VSA arts at Hamilton Elementary

Youth in Arts Mentor Artist Nadine Gay worked with students from Hamilton Elementary’s Special Day Classes for 10 weeks doing 2-D and 3-D visual arts projects.
Students in Ms. Johnson’s class first created 2-D Paper Masks utilizing simple geometric shapes, then made Tissue Paper Mosaics, incorporating lessons on color, contrast, balance and composition.
Students in Ms. Kelly’s class created Japanese Paper Landscapes, studying the basic principles of perspective.  They also created colorful 3-D Paper Masks, exploring the vocabulary associated with paper exploration, including: fold, cut, tear, glue, zig-zag, straight, curvy and a multitude of shapes.
Both classes then went on to create fascinating Animal Sculptures made from recycled water bottles. Each student learned how to make the armature of the sculpture using a water bottle, paper and tape. Once they had formed the basic shape of their animal, students then covered them with two layers of plaster gauze bandages.

After leading the students in a discussion about painting techniques, including vocabulary such as lines, dots, zig-zag, wavy, thick and thin, YIA Mentor Artist Nadine Gay supplied students with vibrant colored paints to complete their projects.
Students, teachers, parents and artists will come together to celebrate the work of these young artists during our VSA arts Festival in May.  There will be a gallery of student artwork, interactive art tables and an ASL infused theater performance.
Youth in Arts proudly subsidizes the VSA arts program, working to make the arts accessible to people of all abilities.