Featured Student Artists of Covenant Classical School

The Student Art Gallery Exhibit reception at CMC-NorthEast last night was great! Thank you to those who came and if you were not able to come I want to update you on the evening's events. Covenant student artists were there with family members along with two First Assembly student art winners, McKenzie Faggart and Rachel Meltzner. At the reception we enjoyed refreshments and honored the student artists as well as the hospital for hosting our work. I thanked the hospital, CCS families and students for all their hard work. It is such a pleasure teaching all the students art at Covenant Classical. It was invigorating to see what favorable response the art work received from hospital employees and people walking by the exhibit as it was being placed in the frames and labeled. People were stopping to point out different pieces of art and were smiling as they paused and enjoyed. I am very proud of all my students. The exhibit is hanging in the Medical Arts Building at CMC-Northeast so stop by and take a look. First Assembly was in charge of art work for the previous exhibition. Our Student Art Exhibit will be showing until May 11,2010. At the end of the exhibit two winners from our school will be chosen to be included in the Hospital Art Gallery Permanent Exhibit. The two students chosen will receive $100.00 each. It is very exciting! Emma Lawing's name was drawn randomly that evening. She was given the honor of cutting the ceremony ribbon. There will be pictures on the hospital website. I was also told that the paper might have an article or pictures about the event. I will keep you updated. In the meantime, below is a list of the students who have work on display:

Joelle Adeleke
Oliver Allred
Katherine Balbuena
Elizabeth "Liz" Ballard
Bailey Bare
Anna Gail Beard
McKayla Bentley
Rachel Beroth
Donovan Blackburn
Taylor Brock
Thomas Carr
Georgia Carr
Weston Cregger
Megan Cross
Jillian DeBoer
Merrill Douglass
Paul Douglass
Sarah Douglass
Frances Drye
Grace Dupont
Anna Beth Edwards
Patrick Garifo
Ryan Gasparrini
Molly Handler
Noah Hartsock
Lee Heath
Tyler Hicks
Sydney Hicks
Nyasia Hill
Madison Hobbs
Miranda Huffman
Carson Hughes
Julia Humberger
Lacie Hunt
Hayden Hutchinson
Destyni Hyatt
Christina Hyatt
Abagail Johnson
Kenzie Kaczmarek
Andrew Kern
Isaac Kunesh
Pricilla Larson
Chandler Lawing
Lydia Lawing
Emma Lawing
Brosnan Long
Sydney Mangum
Anna Hill Meares
Kaylyn Mercuri
Chase Moretz
Cody Owings
McKenzie Peurifoy
Evan Prince
Hanna Rogers
Parker Rose
Parker Ross
Brianna Ruffatto
Emma Sorey
Elizabeth Spaugh
Aaron Stewart
Josh Stewart
Daniel Taylor
Macaiah Thomas
Georgesula "Georgie" Ziama

Below: Patrick, Madison, Kenzie and Chase show their art work.

Art Quotes

"The possibility of making the invisible visible, of giving presence to what can only be imagined, is repeatedly stated as the main function of art." - Paul de Man

"The paradox of seeing is that the more forcefully I try to see, the more blind I become." - James Elkins

Meet Our 2010 Senior Yearbook Editors

This year we have a great team of students working on the yearbook, but now that we are in the second semester it is our Yearbook editors that have the tedious job of finishing up the book. The editors this year are Lizzy Ballard and Megan Cross. And these two girls have been doing an Excellent job! We are excited about the cover and all the pages! And we are also excited to announce that this year we will be having a Yearbook signing party where all students, upper and lower school, will be able to see a slide show of pictures taken throughout the year. During this time the students will also be able to sign yearbooks. So if your small first grade students really looks up to one of the juniors or senior students this will be a time that he/she can get them to sign the yearbook! So as we get closer to May the yearbook signing date will be announced! Till then make sure you have purchased your 2010 yearbook!

(This was our first Fall Festival Yearbook Booth- designed and run by the Yearbook Staff)

Student Art Reception

NorthEast Foundation
cordially invites you and your family
to a preview reception for the
Carolinas Medical Center-NorthEast Student Art Gallery
featuring artwork by students of
Covenant Classical School

Tuesday, January 26, 2010
6:30 p.m. until 8 p.m.

