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The Art Spot
DANBURY, CT
(203) 791-8244

The Art Spot Artist in Residence Program

Invite the Art Spot to your School!

Looking for Quality Enrichment
Programming for Your School?
We are named Art Advocates by the
Connecticut Culture and Tourism Commission!

Created by over 1500 students at Whisconier Middle School,
this permanently installed outdoor Mosaic Tile mural
depicts the academic and extra curricular activities in the school.

Winter bird sculpture for lesson on indigenous birds

We offer quality Before and After School Art Enrichment Programming, school wide participation in Sculpture or Mural installation as well as an Artist in Residence program. This is a fascinating, educational way to impart fine art techniques and creative experience with the opportunity to interact with professional artists, all the while tying it in to academic curriculum. In addition, we custom design programs for your schools, or a classroom, in a very reasonable pricing structure, that is unique and specific to your needs. In the “Medium” section of this paper you will read a further description of some of the projects we have presented. We look forward to addressing your inquiries and discussing possible themes and projects.

GOALS:

To afford children the opportunity to participate in art projects based on what they are already studying in their classroom – be it science, history, literature, math, etc.

The art project reinforces the factual base of knowledge the children gain through class lessons and at the same time gives them the chance to use their creativity and experience the material through an artistic approach that encompasses many varied mediums. Given the chance to apply their knowledge in these curriculum-based projects, the children will retain it in a stronger manner.

We started this specific program in our own school community, acknowledging the strong need and veritable success of such a program. The program has grown here as well as in other school systems.

Back painted plex mural on the life cycle of butterflies

PROJECTS:

Each classroom project will coincide with some aspect of the curriculum. This will be discussed with each teacher in advance of the start of the program. The outcome of any project is totally dependant on the input of the students – this is their work!

With all projects, we present historical and factual references of the artistic process and an artist’s style as well as the topic but we also require students to bring their own knowledge to the work. As artists, we then like to demystify the design and planning stages of art and utilize the many beneficial aspects of positive group critiques.

Display of the work is another aspect we discuss with the class and work with teachers on bulletin boards ideas in school areas such as the hallways, library or cafeteria. It’s a wonderful opportunity for the class to gain some recognition for the work. Display in a large space also allows the work to be viewed by the artists from a distance, which is a very different perspective than the space allowed in a classroom.

Photo to right: 25 foot grid of Statue of Liberty, installed in a cafeteria for a unit on immigration

Mediums:

Photo below: Silk Painting

In an effort to reinforce as many mediums as possible we use printing techniques, painting, collage, sculpture, drawing, etc.

Children love to create, especially on a larger-than-life basis, so we try to do a lot of large projects that incorporate more than one medium. Some of our projects have included: designing and making their own art slides, designing and creating class board games pertaining to a book or an animal, printed business cards each child designed for career objectives, various mural projects, large scale paper-mache animals showing the food chain, a stained glass application on class windows to create the solar system, making paper as well as letter seals for the study of Colonial times, creating finger puppets to depict the stages of a butterfly, a 16’ painted replica of the Statue of Liberty, designing and building a compound machine. Banners, made of intricate felt pieces, executed by individual classes, illustrating each of the Multiple Intelligences.

As well, we do many science/color theory/art projects (we teach classes at Minds on Science), use nature as the base for several different science class activities including making leather maple leaves for a unit on plants, stone sculpture for a unit on Indian hand craft, models of winter birds, leather leaf models for the study of plants, eagle windsocks, sculpting insect bodies, etc.

We have also given illustration, graphic design and layout lessons to children writing their own books. We strive to utilize with the children a varied selection of fine art, handcrafting and graphics, always stressing design, layout, composition and color.

The fact that artists visit the children in their classroom - on the child’s “own turf” - further humanizes the arts thereby fostering an understanding of their own sense of creativity. We encourage the teachers to participate in the process of the project!

3-D sculpture of student created animation characters

Enrichment/Mentor Programs:
(Before & After School)

These programs, before and after school, as well as during school time to the ATP or Gifted/Talented Programs vary in length and topic but always follow the ideals and goals expressed for the Artist in Residence Programs outlined above.

