TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

School Is Committed To Art

ADVERTISEMENT

By ESTHER HAMMER

ehammer@tampatrib.com

Published: November 12, 2008

SOUTH TAMPA - On a recent Monday morning, Henri Matisse was under scrutiny at Christ the King Catholic School.

Inspired by the French master, a seventh-grade class was working up an "inside/outside" approach to composition, using scenes from their mind to compose an indoor scene that looks outdoors.

"He used colors like warm and cool to show distance," said Logan Nelson, who was perfecting his inside table with a window view.
Fellow student Lorenzo Gonzalez agreed.

"And he used colors to show what mood he was in and to show the city where he lived," he said.

This kind of exercise is good, why?

"It helps you think outside the box," Lorenzo said. "You have to project outside your mind."

Teaching the discipline of art remains a long-running commitment at Christ the King, 3809 W. Morrison Ave., with classes for all students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

"The art program has impact across the curriculum," said Principal Jane Forbus, who has been at the school for 22 years. "Creating something from start to finish brings a sense of self-esteem. And there's the idea of work for personal fulfillment."

Teacher Jenny Wilson, 40, approaches her work as a mission.

"Jenny is very, very good at taking the great artists and teaching that technique and bringing it down to the kids' level and then allowing them to use that technique in their own creative work," Forbus said. "She does that across the board in all ages."

One of Wilson's favorite artists is the late Keith Haring, whose simple figures practically beg for reproduction. Wilson likes to teach Haring's technique to the younger grades.

"It's a no-mess-up thing," she said. "By the time students are in fourth grade they start to worry about how their drawing looks. So we start out with this project imitating Haring and everybody can be successful. It gives them confidence to go and try new things after that."

On a long wall outside the classroom, Wilson has reproduced several of Haring's more famous figure groups and created some of her own in his style.

"I thought it would inspire the kids when they come to class," she said." And they can see it in the morning when they get dropped off, too."

Correspondent Esther Hammer can be reached at (813) 259-7662.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT