Art Projects!

Drawing inspiration from local artists, several local school districts have been taking art education outside of the classroom in order to jump-start hands-on, collaborative projects, varying from performance art to intricate mosaics.

Westhampton Beach School District’s visiting artist, Clare Bennett, has been working closely with the students at the elementary, middle and high school for the last seven years. Ms. Bennett, who has a full studio in her Manorville home where she teaches pottery, stained glass and mosaics, said she loves working with the students because of their enthusiasm.

“When I do a project with them its not like I say ‘okay, come on, let’s do it.’ First, I talk to them about the history, talk about famous artists and how they impacted art historically,” she said. “They ask such great questions and they are so responsive to working on something different.”

The most recent project the students have worked on with Ms. Bennett, creating two large-scale mosaic arches to flank one of the doors in a hallway of the middle school, was installed over the winter break.

“The kids love being allowed to use actual tools to smash the tiles,” the visiting artist said. “It builds confidence for them, knowing they are capable of creating such a beautiful piece of art.”

Several Southampton High School students are involved in the Parrish Collaborative Art Club, a collaboration with the Parrish Art Museum, an after-school club that is working on creating an installation piece to be displayed in the school. For the project, local artist Michael Solomon, a visiting artist at the Parrish, meets with the kids every Tuesday to assist in the production of the piece.

In preparation for the project, the students visited Mr. Solomon’s East Hampton studio. The club coordinators also organized a trip to New York City so the students could draw inspiration from outdoor installation sculptures along the Chelsea High Line area, as well as from the current installation exhibit at the Guggenheim museum.

Gail Altomare, an art teacher at Southampton High School for 27 years, said that she believes projects like this are an important part of the education process for students. According to Ms. Altomare, the Education Department of the Parrish Art Museum has provided the necessary funding for both the visiting artist and the trip into the city.

“I think the most important thing is exposing the kids to as many different places and environments as possible, as well as the wonderful area where we live,” she said. “Some of them have never even been to a museum. Southampton is truly an artist community and the district supports our efforts with the students so well.”

At Southampton Intermediate School, a partnership with the Watermill Center has resulted in several projects over the past three years. In 2010, fifth grade students presented stories in both Spanish and English from their creative writing assignments inspired by the Watermill Center’s collection of art and artifacts. In 2011, the Dual Language Program students put on a theatrical performance in both English and Spanish, based on the book “Call It Courage” by Armstrong Sperry.

“This initiative is at the heart of the Watermill program. We bring international artists here to be catalysts for their imaginations and perspectives,” said Watermill Center Director Sherry Dobbin. “With Southampton Intermediate School, we do the same thing; bring children as artists from international backgrounds to reinterpret what they learn, see and hear.”

In Hampton Bays, educators are enlisting the support of visiting artists as well. At the middle school, students have worked with artist John DiNaro on six different murals throughout the building. The BOCES Arts-In-Education program and the New York State Council for the Arts have funded these collaborative projects, according to middle school art teacher, Kathy Dayton.

“There’s a beautiful mural outside of the library where we solicited suggestions from the students about their favorite books,” Ms. Dayton said. “We then chose 35 books to integrate into the mural, which is a tree that grows up from the ground and morphs into the illustrations from all the books.”

These visiting artist projects are integrated into the curriculum, Ms. Dayton said. But the result is about so much more than the paintings on the walls.

“The students gain a stronger ownership of the building where they go to school,” Ms. Dayton said. “They see something through from the inception to an end product and it truly enhances the building, whether it is related to curriculum, or the community, or their literacy. They get to see the importance of works of art enhancing their lives and the lives of their community.”