Welcome back my dear art students!!! I am really excited to have the wonderful opportunity to teach you this school year. It is truly a blessing for me to see all your lovely creations. As a visual art teacher I consider this a treat and this truly makes my day. May The Most Holy Trinity along with St. Catherine of Bologna and St. Luke, patron Saints of Art accompany us during this journey.

Pax Christi,

Mrs. Engesser

Welcome back to all my artists!!! I am so excited to teach each of you this year and I can’t wait to see all the wonderful work that you will be doing in our class!!! My personal and professional goal is to instill in you  the love for art and all that encompasses the fine arts. I am sure that we will reach it together!!!!

During all my teaching years I have often listen to the following phrase : ” I am not good at art”…..  and I never believe it !!! I will tell you why… First, I am asking  of you that when that thought comes to your mind reflect on the following:  We are created by  God, The Master of all Creations and in His likeness an image (Genesis 1:27) therefore  we are creative beings as well!!!!  How AWESOME is this!!!

I am encouraging you to think in a daily basis about how much LOVE, dedication and thought He devoted to create the world that you and I live. (I promise that this daily routine will not allow you to have a dull moment at all). Our Loving Father has already pampered all of us with all the wonders that we find in His creation.

I personally called God “The Master of All Painters”. Just take a look of all the beautiful hues that we see in nature!!!! Some of them are just celestial and divine and quite often difficult to imitate. I invite you to see His art and see art everywhere you go. It is so much fun to develop than keen eye and sensibility towards nature because in a very subtle way by doing this,  we are honoring Our Creator and following the steps of St. Francis of Assisi.

I am asking The Most Holy Trinity, Our Blessed Mother and the intercession of St. Catherine of Bologna and St. Luke (Patron Saints of artists) to guide us and helps to glorify God through our artistic work this school year.

Pax Christi,

Mrs. Engesser

I would like to start this final newsletter with the following quote:

“The arts empower. The arts give a voice to the voiceless. The arts help transform American communities and, as I often say, the result can be a better child, a better town, a better nation and certainly a better world. Let’s champion our arts action heroes, emulate them and make our communities everything we want them to be.” ~ Robert L. Lynch, President, Americans for the Arts

We have learned so much during this academic year!!! It is truly a blessing for me to see all the progress that my students have made during all these months. I specially love seeing  their effort in polishing all those skills and techniques that are necessary to learn in order to have a solid foundation in art. During this month we have been practicing drawing skills. This has been a long road for ones, an easy road for others and a steady road for some as well. It is very gratifying for me to see how much they have improved and how confident they have become when it comes to design and decide  how their artwork is going to look like. In my class, I emphasize and teach my students the importance of  being unique and to respect their own learning pace. I also like for them to understand that art should be taken seriously  because  by applying the concepts learned this will truly compliment and help them  to develop a keen eye for design in general.

I strongly suggest to all my students to go visit  local museums, check out art books from the public library, try a photography class, baking, cooking class!!!! You can always apply the rules of composition in all that you do!! Remember that this will always be aesthetically pleasant for the eye and it is based in science and math. (Recall what we learned about “Fibonacci numbers”).

Do not forget that ART is everywhere!!!! Think about the colors you like, the patterns that you like this truly is your identity as an artist.  Personally I enjoy going for a walk and observing carefully the way how a garden is designed, the contrast of  heights in the trees, the shadow provided by a growing maple tree on the ground. There is so much to see!!!! Little things like this make me really happy and also connects me in a more personal and deep way with Our Creator. Just sit in your backyard and explore all the colors given to us to enjoy by Our Lovingly Father who is the Master of all paints!! God had created for all of us something that makes us happy wether a color, a texture, a shape…..  all these are elements of art and we have learned and explored this in class.

I would like to share one of my favorite art quotes:

“Art is unquestionably one of the purest and highest elements in human happiness. It trains the mind through the eye, and the eye through the mind. As the sun colors flowers, so does art color life.” ~John Lubbock (1834-1913)

I thank God for being part of  this beautiful school community and I thank St. Catherine of Bologna and St. Luke both Patron Saints for art and artists for being present in our class as I invoke their presence each time that we meet. I wish to all of you a happy summer and I hope to seeing you next year!!!

Blessings,

Mrs. Engesser

MARCH

During two consecutive months we have been working in what I called in my personal opinion one of the most important concepts in art: “Fibonacci sequence”. During the month of March we learned the importance of understanding that the basics of art specifically composition and a well balanced creation will always follow the “Golden Rule” or the commonly called “The Rule of Thirds”. We have learned that this sequence of numbers are tangible, in nature we can admire a perfect “Golden Spiral” in a nautilus shell. It was indeed a very fun topic since math, science and art were combined in one topic.

In upper grades we learned about Salvador Dali and his artworks. We analyzed his creations by observing where the “Golden Spiral” were present in some of his paintings such as: “The Last Supper” . This painting is the perfect example of balanced composition by applying the Fibonacci/Golden Spiral concept. We virtually visited the “Salvador Dali Museum” in Tampa, Florida.

APRIL

During this month we will be working on sketching techniques. Although it seems quite simple mastering the overhand grip technique can take some time. The themes in art that we have been working are: Religious drawings (Easter related) and botanical drawings starting with flowers and ending with insects. We will be exploring the importance of drawing and how it has contributed to the science. We will be highlighting the work of Raymond Booth and his botanical paintings.

In art class we are continuing to learn about renowned modern artists from around the world. In class we are highlighting modern and contemporary artists from each continent. This help students to understand that  art is universal and truly connects people from around the world if they share the same ideology.

During the week of January 30th through February 4th we will be celebrating Catholic Schools Week. We will be highlighting the life and work of Sister Corita Kent. She was an American artist and nun whose artworks shared the Gospel messages of compassion and love. Her works of art helped to convey the message of serving others and to understand that we are to help people in need.

One of her most famous piece of art was the love stamp design that she created and that was released in 1985 by the USPS.

In class we are still diligently working in our modern art projects. All grade levels have had the opportunity to work with a partner with the purpose of teaching in a practical way what collaborative art means.

Sooner than later modern art works made by our talented students will be display in our school areas.( Location TBD)

Blessings,

Mrs. Engesser

Happy New Year to all!!!

In art class we are studying about “Modern and Contemporary art” . I have noticed that these art movements are preferred by most kids since the content or the images are very familiar to them. From Mickey Mouse to famous icons the vibrant images surely takes us away from the grey and cloudy winter days.

Some of the artists that we will be studying are: Yayoi Kusama, Yoshitomo Nara, Andy Warhol, Japers Johns, Roy Lichtenstein to name a few.

Students will be participating and doing collaborative art during this month. I am eager to see the wonderful creations that they will be making and I hope that you can stop by to my class and enjoy them as well.

Blessings,

Mrs. Engesser

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a great start to 2022!  I’m looking forward to working with the 4th to 8th grade students on new techniques and Art History this semester.

During art class we have been practicing and learning how to paint using a watercolor palette using the following techniques: