victory, ward off evil, call on spirits and for storytelling. We will look at various African folk tales and create our own masks based on the tale we explore. In the mask making process, we will learn about symmetry and what various geometric shapes stand for in African lore. 

Grades K-4
Content Standards: Art 1-6; Social Studies 2-4, 9, 12; Language Arts 2, 3.

 
  Navaho Sandpaintings

The Navajo word for sandpaintings means "place where the gods come and go." The sandpainting has been used for centuries in religious rituals, including healing ceremonies performed by Navajo medicine men. This program will explore the history behind Indian sand paintings and discuss the use of symbols in art as well as the place of creativity in healing.

Grades 3-6
Content Standards: Art 1-6; Social Studies 2-4, 9, 12; Language Arts 2, 3

 
  Calder’s Mobiles

Alexander Calder was an American sculptor most famous for inventing the mobile, although he was prolific in a wide range of media. By studying his work, students can see how art and science can combine to create new and exciting pieces. Mobiles take into consideration the physical properties of the materials used and the effects of external forces on those materials. Students will be able to make connections between art and simple physics by creating their own mobiles. Students will use problem solving skills to work through questions of weight and balance and complete a mobile using materials provided.

Grades 3-6 
Content standards: Art 1-6; Science 5.4, 6.3.

 
  Colonial Crafts

During the Colonial period natural dyes and fibers were combined with handmade tools and craftsmanship to create many things the colonists used for daily living. Students will work with natural materials used to produce cloth and tools and will learn about how resourceful the colonists were as they created a new home from the land. Students work with wool from the Farm’s sheep, learn carding and spinning and will make brooms from broom corn.

Grades 5-6
Content Standards: Art 1, 4, 6; Social Studies 1-4, 9, 12, 13, 15.

 
  History of the Written Word

Where did our written language come from and why are there so many different languages throughout the world? How has our written language changed as the tools for writing and printing have developed over history? What other cultural issues have affected the development of our written language? These questions will be addressed as we explore the various historical periods and the written languages of the time, including hieroglyphics, cuneiform and alphabets.

Grades 5-6
Content Standards: Art 1-6; Social Studies 1, 3,4,7, 9, 11, 15.  
 
  Batik

This program will explore the colorful and time honored process of batik, a wax-resist fabric dyeing technique developed in Southeast Asia. Students will learn about the geographic region where batik was developed and study the culture and history of the area in relation to this artistic expression. Students will learn about the tools used in the creation of a batik, and will see a variety of batiks that have been produced, both as fine art and fabric for clothing. Students will create their own batik.

Grades 5-8
Content Standards: Art 1-6; Social Studies 9, 12,13.  
 
  Patterns in Art and Nature

There are so many patterns repeated throughout nature. During this program that combines environmental science, art and math, students will search for patterns as they hike the surrounding landscape, learn about Fibonacci numbers and the Golden Rectangle, measure and recognize the golden ratios in the human body, and find out how nature uses amazing patterns for different reasons. These patterns then will form the basis for a nature printing workshop. 

Grades 5-6
Content Standards: Art 1-6; Math 4-6, 8.