Roper Commons,
Medical Arts Building
on the campus of
CMC-NorthEast

NorthEast Foundation
920 Church Street, North
Concord, NC 28025
704.403.1369
www.givenortheastfoundation.org

We would love for as many Covenant Classical students, parents, friends and family members to be there as possible!

See you all Tuesday evening!

-Ms. Jessica Evans (CCS Art Teacher)
jessica.ccsart@gmail.com

Inside the Art room the walls are covered to inspire us. Sometimes young students come up to me like one of the 1st grade art students did the other day . . . pointing excitedly to an art work on the wall telling me that he saw it while out on the town and recognized the art as one hanging on our Art room wall. It's great to see students so excited about Art!

Art Wall

Throughout the year I have been rotating art work on our Stars wall in the art room. In order for students to have work on the wall that student must show great effort in class and continue to follow the art rules during our class time. It is time to start changing up the art work on the wall. I usually only put up one student's work from each class, however, for some projects I chose several to display. So stop by soon and see what is going up on the Art Wall of Fame!

CCS Smiling Faces: Art Newsletter 2010

Art at CCS



Dear Parents:

We have already reached our halfway point this year. Wow, time has gone by fast! I hope that a lot of you were able to come to the Founder’s Day Event that we had awhile back. As you may have noticed, there was a wall of student art work there on display for the evening. Right now a bulletin board in the kindergarten hall and a bulletin board in the 2nd grade hall are Art bulletin boards. So come take a peek. And if you have not already stopped by the Art room, please feel free to come and see our Art wall as well as what we are currently painting, drawing, etc . . . Each student is creating a body of work to bring home at the end of the year in their own Portfolio. Hopefully, students have spread the word on what we have been working on so far. I am enjoying seeing their eyes light up when they come up with ideas or figure out how to do a new art making process. As you can imagine the Art department is busy busy busy creating and planning. To say that I am enjoying working with all the students this year is an understatement. They have helped me create an environment that is full of exciting possibilities and most importantly full of positivity. One of the younger students stated it perfectly when she said that when we walk through the doors of the art room we should be “turning on our brains to their imagination mode”! All the students here at Covenant are such a blessing to teach. I feel privileged to be able to spend time creating art with them and see their smiling faces.

We have so many great projects still to come the second part of this year. And I want all of you to be able to not only come in and see what we are working on but also to be able to see glimpses into the CCS Art Department while still in the comfort of your own home or while at the office. For this reason I have started this Covenant Classical Art Blog.


This is a space where you can take a peek at what Kindergarten through 12th grade students are creating. At the moment I have been adding Art work from last semester in random order. I am excited to keep this site going as a way of sharing with all of you what is happening here. Hope you enjoy!

As always feel free to contact me with questions, ideas or concerns at jessica.ccsart@gmail.com.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. Welcome to 2010! And thank you all for the sweet cards, treats and gifts! I look forward to seeing you as the year goes on and hope you will get excited with all of us about the wonderful visual world that all the students are creating through their Art.

Sincerely,

Jessica Evans


















Several Students Dressed Up for the Christmas 2009 Program

The 6th grade class was working on their first large scale Self-Portrait paintings. They were to create a mood through color and include something that signifies their heritage. Below is one that Georgia completed.

Art I Assignment

Last Semester, one of the Art I assignments was for the students to take an Art work from an Art history book and recreate it with a modern twist. The first step was for each of them to sketch out their idea. This sketch is from Brianna's journal. She took Grant Wood's American Gothic and sketched out her idea. After that she brought her sketch to life with a Photograph inspired by Wood's art work.

10 Lessons the Arts Teach

NAEA
(National Art Education Association)

Super Heroes and Villains

Nick in 4th working on his Super Hero and Villain in Art class. Everyone was soooooo creative with this project!


This is Oliver in 3rd grade's Super Hero named Inkster.


















Spaghetti and Meatball man is Lee in 4th grade's Super Hero!





























