A group of talented Jericho students recently showed off their artistic chops in the big city.
More than 50 contemporary works of art produced by Jericho High School students was recently presented in a featured show entitled, “Outside My Box: Encouraging Art Experimentation,” at Pratt Institute in the Nancy Ross Gallery in Brooklyn. The show, which runs through Friday, Dec. 5, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., includes a collection of portraits, figures and still life drawings, collages and paintings produced by sophomores, juniors and seniors taking Drawing and Painting or Art Seminar courses at Jericho High School.
Students were encouraged to use their observational drawing and painting skills as a launching point for exploring imagery that reflected their values. Yet, through the use of new techniques, students were pushed beyond their comfort zones. Pencil, charcoal, oil pastels, markers, watercolor and acrylic paints were available for students to mix together or to experiment with collage, using text, Adobe Photoshop and found objects. The exploratory efforts resulted in students expanding their definitions of art.
One student artist, Jaclyn Sieb said the gallery exercise helped her expand her artistic horizons.
“At first when I was asked to experiment with art making in this way, I was hard and close-minded,” she said. “But I learned to work outside my box, open my mind and think of art in a new way.”
The art experimentation was spearheaded by Pratt Art and Design graduate student-teacher Sharon Padua Bogolubov, working under the supervision and leadership of cooperating Jericho High School art teacher Laura Gilfedder as part of the Pratt Institute, Department of Art and Design Education, EdTPA program—the new teacher certification program that licenses teachers in New York State.
EdTPA (Educative Teacher Performance Assessment) was developed by experts at Stanford University’s Center for Assessment, Learning and Equity (SCALE), a nationally respected research center that focuses on teaching and learning, and it was recently adopted this past May by the New York State, Department of Education. Art student-teachers applying for licenses must develop creative lesson plans, video themselves teaching and write a 90-page commentary and analysis of student responses, which are submitted to the state, along with photographs and assessments of resulting student artwork. Because there was an abundant amount of quality work produced at Jericho High School, Pratt professors offered an exhibition to showcase the student work.
Kenneth Pollitt, Jericho’s Curriculum Associate for Fine and Performing Arts said the school was honored to display a collection from its talented student boyd.
“We are proud of the work our students produced and honored to have it exhibited at Pratt Institute,” he said. “Jericho has a rich tradition of helping to train student teachers because we have an exceptional teaching staff, and we are pleased to welcome teaching candidates from Pratt Institute into our classrooms.”
Associate Professor Theodora Skipitares, who heads the student teaching course at Pratt Institute this past fall was instrumental in securing the space at the college for the Jericho High School student art show. Additionally, Pratt adjunct instructor Lisa Capone, who organizes exhibitions for the Department of Art and Design Education, provided counsel and advisement for the show.
Jericho High School, 99 Cedar Swamp Rd., offers a comprehensive visual arts program that includes studio fundamentals, drawing and painting, art seminar, media arts, photography and Advanced Placement (AP) art classes. Pratt Institute is located at 200 Willoughby Ave. in Brooklyn, New York. The Nancy Ross Project Space is located in the main building, on the second floor. Visitors must announce themselves to the main security station at 200 Willoughby, sign in, and ask to be directed to the Nancy Ross Project Space.
