Jydstrup Art students create AMAZING artworks when given the reference materials they need. But in order to do this, they MUST have visual reference materials they can see and touch and feel. I can make LOTS of color copies of things I want them to see on my home printer, but they MUST be laminated.
My students are wonderful, expressive, creative and artistic GENIUSES.
They love coming to school, they love coming to Art, and they LOVE creating artworks that tell who they are, what they know, and what they can do. They retain Art knowledge like little sponges, always reading, listening, and creating for as long as I ask them to do so with rapt and focused attention; my students are remarkable people. It takes my breath away when I hear them in the hallway days later talking about what they learned in Art class. I had one group at Jydstrup reading a book called 'The Borrowers' (a much loved book from my own childhood about fictional miniature people who live in an ancient mansion and borrow things they need to survive from the human 'beens' who also live in the house.). The book corresponded with a project we were doing. We were making miniature habitats for these fictional people, and the kids in the hallway were ALL discussing what they were going to create for 'THEIR borrowers.
My Project
I have asked for a small laminating machine and film for the machine to be used in Jydstrup Art. Without an accessible way to laminate and preserve reference materials for the kids to look at for every single project we do, it is very difficult to allow them to see and interact with the images they need. For example, if we are discussing Andy Warhol and Pop Art, I need for nearly 700 kids to see images of the soup cans Andy Warhol used as the foundation of this historic style of Art. Kids need 'realia'; real things to see and feel and touch and interact with. When nearly 700 kids are eagerly doing this, their excitement takes over and things need to be preserved (laminated) so they are intact and available for the next class and next year's classes too. Yes, I can show them Power Points and images in a book, but what inspires them MOST is color copies they can see hold in their hands and see up close. Unless these images are laminated, they will not last more than a day.
Art makes a huge difference in kids lives.
Art helps them with Math (they learn about fractions and how to use rulers in Art), Art helps them with Science (they learn formulas for mixing colors), Art helps them with Reading (they read and learn about MANY artists, and even create their own personal miniature Art History books). Art helps kids learn problems solving, it helps them critical thinking skills and SO much more; but it ALL starts with durable visual reference materials for all to see.
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