This article, written by Marjorie Beggs, was originally published in Central City Extra's February 2015 issue.
If you were a kindergartner whose painting was reproduced on thousands of posters plastered all over San Francisco, you — and your family — would have to be enormously thrilled.
And then there’s making that art.
“I’m guessing what it means to the students is fun,” says Tenderloin Community School teacher Barbara Sizelove. “They get to paint, look closely but still exercise as much creativity as possible and, as kindergartners, get to explore their very favorite subject — themselves.”
Last year, Sizelove had her 16 students paint self-portraits to submit to the S.F. Unified School District’s 2015 Arts Festival. All will be displayed at the annual, nine-day mega celebration of K-12 student creativity, Feb. 28 through March 8 at the Asian Art Museum (200 Larkin). The event features visual artwork by 2,000 students, live musical and dance performances by 65 school and community groups, screenings of films and videos, poetry readings and hands-on art activities.
(Photo: Lise StampfliTorme / Central City Extra)
Sizelove, the Tenderloin school’s arts coordinator and a San Francisco Art Institute-educated artist who works in printing media such as large-format linocuts with monoprint overlays, was delighted when festival organizers chose four of her students’ joyful portraits to grace the festival’s posters, event invitations and program covers.
“This is a project that I do every year for the festival,” she says. “I get to bring students a deeper understanding of art and what it’s like to make art over a period of time like a real artist. “
Over six weeks they get involved in decision-making about color, shape, background, foreground. In some cases, they literally go from drawing stick figures to painting a symmetrical human figure. She begins by having the five-and-six-year olds look at self-portraits, representational to expressionistic, so they see there’s no one way to portray oneself.
Using mirrors, they draw themselves with pencils, Sharpies and crayons, filling the page. Painting begins with learning to use acrylics and big brushes on an 8x10 canvas board for the background, and a week later, they transfer their drawing to the board. Moving to a medium brush, they begin filling in the face, but without details. In the next sessions , they use a very small brush for features, add patterns and perhaps change the background color to create a layered effect.
“During the whole process, students are using real materials and learning how to mix colors, mix paint to get a desired viscosity and move the paint over the canvas with the brush,” Sizelove says. “They’re also learning how to be critical, revise their work and own their identity as an artist.”
She expects that art experiences like these can have long-lasting effects, especially for students who may be struggling socially and academically. In a mostly hardscrabble neighborhood like the Tenderloin, every leg up for kids is golden. “When I found art, it saved my life,” she recalls. “I could feel really good about something I did, and that spills over into other areas of your life.”
To see the works of Sizelove's students in person, visit the Asian Art Museum from 10am to 5pm, today through March 8th.
