Warhol, van Gogh, inspire kindergarten artwork

Kindergartener Cora Reinbolt is busy drawing hearts, but isn’t sure why.

“I think because of Valentime’s (sic) Day?” she says when asked.

Indeed, the holiday is coming up, and in Nicolette Bales’ kindergarten classroom, Valentine’s Day hearts are drawn with a “pop.”

Bales, a teacher for 14 years, has a unique philosophy when it comes to teaching kindergarteners art — one that produces striking results, and catches the notice of parents.

“Just like every typical elementary school, the halls are covered in student art, but Bales’ student work strikes a different chord from the usual craft or coloring page,” wrote parent Jaimè Bell in an email to the Hungry Horse News, “I’ve been amazed at the artwork Bales is coaxing out of these five and six year olds!”

Along with many of her fellow elementary school teachers, Bales shares the knowledge that art education is important. It promotes critical brain development, and is a time when kids simply get to create, she notes. But at the core of Bales’ art philosophy is the belief that, just like reading, writing and math, the basic elements must be learned, and practiced. At this age, the basics include learning how to draw an oval versus a circle and which colors are complementary, but also artistic features like texture, symmetry, and emphasis.

Bales teaches these features by showing famous artists who exhibit them in their own work. She uses van Gogh to demonstrate self-portraits, Georgia O’Keefe to describe emphasis and Eric Carle to illustrate texture and pattern, like using a fork to spread paint into grass blades. Most recently she used Andy Warhol to demonstrate pop, or popular, art, which showcases repetition and the use of mixed mediums.

The kindergarteners incorporate these pop art principles as they create their Valentine’s hearts, three in a row, using bright complementary colors and the mixed mediums of oil pastels, watercolors and even rubber cement.

The hooked curves and symmetry of the shape make hearts notoriously difficult to draw, though, so Bales has the kids use a technique she learned from fellow kindergarten teacher Shannon Somers. Kids place their hand on the paper, and starting in the notch between thumb and index, draw up and over the thumb to get the first heart lobe, providing the template for the second half, and increasing the chances of a successfully drawn heart. Getting kids to successfully create well-done artwork is a key component of Bales’ program. When kids are happy with what they’ve produced, it only feeds their creative fire. To promote this, Bales begins each art project by modeling it for them. The kids then practice on small white boards to get a feel for the concepts before taking it to the “canvas.”

Youngster Reinbolt did not know how to draw hearts before.

“But now I do,” said Reinbolt. “I learned a cool way, you just have to put your hand down and trace it.”

Bales has chosen to spend some of her room money, — a small stipend teachers get to spend on whatever amenities they see fit for their classroom — on quality art supplies. She made the investment in good oil pastels and paints, nice brushes, and true watercolor paper.

“There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to learn watercolor on construction paper that disintegrates,” she says. “It just doesn’t work.”