Current CCS Student Art Exhibit

Kindergartners through 2nd graders are currently exhibiting their fall landscapes in the Hallway Gallery.

Book Fair Saturday! Support CCS!

Original Works of Art

A reminder that the Original Works program is currently running at CCS until Friday, October 29th.


The Original Works program is a rare opportunity to have your child's artwork reproduced onto products such as magnets, tiles, note cards, mugs, mouse pads and many other items. These products make unique gifts that are practical for any season or occasion.

Each child's artwork (K - 6) is currently on display in the Hallway Gallery for your viewing and consideration. Pre-K artwork is in their homeroom.

If you have another piece of your child's artwork that you would like reproduced, that may be possible as long as the artwork is 8.5" x 11". If the piece you have in mind is larger, you can have a reduced, color copy made and send it in with your order form. Each artwork needs its own order form. Mrs. Barnes has extra order forms in the office. Please print the child's full name on the back of the artwork in pencil.

Now is the time to place your order. If you are interested in ordering, please bring your completed order form and payment to school no later than this Friday, the 29th.

Original Works Art Project

As announced in the October 6th Newsletter, CCS has teamed up with Original Works, the number one art-based program in the country. Students are currently creating their artwork in school, using the regular art curriculum as the basis for their work of art.

You will soon have the opportunity to order whatever products you wish with your child’s own artwork featured on each and every product.

After the art work is completed, I will display each child's piece in the Hallway Gallery and send home an announcement with an order form.

If you have another piece of your child's artwork that you would like reproduced that may be possible as long as the artwork is 8.5" x 11". If the piece you have in mind is larger, you can have a reduced, color copy made and send that in with your order form.

CCS is thrilled to be participating in this unique and innovative program. Look for complete program, product and pricing information coming soon.

Additional product and program information, as well as customer testimonials, can be found at Original Works.

Turner to Monet Exhibit Opening in Austin

Claude MONET 1840 France – 1926
Meules, milieu du jour [Haystacks, midday]

Tomorrow, the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin opens Turner to Monet. This selection of 40 nineteenth-century paintings includes works from Impressionist artists Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Édouard Manet and Edgar Degas, as well as British and American masters J.M.W. Turner, Gilbert Stuart and Asher B. Durand. Paul Cézanne, Vincent Van Gogh, and Paul Gauguin masterpieces are included as well.

You won’t ever see works by all these artists together again as there isn’t a single collection in the world that has this whole gamut of 19th century landscape art.

Preview of Portraits

From the mingled strength of shade and light
A new creation rises to my sight,
Such heav'nly figures from his pencil flow,
So warm with light his blended colors glow.
. . . .
The glowing portraits, fresh from life, that bring
Home to our hearts the truth from which they spring.
~ Lord Byron

Self-portraits by two CCS second graders
Click to enlarge

Every first through sixth grade art student has a self-portrait now hanging in the CCS Hallway Gallery. Each one reflects the delightful, unique mode of expression of each child.

In my previous post, I covered the essential elements of drawing portraits that we investigated during the week of creating them. Kudos to all my budding artists!

Art of the American Soldier Exhibition

Paddington Station
Aaron Bohrod
Gouche on Paper
1944

What can art tell us about the experience of being a soldier? Since World War I, both soldier and civilian artists have been commissioned by the U.S. Army to create a visual and historical record of military conflicts around the world. Wielding paintbrushes as powerful as their weapons, these soldier-artists have captured the human dimension of war in a way no newsreel or photograph ever could.

Today, the U.S. Army has collected more than 15,000 paintings and sketches created by over 1,300 American soldiers in the line of duty. With no national museum to display this impressive collection, these works have remained in curatorial storage in Washington, D.C. for decades, seldom made available for public viewing.

Art of the American Soldier at the National Constitution Center brings this previously unseen collection into the spotlight for the first time. The exhibition explores how soldier-artists have portrayed moments of soldier life, duty, and sacrifice in military conflicts spanning the past 100 years. Through these unforgettable images, visitors to the exhibition will connect with the soldier experience and discover insights into the men and women who have answered the Constitution’s call to “provide for the common defense.”

