Teresa Kravitz has led the arts program at PS 8 since 2004 and sees all students weekly in PS 8’s art room, classroom 206. Generally, Ms. Kravitz’s youngest students, in pre-K, work on fine motor skills. Older students study technique and art vocabulary, as well as artists and art in their cultural and historic context. Some projects, such as Square One Art, a fundraiser that kicks off the school year, involve all students.
Pre-K students work on drawing, painting and collage. Kindergarteners study specific artists and hone their skills on thematic projects that often link to their social studies and science lessons. One project is their “day with family,” where students draw a specific experience with their families, then make frames for their work like those in Faith Ringgold’s Tar Beach.
First graders find inspiration in weather and nature. They compare artistic renderings of clouds to the clouds they study in science, and look at Sumi-e paintings for artistic interpretations of plants and animals. Second graders, who study the city as part of their social studies curriculum, consider the art of Romare Bearden and his use of collage to create city blocks. They also study architecture and skyscrapers and create buildings with recycled materials.
Third graders study the creation of mixed-media fantasy animals; comic-book characters from Roy Lichtenstein’s work; the art of Robert Indiana and his attention to the power of words; and the American Indian artist Jim Schoppert’s geometric paintings. Fourth graders focus primarily on Pablo Picasso, learning about his influences, including how drew inspiration from African art for his cubist paintings.
Fifth graders delve into portraiture, turning their pencils to historical figures, comic book characters and political caricature. Students learn about gesture, shading, and drawing technique. They study abstraction in the landscapes of African American artist Alma Thomas, and get acquainted with the Hudson River School of painting as part of their social studies lessons on New York. Students complete their art studies at PS 8 with independent projects of their choice.
