Brookwood springs into the arts
Wait outside of Lindsey Bailey’s Lower School art room just after class is over — but stand back. You might get in the way of the literal outpouring of enthusiasm as the children exit with their latest masterpieces. And you may not want to get paint on your clothes. Bailey, who teaches students in Junior Kindergarten through sixth grade, is new to Brookwood School this year, but her philosophy is clear: “My goal at the Lower School level is to get the students really excited and enthusiastic about art making,” she said. “I want them to feel comfortable experimenting and making their own choices.”
To succeed in her goals, she uses materials that are familiar to the children — ones they might see at home and use for everyday purposes. Sharpies. Paper.
Fabric.
“Sharpies instantly give a graphic quality to whatever the students have drawn,” Bailey said, and paper is an excellent product because you can find it everywhere. To make a collage, she said, “you can use leftover newsprint; you can use paper bags; you can use typewriter paper or computer printout paper; you can use construction paper. There are so many different variations. You can put it all together … and still make a striking piece of art out of all of those things.”
“Paper just fills this global hole for the arts, which I think is great,” she said. Even the sixth graders reap the benefits: this year, they worked with cardboard to create replicas of armor, which they wore for photographs taken in front of a green screen.
Watercolor is also an excellent material for young artists, she said, because it is forgiving and yields bright color. “Even if the kids feel like they’re not necessarily successful in the drawing aspect of whatever they’re watercoloring, once they start adding the color to it, it just lightens everything up, and they get really excited,” Bailey said.
Of course, no art curriculum is complete without the study of the world’s artists. Bailey focuses primarily on contemporary artists in her classes — “people who are currently working in their own studios now so that they know that is a field they can go into, should they want to, and they can kind of see things coming to life in their world,” Bailey said.
She works with her students to compare and contrast their own work with the work that is found in history books, she said, thereby preparing the children for their art studies in higher grades. Student artists are always excited to exhibit their work for the public, and there are many opportunities for that during the school year. Look for Brookwood’s Lower School art to be featured in an exhibit entitled “Good Ol’ Charlie Brown” at the Thomasville Center for the Arts on March 6 from 5:30 to 6:30p.m. In addition to classes during the school day, Bailey teaches an after-school club she calls the Creative Research Lab, where kids create exciting projects and are “encouraged to play, think, do, and learn through the exploration of art, apps, and action,” she said. There, supplies used are cardboard, felt, wood, paint, paper, canvas, yarn, nails, video, GIFs, LED lights, foil, sewing machines, solar energy, fabric and photography. Fuzzy Goat and You’re Maker — both local art businesses — will facilitate a project for the club this month. In the end, Bailey said her main hope is that the kids will stick with it. “I want the students to fall in love with the arts and enjoy it so much that they want to keep taking classes and learning new processes as they go into Middle and Upper School,” she said.
Waiting for them there is Maureen Harrer, who is a Brookwood veteran teacher of 16 years.
The Middle and Upper School art programs
Monkeys. Abstract designs. College mascots.
Monkeys. Abstract designs. College mascots.
These are examples of the paintings that are left behind by Brookwood’s graduating artists — their own legacy. But these pieces aren’t matted and framed.
They’re now literally a part of the art studio, on cinder blocks in the walls and on ceiling tiles, thereby making each artist a permanent part of the school.
The painted mementos are an inspiration to the students who study there, said Harrer. “When I first started teaching at Brookwood, there were only about three or four ceiling tiles.”
Today, however, the room is resplendent with color.
“They’re excited that their work is going to stay after they leave the school,” Harrer said. Students from the seventh grade through the 12th grade marvel at the creations as they work toward that goal.
The Middle School curriculumfocuses on art history, the language of art, the elements of art and principles of design.
“We’re starting to build a foundation, especially for the students who are going to continue art in high school,” Harrer said.
Middle schoolers are often more critical and cautious of taking risks in their art, Harrer said. “I try to let them know that I see them as young artists — that everybody starts at a certain place,” she said.
She ensures them that with effort, practice, instruction and the right tools, they can all be successful.
Middle School students study Gothic art and construct gargoyles out of clay; they also learn about important inventions in architecture at that time.
They study the works of John James Audubon and visit Pebble Hill Plantation, where they get to see the largest personal collection of his works. When the eighth graders take their annual trip to Washington, D.C., they visit the National Gallery of Art, where they conduct a scavenger hunt that leads them to impressionist paintings — a topic they remember from their seventh grade studies.
In the Upper School, art is an optional elective, and those who continue with their arts studies are well prepared for the work.
Classes include foundations of art, studio art, Advanced Placement studio art and Advanced Placement 2-D design.
“As they get older, they’re more likely to not be as cautious and want to express themselves,” Harrer said. “I really try to encourage that. I hope they all feel comfortable and they all learn to love the artmaking process and find success with what they do.”A signature of Brookwood’s art program is the tradition of connecting with the local community.
At the annual Deep South Fair, students not only exhibit their work, but they also learn to mat their own pieces; volunteer to hang the art; and then take down the show. “They learn all that goes into exhibiting their own work,”
Harrer said. During Youth Arts Month in March, Brookwood students often work with the Center for the Arts or with Studio 209 to contribute something to the community. Last year, Harrer’s classes were asked to help paint a Thomasville sign that hangs on a brick wall off Jackson Street. Other years, the students have held a workshop for members of the community to learn a specific method in art. Her classes also look forward to her springtime tradition of working with The Memory Project, a charitable nonprofit organization that invites art teachers and their students to create and donate portraits to youth around the world who have faced substantial challenges, such as violence, extreme poverty and loss of parents. “They contact us and send photographs of children, and we tell them how many portraits we can do,” Harrer said. “These children usually don’t have anything — especially family photos to look at. The whole idea behind it is for them to have something from their childhood when they get older,” she explained. “Normally, wealthy people are the only ones who have portraits done of their children. It makes the kids feel important.”
For the public exhibit that ensues, Harrer’s students sign up to mat the portraits, hang them, do the publicity and provide refreshments. “I try to get them involved with the entire exhibit,” she said.
But the real reward comes when the young artists see a video of the children receiving their own portraits. “You can see how happy they are that someone did this for them,” Harrer said. “It’s really good for my students, too, to feel like they did something good. They gave back.”
Look for news about Brookwood School’s Memory Project exhibit this May
Brookwood School
Located in Thomasville, GA, Brookwood School is a private school for grades JK-12. Students benefit from a challenging academic program, fine and performing arts, competitive athletics, and a wide selection of extracurricular activities.