What is Art Masterpiece?

Art Masterpiece lessons are taught on a monthly basis, usually 6 times per school year. They last about 1 hour in length and consist of a “hands on” project. The purpose of the lesson is not necessarily to teach various art/craft techniques, but to increase the child’s awareness of art. We focus on various elements, such as line, color and texture. As the children increase their awareness of art, they are able to recognize more of the art that they encounter in their world everyday.

As the Art Masterpiece Coordinators for Riggs Elementary, our job consists of organizing all of the lessons, ordering and preparing supplies and making sure that only one class, per grade level, is being taught at one time. As a school, we want to make sure that all classes are being taught and that each child is able to benefit from this program.

Supplies for the Art Masterpiece program are provided and located in our Art Masterpiece room at school. Some of the items have been donated, but the majority has been purchased through our school budget. Grade level tubs are located in the room in the cabinets and are filled with appropriate articles that coincide with the lesson being taught.

Each month, the Art Masterpiece classroom volunteer can retrieve a copy of the lesson for that month on the Riggs website (under the PTO tab). After reviewing the lesson, they will contact the teacher and check the calendar in the hallway, outside the Art room, to set up a time to teach the lesson. When they are ready to teach the class, they pick up the key from the front office for the Art Masterpiece room unlock the cabinet and look for the specific grade level tubs with all the appropriate supplies for the month lesson.  Next, the volunteer should familiarize themselves with the supplies and then begin the lesson with a brief description of the artist and their particular technique. The students will then complete a hands-on project that will be displayed in our hallways at school.

The beauty of this program is that you do not need to be an artist to teach the lessons. You need to be willing to get up in front of the class and talk about the artist for that month. The kids are so creative and will come up with some wonderful works of art.  Our Art Masterpiece program has had great success over the years. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the volunteers that help to make this program run smoothly.

We are always looking for new volunteers and appreciate our veteran volunteers so please do not hesitate to join in the fun and work with your children at Riggs Elementary.

Thank you!