Claire Danes, Altered Image

Altered xerox, Cubist style

This is how I teach Cubism to middle school students. Make photocopies, color, cut in shapes, re-assemble, glue, and draw on top. I let them pick images of celebrities from a teen magazine.

Introducing Vermeer

Mixed media

Self Portrait

Colored pencils on xerox 

Tomato Party

Girl in Landscape

Large oil painting on plywood

Vanitas 2

Mixed media painting by Angie Villa

Teaching Autistic Students K-2

These are very simple and fun torn paper fall trees, a lesson I teach to students in an autistic support room, grades K-2. I love the way each one is very different.  I teach by modeling, one step at a time. First tear the green grass, then a rectangle for the tree trunk, then the branches, and then add tissue paper leaves to the tree, or background.  Their teacher was very supportive and hung them in the hallway.

A Simple Landscape

Oil pastels on black paper

Kindergarten Floral Paintings

Grade 1 Funny Fish Paintings

They added lipstick and eyelashes!

Fish in Coral Reef, Grade 4

Construction paper crayons on black paper

Grade 2 Bird Paintings

Example for Van Gogh Lesson

This is a piece I made to use as a teaching example for a 1st grade lesson on Van Gogh. The vase is cut out from construction paper, and then I used oil pastels on blue construction paper. Please see right sidebar for more examples of my art work, or search label "art work by Angie Villa." Unfortunately I folded the paper to make it fit in my bag! I LOVE oil pastels, and use them often with my students. 

Silly Butterflies by First Grade

First Grade Flower Drawing

Kindergarten Landscape Drawings

Before I teach this lesson, I have already taught the students how to draw different types of lines- straight, curvy, zig-zag, loopy, etc.) and we have talked about lines in nature, school, and in our world. I show them examples of how artists use lines to create images. Then, I demonstrate how to walk in a straight line, curvy line, zig-zag, etc. and ask them to do the same. Then we draw the different types of lines across our paper.

The following week, I teach this simple landscape drawing lesson, using different types of lines. I discuss how artists use lines to express ideas. I start by drawing a straight line across my paper with a black crayon for the horizon line, and students follow me. Above the horizon line we draw curvy lines for mountains, like a lower case letter "m." Then we draw more curvy lines below the horizon line for fields. Some students choose to draw zig-zag lines for mountains, I let them choose. Then we add trees (a rectangle for base, curvy cloud shape for tree tops), circle for sun, and curvy clouds. I ask students to color the entire page, and blend colors. I encourage them to use any colors they want, even imaginary colors. This lesson can be completed in a 25-30 minute class period.

I usually follow this lesson with my cityscape lesson, using lines they have learned, and reinforcing shapes and math concepts that they are learning in the classroom.

4th Grade Cityscape

Malala: Growing Peace

New art work I am donating to the Allen HS Arts Academy Alliance's annual "8x8 Event" art auction to raise money for arts programs at Allen High School in the Allentown School District. The opening is on November 13th, 2013 from 4-6:30pm at Muhlenberg College. Baker Center for the Arts. I chose Malala Yousafzai, the courageous Pakistani girl who survived being shot in the head by the Taliban while trying to get an education, as my subject. I think she is a great role model for students, and she should have won the Nobel Peace Prize, even though she is a young 16 year old girl. She is planting the seeds of peace and equality by standing up for her human right to an education. It was difficult working on such a small canvas (8"x8") because I felt a bit constricted, and because I think large work has a bigger impact. I wanted to portray her as being soft, yet very powerful. The color green as a symbol of youth, growth, and hope. The flowers, also symbols of growth, are cut out images of the Nobel Peace Prize. This is a mixed media/acrylic painting on canvas. I hope someone wants to buy it!

My Old School Is Gone (Black and White Version)

This is a mixed media collage

Young Kids Don't Need to Be Ready for College

My son, ready for 7th grade, just turned 12 yrs. old

Could someone please explain to me why it is so important for middle school children, ages 11,12 and 13 to be ready for college? I looked at my son's textbooks and they are from the College Board, to prepare kids for AP, PSAT, SAT, etc. With so much focus on who we want kids to be in the future, we lose sight of who they are right now- they are KIDS. Let them be kids and let them enjoy their childhood. My kid has to sit for 8 periods of seat work, and he told me that by 7th period he cannot concentrate. Kids need breaks, exercise, and activities every day to be healthy. I don't even think adults could sit for 8 periods a day. The expectations are unrealistic. This is why I don't like Common Core and "rigor". 

"Common Core’s whole focus is pushing children to college. Shouldn’t it be about learning today? Shouldn’t it be about giving children the chance to enjoy the here and now?

Ask yourself, with the school push to college, what is your student missing out on with their journey through life today? Will they later hate school because they missed out on the joys of childhood? Let’s let our children be children. It goes by much too fast already."  Nancy Bailey

Students Miss Out On Today With Common Core Standards and PARCC

www.nancyebailey.com

E-Z Draw an Elephant

A handout I made for my 5th grade students

A Party for the General

Mixed media painting on plywood

Treasures...

