Friday was the last Art Vistas lesson for the school year.  In the past, I would start preparing a few days prior to the lessons, and this time, Stuart was teasing me how slacking I was as I was just reviewing the materials the night before.  I met up with the two moms at drop off to start setting up for Connor’s class.  This lesson was about another element, value, the lightness and the darkness of a color.  I began with the introduction, and I used tempura paint to demonstrate how to make “tint” of a color by adding white to it, and how to make “shade” by adding black.  The class surprised me by ohhing and ahhing with each tint and shade I added; they were so cute.  Then one mom and I showed them how some famous painters incorporated value in their paintings. The kids were very interactive as usual, and it was always fun having a discussion with them.  Next the mom talked to the class about using different tints and shades to create a “monochromatic clown”.  This class always did a great job following the instruction and patiently creating their unique clown painting. At the end, before the class head back out, the teacher had them thank the three of us for volunteering, and Connor gave me a hug too.  I am going to miss this class a lot.

   After cleaning up and chatting with the moms, I went home for a break and a lunch, then it was time to head back to school for Logan’s class.  Another partner mom and I gathered the materials and shortly the class arrived at the cafeteria.  For this lesson I talked with the class about one artist Paul Klee whose main style of art was abstract art.  I showed them several of his paintings and I could tell the kids really enjoy seeing them.  The class was also very interactive and I loved it when some kids answered exactly what I was looking for.  Next the mom showed the class the project, using construction and tissue papers to cut and paste to make a portrait inspired by Paul Klee’s “Head of a Man”. The children patiently cut out different shapes and put together many beautiful faces. We were also pleasantly surprised seeing some great use of tissue papers to add 3-dimension touch to the paintings. Some kids made portrait of each other and one kid even made a portrait of her mom. It was very sweet.  The only frustrating thing was that Logan was in a grumpy mood and could not be inspired to make an artwork.  I left him alone and periodically walked back to try pushing him again.  Finally I gave up and offered him to gather some supplies to do the project at home as I really did not want him to miss one.

   The mom and I then cleaned up, and it was almost time for pick up.  We now had to prepare and coordinate for the art show and the open house in May.  There will be quite a bit of work that I will have to do some at home and spend some time in May at school as well.  The school year is coming to an end soon; the part I really will miss is spending time talking with the kids.  But with the amount of time spent this year, I don’t think I will dare to take on both classes again next year.