press release february 2011
(< Return to Press Releases)Artistry of CSMA Students and Teachers on Exhibit at Mountain View City Hall
An Observer's Notebook combines the eye of the scientist with the creativity of the artist.
Students and their CSMA art teachers at schools in Mountain View, Los Altos and other local communities have been hard at work creating art for their annual teacher/student collaborative exhibition. This year’s exhibit, called An Observer’s Notebook, will present a colorful mix of paintings, drawings, sculptures, collages and more. The show is open to the public from March 1-21, 2011 at City Hall, Rotunda, 500 Castro St, Mountain View. City Hall is open Mon-Fri, 8 am-5 pm. The free public exhibit is sponsored by the City of Mountain View and the Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA).
On display will be approximately 375 pieces of art by elementary and middle school students and their CSMA art teachers from 19 local schools, including every Mountain View Whisman District elementary school (Bubb, Castro, Huff, Landels, Monta Loma, Stevenson, Theuerkauf), Yew-Chung School (Mountain View), Springer School (Los Altos School District), Montclaire School and Murdock-Portal School (Cupertino School District), St. Josephs (Cupertino), Costano School and Ronald McNair Academy (Ravenswood School District), St. Nicholas (Los Altos Hills), The Academy (San Jose), Baywood School (San Mateo-Foster City School District), Stocklmeir School (Sunnyvale School District) and Resurrection (Sunnyvale). All of the children receive weekly art instruction through CSMA’s in-school program Art4Schools.
“In making work for An Observer’s Notebook, students were asked to use the acuity of a scientist’s eye in looking closely at nature,” said Cal Cullen, CSMA’s Art4Schools Program Coordinator. “They were then encouraged to use the creativity of an artist’s eye to transform what they had observed in nature into a piece of art.”
For example, CSMA Art4Schools teacher Mira Ross at Bubb School asked her third-grade students to think about the relationship between animals in their natural habitat and people in their habitat to create drawings of birds using ink and pastels. CSMA art teacher Ann Hull asked her fourth- and fifth-grade students at Murdock-Portal School to observe wildlife in their immediate surroundings, watching carefully to see how these creatures gather food, communicate with each other and frolic in their environment. They then used clay to make birds and frogs. As they pushed the limits of clay as a medium, students discovered how to shape a wing or leg suggestive of movement by the animal.
“This annual teacher-student collaborative project culminates in a wonderful community exhibit, but it also represents much more,” said Cullen. “Students come to see their teacher as an ‘artist’ and learn how to draw inspiration from an idea or concept to create art.” Teachers used a piece of their own artwork depicting nature as inspiration for the lesson.
The Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA) at Finn Center serves more than 7,000 children at more than 30 schools annually through its in-school programs Art4Schools and Music4Schools. Since 1981, these programs, offered as part of the curriculum day in schools in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties, have engaged youth through an in-depth, sequential curriculum. CSMA’s visual arts and music educators teach weekly, hands-on classes and professional musicians present interactive concerts. Funding is provided by the City of Mountain View, school districts, individual schools, parent organizations, foundations, corporations, California Arts Council, and CSMA donors. In the Mountain View Whisman School District, major funding for CSMA’s art and music programs is provided by the Mountain View Educational Foundation.
Founded in 1968, CSMA is the largest non-profit provider of arts education programs in the region and is among the top 10 schools of its kind in the nation. The school is committed to providing Arts for All, regardless of age, level, background or economic means. CSMA reaches more than 40,000 people annually through off-site programs in the community and on-site programs at its Finn Center campus in Mountain View. Offerings include: lessons, classes and camps in music, visual and digital arts in-school programs; after-school art clubs; free family concerts, lectures, exhibits and other community outreach events. In keeping with its mission to make the arts accessible to all, the school’s Financial Aid Program awards approximately $200,000+ annually through tuition assistance and program subsidies. CSMA is located at Finn Center, 230 San Antonio Circle, Mountain View.
For more info about the exhibition An Observer’s Notebook (March 1-21, 2011) at Mountain View City Hall, Rotunda, 500 Castro St., contact Cal Cullen, CSMA Art4Schools Program Coordinator, at 650-917-6800, ext. 308 (ccullen@arts4all.org) or see www.arts4all.org.