We have brought our programs to Brookfield, Ridgefield, Stamford, New Milford, New Fairfield, Sherman, Bethel, and many others, offering programs suited to each school’s needs.

Some courses offered have been printmaking, Mixed Media, Meet the Masters, The Wonderful World of Paper, Growing a Garden Full of Art, Pop-Up Books, Sculpture – Fantasy Dragons, etc. Classes are custom designed as to fee, location, materials and content for Preschool through High School. At the end of the course, we try to arrange for a school display of the children’s work. Many PTO groups sponsor this activity.

Outdoor parent/child watercolor lesson - after school activity

Special School Wide Programs:
(Permanent Installations)

The Art Spot also designs custom projects for permanent installations of Sculpture or Murals. Many of these programs are special occurrences in a school to commemorate a specific event, or have a thematic approach to the school wide population.

We have installed a permanent piece of art, a 28’ wall mural, in a middle school. The process involved working with 500 children, using 1” wood hand-made mosaics, to create a piece of work commemorating the new addition to the school. Many large size plexiglass murals have been permanently installed for viewing in school lobbies, cafeterias and libraries. Currently, we are preparing a permanent installation project for a 1000 student middle school using leather and copper sculpture to exemplify Diversity in Culture.

We also designed a program for 600 children based on the Multiple Intelligence theme where classes created permanent 5’x 8’ intricate felt flags celebrating each of the intelligences.

As you can see, our programs are quite varied and can focus on many different themes and mediums!

Permanent installation of individually created mosaics in a mural
"Celebrating 2000 Years of Children"

Inquiries:

Please feel free to inquire about further information on our programs and your school’s needs. Many of our programs are funded by PTO Cultural Committees as well as from grants from a variety of sources. We’d be happy to arrange a visit to our facility for you to see first hand the quality of our programs or to view our portfolio of projects.

WHO ARE WE?

Photo to right: Dimensional Self Portraits - artist in residence program

Owners of this Fine Arts School, both with BFA Degrees from Pratt Institute, Bruce and Joanne Hunter bring varied art experience to The Art Spot. We have owned our own design firm, Hunter Designs, for over 20 years. A myriad of projects include illustrations, architectural models, fashion and textile design, graphics, interior design, gift lines, miniature buildings/furniture for museum exhibit, paintings and portraiture.

From The Art Spot, we currently work with our own after-school arts programming ranging from Drawing & Painting to Cartooning/Animation to Sculpture and everything in between. In addition we work with several school systems throughout the state and into New York as “Artists In Residence” (a program based on class curriculum originated art) as well as art mentors and art enrichment instructors.

Active in community service, we are both extremely involved in the Brookfield Arts Commission, curating public exhibits and bringing as much additional art (children & adult) into the community’s eye. In addition, we offer private classes at The Art Spot, for Children and Adults, for Home Schoolers, Continuing Ed, Public Library children’s workshops as well as Teacher Education Workshops supported by grant funding to teach instructors how to bring more art into the classroom.

We are proud to have been named to a distinguished group of artists recognized by the Connecticut State Commission on the Arts as well as by the Connecticut General Assembly as Art Advocates for the Millennium. Serving on State Commission committees we search for ways to get funding to bring more art programs to schools and create urban/suburban school art exchange programs…large-scale projects that offer art programs based on literacy, science and history. Education Connection, the 21st Century Grants and other grant funders/foundations are organizations with whom we work closely. As well, we serve on the Connecticut Association of Schools ARTS Committee, dedicated to recognizing the many talented young artists in our schools, from K-12.

Having attended NAEA Conventions, we’re exhilarated to have experienced the continued, growing consensus of educators and parents as to the importance of art in education! We are committed to continuing our efforts to bring art into all walks of life on a more everyday basis. Presenting academia through a learning style that incorporates hands-on use of knowledge and reference ensures our children own the information and have the ability to use it. Art also enhances the learning potential in many specific academic areas. Statistics are released in staggering levels of the out-performance on standardized tests of students of the arts, over their non-art counterparts. Art Advocacy is no longer quiet, but a loud voice working to assimilate art as an integral part of the best possible education for students.