Elementary Studio Lesson
Surprising RESISTS
Stephie Morton
Itook my third, fourth, and fifth
grade enrichment kids on an
art adventure to the Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary
Art in Colorado. This museum
offers young people an unusually
intimate and welcoming experience,
presenting itself
as a place where
artists display
their original
ideas for others to see. Once
there, children
have the opportunity to talk, sketch,
and write about new ideas that arise
from looking at the art. Since most
of these children had never been
to an art museum before, the goal
was to make this first experience as
engaging as possible. The wonderful
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith exhibit
we saw fit the bill perfectly.
Full of color and Native American images, along with witty social
satire, including the juxtaposi-
tion of contemporary cartoon-like
characters and ancient symbols,
the work had immediate appeal for
this age group. The students were
attracted to the traditional cultural
themes and amazed by the range of
mixed-media:
drawing, print-
making, paint-
ing, and collage.
Each new
approach, from
semi-realistic
to abstract, held their interest and
prompted lively discussion. Many
had not realized that one artist
could have many different styles or
that they could express themselves
through different materials. Their
eyes were opened to the great diversity of creative expression that is
the essence of the art museum.
The curator talked briefly about
the artist and gave each student a
The surprise factor and pure
fun of this process helps
young painters release any
concern about failure.
5 x 7" ( 13 x 18 cm) sketchbook with
a small pack of colored pencils. She
instructed them to make sketches
of ideas they liked, and suggested
that they might want to create
some kind of original artwork. The
response to this assignment was so
exuberant, I believe, because of its
flexibility and because the students
were viewing authentic art objects
which held and transmitted the
energy of the artist’s creativity.
Back in School
On the trip back, I asked the students to review their sketches and
put a check mark on their favorite
drawing. When they returned to
class the next week, I presented
each student with a black-and-white
11 x 17" photocopy of his or her
selected drawing. These were taped
down to a board, ready to paint.
The kids were impressed to see this
enlarged version of their work and
