Date: Fri 12-Jun-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: MICHEL

Quick Words:

schools-art-writing

Full Text:

Drawing Inspiration From Great Art

(with cuts)

BY MICHELE HOGAN

Fourth graders at Head O' Meadow are intuitively exploring masterpieces and

their own artwork, and this process is inspiring, extraordinary writing.

Benjamin Dixon, deputy commissioner of Education for the State of Connecticut,

was so impressed with this idea that he approached Barbara Clark, HOM art

teacher, about training other teachers in it.

Mrs Clark had taken a poster presentation of this program to the Connecticut

Celebrates Successful Practices conference in Cromwell, on May 30 where she

met Dr Dixon.

The Head O' Meadow program, run jointly by Linda Siladi, fourth grade teacher,

and Mrs Clark, has students writing well beyond what is expected in the fourth

grade.

This is the second year of the program. In the first year, Mrs Clark worked

with Bobby Prewitt, fourth grade teacher. At one point, they had students

integrate art and writing with a study of nature. Peering through a tube, like

a small telescope, children examined a little circle of nature in great

detail. Then they drew it.

One example of a frog on a lily pad was in the poster display that Mrs Clark

took to Cromwell. The teachers found that when the students wrote about their

own artwork, their written work was excellent.

Experimenting further with visual representations, this year Mrs Clark had

children examine art masterpieces.

She also had children make class collages to write about.

Miss Siladi said "the meaning comes first, then the kids have so much to write

about. Sean's work is absolutely brilliant, and I see it in all the kids."

Mrs Clark continued "it's tapping into a part of them the students don't

usually deal with. The work has depth."

One student, Elisa Van Buskirk, wrote that "It's not the poetry I write, but

it's the feeling I get when I write the descriptive words and phrases that

spill onto the paper. I just can't stop. My brain is flowing and so many

thoughts pop into my head."

Miss Siladi said that the idea of fully elaborating on a visual image carries

over into other writing, such as the writing prompts used in statewide

testing.

Although she believes that the Connecticut Mastery Test is only one of several

ways to assess writing skills, Miss Siladi said that she has seen tremendous

improvement with CMT style writing prompts.

Mrs Clark said "visual thinking is so natural for children. They are cognitive

of the visual world, and art just brings it out. It's the kid's intuition,

just popping out."

Evan Barbour, fourth grader, said that "thanks to writing through art, the

fire I had for writing is burning again. I thought writing through art is a

great thing because writing is art."

She responded to Vincent Van Gogh's masterpiece "Starry Night" with the

following poetry.

Blue Lavender Wanderer

A poem by Evan Barbour

When the massive marigolds of riches flutter in the velvet sky

in purple haze,

When the towns people drift off to their world

with tears

and

folds of dark and light

And faces of satin that never seem to think

But stand against a nameless wall,

With a clueless person sagging inside of them,

I drift to the starry night outside my world.

The angels hold the stars like a tugboat in a darkened chalkboard world,

While God's gentle hands seem to reach out and soothe the pain of the grieved

people.

To tell them they're all right. To tell them his spirit is there and that

they're still loved.

At that moment, I feel as if I have been lifted off the ground as if I were

chosen to touch the stars.

I slowly open my eyes and feel a warm breeze about me, as if I were spoken to,

From somebody I know deep inside my heart, but will never see the face of or

see his shadow against the bittersweet moonlight.

The satin covered hills trip along the valleys, dark eyed shadows and

personalities of the night seem to whisper a darkened word of wisdom and

faith.

I gaze up and let my spirit disappear into the soul of the stars.

Through purple haze, into the spirit of the blue lavender wanderer inside my

soul.

Solitude emerges through my moody cornflower world of the mysterious, shadow

reflected sky.

World War I

Sean Gerety, also in the fourth grade, wrote a penetrating poem based on the

painting "War" by Marc Chagall.

The sky dark as a smoky night,

The ground was bright as day,

IT WAS ALL EVIL AS FIRE,

Black cannon balls flying at top speed,

And exploding in yellow fire,

Bodies strewn around as if something threw them,

Women and children fleeing and men fighting,

Soldiers dying while families cry over their deaths,

Children weeping for their mothers,

Hate all around,

Fire killing goats and crops,

The face of death showing in the sky,

Cowardly men clobbering our village without a fight,

Fire coming as fast as a jet to swallow me up,

My clothes and shoes catch fire as I burn to a crisp.