As part of their study of changing weather, light, sky, and seasons this year, all the Holmes 1st graders learned to observe closely like artists during their Art Start drawing and painting workshops with artist and author Sallie Wolf.

Ms. Wolf conducted 6 workshops with each of the first grade classes -- Ms. Collela's, Ms. Merz's and Ms. Yigzaw's. In these photos by Dana Nitzoy from Ms. Yigzaw's 1st grade class, students painted with watercolors, using artist quality paint. They also had graphite sticks and waxed paper, and experimented with drawing over the waxed paper onto the dry watercolor paper to create white lines that showed up once painted was washed over.

Students drew beautiful and interesting "sky portraits" from memory as well as from direct observation.

Thanks to Chicago photographer Dana Nitzoy for this slideshow of photos from the workshops.



 

The Oak Park Education Foundation's 7th annual Vex Robotics competition between Julian & Brooks students on January 28 was an amazing display of middle school engineering talent. More than 80 sixth-eight graders worked with teachers, volunteer engineers, and high school mentors after school for months to design, build and program inventive robots that showed their stuff on a playing field at the Julian gym in front of a packed house of cheering fans, friends and family.

This year Julian took back the trophy from Brooks in a 319-95 win. But they're not finished -- five teams from each middle school are still preparing for a regional competition in Batavia on February 11 to compete against area teams, most of them high schoolers.

During the Robotics competition, OPEF also held our first Open House showcasing all our programs: Architecture Adventure, Art Start, Science Alliance, Geared Up, Vex Robotics and BASE Camp. The Julian Commons was full of parents and kids, ages 5-12, trying their hands at challenging, educational and fun activities. Kids operated Vex Robots, build pocket totem sculptures, designed LEGO machines and created innovative buildings of LEGOs, experimented with water, rocks and electricity with EPA scientists, and created Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired window designs.

Thanks to all who participated, supported, attended, or followed us on Twitter, including our event sponsors: Aria Group Architects, Forest Park National Bank, Hoy Landscaping, It's A Sign, and Starship Restaurant & Catering.

Make sure to check out our slideshow of photos from the Vex Competition and Open House from photographers Maria Soderburg and Paul Goyette.



 

Local dancer and artist Vickie Cassanova sat in the rocking chair at the front of the classroom, the students intensely focused on the story she was reading to them. Like other stories Ms. Vickie shared with the students over the past few weeks, this story about an Amish girl in Pennsylvania allowed the kids to "visit" another culture.

Via OPEF's Art Start program, the kids in Ms. Louthan's 2nd grade at Beye "travelled" with Ms. Vickie from Africa to the Caribbean and around America. Along the way, she integrated music, dance, art, and clothing into their discussions about how different cultures express their beliefs and their feelings.

Oliver K. said, "I never knew these names and I never knew these places existed." His classmate Louis D. added, "I only knew about certain places and I really would like to learn about more and this is a good chance to get to do that." Charlotte N. agreed that it is "fun to 'travel' to different states and countries."

Students learned about country dancing, the blues, and limbo dancing among others. They visited the District 97 Multicultural Center at Julian, and showcased what they learned with costumes, art, music, and dances in a performance on November 18,

Make sure to check out photos from the event by Oak Park photographer Paul Goyette.



 

OPEF's Art Start program sponsored Oak Park artist Jill Kramer this fall, who led Ms. Worley's and Ms. Murray's 6th grade art classes in the study of socially engaged visual art.

Students critiqued the images they see all around them, and then designed their own images to convey personal meaning. The powerful limited edition screen prints they created incorporated imagery and text as a means to lend youth voice to visual culture in Oak Park. The students focused on the concepts of community and youth participation through visual art as democratic participation. In addition, the students will be exchanging prints with each other in a way similar to that of professional print exchanges undertaken in the contemporary art world. The 6th graders in Oak Park have a lot of important things to say!

You can see a sampling of their work in these photos by Paul Goyette and Patti Quilling, or come see them in person starting Wednesday, October 26, on display in the windows of Oak Park Bath & Kitchen, 136 N. Ridgeland in Oak Park now through November 22.



 

We're so proud of our wonderful BASE Campers and their teachers for creating this fascinating and beautiful work of public art!



  This article doesn't just explain our summer mural project, it explains Fibonacci's Golden Ratio!



  UPDATE: The photos sets linked below have all been updated with new photos from week four of BASE Camp. Check them out! (7/5/11)

Our Vex Robotics kids (entering 6th-7th grade) custom designed, built and programmed robots to meet a variety of challenges in the form of different games. They built a variety of bots, working in teams, and put on a great show for parents, guardians, siblings and friends at the final competition on June 30!

The Fibonacci Mural group (entering 6th-8th grade) learned and mapped the golden ratio, and then designed and painted a mural under the "L" tracks between North and South Boulevards where Forest Ave. meets Home Ave. On June 13, they took a field trip to get inspiration from many fabulous murals in Humboldt Park. On June 24, they hosted a reception to celebrate their fine work.

