Jacksonville Elementary Art Program Exhibition is March 21st

This year’s Art Program themed, “For the Love of Art” will hold its 9th-Annual Exhibition in the Jacksonville Elementary school gymnasium on Thursday, March 21st, from 5:00 pm -7:30 pm.  Art will proudly be displayed and the whole community is invited to attend.  Refreshments, music and inspiring art is provided.

Best Design Winner: Alaya Metwally, 5th Grader

Each year, Jacksonville Elementary students learn about perspective, pointillism, color and collage.  They can tell you the difference between fine art and illustration – realism and abstraction.  Thanks to a  unique partnership of parents, teachers, administrators and community members, students study art in K-6 classrooms, making for an excellent art program.

Between October and March, parents lead the students through projects designed to teach art basics such as shape, color, line and texture.  Parent volunteers are in the process of teaching 20+ projects to their students.  They’ve introduced students to the work of master artists such as Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, Georgia O’Keefe, Vincent van Gogh, Albrecht Dürer, Eric Carle and Henri Matisse.  They’ve exposed students to a wide variety of materials and techniques including paints, pastels, clay, wire, textile and gourd.

Past Art Show artist

The support received from teachers is also outstanding.  They participate in every art class and help students understand how their art relates to other subjects.  The program, first introduced and managed by local artist and teacher Tami Lohman continues, due in large part to incredible parent volunteers and staff support. “Kids love art…and art teaches them so much – like planning, estimating and spatial thinking,”  say’sTami Loman, author of the Jacksonville Elementary art program curriculum. JES has had the program in place since 2005.

Thanks to the following businesses, organizations and individuals for making it possible for our students to experience a high-quality art program – The Jacksonville Review, Art Presence Art Center, Cammy Davis, Anne Brook, Willow Creek Gift Store, Artisan Landscapes, Inc., Southern Oregon Orthopedics, Jennifer Dollarhide, Southern Oregon Clay Distributors, Lions Club of Jacksonville and the parents of Jacksonville. For more information, contact Jessica Haynes at 541-292-3282 or jessthaynes4@gmail.com.

Click here for a link to a great article and video!

 In May: WRITER’S FESTIVAL

The 3rd Annual Jacksonville Elementary School’s Writers’ Festival will be held on Thursday, May 2 from 6:00-8:00 pm in the school gymnasium.

Author and Illustrator, Kurt Cyrus, will be the event’s keynote speaker.  Mr. Cyrus is the author and illustrator of numerous children’s books, including The Voyage of Turtle Rex, Tadpole Rex, and Hotel Deep.  He has also illustrated a number of books such as Hibernation Station and Mammoths on the Move. The Writers’ Festival is a school-wide event, featuring the work of every student at Jacksonville Elementary.  During the festival, students meet in small groups with local authors, journalists, educators and other writing enthusiasts who serve as mentors and facilitate a discussion of each student’s writing.  If you are interested in serving as a small-group mentor, please contact event coordinator, Amy Kranenburg, at amy.kranenburg@gmail.com.  Thank you for supporting and celebrating our young authors!