Welcome to Art with Mrs. French

I've put together this site to showcase some of the wonderful art work my students are creating. Take a look around and enjoy!

We Are Art Smart!

Howard Gardner, Ph.D., professor at Harvard University, first identified seven different kinds of intelligence in his classic book Frames of Mind. His theory has challenged assumptions about intelligence and learning and deeply influenced the path of education in the United States.

Gardner identifies Spatial intelligence as the ability to "think in pictures," to perceive the visual world accurately, and recreate (or alter) it in the mind or on paper. Spatial intelligence is highly developed in artists, architects, designers and sculptors. When we create art, thinking and acting to increase and develop our spatial intelligence, we become Art Smart!

Click here for an interesting article from ARTSEDGE on why being Art Smart is an important 21st century workplace skill.

About me

Julie French

I started my career in advertising as a graphic designer working with some very interesting businesses and non-profits. Click here to see some of that work. After taking time off to start a family, I wanted to combine my two loves — children and art. I'm now in my eighth year teaching art and I love it! My students' creativity amazes me every day, they are a joy to work with.

Contact Me

Parents may reach me through our school website, everyone else please email juliefrench@mac.com.

Friday
Dec062013

Social Justice Calligrams

The subjects of Art, Literature and Language Arts came together for this project our 8th grade students have just completed. Social Justice is a major theme in Mrs. Panzo's Literature and Language arts classes this year, where students have been researching and writing about the topic in a variety of challenging projects.

They applied that knowledge for this art project by developing a favorite quote or writing by an important figure they had studied into a calligram. Calligrams use a word or piece of text to create a visual image related to the meaning of the words themselves. Students could also choose the alternative of developing a poem about themselves and their interests they had written into a calligram. In the art room we stressed that the visual image relate well to the text, and that the words vary in size and thickness when needed to create visual interest. Students were excited to bring this important theme into their art, and I think the results are stunning, don't you? Find more examples by clicking on any image below.


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