And this is Parker in 3rd grade's Karate Team of Super Heroes!

Some Students at Work in Our Art Room

What is Art?

Starting out in Art class I like to ask my students this question on the first day of class. What is Art? To some students this is simple to others the idea of answering this question can be overwhelming. What is the right answer? Well, to find the answer to this question every Artist/Art student must go on their own personal journey of questioning and discovering. There are many definitions of Art that vary from person to person, from culture to culture and from Artist to Artist. The important thing is to begin to define your own definition with certainty and to be able to answer and explain another question. What is not Art? Many find it easier to say what Art is rather then to explain what is not Art. Usually new Art students struggle to explain all of this clearly and concisely. It is much easier for them to simple say, "This is Art." or "This is not Art." but not be able to explain why they feel that way. Throughout Art II/III students will begin to learn how to critique Art and to learn to talk or write about Art in a way that explains with certainty their Artistic theories. Most of the time their definitions for Art will alter at least slightly but sometimes completely. And it is interesting to compare how each student answers this question on the first day of class as well as the last day of class.

What is Art? (Below are Students' first day definitions)

"Art is the expression of oneself through various mediums. It can depict and capture events or moods important not only to yourself, but to many people."

"Art is a way for people to express themselves. Like dance, it can be a way for people to express themselves without using words."

"Art is the representation of beauty and creation by the artist. It is a way of expressing creativity or ideas."

"Art is a way of expressing thoughts through drawing, painting, sculpting, etc. (Visual representation)."

"The communication of one's feelings or thoughts through a visual presentation."

"Art is some kind of creation in the form of a visual display."

"Art is the way a person communicates their feelings or ideas in a creative, visual display."

"Art is the man-made recreation of beauty made by God. That beauty is objective to an extent as all things made by God must be, but that is not to say that there is no room for flexibility. Art does allow a certain degree of independence and creativity to the artist, however, this should not be abused and God given beauty must be maintained."

"Art is a way for one to express something through the means of drawings or some other creative/visual means."

Art Contest!!

Some of the lower school classes will be working to enter the "State of the Art" contest through Artsonia . Students are eligible to participate if they are between the ages of 5 & 15 and reside in the United States. The entry deadline is February 5, 2010. There is not much time, but our 6th grade students are already working on ideas. They will be asking you, parents, for ideas . . . so get ready! Below are the contest guidelines and the website link for more information:

Theme: State of the Art
Think about what makes your local environment and what makes it unique and different from other places around the United States. Is it the landscape or the people around you? What about a tradition passed on through generation of your family? How can you best depict your environment through artwork? Be creative! And be sure to share a glimpse into your world!

For Students: One artwork from each state will be displayed in a national, touring exhibition that will debut in Washington D.C. during June 2010. The 51 selected artists will be invited to Washington D.C. as guests for an opening reception and have a chance to join in the largest celebration of the arts and disability in the world: The 2010 International VSA arts Festival. All submissions to the contest will be viewable online and on interactive kiosks throughout the exhibition, even if they were not one of the 51 selected for the touring display.

Contest Information

Art Production - 1st Grade Water/Wax Resist Technique

-Ryan (left)





-Emma (below)

Art Production - 4th Grade Camera Color Drawings

View the World Through a Creative Lense!

Last semester Art I students built their own Pinhole Cameras in class. We then set up an area as a darkroom to load the cameras. Students kept journals and took pictures while charting their progress as well as their mistakes during the process of taking pictures with their very own Pinhole Cameras. After using the shutters on their Pinhole Cameras to expose the light sensitive emulsion on the photo paper, we took the cameras into our darkroom and began to print paper negatives. The paper negatives can later be turned into positive prints in the same darkroom space. We had some success in the very short time that this process took place. And I am looking forward to continuing to instruct students on the Art of Photography.

Art Sites:

Pinhole Cameras

History of the Pinhole Camera

Matchbox Pinhole Camera

Matchbox Pinhole Cameras

Paper Forest

Paper Pinhole Camera

Art Paper

Alternative Photography Methods & Materials