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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: 14 November 2007 SUBJECT: Budding Artists Enhance Art Thursday
The Good Hope School is participating in this season's Art Thursday with a selection from their Lower and Middle School students. The Christiansted tradition from 1997 is looking forward to a very exciting year of Art Thursdays with more participation and variety. ib Designs, a local jewelry store, opens its doors for Art Thursday to showcase artisan Whealan Massicott's latest designs; this year they will include artwork from Good Hope students. Whealan and Kris Massicott are Good Hope parents, and Kris sits on the school's Board of Trustees. The idea, inspired by Mrs. Massicott, uses the store space to showcase talent that adds variety to the Art Thursday walk. This Thursday is the first Art Thursday of the year and is held in Christiansted from 5 to 8 p.m. Art is taken with serious but creative measure at The Good Hope School. Works featured emphasize the exploration of media and techniques such as oil pastel, colored pencil, crayon resist, and watercolor. Other pieces introduce students to design principles including color theory, symmetry, and abstraction. Overall, these works of art highlight the depth and breadth of the Art Department at The Good Hope School. Pedra Chaffers is the Lower School art teacher at The Good Hope School. As a student in the School of Art at the University of Michigan, Ms. Chaffers pursued her interest in teaching. She graduated with a BFA and a certification to teach art to grades K-12 and later earned an MS in Education and a Certificate of Museum Practice. She has worked as an Education Specialist at the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. and as Manager of School Programs at the Studio Museum in Harlem in New York City. As an artist-in-residence her own work is influenced by the art of ancient Egypt, the Yoruba people of West Africa , and various Native American traditions. The art program at Good Hope aims to introduce diverse media and technique in the Lower School and then build on those skills in Middle School with teaching the students to conceptualize their work and then apply the appropriate methods. Ms. Chaffers noted: "because art is heavily integrated into the curriculum at Good Hope from K-12 Grades, our students become very strong in the visual arts and naturally can transfer those skills to problem-solving and creativity. This strengthens their character as citizens." One piece featured is a crayon resist sample and was created by First Grader, Ricardo Lopez. The coloring is of a giant sea turtle and was produced after the First Grade class completed a unit about their local community during turtle hatching season. The art curriculum often overlaps the academic curriculum in all divisions to make learning more relevant and significant. The Upper School artwork will be featured next Art Thursday at ib Designs.###
Sea Turtle, Ricardo Lopez, First Grade, Crayon Resist |
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