Exhibition runs from September 24, 2010 – January 10, 2011

Learn more at The National Constitution Center

h/t: illustr8r

You're An Original

Click on an image to enlarge

CCS's budding artists will be studying and making portraits this Fall. This process will entail students looking at and discussing qualities of well-known portraits, working with a variety of media and techniques and eventually creating a self-portrait to display in the CCS Hallway Gallery. Moms and Dads will want to be on the look out for sales on picture frames this year.


Before Drawing, Seeing

I can explain to someone exactly how to draw a circle, but if I place a circle before them and ask them to draw it and they draw a square… well, that is all about seeing and not drawing. The ability to see, and after that the ability to render what you see… that has to be developed. For most that means a lot of drawing and a lot of looking.

The ability to see doesn’t spring up overnight, and I often tell eager young artists they have about 500 or so bad drawings in them they have to draw out first before they start noticing the subtle things that hide inside the human face.

Every building, no matter how complex, starts out with a foundation and framework. Look at this simple drawing:




Place these shapes in their proper relationship, and you have a human face. It really is that simple. Drawing the shapes accurately, so they recognizably represent the subject’s features, is the basis for a good likeness. Beyond that is nothing but details… things like dimples, wrinkles, eyelashes, cheekbones, etc. They are the decor to your building… the millwork, furniture and drapery that makes the place unique and filled with life. Without the strong foundation, however, it can all come tumbling down.

The Young Schoolmistress
probably c.1735-6
Jean-Siméon Chardin
 (1699 - 1779)
The National Gallery, London

In closing, Jean-Siméon Chardin’s painting "The Young Schoolmistress" inspires a meditation on learning and hopefully leads the child to ask God, “Help me to listen to everybody who is good and wise and not think that I already know everything.”

Oh, The Places You'll Go in Art!

* You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own.
And you know what you know.
And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go.

* You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.
You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you’ll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

* I'm sorry to say so
But, sadly it's true
That bang-ups and hang-ups
Can happen to you.

* On and on you will hike, And I know you’ll hike far
and face up to your problems whatever they are.

You’ll get mixed up of course, as you already know.
You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go.

So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
And remember that Life’s a great balancing act.

Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

* Will you succeed?
Yes you will indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

- Dr. Seuss

Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, wrote and illustrated dozens of children’s books and other media. His well-known images we’ve all grown to love were often inspired by his father, a zookeeper, who would send him horns, antlers, and other sundry animal parts.

Whether someone is out to convince you of lies or truth, keep your eyes and ears open. Do a little research and you’ll be okay. As it is with everything in life, you can’t be fooled by what they’re selling unless you’re buying. Learning about artists, looking at works of art and making all kinds of your own art will help you decide for yourself what the word “art” means.

Oh, and before I forget, be prepared to make big messes and "never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left."

Pissarro, French Impressionist Painter

Camille Pissarro. Landscape at Chaponval. 1880. Oil on canvas.

Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France. Source: Olga's Gallery

"Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing." ~ Camille Pissarro (1830-1903, French Impressionist painter)

Links to Famous Works of Art

1. Henri Matisse
2. Paul Cezanne
3. Raphael
4. Michelangelo
5. Pierre-Auguste Renoir
6. Edgar Degas
7. Claude Monet
8. Illuminated Manuscripts
9. Georgia O'Keeffe
10. Vincent Van Gogh
11. John Singer Sargent
12. Fra Angelico
13. Saints in Art (various artists)
14. Madonna and Child (various artists)
15. Biblical Art (various artists)
16. Marc Chagall
17. Still Life (various artists)
18. Gustave Caillebotte - French
19. Portraits
20. Fiber Arts (textiles, weaving, etc.)
21. Ceramics
22. Illustration
23. Leonardo Da Vinci
24. Images of Christ in art
25. The Annunciation in Christian Art
26. Grant Wood
27. Thomas Hart Benton
28. Camille Pissarro
29. William Blake
30. LANDSCAPES
31. Children

Video on block printing