Amate bark painting

Students studied the artwork of Mexican folk artists, specifically Amate Bark Painting. They crumpled brown craft paper to create the look of bark paper. The students sketched an idea in their sketchbook first, drew it on the paper with pencil, then traced it in sharpie, and lastly painted it with either tempera or acrylic paint. The requirements were that the students must use Mexican imagery, the rule of three, and the optional foreground, middle ground, and background. We discussed how to create the sense of space in their artwork. You can view these artworks here, at our Artsonia page.

Studio Art in process

Students worked on monochromatic portraits in acrylic or tempera on canvas. They used photos as reference and mixed tints and shades.

Hero Club and The Redwood Coast Humane Society

Every year, The Redwood Coast Humane Society puts out its summer newsletter in our local newspaper, The Independent Coast Observer and this one contained an article featuring our PCCS students. Last school year, our theme was Heroes, so I started a Hero Club. The purpose was to teach students how to be everyday heroes and give them opportunities to be heroes in their local and global community. One of the hero acts we performed was painting the Humane Society's fence in a rainbow with acrylic paint. This is just one way the Pacific Community Charter School uses art to bring people together. We hope to continue the Hero Club this school year and work with the Humane Society again.