Project Grant

How the project progressed: March 14 and 16 - Students learned the basic geometric shapes of a tangram puzzle (square, parallelogram, right angle triangles). They also learned the difference between organic shapes and geometric shapes. The geometric shapes can form into recognizable forms such as animals. April 6 and 8 - Graffiti Poem Art. We talked about hip-hop/rap and how it's poetry with rhythm and rhyme. They created their own graffiti background using printmaking techniques and they made a poem using cut out magazine words that will utilize rhythm and rhyme. April 13 - Mary Bruno field trip. Students visited a printmaking artist that uses words in her art to convey a message. April 15 and 20 - Linocut Quilts. We reflected on the artist visit and how Mary uses linoleum to make prints. We used a similar technique with linocuts, but also correlated the printing with African American quilts and their history. We talked about basic geometrical principles of quilts (positive/negative space, symmetry, pattern, repetition) and how they conveyed different messages. April 22. Students visited the Paramount Art Gallery. They discussed the behavior of attending and exhibition. They met afterward for a reflection and discussion of what they saw. April 25 and 27, May 2 and 4 - Photo-Op Masterpieces. Students picked out a masterpiece from a famous artist and learned the history of the artist and the artwork. They learned how to write artist statements that can describe the artwork. They traced the masterpiece onto cardboard and agreed together on how to color it and make it their own masterpiece. May 9, 11, 16 - Screen Printing. We discussed positive messages and symbolism (Say No to Drugs, reduce reuse recycle). Students brainstormed a positive message that they feel strongly about and come up with a slogan and symbol. With what they design, they created a silkscreen and transferred the image onto a t-shirt. We talked about artist statements and what they would say on stage at the Paramount about their t-shirt. May 18 - Youth Arts Initiative Spring Showcase at the Paramount, and all participants were recognized with a certificate of completion on stage at the Paramount. May 23 and 25 - Clay, Let's Wrap it up. They worked on clay and collaboratively worked on a glass on glass mosaic welcome sign for the club to hang in their building. What impacted the artist, Laura Ruprecht, the most was seeing her students grow not only artistically, but also in their confidence. She reported that she didn't know the kind of impact the projects would have on her students when developing the lesson plans. Through this grant, not only were they able to complete many hands-on projects, but also received opportunities for art exposure with Mary Bruno and the Paramount. "I could tell that my students were hungry for art or for more art projects that were quality. I got so many comments from my students saying they thought everything they did was so much fun and that I should stay so that they can do more." Not only were the participants impacted by the programming, but every attendee at the Spring Showcase was deeply impacted by the youth's T-shirt presentations. Each youth spoke in depth about the platform they chose for their T-shirt design. One spoke about cancer awareness because she lost a family member to cancer; two spoke about bullying prevention; another spoke about adoption, because she had been adopted, and she believes everyone should have a loving family. These remarks brought tears to our eyes, because the participants brought us into the folds of their personal lives through their artwork and literacy, and that is exactly the purpose of art - for therapy, healing and catharsis. Outcomes: Through the above activities, it was demonstrated that participants: received academic gains engaging in arts programming through projects that focus on improving literacy and math skills; Gained critical thinking and listening skills; Recognize their own creative ability and gain self-confidence in their creativity; Displayed their artwork in the Club, public places and at public events, and received recognition for their work; Engaged in arts activities in the community. The program was evaluated based on attendance data, as well as feedback from the kids, the artist and Boys and Girls Club program staff. Number of teens ages 14-19: 8. Number of tweens ages 10-13: 35. Number of younger members ages 5 - 9: 30. The program staff reported that the artist gave the kids amazing opportunities that were hands on in different media that the kids had not used before, including a glass mosaic Boys and Girls Club welcome sign project, which will be hung in the Roosevelt Boys and Girls Club welcome area. Our Arts Integration Specialist reported that she only wished the artist had more time to spend with the kids on a weekly basis, in order to reach out to more tweens and teens on a consistent basis. Lastly, our artist reported that she learned a lot about programming to youth through the process. She also learned a lot through our Youth Arts Initiative's pilot regarding the 10 Principles for Successful Arts Programming. She did mention that she did not have enough time to prepare for programs and recommended that we provide 1 hour of preparation for every two hours of class time. Feedback from the youth can be heard by watching the Youtube video link below. We also distributed a one-sheet evaluation form to the participants, staff and artist, which is attached. Lastly, we are currently compiling data on how arts programming builds 21st Century Skills with a Survey Monkey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YAI21st . This data will be compiled throughout the summer (and ongoing). Results can be requested this fall.