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Big Data Art – Piloting the Lesson

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We are excited to announce a new addition to our curriculum!  

This year we have been developing a lesson that we will teach in the Fall called “Big Data Art” in the 6th grade math classes.  

We realized that not only did we need to fill a hole in our curriculum for 6th grade, but we also wanted to create

a lesson that was on the cutting edge of Art and how it relates to the STEAM initiative.

 

Just this May, our Curriculum team, after many months of developing the lesson, actually tested it out with five 6th grade classes

in Ms. Brandy Nelson’s classroom at Fisher Middle School.  We had so much fun and excitement, and found out some valuable feedback as well that will help us to edit

and hone our lesson to be taught in the Fall of 2018.

One thing we learned is that we will need to teach the lesson in a 90 minute period

instead of a 45 minutes.  We also realized that we needed to simplify the Tally Sheet we gave the students.

Piloting the lesson was very valuable, we were learning on the spot.

After the first time that day we only had one student who finished their Spiral Data Portrait –

but by the end we had our directions down pat and were

able to have a whole class complete the project.

 

Ms. Nelson was so excited about the lesson she said,

“I’ve been talking with the other 6th grade math teachers about this lesson and we are going to

rearrange our curriculum to be taught at the time the Art Docents will come in to teach this lesson.”  

 

She also was so eager to have her son, who is going to major in Data Analytics this fall in college,

come to school the day we were there to pilot the lesson so he could learn about the subject as well.

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What is Big Data Art?

What is the Big Idea about including this art lesson in a math class?  

How can we combine a complicated subject and bring it to life for our tech savvy students?  

These were the questions we have attempted to answer in this new and exciting lesson.

 

Our objectives with this lesson cover both Visual Arts Standards as well as Math Standards.  The Students will: Students will:

Make connections between art, math and science, as well as career potentials related to these fields.

Enter, observe and analyze data about themselves that will be collected and displayed using a Heat Map.

Record and tally their individual data of how they spend their time on a typical day.

Create a Spiral Data Portrait of themselves called “A Day in the Life of Me”.

Observe and analyze all the 6th graders Spiral Data Portraits collectively in one Big Data Art piece.

 

 

The student’s start out with filling in an online Google Form Survey ahead of time

asking them questions about

“Where they were born,” “What’s one country or state they have enjoyed visiting,”

and “ What’s one country/state that they would love to visit.”  During our presentation we show the students

a heat map and an interactive map that was generated by their data.    

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 The lesson also covers what a Data Scientist does, different types of info-graphics, charts and now the artwork that different artists are inspired by all this data.  

 

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We end the lesson with a project for the students.  Students are working on their own “Data Portrait”.

They must first fill in a tally sheet which shows them how much time they devote to different areas of their life.  

Then for each 15 minute period will be represented by one dot of the color that coordinates with their

activity. They will put their favorite activity dot color in the center of the Data Spiral.

When all the 6th grade classes are completed we will display all the spirals

(about 550) together as one large BIG DATA ART installation to be viewed by the school.

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President’s Letter – April 2018

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April Showers Bring May Flowers…

and for the Art Docents we have the …

Art Show


Kindergarten Foil Workshop


Spanish Art History


French Art History

The year is winding up and we have finished with all of our print presentations.

During April, May and June we have several important items to cover with the Art Docents.

The Art Show is one of our large components of the Art Docent program and we have been working hard to get it ready. 

Thanks to Frances and her awesome committee on all the hard work they have put in thus far. 

The following lessons/workshops are ready to be taught these last few months.​

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KINDERGARTEN FOIL WORKSHOP


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Teaching Objective: 

Students will learn about sculptures, 3 dimensional objects, and materials used in sculptures by creating their own foil sculpture animal.

Explanation of Concept:  

Sculpture has shape (height, width and depth), it is not flat, and is three dimensional. 

Sculpture is not just art.  It can be created to be part of a celebration, a dance, a show or part of a building.  

Sculpture can be functional.  

Sculpture can be made of any material. 

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SPANISH ART HISTORY – 7th Grade
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“Frida and Diego Rivera” by Frida Kahlo (1931)
Frida painted this portrait of herself with husband Diego Rivera.
Who is she portraying as an artist? (Her husband was more famous than her at that time.)
How is she showing her pride in her heritage? (By her traditional Mexican clothing.)
Whose head is turned; whose is forward? What does this suggest?
Do you notice anything else about their posture?
What does a plain background such as this do for the subjects?