Our Architecture Adventurers (students entering 4th-6th grade) designed buildings and made models, with help from professional architects and high school student TAs. They also worked with Google Sketch Up to create 3D virtual models.

The Dissection: Comparative Anatomy and Medical Illustration class (for kids entering 5th-8th grade) spent 2 weeks dissecting specimens from chicken wings to fetal pigs to learn about human anatomy. They spent a day working with Pat Thomas, Board Certified Medical Illustrator and Oak Parker who explained the how and why of her trade and helped students with their illustrations.

Geared Up: Engineering with LEGOs campers (entering 3rd-5th grade) took on new challenges every week -- from structures to wind power, animals to vehicles. They experimented with motors and remote controls, tested their machines and made them better and better.

In Art Start: Arts Adventure, our youngest campers (entering 1st-2nd grade) spent 2 weeks exploring many of the arts, including theater, story, dance, music, and painting.

They presented the fruits of their labor, including an elaborate set, costumes and books made mainly from found materials, to parents and friends on June 24.

In Geared Up/Architecture Adventure: Engineering with LEGOs (for students entering 1st-2nd grade), kids built the White House, Willis Tower, Wrigley Field, Seattle Space Needle, the Grand Canyon and more. They learned about geography, history and architecture while creating very impressive models!

The last week of camp included Art Start: Maps of the Imagination (for kids entering 3rd-5th grade). The kids used painting, drawing, and printmaking to create unique versions of their own mind-boggling mind maps.



 

It's common knowledge that kindergartners like to move. Asking them to sit still in a classroom for long stretches is a tall order.

Enter Corey Nagel. As part of OPEF's Art Start program, this dance and preschool instructor had Mann kindergartners movin'. But not willy-nilly movement. Instead she subtly encouraged them to think about how they are moving and what their movement can express.

With shoes and socks off, the kindergartners in Ms. Whitley's class at Mann one April morning were experimenting with difference types of movement. Ms. Nagel says she calls it "movement" not "dance" with the kids so as to avoid any stigma associated with the latter. She encouraged them to "really feel what is going on around you," as they did their own skipping, crawling, walking, and jumping.

The students experimented with 7 different movement activities that day, all accompanied by instrumental music. In one activity, the kids teamed with a partner to experiment with "highs and lows" so they had to watch what their partner was doing: "If your partner is high, you are low. . . Use your eyes."

In another activity, a sort of freeze-tag game: "Whoever is 'it' is full of energy. Everyone else is frozen." The kids explored how to move in space and to be creative in that moment when they were "it."

"She is so creative--we wanted her to do what she does best," said kindergarten teacher Allyson Smith. Ms. Nagel used plenty of kindergarten-appropriate concepts and themes--shapes, numbers, and the like--to make connections with the kids.

Jackie Beljung, another kindergarten teacher, added, "They are also learning new concepts as they do it--opposites, shapes, symmetry. It complements concepts we do in kindergarten, and it's a nice way of differentiating [how we're teaching those concepts]."

Ms. Nagel's good chemistry for the kids was evident when Kyle C. said he "likes that she is fun and funny!" Sam W. likes that "we can take our shoes off and go barefoot and move a lot." When asked if he liked positive or negative sculptures, he said, "I like both. It makes my legs feel good."

The kids had a chance to create a shape machine in which they connected to each other but had to keep those positions while passing blocks from one person to the next. It created a fascinating mix of movement and stability as the blocks were passed. The kids learned that in order to keep the machine running smoothly they needed to move carefully and also pay close attention to their neighbors' movements.

In Ms. Smith and Ms. Beljung's kindergarten classes, the students also experimented with what Ms. Nagel explained were "positive and negative shapes." Using a student as an example, she said "where she is is positive. Where she isn't is negative. Negative shapes have lots of holes," a jumping jack formation, for example. Positive shapes are solid, such as being enclosed in a ball or scrunched up. Kids moved into groups to create negative sculptures, those with lots of holes, and at the same time, to use the different levels in space Ms. Nagel had talked to them about-- highs, mediums, and lows.

Ms. Nagel also discussed symmetrical vs. asymmetrical shapes with the students, a concept the kids have learned in kindergarten math. She explained how standing with the parts of your body in an asymmetrical position is not "very comfortable but it's interesting" and then had the kids experimented with that as well.

Ms. Beljung appreciates Ms. Nagel's work with these kids since "this gives the kids that outlet to have that movement in the middle of the day."

The students did several movement workshops in their six weeks with Ms. Nagel in order to get movements and ideas in their "toolboxes" for the "Imaginarium" program they performed in May. They used props such as balls, lycra body bags, nets, giant scarves, black lighting, masks, and flags along with expressive movement to create their "-ariums," a series of imaginary worlds based on a theme. For instance, a real "aquarium" is a place centered around water life, but they might come up with a "webarium," a place centered around webs.

