Art on the Go – Through the Eyes of a Child – InkFreeNews.com

Shown are several drawings by Tippecanoe Valley School students of an African animal. Individual photos were provided by Angie Gillman and the image was composed by DeeAnna Muraski.

By Darla McCammon
and DeeAnna Muraski
Guest columnists

Darla McCammon and DeeAnna Muraski

WARSAW – Our classroom visits this week will take place in the art classrooms of Mentone and Akron Elementary Schools in the Tippecanoe Valley Community School district, led by Angela Gillman.

Gillman graduated from Saint Francis University in Fort Wayne with a Bachelor of Arts degree in language arts and a minor in elementary education. A fun legacy story is that Gillman replaced the retired art teacher who had taught her father art. Gillman has been teaching art at Tippecanoe Valley Schools for more than 25 years.

Last week’s article discussed the difficulty of quickly changing instruction among students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Gillman also has to alternate teaching between Akron and Mentone each week. That’s a lot of children’s names to remember. All three of Mr. and Mrs. Gillman’s children attended the Tippecanoe Valley School system. The Gillmans are proud, lifelong Hoosiers, with Mrs. Gillman still living on the same road she grew up on.

While Gillman may be firmly rooted here, she enjoys taking her students on many artistic journeys. This year their focus is on the African continent and endangered species. Students learn about Africa and are inspired to create projects based on the idea/theme. This also helps keep Gillman inspired, because when “(they) are excited, (she) gets excited, then art is great.” Her favorite project over the years was based on the theme of the Arctic in Antarctica, where they built penguin ice cream cones out of plaster. Like all schools, it must base its projects on the Indiana Department of Education’s visual arts standards.

In her limited free time, Gillman enjoys recycling/upcycling old wood and sculpting it with power tools. Her favorite museum to visit was the Art Institute in Dayton, Ohio, where she saw a Monet exhibit. Of interest to those reading the Art in America series, they also house the Katy Dicke Gallery of Post-1945 American Art.

To do

Donate! All our local primary schools can use art supplies. The schools try to recycle, but new art supplies are like gold. I made a list of basic art supplies: Ticonderoga pencils, colored construction paper, Kwik Stik paint markers, Crayola Artista II watercolor paint, Elmer’s glue sticks, Elmer’s Glue-All, Fiskars Kid Scissors, Big Kid’s Choice brushes and Crayola oil pastels – to get you started. Primary schools: Warsaw has eight; Wawasee has three; Tippecanoe has two; and Whitko has two.

To go

Warsaw City Hall. Current artist Elizabeth Wamsley’s beautiful pottery is accompanied by an exhibition of metal works – a wonderful interplay of the textures. Location: 102 S. Buffalo St., Warsaw. Opening hours: Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, except public holidays. All on the first floor and accessible to the disabled.

Darla McCammon is an artist, columnist and author. DeeAnna Muraski is Executive Director of Operation Read USA Inc. Email the mother/daughter team at (email protected).