Art at PS 163

The visual arts program at P.S. 163 introduces students to artists from around the world and across time. Students listen to stories, analyze artworks and explore different mediums. When creating art, students draw inspiration from these artists, their personal experiences and topics from science and social studies. Students also collaborate on class- and grade-wide projects as a way of building community and communication skills. The hope is that our art program fosters not only students’ creativity and imagination but also critical thinking skills, as they explore the ways different artists see the world and then challenge themselves to use various elements of art to express their unique vision.

Kindergarten

Kindergarteners read The Great Blueness and then explored how to mix primary colors to make secondary colors.

Kindergarten students manipulated paper to make 3D playground sculptures.

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1st Grade

1st graders visited a local garden to sketch flower plein air (outside) and then created still lives using oil pastels.

First graders read Magic Trash, a story about contemporary Detroit artist, Tyree Guyton, who helped beautify Detroit by making art out of trash. They used materials that cannot be recycled (plastic wrappers from breakfast and snacks) to make mosaics.

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2nd Grade

2nd graders used only paper to create self portraits.

Second graders took inspiration from Harlem artist Romare Bearden’s “The Block” and worked together to create a collage of our school’s block.

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3rd Grade

Third graders collaboratively created a mural of the Amazon Rainforest using painted paper.

3rd graders learned about American artist, Wayne Theibaud. He is best known for his delicious paintings of cakes and pies. We explored form – or how to draw three-dimensional shapes like cylinders. We were inspired by Thiebaud to draw our own tasty treats.

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4th Grade

Fourth graders took inspiration from Native American artist, Frank Buffalo Hyde’s cellphone series to draw their hands from observation and highlighted a social issues that matter to them.

4th graders learned about Yayoi Kusama, a contemporary Japanese artist best known for her use of dots, which she loved for their connection to infinity. Students drew an exaggerated squash or pumpkin (a subject she loved) and decorated it with dots in a variety of colors and sizes.

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5th Grade

5th graders took inspiration from Harlem artist and author Faith Ringgold’s Tar Beach to watercolor a place they wish they could fly to

In 5th grade, we learned about Ruth Asawa, a Japanese-American artist who is best known for her hanging wire sculptures and prints. We were inspired to learn how to create relief prints. Students sketched designs, learned how to press the image into a styrofoam plate and used brayers, or rollers, with ink to create prints.