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FRENCH ART HISTORY – 7th Grade

Pierre-Auguste Renoir,  ​“Luncheon of the Boating Party,”
Renoir was another founding member of the first Impressionist exhibit;
he actually exhibited at the official Salon back in 1864 but did not gain recognition until much later.
What does this painting show?
​Does it feel somber or light-hearted?
“Boating Party” is one of the most beloved works of Renoir for
its sunny, playful quality but carefully studied composition.
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LOGO SUBMISSION UPDATE

Secondly I wanted to tell you all about our Logo Submission Request.  We reached 
out to the Los Gatos High School students as you all know last month 
to give them the students the first opportunity to send in submissions
for a new logo going forward for our 45th Anniversary.  

We received over 25 submissions!  

Thank you to Sue W., Stephanie D., Cheryl H., Elizabeth G.,
Beth R. and Stefanie J.
for you help in working on the committee for screening the logo submissions 

and presenting their top 2 choices to our Executive Board. 

Also a big thank you goes to 
Mr. Czech, the Los Gatos High School Art teacher
who was instrumental in working with both our Logo Committee 
and the students on their submissions!

From there the Executive Board agreed unanimously on one choice, 
and decided to give the Art Docents the opportunity to vote on
whether we move forward with the new logo, 
or continue on with our current logo.  
So we are presenting those two choices at the next meeting 
Friday, April 27th, 9 am at the Art Show Set Up
held at Fisher Middle School.

We are not revealing the choice in public yet since we have not notified the students
yet of our decisions since we will be waiting to complete the vote
​from all the Art Docents at our next meeting.

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Thank you Jr. Art Docents!

Prints Update Project – Part One

Over the Spring Break we asked if any of the Jr. Art Docents could join us at the
Art Docent office to help out with our “Prints Update Project”.
Lucky for us…we had an awesome team of 4 Los Gatos High School students who joined us
along with Theresa B., Judith F., Julie F., and Emilie R.

Together we divided into teams, and in 3 hours we measured, cataloged, 
​and rated over 150 prints.  This is the first step in making sure that our
amazing Print Collection is kept up to date and looking great for the classroom use.

We will be meeting again to work on “Part Two”
on May 23rd @ 9 am in the Art Docent office
if anyone is interested in join in on the fun, please email either Stefanie at artdocents@me.com or Julie F.

 

 

 

 

 

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It’s time to Spring into Action!

 

Happy Spring,  Julie Ferrario


President of Art Docents of Los Gatos

President’s Letter – March 2018

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Art Connections

 – Before I headed off for President’s Week, our February recess, I posted on the Art Docent Facebook site….this quote

“Enjoy the week off school – and discover ART in your travels or free time!”

Little did I realize how much my connections with Art Docents connected me to Art in the world today.

I took a trip to Washington D.C. to visit my newly relocated son during this vacation. One of our docents told me about the new portraits that were just unveiled, just before I left.

I was so excited to see if I could find time to visit the National Portrait Gallery while I was there.  It was so much fun to take what we teach in Art Docents and realize we are learning and being connected to our own world…making history today.

In our 5th grade lesson called, “Grade 5 Lesson Four: American Art – Portraiture, we cover the

State Standard: 1.3 which is to have students use their knowledge of all the elements of art to describe similarities and differences in works of art and the environment.

“George Washington After 1796”

Artist: Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828)
The Huntington Library, Pasadena, CA (approx. life-size)

We discuss both Color and Value with the students using these two famous American portraits.

Both portraits use color contrast to emphasize the subject matter, but how are these contrasts different? In the Stuart painting, the background is dark so that George Washington’s face in the portrait stands out.

In the Whistler portrait, the subject matter, Whistler’s mother, is dressed in dark colors with a lighter background, again emphasizing the portrait subject, but using a light background instead.

The background in each portrait creates a focal point, despite the very different use of color in these prints.

The white color in the Stuart print is predominately in the middle of the portrait; whereas, the lighter colors are spread throughout the portrait created by Whistler.  Note the use red in the rosy cheeks in both portraits

 

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“Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1”

Artist: James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)

 

The 5th grade students are presented with two prints to compare, but in this case, there will be two portraits to compare and contrast by two different American artists.

There will be differences in style, technique, and the medium used by the artists.

 Through discussion and questions, the students should evaluate how or whether each painting has achieved unity and harmony in its composition

and use their knowledge of the elements of art while describing similarities and differences in the works of art presented.

 

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Back to my ART CONNECTIONS…

 

Barack Obama,  born 1961

Forty-fourth president, 2009–2017

Artist: Kehinde Wiley (born 1977)
Oil on canvas, 2018

Barack chose to have his portrait done by Kehinde Wiley, the first ever African-American artist to produce an official presidential portrait for the National Portrait Gallery,

and is famous for his depiction of African Americans posed in the style of Old Master paintings with pops of color.

The piece features Obama seated in front of a fortress of leaves.

From this deep green background emerges three types of flowers, each representing a part of the former president’s history.

The white flowers are jasmine, representing Obama’s birthplace and childhood in Hawaii.

The pink and gold flowers are chrysanthemums, the official flower of Chicago, where Obama became a community organizer and, ultimately, a senator of Illinois.

and the

purple flowers are African blue lilies, a reminder of his father, Barack Obama, Sr., a Kenyan man.

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Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama

born 1964
Born Chicago, Illinois

Artist:  Amy Sherald (born 1973)
Oil on linen, 2018

Sherald’s piece  presents the former First Lady striking a regal pose in a flowing white gown, speckled with colorful geometric shapes. The dress has captured people’s attention because of what a gorgeous garment it is, but there’s also a little more behind it: It captures Michelle’s modernity and openness during her tenure as First Lady. The design is based on the American brand Milly’s spring 2017 collection, which creator Michelle Smith says was inspired by a “desire for equality, equality in human rights, racial equality, LGBTQ equality.”

Smith said that while some people have described the dress as couture, the fabric is actually an accessible stretch cotton poplin.

She chose a “geometric minimal print” for the gown to exude”Mrs. Obama’s strength and approachable, forward-thinking style.”

Of the dress’s silhouette she added, “The dress reveals her beautiful shoulder and arms, which I think is very groundbreaking in a portrait of the First Lady.”

At the portrait unveiling, Sherald said she was drawn to this particular dress because it reminded her of

quilts made by African American women in the South.

“Milly’s design also resembles the inspired quilt masterpieces made by the women of Gee’s

Bend,

a small remote black community in Alabama where they compose quilts in geometries that transform clothes and fabric remnants into masterpieces,” she said.

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My Next Stop…in ART CONNECTIONS…back in San Francisco

the next weekend I visited the deYoung Museum and was so excited to find a display of the quilts of Gee’s Bend!

The quilting tradition in Gee’s Bend goes back beyond the 19th century perhaps influenced in part by patterned Native American and African textiles.

African-American women pieced together strips of cloth to make bedcovers. Throughout the post-bellum years and into the 20th century,

Gee’s Bend women made quilts to keep themselves and their children warm in unheated shacks that lacked running water, telephones and electricity.

Along the way they developed a distinctive style, noted for its lively improvisations and geometric simplicity.[1] 

Many of the quilts are a departure from classical quilt making, bringing to mind a minimalist quality.

This is could have also been influenced by the isolation of their location, which caused them to use whatever materials were on hand, often recycling from old clothing and textiles.[5]

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ART CONNECTION….with children!

 

And back to working with students to teach Art and Art Appreciation….making things current and connecting with our daily lives….here is a fun story from just this week

…this is just what the artist  was hoping for when she contemplated painting Mrs. Obama.

 The Baltimore-based artist considers the former first lady to be someone “women can relate to—no matter what shape, size, race, or color. . . .

We see our best selves in her.” Here, she portrays Mrs. Obama as both confident and approachable, in a dress by Michelle Smith’s label Milly.

Little girl awestruck by Michelle Obama’s portrait believes she’s ‘a queen’

By Deena Zaru, CNN

Updated 10:30 AM ET, Mon March 5, 2018

Two-year-old Parker Curry was so awestruck by the towering portrait of Michelle Obama that every time her mother would try to get her to turn around to take a picture, she would not stop staring at it.

“Parker was in front on the portrait, and I really wanted her to turn around so I could get a picture with her, and she genuinely, honestly would not turn around,”
her mother, Jessica Curry, a small business owner from Washington DC, told CNN on Saturday. “She was uncooperative with me because she was just so focused on the portrait and studying it, and she was just so fascinated.”

“In further discussion with (Parker) yesterday and today, I realized that she believes Michelle Obama is a queen,

and she wants to be a queen as well …,” Curry said.

“As a female and as a girl of color, It’s really important that I show her people who look like her that are doing amazing things and are making history so that she knows she can do it.”

Curry added that her youngest daughter Ava, who is only 1 year old, was also “totally into the artwork.”
“(Girls and girls of color) will see an image of someone who looks like them hanging on the walls of this great American institution. …
And I know the kind of impact that will have on their lives because I was one of those girls,” the former first lady said at the official unveiling.

Connecting in Art!

