Wesley Students Show Their Artistic Stuff

 

By Shannon Hicks

Ask the students at Wesley Learning Center in Sandy Hook who some of their favorite artists are and you’ll hear some pretty impressive names.

Without hesitation the 5- and 6-year-olds will quickly answer with names like Cassatt, Manet, Michelangelo, Monet, O’Keeffe, Pollock, Seurat, and others.

For the past month Randi Rote and her teaching assistant Jessica Lee have been working with their young charges on a study of Old Masters, and even some modern masters including Adams, Rockwell, and Warhol.

Studies have been through art books, watched movies about Monet and Jackson Pollock, and even a field trip. Two weeks ago the students visited Grey Horse Gallery in Sandy Hook, where they met the artist Dick McEvoy.

Last week the students hosted a gallery reception at 92 Church Hill Road, welcoming their parents into their classroom-turned-gallery space for an art show that was as good as any professional artist’s. The January 30 event was the culmination of four weeks of hard work, and the young illustrators were ready to show their artistic stuff.

Before welcoming their parents into their gallery space the artists sat down with The Newtown Bee to talk about their crash course in art.

“We’ve been doing stuff like the artists did,” said Laura Sullivan, who was wearing a pretty white dress and was all smiles for the big occasion.

“We painted like Michelangelo,” added Oliver Watts. “He painted a whole room, even the ceiling.”

During their course of study, the students tried a number of painting styles. Their teachers had them lie on their backs and paint on paper that had been taped to the bottom of desks in order to replicate the ceiling paintings of Michelangelo. The children donned plastic smocks and went outdoors one day to try painting like Jackson Pollock.

“We liked going outside for Pollock,” mentioned Griffin Namin. “It was too messy to be indoors.”

They learned about the French painter Georges Seurat, and his “dot-dot” way of painting: By using countless dots to compose his paintings, images emerged as viewers stand away from a Seurat painting.

They also learned about the American artist Mary Cassatt; there was a day devoted to painting like the celebrated painter.

“I love Mary Cassatt because she painted mommies and babies,” said Kimberley Wipfler. Another student said she liked Cassatt “because there’s a lot of hugging and kissing.”

In addition to the two-dimensional paintings, drawings, and even photographs the children tried during the past month, there were also some three-dimensional works of art on view. Grant Untiedt described the Calder-like sculpture he created, called “The Silly Time,” as “two roller coasters crashing and messing.”

There were separate areas in the gallery where each style of art was presented –– the Calder-like mobiles, the Suerat-like paintings, the black and white Adams-like photographs –– and each work was accompanied by an artist’s label. Each area of art also featured a brief artist biography and explanation of that artist’s style.

This is not the first year Ms Rote has led a study into the artwork of master painters, photographers and others. One young artist who visited the January 30 art exhibition was a former Wesley student, and she recognized many of the styles that were presented. As her younger brother proudly showed his works to their parents, Robin was looking around the gallery as well, admiring the art and mentioning the names of the artists she, too, could still identify thanks to the projects she had created a year ago.

When parents began arriving early Friday afternoon, the excitement was contagious. Mothers and fathers were obviously thrilled with what their children had done.

With artists and guests alike munching on snacks and sipping on punch, the 2004 Wesley Learning Center One-Day Art Show was deemed a success.