Laurie Pincus
Crane School Upper School Art
(805) 969-7732 ext. 320
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I am so excited to be teaching Upper School art at Crane, as well as becoming a member of Crane's inspiring and supportive community.

I earned my B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College in New York, and my M.A. in Counseling Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. I have been an exhibiting West Coast artist since 1979, exhibiting in galleries and museums in California, Texas, Chicago, New York, New England, and Japan. I have taught art to children and adults in Los Angeles since 1980. I moved to Santa Barbara in 1995 when I began to teach art through the Children's Creative Project. In addition to teaching art to children, I have been teaching visual arts workshops for teachers as well as designing and implementing arts standards based curriculum.

I believe that everyone can be an artist. My goal is to create a safe and inspiring art environment at Crane where students can explore a variety of art mediums, projects, and ideas while developing their own art voices.

Visit Laurie Pincus Art : http://web.mac.com/lauriepincusart

6th Grade:

A year-long exploration of the seven elements of art: line, shape, form, color, value, texture, and space. Creation of art that communicates ideas, expresses feelings, observes nature and the manmade. Emphasis on creativity and the discovery of a personal art voice. Art media includes: painting, drawing, sculpture, mixed media, unusual and found art materials and techniques. A focus on world art and special art/ music collaborative project.

7th Grade:

Exploration of the elements of art: balance, movement, rhythm, contrast, emphasis, pattern, and unity. Creation of art that communicates ideas, expresses feelings, observes nature, and gives form to the imagination. Emphasis on creativity and the development of a personal art voice. Art media includes: painting, drawing, ceramics, sculpture, printmaking, mixed media, and ancient art techniques. A focus on art of the ancient world.

8th Grade:

Creation of art that communicates ideas, expresses feelings, observes nature, and gives form to the imagination. Art media includes: painting, drawing, bookmaking, 3-d narrative tableau, cartooning, ceramics, soft sculpture, printing, and mixed media. A focus on art of the Americas: women artists, artists of color, and outsider art. Individual projects on the life and work of a chosen artist.

DOT DASH SPLASH

“Spring has sprung”, to quote Ogden Nash, color explodes and 6th, 7th and 8th grade art is in full bloom in the upper school art room/gallery. With artists Georges Seurat and Jackson Pollock blazing the trail, Crane artists break with traditional art making techniques. Using q-tips, sponges, tape, square things, bare hands, finger tips and even toes, upper school artists bring their paintings to life dotting, dashing, splattering and splashing as they go. To quote a recent visitor to the art room, “It is very dotty in here”.

At the end of the 19th century, Paris was the center of the art world and the French Academy controlled how art was made and which art could be exhibited. A group of artists known as Impressionists were inventing a new way of painting that emphasized strong bright color and light, which defied the Academy. Georges Seurat was one of those painters and his invented dot paint style came to be known as Pointillism.

At the end of 1946, Jackson Pollock had gotten rid of the subject matter in his paintings and was instead painting his feelings by pouring and flinging paint directly on the canvas. Time magazine called him “a wild man” and nicknamed him “Jack the Dripper”. Few people at that time realized that this unconventional painter would change art history so dramatically. “Painting has a life of its own,” said Pollock, “I try to let it come through”.

When middle school students come into the first weeks of art class, some students express frustration about drawing or painting something “perfectly”. Some think that they are not “good” artists unless they can do this. I like to start our art year by taking away their erasers and asking them to close their eyes while drawing, to help them connect to their true inner artist. From there, we explore together the infinite world of art and art making techniques. It was an 8th grader from last year who suggested we try “squarellism” as a response to pointillism. The results are intensely colorful, rhythmic and exciting. At Crane Pollock’s art philosophy is in full practice, “Painting is self-discovery – every artist paints who he/she is.”