Picture This!Exploring Picture Books

Through Art Programming

Robin L. Gibson & Rebecca O’NeilWesterville Public Library

Via http://www.ala.org/acrl/publications/keeping_up_with/visual_literacy

Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS)

RIF – Artistic Adventures: How Appreciating Art Can Promote Literacy

By encouraging children to analyze what they see, you help them develop their imagination, critical thinking skills, and powers of observation.

Artistic Adventures Can Promote LiteracyThe next time you take children on an artistic adventure, try “reading” the works of art together. You’ll help children develop reading-related skills as they learn about the artist and the people, places, and time period depicted in the artwork. Talk descriptively about what the artist created.Discuss the people, places, and things you see in the work of art.Ask children to tell you what is happening or what is depicted in the work of art. Learn about the artist and ask children to imagine what the artist was thinking when he or she created the work of art.Prompt children to discuss what they like or dislike about what they’ve seen.Ask children to talk about how the work of art makes them feel or what it reminds them of.Encourage children to bring a notebook and jot down their observations.Have children write a response to a particularly memorable work of art when they get home. Encourage children to check out books from the library on an artist or the technique in which they demonstrated the most interest.Like any school trip or family outing, artistic adventures can engage children in a part of the world that they may have known little or nothing about. These experiences can inspire them to read about what they saw so they can learn more.

http://www.rif.org/us/literacy-resources/articles/artistic-adventures-how-appreciating-art-can-promote-literacy.htm

Picture This Program Format- A series of programs – this allows for continuity; one week we may make

something that is to be used the next week (examples – Eric Carle paints his paper for collages, so did we; scratchboard – you can buy it, but we made our own the week ahead of time)

- Focus on the illustrator of picture books; we try to use the same process, or as close to it as we can get

- First week make a portfolio – the work is kept here at the library for this program, do get to keep it all at the end

- Next to the last week they review their portfolio and choose one or two entries for the art show. They are the curators of the show and write an artist’s statement to accompany their work.

Begin with reading a book

Eric Carle, The Very Hungry

Caterpillar

Collage –began by making our own paper, just as he does.

Wanda GagMillions of Cats

printmaking

•

Ian Falconer, Olivia

A detail from Autumn Rhythm #30 by Jackson Pollock is found in Olivia. The painting hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York.

Action Jackson by Jan Greenburg & Sandra Jordan, Illustrated by Robert B. Parker

Action Painting

It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw

Inkblot by Margaret Peot

Inkblots – what do you see?

The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson, illustrated by

Beth KrommesScratchboard

Making our own scratchboards

The Artist’s Statement

What does a curator do?

Ask:

Who has ever visited an art museum?

How were things arranged?

Do you collect anything yourself?

The curator organizes the art work – decides what is included, where it should be put, in what order, what explanation to give.

Participants are the curators in Picture This. They have the power of choice, to make decisions.

Getting ready for the art show

The Art Show

Resources• Making Art with Children blog, Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art http://

carlemuseum.org/blogs/making-art

• Storybook Art: hands-on art for children in the styles of 100 great picture book illustrators by Mary Ann Kohl. Bright Ring Publications, 2003.

• Kid Made Modern by Todd Oldham. Ammo Books, 2009.

• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/bkmuse/picture-this-2012/ https://www.pinterest.com/bkmuse/picture-this-2013-caldecott-edition/ https://www.pinterest.com/bkmuse/picture-this-2014-fine-art-edition/

2013 Picture This:Caldecott edition

• Jerry Pinkney, The Lion and the Mouse (watercolor)• David Wisniewski, Golem (cut paper)• Kevin Henkes, Kitten’s First Full Moon (pen and ink)• Denise Fleming, In the Small, Small Pond (papermaking/painting with paper)• Melissa Sweet, A River of Words and A Splash of Red (mixed media)• David Ezra Stein, Interrupting Chicken & Because

Amelia Smiled (steinlining)

Denise Fleming In the Small, Small Pond, Papermaking (Summer 2013)

And David Ezra Stein, Interrupting Chicken (paint, and “Stein-lining” as in Because Amelia Smiled)

Picture This 2014 Fine Art Edition

• Frida by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Ana Juan• Chuck Close Face Book By Chuck Close

Self-portraits

• Just Behave, Pablo Picasso! Written by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes• Magritte’s Marvelous Hat, Written & illustrated by D. B. Johnson Cubism (cardboard sculptures) and surrealism (magazine collages)

• Coppernickel Goes Mondrian Written & illustrated by Wouter van Reek Painting in Piet Mondrian’s block style • Henri’s Scissors Written & illustrated by Jeannette Winter Collage (painting with scissors)

• If Rocks Could Sing Written & illustrated by Leslie McGuirk Nature sculpture (inspired by Andy Goldsworthy) • Sandy’s Circus Written by Tanya Lee Stone, illustrated by Boris Kulikov Wire sculpture & mobiles

Thank you!