March Art Blog, 2018

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Bacich Community Art Fence 

School Wide Project
TK-4th Grade


As of March, all grade levels have started the work for our Bacich Community Art Fence. Students are fully engaged creating stunning art pieces. This is a Project Based Learning (PBL), collaborative learning and creating experience. PBL is an instructional approach which deliberately emphasizes engagement, invites curiosity, and values student voice and choice; In short, it's learning by doing. 

Integrating visual arts and connecting the subject areas of math, science, reading, writing, and technology with this project has ensured meaningful learning experiences for our students. The emphasis on students applying what they have learned aligns with the expectations of the National Visual Arts Standards, Common Core Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards. The culmination of our all-school PBL will be a mural like public art piece permanently installed on the chain-link fence along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. 

Our driving question for this school wide project is:
 "What is our environment and how do we impact it?" 

While brainstorming and contemplating this question students are encouraged to take the lead on solving real world problems that matter to them. For example pollution, habitat conservation and restoration.

Each grade level is examining a meaningful element of this project and putting their questions and investigations into action. The following focus areas are included in our studies:
  • TK-Kindergarten: Weather/Butterflies 
  • First Grade: Marsh/Birds
  • Second Grade: Watershed/Trout
  • Third Grade: Marin County - landmarks, regions, community, resources
  • Fourth Grade: California - diversity, history, geography, growth
Students will be introduced to the term and concept of upcycling. Upcycling is the practice of creating a product/project from waste or unwanted items, or adapting an existing product in some way to add value. The purpose of upcycling is reducing waste and improving the efficiency of resources used.

Our school wide art fence project is to promote recycling and reuse of materials emphasizing creativity and innovation. This is an opportunity for students and our school community to collect lids, tops and bottle caps. The goal is to raise public awareness regarding keeping plastic lids out of our waterways. 


Working in collaborative teams, students sketched large scaled images aligned with their PBL studies and traced their images onto plywood. Using coping saws student showed great perseverance sawing their pieces out giving their arms a workout! Students carefully sanded their pieces and applied a white coat of gesso primer to seal the wood. 











Students will paint their plywood pieces in either realistic or artistic coloring schema. To add finishing touches students will work with upcycling techniques using collected lids, tops, and bottle caps to embellish, decorate and accent their art pieces. 







Connection to Community Artist Rafael Lopez

The artistic inspiration for our Community Art Fence came from artist and illustrator Rafael Lopez. Maybe Something Beautiful illustrated by Refael Lopez tells the story what good a splash of color can do in a community.  Based on Rafael Lopez's true story how he and his wife collaborated with community members to create the beautiful Urban Art Trail in San Diego, California,

Watch this video of the book: https://youtu.be/9ypoL3FZ-Ds (7min)

On March 23rd, Rafael Lopez visited Bacich. He shared with students his story and provided input on our Art Fence project. Teachers and students loved his presentation and interaction with him.  Mr. Lopez even participated in art class and worked collaboratively with students. As a special highlight, Rafael Lopez took time to sign copies of his books and gave some students personal autographs. It was truly an unforgettable day on our campus. Experiencing how art can bring everyone together is a beautiful gift. 





http://www.marinij.com/lifestyle/20180328/kentfield-school-launches-public-art-project


The school wide Bacich Community Art Fence is a project to take our school fence along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard from a "black slate" to "maybe something beautiful". In June pieces will be assembled onto the chain-link fence. We hope that this meaningful project will reveal to our community how art can inspire transformation and build strong communities. 

 Check out this link to follow our progress. 








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