Anderson Ranch Teaches Intellectual Skills Through Art (ARTISTA) Program Gaining Momentum at Crystal River Elementary School

A fourth grade student in Nan Fields’s class at Crystal River Elementary School (CRES) raises her hand, “I notice that the light in the bottom looks like night light and the top part has sky so it must be day.” Students continue to raise their hands, offering observations and thinking critically, while teaching artist, Sarabeth Berk, leads an inquiry session about an artwork by Renee Magritte that relates to ideas of electricity and natural light.

The inquiries about artworks are part of bigger lessons that five teaching artists are currently facilitating at CRES with different third and fourth grade classes. In its second year, the ARTISTA program sponsored by Anderson Ranch Art Center will reach approximately 100 elementary students through projects that are designed to integrate school standards, targeted areas of the curriculum—like the solar system or circuitry—and also develop critical thinking and visual literacy.

Teaching artists, who are local Roaring Fork Valley artists with an interest in teaching, are partnered with classroom teachers and collaborate to create projects that align with district and state standards through art projects. Each teaching artist spends 10 hours of instruction time with their students. Anderson Ranch Art Center’s Children’s Program and Outreach Coordinator, Sarabeth Berk, is responsible for selecting and training the artists and supporting the teachers, artists, and students in order to deliver quality and reach expectations.

This year, artist Tom Alpern has created an art project that integrates the solar system with watercolor paintings and portraits of planets imagined by students; Clare Pace is working with robots and building circuits; Nancy Lovendahl is using landforms and maps of Carbondale to create a collaborative ceramic topographic sculpture; Kate Ramirez is working with globes, and Sarabeth Berk is focusing on circuitry through paper lanterns.

The projects reinforce learning in other subjects through art, and teaching artists develop a “big idea” as a framework for each project, asking students questions like “How can energy be explored through art?” and “What is it like on other planets in our solar system?”

Students respond enthusiastically to having the artists in their classrooms. When asked about her finished robot complete with working LED light, fourth grader Julissa responds, “I always look at the light bulb and it makes me think of it as a real robot.” By looking at art and talking about art, students begin to notice the details and meaning. Third grade student Dana says, “When I see an artwork, I feel like I want to do it.” And fellow classmate Trevor added, “I notice that when you look at art, you can kind of tell if he or she is happy or sad.”

Working with classroom teachers has been a new addition this year. Fourth grade teacher Amber Frisbie says, “The project reviewed core lessons taught previously. The end product was something the kids felt very proud of. I was even able to participate with the kids instead of leading the lesson.” While teachers are present in the classroom with their teaching artists, they get to witness their students in a different context and see the excitement generated. ARTISTA is a program about student learning but also about supporting teachers with creative strategies in instruction. Artists are equally challenged to modify their artistic processes into manageable parts, and find that working with elementary students also influences their art making.

Anderson Ranch began ARTISTA as a pilot program at CRES last school year and modeled it after the Learning Through Art Program at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Studies on programs that use teaching artists, integrated art projects and visual literacy show a positive impact on critical thinking and student achievement. Teaching artists are paid for their teaching time as well as training time and supplies are provided for each project. Funding has been generously donated from Alpine Bank-Snowmass, private donors, as well as a grant from the Colorado Council on the Arts.

The current art projects will be completed by early spring and Anderson Ranch will be hosting an exhibition of student work from May 5-15, 2009. The Ranch is also seeking interested artists who would like to become teaching artists for future projects.

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