Spring 2020
by Ashley Lodato, Education Director for Methow Arts Although none of the members of the Liberty Bell Drama Company (LBDC) in the Methow Valley School District were alive during the heyday of the Swedish pop music supergroup ABBA, they’re as familiar with the band’s songs as any 1970s disco fan on the club circuit—and perhaps… [Read More]
Dec 2019
Methow Valley School District staff and local community members received custom portrait painting sessions last week, courtesy of kindergarten students. First, the students learned observation and life drawing skills, working with Methow Arts teaching artist Judith Robertson. They sketched outlines, then filled them in with watercolor paints, initially using prints of famous portraits by Picasso,… [Read More]
Fall 2019
by Ashley Lodato Education Director, Methow Arts Alliance Every good farmer knows that selling your products requires proper marketing. You want to attract people to your booth, provide them with a visual representation of what you’re selling, and demonstrate that you’re knowledgeable about your produce. In a recent Methow Arts residency with teaching artist Judith… [Read More]
Arts Education Spotlight
by Ashley Lodato Education Director, Methow Arts A parliament of owls seems to have nested at East Omak Elementary School, in the waning weeks of the school year. This recent art residency with 5th grade students integrated visual art with animal science. Working with Methow Arts teaching artists Annie Venable, Bruce Morrison, and Bethany Wray… [Read More]
Spring 2019
Each winter, Brewster 5th graders participate in a 5-week poetry residency, working with Methow Arts teaching poet Kelleigh McMillan. Students become familiar with “painting pictures with words” and with relating their emotions to the natural world. Each week they experiment with a different poetic concept: simile, metaphor, free verse, stanza, etc. Students write poems about their bedrooms,… [Read More]
Spring 2019
Okanogan second grade students welcomed spring to the Okanogan Valley by painting flowers in the style of Georgia O’Keeffe, working with Methow Arts teaching artist Bruce Morrison. Morrison introduced students to the work of internationally-known artist Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986), whose signature paintings include abstractions of flowers, landscapes, and other natural elements as well as architecture of the southwest… [Read More]
Spring 2019
by Ashley Lodato Education Director, Methow Arts Alliance The third grade animal studies program at Virginia Grainger Elementary School uses Common Core standards to integrate biology, literacy, art, and geography. Working with third grade teachers Patty Caryl, Nancy Bishop, and Amy Sullivan, students begin the process by selecting an animal and using the internet and… [Read More]
Spring 2017
by Ashley Lodato, Arts Education Director for Methow Arts In 2015, Washington became the second state (after Montana) to require Native American Studies as part of a public school education, but offered few resources toward delivering a tribal curriculum. Virginia Grainger Elementary School teacher Marilou Baker had an idea, however. “Because we are located in… [Read More]