The props help the kids define their movement and express their skit's theme. For instance, in the "scarium," the kids wear white masks and white gloves and move like ghosts in black lights. In the "macaronarium," they move inside long thin, netted tubes to bend and mix like a bowl of macaroni.

Ms. Smith noted, given that it is April, "these kids are ready to go to first grade. They are comfortable with each other and the way these kids move [at this age] is so unexpected, so fun to watch."

Watch a slideshow of Emily Opalski's photographs here.



 

Brooks art teacher Kristi Murray led 25 students this winter in creating phase two of the fabulous mosaic in a hallway that the entire student body uses every day at lunchtime. Her art club was co- taught by guest mosaic artist Sue Coombs, with help from student teacher Lana Bjornson. A few other teachers got involved as well as parents in expanding last year's work to a 60 square foot design. "I really wanted this to be a community event so all of the Brooks community could be a part of it," said Ms. Murray. "We tell the students they can come back to Brooks and show their grandchildren the mosaic. That's how long this will last."

The Brooks Mosaic Mural was sponsored by BRAVO, the Oak Park Education Foundation as well as Brooks activity funds. Almost all of tiles were donated by parents and local design firms. The leftover pieces will be put to good use in art classes.

The mosaic's "Green" theme was exciting, educational and inspiring. The most challenging part of the project, according to Ms. Murray, was building understanding of the technique compared to other types of artwork. The negative space does not become a blank area or one large overall color (like a painting) but instead is all mosaic tiles. Craftsmanship is also a challenge; creating really neat and well-made work takes time and dedication. All the participating students love art and the communal connections they make in the mosaic art club, and took seriously the permanent nature of the mosaic.

Visiting artist Sue Coombs was expert at choosing the best materials for each area. For example: a real fork for the "fork in the road," circular glass gems cut in half and turned on end to look like fish scales, directional changes in the glass tiles to show the flow of water, mirrors for bike spokes. "Sue is truly the expert and I, along with the students, am learning so much about this wonderful medium," said Ms. Murray.

Click here to see a slideshow of photos from the project by Ms. Murray.



 

The mallet came down with a crack on the piece of tile hidden inside a towel. Unfolding the towel, local artist Jill Kramer revealed dozens of fragments that could now be used to create a tile mosaic. She was showing students in all four 2nd grade classes at Holmes how to make mosaics as part of OPEF's Art Start program.

"This is 'show-and-tell day,'" Ms. Kramer told Ms. Shearrill's 2nd graders, showing them the diversely shaped tile fragments of which mosaics are made. Ms. Kramer also talked about pebbles, rocks, and specialized Italian glass called "smalti" that have been used for millennia to make mosaics.

Previously, in her first session with each class in February, Ms. Kramer introduced the role that mosaics played in ancient and contemporary art. Kyla S. liked the project because "we are learning about something that has been done for generations and generations and now we are getting a chance to do it!"

The decision to do mosaics, Ms. Kramer explained, grew partly out of the teachers' request to help students see connections between art and math concepts. So the first activity was a construction-paper mosaic with symmetrical sides.

During the second session, Ms. Shearrill's students worked with large sheets of black paper and colored squares, which they could use as is or could cut into different shapes and sizes. "The black paper represents the grout in between, so leave some space between your tiles," Ms. Kramer reminded them.

The students were free to create whatever design they wanted. "This is a chance for you to use your imagination. There is not a right or wrong with this," she told them. For Lucy B., this was the best part of the project--"The teacher doesn't have to tell you what to do."

By the beginning of March, all four classes were working with the hard materials--beads, split peas, and the like--to create 3D mosaics in the shapes of animals, inspired by their literature unit on camouflage. In Ms. Merz's class, students were choosing and manipulating their "tesserae," the "little things, bits we are using to make our mosaics," 2nd-grader Chloe G. explained.

Josh H., who was creating a mosaic octopus, said he liked working with the tesserae since "the other ones were just paper squares and these things are all different." He also announced that he had "figured out the strategy: Put bigger pillows of glue down to make it faster and easier to cover the whole thing!" He was responding to Ms. Kramer's directive that "mosaics don't have big empty spaces."

Julez T. was working on a mosaic woodcock, carefully placing his tesserae on the board with only grout lines of glue in between. He first experimented, however: "You can see how it would look without the glue first and then if you like it, you can put the glue down."

Before they were finished, Ms. Kramer said, "You know what every artist does before they say they are all done? They contemplate. They ask, 'Is it really done?'"

Ms. Kramer is currently completing a masters in art education at the School of the Art Institute. Her background is in printmaking, and she continues this art form on a small press in her above-garage studio. She has worked with Art Start several times before, doing printmaking with D97 students.

Click here to see more photos by Angela Farnham, or click here to listen to a voicethread of Ms. Merz's 2nd graders describing and showing their work.