Julie Ferrario

President of Art Docents of Los Gatos

President’s Letter – February 2018

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What Goes on Behind the Scenes

at Art Docents??

 

Continued Education for us All!

 

It is so important to our organization that we continue to stay fresh with our own education as Art Docents, Artists and Community Members.  This past month we had several important educational activities we participated in.  

We are looking forward to the second half of the year and getting ready for so many different things that support our program and classroom presentations.  Below are a few examples of who and how we continue to learn together….

 

 

ART DOCENTS

Kelly Martin, “Classroom Management in the Art Room”

At our January General Meeting we had a wonderful guest speaker, our own Art Teacher from Los Gatos Union School District.  

Mrs. Martin gave us the opportunity to refresh our skills in the classroom and generate consistent practices while our docents teach our presentations and workshops. – Thank You Kelly!

 

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STUDENTS of LOS GATOS

Continuing Education in the Schools with our Guest Artist Program:

Thank you Mary L. and Marissa D. for volunteering your time as Art Docents

to bring our Guest Artist Program this year!

Paula Lucia: Presenting to the Elementary Schools in Los Gatos

Stephen Bruce: Presenting to Fisher Middle school in Los Gatos

Thank you to our Guest Artists as well!

 

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ART DOCENT EXECUTIVE BOARD

We are proud to have SVCreates support our organization.  Annually they hold workshops for Non-Profit organizations and for their Grantee organizations.   SVCreates is a network of leaders who care about the cultural and aesthetic quality of life in Silicon Valley.  Their Local Arts Grant provide general operating support grants for small and mid-sized nonprofit arts organizations.  

 

Their mission is to accelerate Silicon Valley’s creative culture.  

Their Purpose is…

1) Promote artistic excellence while reflecting the dynamic, diverse, and innovative character of Santa Clara County

2) Recognize and encourage non-professional, volunteer involvement as an essential part of Santa Clara County’s cultural environment

3) Stimulate local support, particularly at the grassroots level

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 Below you’ll see that this year we have attended two of the workshops and plan on attending another one in March .

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Stefanie J., our program coordinator attended:

Workshop: Grantwriting with Audrey Wong

New to grantwriting? Want to brush up on grantwriting basics? Need to take your skills to the next level? Join us on January 12th for a workshop led by Audrey Wong!

 

Jenny G., our treasurer and I attended:

Workshop: Financial Planning & Budget Development

A viable financial management strategy needs to address a vision for the future and incorporate the past and present positions of the organization.

Here Jenny and I are…at the workshop.  I’m so thankful to have Jenny on board as our Treasurer, she is a wealth of knowledge and so giving of her volunteering time!

 

Stephanie D., our VP of Public Relations and I are planning on attending:

Engage.Next 5.0: Audience Engagement & The Art of Relevance

March 16th to hear from Nina Simon on her book “The Art of Relevance” and her work on audience engagement and community participation in the arts.

 

We are so fortunate to have so many opportunities to further our own personal education.  The Art Docents believe in education for both our students and our great volunteers.  Thank you to Theresa B.,  Roxana K. and Elizabeth G., our Continuing Education Committee for bringing our docents so many opportunities to visit museums, take art workshops and practice our own art together.

Through volunteering, trying new things, teaching something, or just taking the time to listen to new ideas…I must agree that Michelangelo says it best….”I am still learning.”

 

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Julie Ferrario

President of Art Docents of Los Gatos

President’s Letter – January 2018

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Happy New Year – 2018!

Mayor Rob Rennie has selected the Art Docents as a  

Small Business Big Applause recipient.

Please Join the Art Docents

Tuesday, January 16 at 7 p.m.

during the Town Council meeting

 

The Mayor and Town Council  would like to honor our organization on

Tuesday, January 16 at 7 p.m. during the Town Council meeting.

Each month they recognize one small business/organization that is selected

by the Mayor.  This takes place right after the Pledge and are typically

done by 7:15 p.m., with no expectation to stay for the entire meeting.

Every volunteer is what makes this organization great,

therefore we want to extend an invitation to all of our

Docents, Board Members and Supporters of the Docents.

We hope you will be able to attend the meeting on

January 16 at 7 p.m. as we accept the commendation.  

We look forward to seeing there!

 

The Art Docents are 45 years strong and still going!

45 years ago, in 1973….due to funding cuts in the Los Gatos School District, two volunteers, Ema Rau and Emma Hopp, founded the Art Docent Program.  They felt that Art Education was just too important to simply not teach to our students.

