Muralin’ with Summer School Art Kids

June 29, 2016June 29, 2016Leave a comment

This week a group of middle/high school art students will be creating a 4 foot by 8 foot painting welcoming visitors to the Sheboygan Area School District. This mural will be installed on the 3rd floor stairwell inside the administration building, 803 Virginia Avenue in Sheboygan.

Finished Mural

Here are images of their creative process. This process involved designing, selecting, finalizing, and painting their contributions to to the mural. Also, part of the process was to edit the painting to reach the desired result of this collaborative project. Students worked independently as well as in pairs and/or groups.

A Qualitative Research Study of Arts Education and its’ Impact on Post-Secondary Success. Written by Jenny Sturchio.

June 9, 2016June 10, 2016Leave a comment

This past school year I had the opportunity to work with Jenny Sturchio. She is a grad student at Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee. Her ideas for her Capstone Final was to research how secondary art education impacts post-secondary success. The Sheboygan North High Art Department was one of her subjects for this research. I found it interesting to read her perspective on secondary art education and her correlations to post-secondary education. It is always neat to read what others think about the arts programming, activities, and relationships that exist within a public high school art program.

Feel free to download this PDF. Courtesy of Jenny Sturchio.

Here are some excerpts from her research.

“I find we are presented with material in a very linear way and are expected to understand it in that way as well. By participating in the arts, it has given me the chance to explore ideas and come to the conclusions in a more fluid manner. Having space to work through things abstractly has been beneficial for someone with a right brain way of thinking” (Answer from survey participant, 2016.)

“By being involved in the arts, I was able to find my passion. Being exposed to and given the chance to dabble in artistic curriculum, it opened up doors that would not have been possible otherwise. In a society where math and science are deemed the only suitably successful careers, including arts is a more holistic approach at education. Art has given me more ways to problem solve, and overall another perspective to walk through the world with. I think it is important to keep the arts in secondary education because that is how we keep it in post-secondary, which is important in creating innovators of the world” (Answer from survey participant, 2016.)

“When dealing with a struggling student they refer to creative teaching techniques to create a platform for the student to find success”.

“Not only do they [teachers] consult with the art department for their own classroom integration, but it is observed that arts-active students are more deeply engaged in classroom activities than those who are not”.

“My recommendation would be for high schools to provide professional development for their teachers that covers arts-integrated education”. – Jenny Sturchio

About

J.Sturchio. A Qualitative Research Study of Arts Education and its’ Impact on Post-Secondary Success: This narrative research project was completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Master of Arts in Education degree for the College of Adult and Graduate Studies at Wisconsin Lutheran College, Milwaukee, WI. 50pps.

Feel free to download this PDF. Courtesy of Jenny Sturchio.

Reception photos for NHS AiR, Marty Carney

June 3, 2016June 3, 2016Leave a comment

Marty is our fourth artist in residence at Sheboygan North High School. A reception is a great way to celebrate the success of the artist’s accomplishment during our Spring semester. Although his time was dedicated to connecting with NHS students and staff he also created several paintings. Receptions are always unpredictable. It is probably one of the most nerve racking parts of being an artist because you never know who is going to show up.

In this case, Marty had a fab turnout. It was great to see our administration present, aspiring poets, fellow colleagues, former artists in residence, and friends. For the third time, Ms. Cavanaugh’s poetry students wrote poems based on a painting from the artist they liked and read them to the people present. The poetry readings are starting to become a tradition that has found a home at NHS. Marty shared how his paintings were influenced by ecology. Mr. Soik, Honors Humanities teacher, shared how having Marty weekly made a difference in how his students interacted with the artist resulting in a beautiful assemblage.

This program has presented many wonderful opportunities to strengthen our bond as a North High community as well as to welcome unexpected events and embracing them whilst letting things flow where they may.

Final words with NHS AiR, Marty Carney

June 2, 2016June 2, 2016Leave a comment

June 2 marks Marty Carney’s last day as our Spring semester 2016 Artist in Residence. Throughout the semester he worked with various teachers on art projects and ideas that could be implemented into the curriculum. We enjoyed having him at NHS.

Click here to read how this AiR Program has impacted student learning at Sheboygan North High School.

In this video, Marty talks about his experience working with students and staff at Sheboygan North High School.

Running time: 10:26

Here is the Humanities Honors 2 project that Marty has been overseeing.

Preliminary sketch by Annemarie.

Collaborative assemblage produced by students.

mixed media on wood panel, 3’x3′, 2016

This art project was created by Mr Soik’s 2016 Spring Semester Honors Humanities class in collaboration with Marty Carney, Artist-in-Residence at North High School for this semester. This was the second collaboration which Mr. Soik called “ArtPlosion.” This final art project was intimated by brainstorming between Mr Soik, Marty, and the students in the class. The overall pattern was created by one of the students to visualize the learning content about Western Civilization which the class had studied during the semester. Marty gathered supplies which would make the imagined project possible. Once the roots, text, and tree pattern was sketched onto the surface of a wood panel by the student, the rest of the class contributed images and quotes from their learning throughout the semester. Other artifacts were also attached by the students to enhance the overall artistic ambience. As you see, the finished project visualizes the creativity and vitality of their learning process.