 

Ms. Gullo's Irving Kindergarten students worked hard to construct a city out of recycled materials as their 2010-2011 Art Start project. Ms. Shannon Greve, Youth and Family Programs Manager from the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust in Oak Park, was their Art Start leader. She worked with the students on Form, Function and Design principles that influenced Frank Lloyd Wright. Ms. Shannon talked to the students about street grids and other details that a city or village would need.

Students constructed houses, and community buildings (hospitals, village hall, school, library, fire station etc.) and made other details out of construction paper. It is a totally cool city!

Our final project was an exploration of art glass. The students saw a slide presentation of art glass in Frank Lloyd Wright's home. They discussed the types of shapes and use of symmetry. The students then created their own stained glass using tracing paper and colored pencils. Come check them out on our windows. What a great experience for the students!

Story by Irving Kindergarten Teacher Ellyn Gullo



 

Throughout the months of March and April, a fascinating Art Start project will be on display at the Oak Park Area Arts Council's gallery at Village Hall, 123 Madison Street in Oak Park. Stop by and have a look!

Megan Leahy's 2nd graders at Longfellow recently discovered they could make some pretty cool art with everyday materials. As part of OPEF's Art Start, students worked with Chicago artist Karen Light to fashion their own masks using newspaper, masking tape, and . . . Vaseline.

The students created the masks in conjunction with their social studies unit on traditions and cultures. As 2nd grader Eleanor W. explained, "We have been learning about masks around the world so now we are making our own," adding that "Ms. Leahy wants us to have fun in social studies!"

Ms. Light began by showing the 2nd graders a slide presentation of various types of masks and decorations. The class studied masks from different cultures such as Chinese and Mexican in which "bright colors showed different things like happiness or evil," said Lindsey R.

To make the masks, the students began with a ball of newspaper, about the size of a 2nd grader's head, then added divots for the eyes and a bump for the nose. Next, they covered that in masking tape. They used water and art paste to layer on more strips of newspaper. Before wrapping the masks in brown shipping paper--the layer that would be the actual mask--they rubbed it all over with Vaseline, "so once it dries the mask will lift off," Ms. Leahy explained.

Once the masks dried, they were removed from their moulds. Before the students set about decorating the masks, however, they sketched out their plans. Then the students spent two class sessions decorating and embellishing their masks. The final touch, Avery A. explained, was "adding pipe cleaners that we could bend, so they would stick on our heads." According to Ms. Leahy, "Working with Art Start and Karen has given the students an opportunity to expand their imaginations and work cooperatively together."

To wrap up her time with the 2nd graders Ms. Light brought in a dance teaching artist, Margot Toppen, to help the students develop their story into a dance. The inspiration for their dance was the Native American dance called the Fancy dance or the Feather dance which is often performed at pow wows. Wearing their masks, students embodied the characters that they developed to tell a story through their own dance moves.

Ms. Light used to live and work in Oak Park and had a studio in the Oak Park Art District. Now she is in Chicago. The focus of her art is on mixed-media, textural, and sculpturing art. For instance, she says that when painting she likes to "make it pop out somehow." She is also interested in "incorporating writing into the arts."

When asked at the end of the project about their experience, several students said working with the Vaseline was their favorite step. They also enjoyed painting and decorating the masks. For Jackson T., wearing a garbage bag so he didn't get his clothes messy was one of the project's highlights--just another way Ms. Light introduced everyday materials into their creative process. Avery A. added that he liked the project, but "it was hard because of all of the steps." Even with sometimes numerous and messy steps though, Ms. Leahy said her students "really enjoyed [Ms. Light] and were completely engaged throughout the entire experience."

Click here to see photos of the project by Karen Light.



 

"We are experimenting," local artist Sallie Wolf recently told a class of Irving kindergartners. With Ms. Wolf, teaching art is as much about exploring how art materials react together as it is about the finished pieces of art. A veteran of OPEF's Art Start program, she said, "I like to encourage them to think of themselves as scientists as well as artists."

During January and February, kindergartners in Crissi Arroyo's class have had the opportunity to explore watercolor painting using a wide range of materials. Each class meeting has seen the use of different materials to see how they would interact with the paint. For instance, in one class session, the students drew pictures with graphite pencils and china markers and then painted over them to see which materials mixed with the paint and which resisted the paint.

"This age is hard," Ms.Wolf explained. "They are used to tempura paints, used to gobs of paint, but [with watercolors] they have to work with hardened paints that need water." After several weeks of experimenting with this different paint, the kindergartners "are getting a really good feel for the water now."

When one student was struggling with the paint a bit, Ms.Wolf explained, "When you have to push on the paint like that, the paint is telling you 'I need more water.'"

During one class, students used sheets of wax paper, on which they wrote their names and other drawings, transferring the wax to the paper beneath. Adrian K. was confident from the beginning: "I know it's gonna work!" But his name didn't show up, or so it appeared. He then painted over the paper, and still nothing came through. Then he rubbed the art paper hard with a wet sponge, and there it was: his name and a heart, like a secret message coming through. "It's working!" he proclaimed.