The mission of the Art Docents of Los Gatos is to provide high quality visual arts curriculum to students in Kindergarten through 5th grade in the Los Gatos Union School District, with the goal of fostering the development of flexible, innovative and creative individuals.

  1. The Art Docents serve students in the Los Gatos elementary schools (Blossom Hill, Daves Avenue, Lexington, Louise Van Meter) and R.J. Fisher Middle School.
  2. The curriculum is led by staff and trained volunteers who teach students the elements of art through sequential lessons and hands-on STEAM workshops, including foil sculpture, collage, printmaking, digital photography and scientific illustration.
  3. Our program consists of four major components, Print presentations, Hands-on Workshops, Guest Artist Program and finally our Annual Student Art Show where we showcase artwork from each student in the district grades K-5 and some Fisher students.  
  4. As we move forward, we have continued to update our curriculum to stay current.  We are the “A” in S.T.E.A.M.….putting Art into the mix of important subjects all students need for a more complete education.  We emphasize the basic principles of art with Color, Line, Composition, Design Elements, and Art History.  Our lessons focus on Critical thinking skills and vocabulary to discuss and contemplate what makes something art.  The A in S.T.E.A.M. is represented in some of the workshops we teach where we cover:
    1. Proportions and Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Vitruvian Man” drawing – we have 4th graders measure their own proportions with string and then practice drawing the human figure more accurately.
    2. Science: in the 7th grade we use preserved real spiders & bugs to teach students how to draw more accurately what they see when they study science.
    3. Online Digital Photography manipulation: is taught in the 5th grade based upon a lesson where we describe abstract photographic compositions
    4. Math: we are currently developing a 6th grade lesson that will introduce math students to the concept of BIG DATA ART and what it is to be a data scientist and using big data as an interesting art medium.

Who are we….we are the community who cares about Art Education!

  1. We currently have 63 Active Volunteers and 22 Sustaining Members
  2. Executive Board (Volunteers)
    1. Julie Ferrario – President
    2. Stacey Closser – VP Programs A
    3. Theresa Bricker – VP Programs B
    4. Stephanie Draca – VP of PR
    5. Sue Nystrom Walsh – VP of Membership
    6. Sue Ward – VP of Fundraising
    7. Jenny Gifford – Treasurer
    8. Michelle Abene – Parliamentarian (past president)
    9. Judith Fishwick – Secretary (past president)
    10. Stefanie Johnston – Program Coordinator (paid position)
  3. Board of Directors (Local Business people and artists)
    1. Bonnie Westman
    2. Julie Jenkins
    3. Darrell Monda
    4. Elizabeth Reigal
    5. Marie Cameron
  4. Supporters of Art Docents
    1. Los Gatos Union School District Superintendent – Diana Abbati
    2. LGEF President – Ryan Rosenberg,  & Executive Director – Deborah Weinstein
    3. Home and School Clubs – Blossom Hill, Daves Ave, Fisher, Lexington, & Van Meter
    4. Town of Los Gatos
    5. City of Monte Sereno
    6. Los Gatos Community Foundation
    7. AM Rotary of Los Gatos
    8. PM Rotary of Los Gatos
    9. Silicon Valley Creates
    10. Los Gatos Community Foundation
  5.  Thank you to our Friends of Art Docents.

History Club of Los Gatos
Los Gatos Morning Rotary
The Rotary Club of Los Gatos
Michael Rosenthal Gallery
JCO’s Place
Agilent Technologies
Los Gatos Music in the Park
Alain Pinel c/o Jeff Barnett

Diana & Edward Abbati
Abene Family
Maureen Cappon-Javey
Elaine Cardinale (in memory of Marge Brown and Patty Baker)
Dr. James and Maxine Carroll
Ros Edmonds
Fishwick Family
Friends of Patty Baker 
Candace and Douglas Grady
Hakkarainen-Marselli Family
Patti Hansen
Julie Jenkins
Donna Jensen-Madier
Mary Leonardis
Mary Martin
Louise Millman
Natalie Jo Nelson ( in memory of Jean and Larry Nelson)
Maureen Oates
Sue Nystrom Walsh
Dora Piccoli
Allison Redington (in memory of Marge Brown)
Elizabeth Riegel
Carol Tinsley
Mark Vantress
Carol Webb and Philip Chen
Bonnie and Dean Westman

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It does take a village to make it all come together for the students – Thank you all for supporting the Art Docents Program!  

Happy New Year 2018!

Julie Ferrario

President of Art Docents of Los Gatos

Hours & Info

17000 Roberts Rd
Los Gatos, CA 95032
1-408-335-2366
artdocents@me.com
8:30 am - 3:00 pm

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