Natalie

Courtney

Teaching Philosophy

As an Art educator, I invest in prioritizing the ability of my students to discover, enjoy, and be inspired by creativity. Teaching imaginative expression inspires my dedication to generating a community that fosters equity of experience and opportunity through art. I implement SEL teaching methods that empower children to express themselves and their emotions by practicing empathy, respect, and responsibility through their craft. My curriculum includes honing their craftmanship, literary, emotional, and motor skills. Using my background as a visual artist, educator, and African American art historian, I teach a diverse curriculum that exposes students to varied cultures and art styles to expand their artistic narrative. As an educator, my main focus is not perfection but challenging my students to create something they believe they couldn’t. I am committed to facilitating a positive learning environment for my students to develop their strengths, interests, and creativity.

We also focused on line directions such as vertical, horizontal, and diagonal. We played a small game where the kids must move their arms in the direction in which the instructor goes out. So for example:

When the teacher says “vertical” the student's arms must reach the sky!

When the teacher says “horizontal” arms must be flat side to side like a tabletop. When the teachers say “diagonal” the students “fly” leaning from left to right displaying the different directions of diagonal lines.

In this lesson, we will begin the journey of learning the fundamentals of art. Starting with line, the students will learn about abstraction and how line impacts composition. To prepare for this lesson the class read Pigcasso and Mootisse by Nina Laden. This introduced them to the varying lines and shapes that Picasso used in his work. Next class period we will use 'Mootisse' as an example of color and shapes for sculpture.

II. Multimedia Low Relief Line Sculpture

A Low Relief Sculpture is only slightly from the ground and there is little or no undercutting of outlines. We created these by recycling cardboard and air-dry clay. Students used motor skills by molding the clay into different variations of lines and also exploring the texture of the materials.

I. Picasso Inspired Portraits

Students were given instruction to draw a portrait, animal or abstract masterpiece by using two mediums (crayon and marker) while also using all of the lines they learned during the lesson.

Lesson 2

Pokemon Cards

The goal of this lesson was to appeal to the student's interests while also teaching the elements of design. In this class time, we emphasized imagination, color, line, and typography when designing. Students were challenged to design their own characters and give their creations personality and expression.

Lesson 3

Color Expressionism

Inspired by Sam Gilliams Cape (1969), the goal of this lesson was to learn how to express our emotions through creative expression. The students learned about abstract expressionism and how this art style affected African American Artists. We talked about color and emotions and how different hues make us feel. The students then were given a tutorial on the technique used in Gilliam's Slice technique. This helped students focus on developing motor skills and their individual methods.

Lesson 4- SYMBOLS AND LOIS MAILOU JONES

In this lesson, students learned about Lois Mailou Jones and her legacy as an artist and educator. To further their understanding of her work, we discussed motifs and symbols of the African Diaspora. The students were then instructed to produce work inspired by Adinkra symbols from the Asante tribe.

wORKSHOP-Watercolor En Plein air

En Plein Air painting in the garden was a workshop curated for the Saturday Programming at the Kreeger Museum. I assisted the teaching artist guiding a group of children and their families in painting the garden plein air. While learning the history of plein-air painting the patron leaves with a small watercolor painting of the garden.

Thank YOU.

natallyillustrations@gmail.com