When asked what she thought of Ms. Wolf's work with these kids, parent helper Lisa McKenna said, "Fantastic!" She liked the fact that the kids are allowed to "make it their own," adding that "she has creative ways to work with paint and with science and experimenting."

The students were using all sorts of materials--rock salt, plastic forks, chopsticks-- to make impressions on the paper with the paint. When one student wanted to use the wax paper on a page already wet with watercolors, Ms. Wolf asked the student "Will this make a difference? We are all about textures and things you didn't expect, things you couldn't do with a normal paint brush."

For the last session with Ms. Wolf, the kindergartners tried their hands at paper marbling. Ms. Arroyo said, "The class has really enjoyed Sallie and have become comfortable with her and the materials. It really showed today in their artwork!"

Click here to see photos by Laura Constans.



 

Click here to read the patch.com story about the art show and auction.

The 6th grade arts students at Brooks and Julian Middle School have created beautiful bird-themed art work for the 7th annual auction at Fly Bird, an Oak Park store specializing in curious items for the happy home, body and mind. Each year Fly Bird donates all proceeds from the show to benefit the Oak Park Education Foundation's Art Start program.

The show will be open for public bidding from February 28 - April 3, with an artists' reception at Fly Bird on Friday, February 25 from 6-8 pm. Bidding for the artwork starts at just $15, with a "Buy It Now" option of $40 per piece.

This year, our young artists approached the project with the concept of exploring beautiful birds in their natural habitat. Others were influenced by two types of Haitian art work: the metal work traditionally made from recycled metal oil drums and the sequined flags traditionally used as part of religious ceremonies and now sold to tourists. The work is made in the format of the flags out of metal. Click here to see some samples of student art work. Photos are by teacher Chris Worley, who led the project with fellow art teachers Kristi Murray and Lynn Reising.

The paintings will hang in Fly Bird's storefront window at 719 Lake Street, and can be observed at any time of day or night. Fly Bird is open seven days a week. For more information, stop by the store or email headbird@fly-bird.net.



 

Ms. Sigunick's Beye 2nd graders, working with local artist Jonathan Franklin, created a mural about nature and seasons. Because they wanted the mural to remain relevant at all times of year, they included flora and fauna that can be found around Beye School. All images were created and painted by the students. Click here to see Jonathan Franklin's photos from the day.



 

Cecilia W. was impressed with the "smooth" oil pastels, while Sarah S. was learning how best to use her new friends "Hairy" and "Baldy"--the ends of her paintbrush. For the first graders in Kathleen Priceman's Spanish Immersion class at Lincoln School, art and the materials we can use to create art were taking on new significance. Jonathan Franklin, a local artist, is visiting Ms. Priceman's class several times this fall to work with these students on different types of print creations as part of OPEF's Art Start program.

On this particular day, the students were painting butterflies, but with a twist: They were using oil pastels and watercolors together. "I colored it with oil pastels and then I painted it. When you put the watercolors on, it falls off," said Mitch B. This is an effect known as "resistance," Mr. Franklin chimed in, and it creates a sort of shimmer to the painting, an "explosion of colors," as Toby M. put it. Students also folded the butterflies in half to merge the colors and materials further, and, of course, to show the butterflies wings fluttering!

The butterfly project is integrated into the students' unit on nature and habitats. The students went to the Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago where they saw lots of real butterflies. Jackie G. felt that this trip to the Notebaert was part of what makes it "really fun to make art!" and the fact she had never painted with watercolors before.

Later in the year, as part of this Art Start program, the class will visit the Art Institute as well. Ms. Priceman also worked with Mr. Franklin in her class last year, when they created a collage that decorates the corridor outside the now-second-graders' classroom.

Ms. Priceman explained, "These young students are really interested in expressing themselves," and it shows in the variety of colors and patterns the students chose for their butterflies. For Ali G., making the pattern was one of the parts of the project he liked best. "I liked making it look like mountains!"

Mr. Franklin said he chose these materials because the watercolors and the oil pastels are "such a vibrant combination and the resistance is fabulous." He said markers are easy to use "but they are not as versatile as these."

Once the students completed their butterflies, they created hooks from pipe cleaners and skewers so they can be displayed in the classroom. The students were all smiles about displaying their art.

Next week, Mr. Franklin is going to do printmaking with these first graders.

Click here to see a slideshow of photos by Ginger Yarrow.



 

Local artist Guillermo Delgado has been partnering with Ms. Nelson at Whittier for more than 10 years. In May, 2010, their Art Start students created beautiful paintings about nature, dreams, and a personal calender, inspired by the Aztec calender. The second graders painted with gouache paint and created their own Amate-like paper. Amate is a form of paper that was manufactured in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, made by boiling the inner bark of several species of trees, particularly fig trees.

Click here to see a slideshow their work (photos are by Guillermo Delgado).



 

All are welcome at the Oak Park Education Foundation's student Art Start exhibit on Saturday, May 22, from 12-4 pm, at 200 Harrison Street in Oak Park. The exhibit is part of the Oak Park Arts District's What's Blooming on Harrison event. This year's event highlights the work of "Emerging Artists."

