🎨 Engaging Parents and Teachers in Creative Adventures
Greetings!
Welcome to the vibrant world of Art Sphere! In this edition, we’re excited to share the remarkable journey of our students as they explore the depths of creativity, learn new skills, and embrace the joy of artistic expression by weaving books into every lesson. Join us as we reflect on our achievements and highlight student successes. We invite you to be part of our inspiring community.
Books often mirror our life stories. Reading a story can give us pleasure, knowledge, affirmation and often a way to even experience hardships and trauma through the eyes of the storyteller. Hearing the words and reading the stories is vital for personal development and to increase literacy. Yet, many of our students do not have books in their homes or rarely get to a library. Thanks to a grant from Philly Book Wish, Art Sphere was able to bring books into our classrooms and make them available for our students to take home. In 2023, we gave out 200 books and in 2024, 640 books! In some cases, these books also helped the parents to enhance their own reading skills, as they read the books with their children. Following are some of our “stories”.
Warm regards,
Kristin and the Art Sphere Team
Exploring the power of words and images, we embarked on a journey of literacy through art. With captivating stories and inspiring poems, our students discovered the magic of storytelling gave them the power to express their own narratives through art by making miniature books, origami books and comic strips. They began to use feeling words that describe complex emotions with beautiful illustrations.
To celebrate Mother’s Day, students decorated the letters MOM and wrote their mothers, grandmothers, aunts and caretakers a card and a poem. Students read the poems out loud to the class from Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jaqueline Wood, along with stories about mothers and grandmothers. The students’ poems, stories and poems were heartfelt and deeply touching.
How you can make a difference
It’s wonderful to share the impactful work that Art Sphere Inc. is doing to provide free art programs and resources to the community, especially during a time when such opportunities may be limited. Supporting organizations like ours is crucial for the well-being and development of children and families.
For those looking to make a difference and contribute to Art Sphere Inc.’s mission, here are some ways to help:
1. Spread the Word: Share Art Sphere Inc.’s mission and initiatives with your friends, family, and social networks. Word of mouth can be a powerful tool in raising awareness. Engage with Art Sphere Inc. on social media platforms. Like, share, and comment on our posts to help broaden our reach.
2. Donate: Consider making a donation to Art Sphere Inc. Every contribution, no matter the size, can make a meaningful impact.
3. Volunteer: If possible, offer your time and skills to support Art Sphere Inc.’s programs. Volunteers can play a vital role in helping with classes, workshops, and events.
4. Corporate Sponsorship: Explore partnerships with local businesses or corporations that may be interested in supporting community initiatives. Corporate sponsorships can provide additional resources and visibility.
Remember, every little bit helps, and collective efforts can lead to positive change.
As temperatures rise, our students dive into the world of watercolors, creating refreshing self-portraits inspired by the iconic Frida Kahlo. Students become immersed in history and the context of art by looking at photographs of her studio, listening to Mexican music from her era and examining pets and symbols in her paintings.
From abstract self-portraits to intricate cartoons, every stroke tells a unique story. Guided by high school mentors, our students have opportunities to display their creativity, learn new techniques, and proudly showcase their framed masterpieces in recreation center displays.
🌈 Summer Curriculum
Join us for a summer filled with creativity and exploration! From architecture to outer space, our diverse curriculum offers something for everyone. Discover new passions, learn valuable skills, and unleash your imagination using these free arts handouts and summer curriculum resources for July, August, and September.
ASI’s High School Art Interns make a difference in our classrooms by presenting their own artwork and processes for classroom discussions. This helps lead students in the process of critiquing their own artwork and asking sincere questions about the process of creating.
They learn about where the ideas come from, and techniques they use. In several cases, our high school interns have taught unique entrepreneur and business skills by sharing their experiences selling artwork and making artwork for commission and college applications. In keeping with the spirit of raising art professional awareness for students, we are very excited to be able to matte their masterpieces so they can take them home for their families as gifts.
