Montessori Art… Makes Us

Look around Evergreen. Art is everywhere.  In our classrooms. In our halls and stairwells, too.  And when you look around your life, you’ll see art all around, too.  From artwork in our homes to masterpieces in Washington Museums, we are immersed in art every day.

Evergreen School Penguins

When a child creates a work of art, he establishes a connection as old as civilization itself. She refines her skills and develops mastery over materials.  He develops control over clay, paint, scissors and glue.

Children are creators.  Producing something is an expression of one’s identity.  The act of creating makes our children who they are.  We make art and art makes us.

Art is also problem solving.  When making a work of art, the child is in dialog with the medium.  The child asks questions of the clay. The clay responds.  Throughout the conversation, new ideas and new solutions emerge.

Art at Evergreen is joyful and serious too.  It isn’t child’s play.  When you watch our young artists in the process of creating, their intensity and focus attest to the importance of their undertaking. Their art deserves to be looked at carefully. Look deeply!

The Puppet Giant

 

 

 

 

The Puppet Giant at Glen Echo Park’s Puppet Co.

 

Here is a wonderful picture taken by Ms. Tobin after her classes field trip to the Puppet Co.’s production of Jack and the Beanstalk at Glen Echo Park.  I love it!

Winter Bulletin Board

Cora Michael creates a Winter Bulletin Board

Cheers to Cora Michael and our wonderful new bulletin board.  Our Primary hallway is bright and cheery– perfect for these cold and rainy Washington winter days.

Cora’s creations are more than just about color and form.  They highlight textures, 3-D materials and mixed media.  Yes, those are real scarves! And the marshmallows are styrofoam peanuts!

Reading Snowman

Warm up with a cup of hot chocolate… and a good book!

Snowman detail

Click to enlarge…

We Love Penguins

Evergreen School Penguins

Every once and a while, a classroom project stands out– like an army of penguins.  What is it that makes them so endearing?  They are so anthropromorphised, of course.  These funny little creatures remind me of the time my son insistent on adopting a penguin through the World Wildlife Fund for Christmas.

But Santa is from the North Pole. Not Antarctica.

A Creative, Talented Person

We have a new  program view book  to share with prospective Montessori families at our November 16 Open House.  I am so grateful for the work of Kelsey Stephens in Minnesota who designed it. She has done a remarkable job capturing the joyful energy of our school.  It is such a pleasure to work with creative, talented and enthusiastic people like her. Thank you, Kelsey!

Designed by Kelsey Stephens

 

The Evergreen School Fall Open House takes place on November 16 from 9 to 11 am.

Thanksgiving Card Art

Our new Thanksgiving card went to the printer today. I hope I am not sharing the image prematurely (it isn’t even Halloween, I know). What a great project for our Nest class. And what a great use of Montessori pin punching, too.

Cirque du Nest

Children worked together and found inspiration from Matisse, Calder and the recycle bin to create a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.

Another brilliant Nest collaboration!

We are so fortunate to have the creative minds of Ms. Tobin and Ms. Michael to support our students’ vision!

Alexander Calder at Evergreen

Our Own Calderesque Landmark!

One of my favorite spots in Washington, DC is the Alexander Calder Room at the National Gallery of Art.  And to me,  his mobile in the East Wing Atrium is a DC landmark on par with any of the memorials on the Mall.   You can visit the room now using the NGA’s virtual interactive gallery here.

So I was thrilled when one of our teachers, Ms. Tobin, told me that her class was going to study Calder’s work and create their own kinetic sculptures.  With Ms. Michael’s help, the class created a collaborative mobile after seeing Calder’s wire circus sculptures.  Ms. Tobin even showed the video clip of Calder performing his own wire-sculpture circus.  How fun is it to see a grown artist making his own toys out of wire!

Now Evergreen School has our own artistic landmark, too!  Now if we could only create the virtual gallery…

Calderesque Mobile

Ms. Tobin also showed the video clip of Calder performing his own wire-sculpture circus at The Whitney.

Butterfly Bulletin Board

Our art intern, Cora Michael, created this wonderful bulletin board for Mr. Bingcang’s class study of the life cycle of a butterfly. Stunning!

Montessori’s Google Doodle

How awesome is this? It is wonderful to see Google paying tribute to Maria Montessori’s 142nd birthday (Aug 31, 1870). According to PC Magazine, “Google’s co-founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, both went through the Montessori education system and have credited it for their success.” Read all about it by clicking the image.

Isn’t it great the ‘G’ is in CURSIVE?