Come by and enjoy the display, which will include quilts, a mural, "stained glass" designs, paintings and stitchery. Children are invited to participate in our "Make Your Own Masterpiece" activity table, raising money for OPEF, for $5/artist. In addition, the Oak Park Education Foundation will host a juice & cookie reception for student artists and their fans from 2-4 pm.

 

OPEF's 6th annual student art show/auction, hosted by Fly Bird, was again a smashing success! Thank you to Fly Bird, a design-oriented gift shop at 719 Lake Street in Oak Park, to our talented District 97 6th graders from both Julian and Brooks middle schools who created beautiful ink paintings of birds, their creative and dedicated art teachers, and all of you who bought their work! All proceeds from the auction benefit OPEF's Art Start program.

Click here to see photos from the auction display at Fly Bird by Oak Park photographer Paul Goyette.

 

Fly Bird, a design-oriented gift shop at 719 Lake Street in Oak Park, is now hosting its 6th annual student art show and auction through May 2. District 97 6th graders from both Julian and Brooks middle schools, working with their art teachers, have donated their time and talent to create beautiful ink paintings of birds in Sumi-E style. All proceeds benefit the Oak Park Education Foundation's Art Start program.

Bidding starts at only $10, with a $30 "Buy It Now" option. Bids can be made via email, phone or in person. Frame Warehouse is offering $25 discounts on framing.

For more information, contact Fly Bird at headbird@fly-bird.net, or 708-383-3330.

 

Students in the After-School Art Club at Julian made portfolios, purses and bags
using weaving and basketry out of materials from nature. The Club took
place on Tuesdays and Thursdays in January, and was taught by visiting
artist Karen Gubitz with art teacher Chris Worley. Click here for a slideshow of pictures (taken by Chris Worley).

 

Artist Sallie Wolf led a painting, drawing and collage project that tied into studies of rocks and minerals for Mrs. Creticos's Longfellow 2nd graders. Click here to see photos of students exploring geometry and science through still life painting. Photos courtesy of Oak Park photographer Peter Wagner.

 

Click here to see photos of the "Our Nation: The Fifty States" art quilt created by Mrs. Parkinson's Beye 2nd graders with local artist Pamela Penney. The class dyed fabric and yarn, designed individual quilt squares, then finished with some creative stitchery.

The quilt will be on display at the Oak Park Area Arts Council's gallery at Village Hall from March 1 through April 30, with an artists reception on Tuesday, March 2, 4:30-5:30 pm at Oak Park's Village Hall, room 101. Slide show photographs are by Oak Park photographer David Kindler.

 

Bird enthusiasts, art lovers and consumers of fine things...come to Fly Bird, 719 Lake Street in Oak Park, now through June 14th for a visual and affordable treat. Fly Bird, a design-oriented gift shop in Oak Park, is hosting the 5th annual student art show/auction to benefit the Oak Park Education Foundation.

District 97 students from Hatch, Irving, Julian and Brooks schools, under the supervision of their art teachers, have created beautiful, colorful, 11" x 11" paintings with a bird theme. Bidding starts at only $5, will increases in increments of $5, with a "Buy Now" option for only $20! Bids can be made via email, telephone or in person. And Frame Warehouse is offering $25 discounts on framing.

Fly Bird is open seven days a week, Monday thru Saturday from 10-6 pm and Sunday from 12 to 4 pm. Email headbird@fly-bird.net, call 708-383-3330 or come to the store with any questions regarding the show. Stop by and take a look!

  Ms. L'Heureux and her Hatch 5th graders participated in a special Art Start project: "Who am I? Where?: Creating Maps of the Self and Community," now on display at Oak Park Village Hall, 123 Madison Street.

Working with artist Guillermo Delgado, students made books including creative maps and writing of the self, community, journeys, special spaces, and memorable events using a variety of art mediums and mixed media. Mr. Delgado is a visual artist living in Oak Park. He was recently awarded a Ragdale Foundation artist residency through the National Endowment for the Arts and will be a visiting artist at Michigan State University for the second year in fall 2009.

You can see photos from the project here and an interview about the project with Mr. Delgado here.



 

Ms. Creticos's 2nd graders created beautiful pictures and poetry about animals who use camouflage with their Art Start artist and author, Sallie Wolf. The class worked in water color, dry mixed media and collage. Click here to see some of their work.



 

The partnership of artist Guillermo Delgado with Ms. L'Heureux's 5th graders is an exciting, hands-on experience, entitled: "Who am I? Where?: Creating Maps of the Self and Community." The students are making creative maps of self, community, journeys, special spaces, and memorable events, using brainstorming and writing exercises.

Click on the image above to see a slideshow by Oak Park artist/photographer Laura Constans.