Let’s Create Together! Join us on this inspiring journey of art and imagination. Together, we’ll unleash the limitless potential within every child and foster a love for education that lasts a lifetime.
We are so happy to share the newest areas of our website which include our free online curriculum translated into Spanish.
“Displays are an important part of our ASI classroom culture. We exhibit student artwork on doors and bulletin boards, decorate hallways with student murals, mount artwork on the windowsills, hang artwork from string from the ceiling and decorate doors and windows. Students can see what they have learned and are proud to tell visitors about their favorite pieces like true artists.”
– ASI Teacher
“Art Sphere has transformed my child’s perspective
on art. He eagerly awaits each class and comes
home inspired to create!”
– Parent
“As a teacher, Art Sphere has been a valuable
resource in promoting creativity and
self-expression in my classroom.”
– Educator
Many of our students respond to the physical activities that involve making art as props or toys. For Earth Day, we made 3-D butterflies and origami butterflies and followed the migration of Monarchs to Mexico and back up north. We tracked their migration and read Butterflies Belong Here, by Deborah Hopkinson, where we learned how we can be environmental activists by planting milkweed and flowers, so caterpillars and butterflies have food to eat.
Our students read the graphic novel Saving Sorya, by Trang Nguyen that is based on a true story about a young girl who wants to become a wildlife activist and conservationist in Vietnam. Students wrote and drew their own cartoons, made posters for “Do Gooders Day” and created vines to decorate classrooms.
For Mental Health Month, students practiced social–emotional skills including reading Henry and Bea, by Jessixa Bagley.
This book is about a pair of friends where one loses a pet and deals with his grief while his friend struggles with how to be supportive. This story gave students an opportunity to talk about the loss of pets, how they felt, what ways they can support a friend who has had a loss and ways to ask for help and to mourn. Students made art honoring their pets and depicting their emotions.
🦆2024 Jr. Duck Stamp Art Contest
We read together in classes How to Bird by Rasha Hamid and discussed the different nests, eggs, habitats, and types of birds and even listened to different bird calls.
Highlights from our Literacy through Art program at Penn Treaty School
Before reading the book Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, we looked at the cover and talked about the awards it had won including the National Book Award, and the Newberry Honor Book Award. We read some of the reviews from the New York Times Book Review and the Wall Street Journal.
We introduced the book as being both a story and a series of poems, inviting the students to read from the beginning to the end, or to go from the table of contents to look at each title to see which one interests them most. Here’s our handout and creative writing lesson plan book to make the writing of poems easy.
Thanks to the generous support of AERIE REAL FOUNDATION™ COMMUNITY GRANT, we can provide “The Creating Legacies through Art for Women” a service-learning program for high school girls, who want to learn more about working in the arts. We are inviting high school girls to intern with us as volunteers where they will work alongside certified teachers and gain valuable skills from our thoughtful and meaningful training program. Participants must commit to meeting at one of our Learning Partners sites (a local recreation center) for 2 hours a week for a 10-week program. To learn more about becoming a volunteer, mentor or an intern contact info@artsphere.org.
Become a part of our community! Whether you’re a parent, teacher, or volunteer, there are endless opportunities to support our mission of empowering young minds through art. Join us in making a difference today.
A heartfelt thank you to our supporters, volunteers, and partners for making our programs possible. Together, we’re building a brighter future through art!
Art Sphere Inc. would like to thank the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, AERIE REAL FOUNDATION™ COMMUNITY GRANT, Philly Book Wish, and our other supporters for all of their support! We wouldn’t be able to bring impactful free classes to our students without your help, and we hope to continue to make a difference in our underserved communities across Philadelphia.
Please go and learn how this organization helps to support cultural nonprofits every year in our city.
. . . and that wraps up this edition of the Art Sphere Bulletin. Thank you so much for reading our update this quarter. Be sure to follow us on social media for more fun activities!
Website: ArtSphere.org | Email: info@artsphere.org
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