Each month, the art teachers from Altamont Elementary, Guilderland Elementary, Lynnwood Elementary and Westmere Elementary highlight students who have demonstrated they are practicing Studio Habits of Mind. These eight habits – develop craft, engage and persist, envision, express, observe, reflect, stretch and explore, and understand art worlds – encourage and enable students to be more mindful during the creative process. This is not a contest; the Young Artist of the Month accomplishment acknowledges specific learning and critical thinking that happens in the art room, in relation to Studio Habits of Mind. The students’ pictures and statements are framed and hung in the schools’ entryways.
Altamont Elementary: Charlotte Kovatch
Charlotte has been practicing art outside of school and has been eager to build her skillset and find her artistic voice! Drawing on your own time and using a sketchbook demonstrates the studio habit of “engage and persist” by showing a commitment to practice and exploration outside of structured environments. When you regularly sketch in your own time, you are taking initiative and engaging with your art on a personal level, allowing yourself to experiment, refine your ideas, and develop skills. It shows that you are focused, self-aware, and dedicated to continual learning and growth in your artistic journey.
Guilderland Elementary: Carter Trojan
Carter is in Mrs. Spooner-Smith’s 4th grade class this year. During art, Carter has demonstrated the Artist Habit of Mind: Engage and Persist! That means he can develop meaningful focus and embrace art problems. During our Iroquois Basketry unit, Carter took on the challenge of weaving. Weaving the reed to create the basket is difficult. It is a new material for most and it takes concentration and perseverance to learn the technique and develop the skill to complete the basket. Carter did just that and as a result his work is beautiful.
Lynnwood Elementary: Olivia Mosher
Olivia embodies the Studio Habits of Mind; Envision and Express. To envision means an artist pictures their idea and makes a plan to make it happen. During our project Olivia participated carefully in each of our brainstorming steps to help come up with ideas that were unique to her. To express means that an artist clearly shares an idea or personal meaning in their artwork. Olivia worked carefully on her details to share ideas about herself in her piece. She used excellent craftsmanship so we can clearly see her small details and learn more about her by looking closely at her artwork. I learned that Olivia loves softball by looking at her finished project.
Westmere Elementary: Matthew Olldashi
Matthew is a 5th grader in Mrs. Ray’s class.
He has demonstrated the Studio Habit of Mind: Develop Craft. Artists can show good craftsmanship by taking their time to create neat, detailed, high quality artwork! Matthew puts a lot of effort into each project he makes and pays close attention to detail. Can you see where he added shadows to his drawing by using darker values? Awesome! Matthew comes to art class with a positive attitude each week and always tries his best.