 

Irving second graders expanded their study of dinosaurs through yoga and stitchery with yoga instructor Kim Vulinovic. Artwork from this project is now on display through April 17 in the windows of Fashions Anew, 183 S. Oak Park Avenue in Oak Park. Click on the photo above to see photos from Irving by Oak Park photographer Mike McGowan.



 

In this Art Start project, Mann 2nd graders in Ms. Mariani's and Ms. Sarno's classes partnered with actor/director Rhona Taylor to write and perform fables about bullying. Click here or on the photo above to see pictures from Mann by Oak Park photographer Roy Phifer.



 

Ms. Murray's Brooks After School Art Club dyed yarn with Kool-Aid, learned to needle felt, and made bowls using wet felting with Art Start artist Pamela Penney. Click here or on the photo above to see pictures from Brooks by Oak Park photographer Paul Goyette.



 

The Oak Park Education Foundation received a $3,000 grant from Target in support of Art Start. This is OPEF's 5th Target grant for Art Start, and the largest Target grant we have received to date.

Thanks to our teachers, artists, and supporters - for creating a program that integrates art into the curriculum, working to improve the partnerships each year, and actively supporting the arts in education.

  Stop by the 4th Annual Student Art Show/Auction, hosted by Fly Bird to benefit the Oak Park Education Foundation, through June 15 at 719 Lake Street in Oak Park.

140 unique bird sculptures created by middle school students are on exhibit - and for sale. Opening bids are just $10, with "buy it now" option at $30. The bird sculptures are fabulous!



 

[from the fall 2007 issue of OPEF's newsletter, Take Note]

This year, the Oak Park Education is bringing more experts than ever into classrooms to work with students! Our programs are growing, which means more architects, artists, scientists and technology buffs are opening eyes and inspiring young minds.

For example, this year Global Village will expand to bring scientists into all 6th grade classes for year-long, hands-on residencies, in addition to the scientists already working with 3rd-8th graders throughout the district. Global Village is nearly doubling with 1,140 students working closely with scientists in 2007-2008.

Architecture Adventure is also growing. Launched in 2006 in the middle schools to take advantage of our community's wealth of architecture and professionals in the field, Architecture Adventure is now reaching into the K-5 classrooms as well. We'll have after-school clubs and an architecture summer camp later this year.

Our Vex Robotics Teams have dramatically increased their supply of robot parts and equipment, and added programming capability and adult supervisors since last year. The after-school clubs began in October for 6th, 7th and 8th graders at both middle schools. One of last year's participants said of the program, "My favorite part of robotics is learning mechanics. I always wondered how stuff works and I found out."

The Foundation's budget has also increased, in part thanks to major grants from Community Bank of OP-RF, the OP-RF Community Foundation, the Oak Park Area Arts Council and Target. But the vast majority of our funding comes from individuals in the community, responding to our requests with generous donations. You've asked us to keep the momentum growing: to provide innovative programs in our public schools, to keep the community connected to the schools and to continue developing, funding and implementing exciting programs.

Our programs exist only with your support! To make a donation to the Oak Park Education Foundation, click here. You can also reach us by mail at 970 Madison Street, Oak Park IL 60302, or by phone at (708) 524-3023.

 

[from the fall 2007 issue of OPEF's newsletter, Take Note]

It's become a tradition: Each year the 21 second grade students from the Whittier multi-age classes of Ms. Druckmiller, Ms. Dunn and Ms. Nelson study Mexican life and art with Mr. Guillermo Delgado. Mr. Delgado is a multitalented artist, formerly of the Pilsen neighborhood in Chicago, now an Oak Park resident. The Kindergarteners and first graders watch their older classmates work with Mr. Delgado. They are thrilled when they finally reach second grade and it is their turn!

Prior to Mr. Delgado's arrival last spring, students headed to Pilsen for a guided tour of the Mexican Fine Arts Museum. They sampled baked goods at a Mexican bakery, discovered murals in the neighborhood and lunched at Nuevo Leon. It was a great way to appreciate Mexican heritage, get immersed in Spanish language, and experience Mexican life in Chicago.

Mr. Delgado always plans an Art Start project that inspires and challenges students, yet is attainable so students feel great success. In the spring he taught shading, value scales, hatching and crosshatching using artists' pencils. The class's final project was creating pocket-sized accordion books. When Mr. Delgado showed up with handfuls of real chili peppers: poblano, jalapeño, serrano, Thai, banana and habanero, students used their new drawing skills to represent each pepper in their books.

They did an amazing job, and when they were done, they prepared homemade salsa using peppers. The class made one type of salsa using a Cuisinart, and another type the old fashioned way with a molcajete, a mortar and pestle made from lava rock. The students learned a lot and loved the mix of art, culture and food!

 

[from the fall 2007 issue of OPEF's newsletter, Take Note]

Everybody is an artist: That's what dancer and textile artist Vickie Casanova believes. Look at the hand-sewn pillows and the two intricate quilts made by the students in Gale Liebman and Karen Tokarz's classes at Brooks, and you'll see why.

