Integrated Arts Course

You may not know this, but on Monday evenings when I leave Chets Creek, I put on my Superhero cape and am instantly transformed into "Professor Tamburrino - Teacher of College Education Majors and Arts Integration Guru."  Actually, I have to call upon folks who are experts in the field when it comes to instruction in the Visual Arts.  I do not consider myself an artist, however, I have a great appreciation for beauty and a love of all things artistic.  Last night, Mrs. Jennifer Snead - Visual Artist Extraordinaire - came to my rescue and provided a fabulous workshop for my students at the University of North Florida. 

Her topic was "Illuminated Manuscripts of the Middle Ages" - an integrated lesson that tied the Visual Arts in with Language Arts and Social Studies.  She showed a video to explain the process from making parchment to embellishing handwritten manuscripts with pure gold.  It was awesome!  I have provided the link below in case you are interested in learning more about the process.

http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/videoDetails?cat=2&segid=372
(It takes about 60 seconds to load before it will play)

My students were given the task of creating an illuminated letter.  They were to use one of their initials and draw symbols around it that represented something about themselves.  Gold paint and metallic markers were used to "illuminate" their initial which was then glued onto a piece of wallpaper and mounted on black paper.  The results were stunning.

Mrs. Jennifer Snead

Discussing a family crest with a student

Working on their letters

Third Grade student samples from Chets Creek Elementary

One of my students' pieces

Jennifer, you are an amazing educator and I owe you an enormous debt of gratitude. Thank you!!

Until next time...