NAME:
Mrs. Joann Kearns
SCHOOL:
St. Francis de Sales School
CLASS:
Art, Grades 1-8th
SCHOOL PHONE:
713-774-4447
God placed me at St. Francis de Sales 20 years ago after I had taught at two
other schools and was asked to expanded their art programs. Although my BA is
in English Literatureand Education, my BFA is in Art and fits me like a
glove. I love art, children, teaching.learning and seeing what wonderful
things my students create. I am neverbored. We have so much fun.
I was given the opportunity to redesign our St. Francis art room. New
cabinets, bulletin boards, a sink, storage space, drying racks and a
demonstration island were added. The curriculum was expanded to include a
varied media and is ever growing and changing.
The imagine on "About the Teacher" recalls the year The Museum of Fine Arts,
Houston, build the Audrey Beck building, our 7th and 8th grade artists
participated in an “On the Fence “ project. Every member of the faculty and
staff present that year also painted a small area of the enlarged
reproduction of Three Umbrella by French artist Raoul Dufy, one of the museum
painting, now outside our computer lab. Father Bill participated, too. It
hung on a fence surrounding the construction site for over a year. Our 7th
and 8th grade students have visited the MFAH every year and either discovered
the museum's wonderful, ever expanding collection or been privileged to view
visiting exhibits. Egyptian, Chinese, Russian museums,The Cone Collection,
The Met, MOMA and Pompeii exhibits are just a few. I loved seeing Van Gogh's
"Starry Night", Renoir's
"Boating Party" and Chagal's "I and My Village"
Every year brings a new surprise. One year purple, Jessie banners were made
by Mrs. Fissler and adorned by older art students with Biblical designs. One
of her daughters participated. They are still a part of St. Francis. I love
that St. Francis is a wonderful place of mutual involvement and caring.
Church, school, faculty, staff, students and parents form, in faith, a body
of Christ within The Body of Christ.
I have two grown daughters, alumni of St. Agnes. One is a gifted artist
who works in the field of computer graphics and applied art here in Houston,
while her twin lives in Alaska and works as an environmental scientist.
Their Dad is an architect. I picked up a little sign language and share some
of the basics with PK classes. I feel closer to God and my worship seems more
complete as it includes hands as well as soul, heart, voice, mind and body.
I love that St. Francis is a wonderful place of mutual
involvement and caring. Church, school, faculty, staff, students and parents
form, in faith, a body of Christ within The Body of Christ.
valiants
Mission For All Students:
Every student has the opportunity to learn to be creative by thinking with the
"art brain" and using a variety of art media to discover the God given gifts
within themselves.
Goals:
Grades 1 through 3
To develop eye-hand coordination, fine motor control and spatial placement
skills through hands-on activities which reinforce general learning skills.
To experience creativity through the development of the creative problem
solving intellect.
To develop a sense of self through Art
To learn color theory and how it is used in Art
To learn to use and care for materials
Curriculum:
First grade activities:
Crayon resist, origami, collage, scissor cutting projects, and a self-portrait
of the child and family
Second and third grade activities:
Self-portrait of the child from summer break when possible.
Spatial plane and basic color theory through mixing and creative use of
primary, secondary, warm and colors in second grade and intermediate colors in
third
Grades 4 and 5
To continue development of manipulative skills, application of color theory
and a sense of self
To understand the use of the spatial plane
To draw the human form in detail
To use shape, form , texture, color scale and dimension
To use a greater variety of art media
The individual development of the creative intellect
Curriculum:
Drawing the human form and face in greater detail and proportion and in
relationship to picture plane placement
How to create the illusion of depth and volume
Outdoors drawing
Using oil pastels and watercolors
Fourth grade mixes neutralized colors, fifth grade mixes tints and tones
Grades 6 through 8
Purpose:
To develop the creative portion of the intellect
To expose the students to many artistic techniques, enabling them to explore,
discover and develop their own inherent talents
To develop a sense of self through Art
To challenge the students’ skills of observation
To experience a variety of artistic media
Curriculum:
Sixth grade (Daily for one trimester):
Focus on observation skills
Learning detailed artistic techniques in watercolor
Experiencing three-dimensional art through clay sculpture and construction
Developing a working knowledge of ceramic glazing
Seventh (Daily for one semester) and eighth grade (daily for the year):
Two and three dimensional art media and techniques
Keep a Sketch Journal outside of class
Scholastic Art magazine and fine art prints show the work of famous artists
whose techniques are emulated. Drawing, ebony pencil, Prismacolor watercolor,
oil pastels, clay, scratch
art, contrasto board techniques, linoleum block carving and printmaking
(eighth grade)Eighth grade visits the MFA,H or other Houston museum each year
to view apiece of art "in the flesh" rather than in a print.