For many of the special needs students who worked with Ms. Vickie on this Art Start project last spring, it was the first time they'd seen, touched or learned about a quilt. Ms. Vickie and the kids discussed the many reasons why people make quilts: for warmth, as artistic expression, to tell a story or mark a special occasion like a birth or wedding, or to carry a social message. Ms. Vickie's classes talked about quilt history, including how quilts were used as coded maps to guide African Americans escaping slavery in the Underground Railroad, and the enormity of the AIDS quilt project. "It sparked conversations about community, recycling, memory, war, peace, bravery and ingenuity," she said.

The young designers chose their own patterns and fabrics for their pillows. They learned how to use soap to mark the cutting lines, and use pins first before they took on the challenge of precise sewing work. The students used the iron, sewing machine and needle and thread. For the larger quilts, they worked together as a team to choose fabrics and to make the design elements. Every student also hand-sewed their own autographed block.

"Quilts are the perfect example of diversity," said Ms. Vickie. "You put all these individual fabric pieces of all kinds of color, shapes and sizes together and, all of a sudden, you've made art." One of the quilters remarked that the project was a "100% fun experience." Make a trip to see the quilt hanging at Brooks Media Center and you'll become a believer too.

 

[from the fall 2007 issue of OPEF's newsletter, Take Note]

Inspiration, innovation, creativity. Bringing art into the classroom adds these magic ingredients to make every academic subject come alive. That's why we run Art Start, partnering sculptors, musicians, painters, storytellers and dancers with classroom teachers to help our youngest students experiment in the arts. The artists teach. They engage students, promoting creativity and confidence. They collaborate with teachers to create hands-on projects that enhance and connect to the existing curriculum.

Art Start is fully funded by the Oak Park Education Foundation, which also brings you Architecture Adventure, Vex Robotics and Global Village. For the past 11 years, Art Start has been a successful part of the Kindergarten, first and second grades of District 97. During that time it has reached over 8,000 students. This newsletter showcases a few of the 27 Art Start projects that took place in Oak Park classrooms in the spring. This year, we'll have artists in 30 classrooms.

Research shows that children who are involved in arts do better in school, no matter what their background. Art gives children a wider vocabulary. It introduces new perspectives and helps them develop problem-solving skills. Children are naturally creative, interested in new things and relatively uninhibited. Art Start nurtures these traits by introducing kids to professional artists who devote their careers to thinking in ways that are out of the ordinary. As one first grader said, "It's good to try new things because you never know what you'll like."

Deb Abrahamson
Executive Director, Oak Park Education Foundation

 

Thanks to Target and the Oak Park Area Arts Council, Art Start launches its 11th year providing artists in residence in one grade in every Oak Park elementary school.

The Oak Park Area Arts Council awarded Art Start a $2,500 grant, along with a letter of support saying:

"The committee is always impressed with the imagination behind your programming and the wonderful way in which you introduce children to art. Art Start has always found a means to support and supplement the arts programming in District 97, yet avoid duplicating efforts by the teachers at the schools."

Target recently granted Art Start a $2,000 award, which will help us provide supplies for the painters, sculptors, dancers, musician and other visual and performing artists who work with District 97 on projects that enhance their academic studies.

 

The beautiful exhibit/auction of District 97 student bird paintings in the store windows of Fly Bird this May was our most successful ever! Customers admired and bid on the student works, with all proceeds benefiting the Oak Park Education Foundation. Bids started at just $10, with a "Buy It Now" option for just $30.

Fly Bird, at 719 Lake Street in Oak Park, features curious items for the happy home, body and mind. This is the 3rd year that Fly Bird owner and District 97 parent Julia Nash has hosted the fundraiser for the Oak Park Education Foundation.

Proceeds from the auction support the 4 Oak Park Education Foundation programs: Art Start, Global Village, Vex Robotics and Architecture Adventure, which partner community experts in classrooms with more than 2,300 Oak Park students each year.

 

The Oak Park Education Foundation is honored to be chosen by the Longfellow 2nd graders to receive the $561 proceeds from their fundraiser. They sent us the following letter, signed by every student and teacher in the four 2nd grade classes:

Dear Oak Park Education Foundation,

We, the second grade classes, are happy to be able to send you this donation for $561.00 that was raised by all four classes during our Kindness Market. Each of us made something to sell to other students and parents in our school. This helped us practice our money skills, especially learning how to make change. We also learned about economics: consumers and producers, goods and services.

Because we had just finished reading stories about kindness, we decided to donate the money we raised to worthy, nonprofit organizations. The Oak Park Education Foundation has a long history helping our schools. We are very delighted that we are able to participate in the Art Start program during 2nd grade. We really enjoyed the drumming that Mr. Atiba Jali did with Mr. Naber's class, and look forward to the work the other artists will be doing with the other classes.

Thank you very much for all that you do to enrich our education through the arts.

Sincerely,
The students in Mr. Podlasek's, Mr. Naber's, Ms. Lambshead's, and Ms. Creticos's 2nd Grade Classes