Treasures….should not be measured. This is very special student work that I will always treasure. 8th grade students used hand made paper to create books of original poetry. Students also wrote original poems in response to works of art at the Allentown Art Museum. These original art books were created during a special artist residency program with local poet Marilyn Hazelton, local artist Liz Magno, and me- the art teacher. A true integration of art/ language arts/ and art history. This is the kind of meaningful, collaborative teaching that we have lost, due to high stakes testing, data driven assessments, and cuts to ASD art programs. ASD Superintendent Dr. Mayo has told parents "don't treasure what you can't measure." What a horrible thing to say to a parent. Art work has human value that cannot and should not be quantified by data driven assessments. Parents cherish what their children create at school. It's the projects and performances that live on in our school memories, not the tests and worksheets. Stop killing joy for learning. Stop dehumanizing education.

Our children only get one chance for a quality education. Any educator or school board director who agrees to deny children artistic experiences, while saving test prep, should be booted from their position of educational leadership. Parents must demand accountability, and better leadership from our school district and school board. If you truly value the arts, DON"T APPROVE CUTS TO THE ARTS! Cut the test prep and high stakes testing which has not, and will not improve learning. By the way, many of the students who participated in this lesson were labeled as special ed, learning support, emotional support, and English Language Learners. All students were successful.

Just Let It Be

Should we measure a child's artistic experiences with data? I don't think so. Some experiences should not be judged- they should just be what they are. There is a personal freedom to experiencing the arts, and that should not be tamed by someone else's judgment.

Underwater scenes by 7th grade students. I just let them go with their own ideas.

ASD School Board Member Scott Armstrong Bashes Teachers

Scott Armstrong

 I attended a very disturbing ASD school board meeting on January 24th. It is now crystal clear to me that the majority of our school board, and our superintendent Dr. Mayo, do not appear to be willing to fight for the funding needed to adequately serve the children in our district. These board members seem ineffective, and offer no ideas. I don't even think these people have any understanding of what teachers and students deal with on a daily basis in over crowded classrooms. They don't seem to understand education issues, or how poverty impacts learning. 

We now face the possibility of more teacher furloughs, while our teaching staff is already bare bones due to last years massive furloughs and cuts. And at this critical time, the majority of board members are not focusing on doing what is in the best interest of students. Dr. Mayo has no ideas, and wants to continue with a failed business model approach, working within a failed system, hoping that Governor Corbett sends us some table scraps. He wants a "business climate" in our schools, and is hopeful that implementing a new school uniform policy will help to reinforce his thinking. I don't mind uniforms, but we don't need a business climate. We need a nurturing, safe, learning environment where all children are given opportunities to discover their talents and succeed. We don't need test prep, narrowed curriculum, and data driven instruction. We don't need more rigorous standards. A school is not a business. Businesses are about profit, schools are about students. These are our children, they are not products. Stop dehumanizing education. 

Thank you to ASD teacher Deb Brobst, for speaking up for teachers and students, and board member Ce-Ce Gerlach, who spoke up and did not approve  Mayo's plans to conduct a study to determine "the minimum" number of teachers needed to serve our students. Board member Joanne Jackson was absent from the meeting, but has informed me that she voted against the plan too. Thank you Jo Jackson! ASD serves needy children growing up in poverty, many are homeless, many have special needs. Common sense will tell you that we need much more than the minimum here in Allentown. Mean spirited board member Scott Armstrong told teachers to "look in the mirror" because you are to blame. He is a disgrace, with a narrow right wing political agenda that has nothing to do with improving our schools.

A friend of mine, a committed parent volunteer who attended the meeting with me, wrote the following letter to ASD School Board President Robert Smith.

Dear Mr. Smith:

As a parent of a fourth grader at Muhlenberg, I attended last night's board meeting due to grave concerns about the direction and future of the district.  It would be an understatement to say that my concerns were in no way alleviated by the discussions and votes conducted in the meeting.

As the parent of a special needs student, who is eternally grateful for the expertise, experience, commitment and compassion consistently demonstrated by my son's teachers throughout his school career, I was particularly appalled at the tone, attitude, statements and implications displayed by Scott Armstrong at last night's meeting.  It occurred to me that, if one has such disdain and disrespect for teachers -- the people who do the actual work of a school district -- then perhaps one should not serve on the school board.  I also feel that Mr. Armstrong's statements and implications were inflammatory and misleading to the public audience at the meeting.  Even I, with a quite rudimentary understanding of the pension situation, know that to blame teachers and their compensation, including pensions, for our ongoing budgetary crisis is simplistic and unfair, not to mention extremely divisive and unproductive.  I have to assume that Mr. Armstrong knows that as well, as does the rest of the board.  

I am willing to consider that, perhaps, Mr. Armstrong was having a bad night.  I can also certainly imagine that there is enormous history and significant dynamics between teachers, administration, and the board, which has to create a great deal of frustration at times.  I can even consider that Mr. Armstrong is a truly good person who is doing an incredibly difficult job.  However, Mr. Armstrong should understand that not everyone is as charitable as I, with great effort, am trying to be.  He runs a serious risk of simply appearing unprofessional, arrogant, and as having a personal axe to grind that has nothing to do with the needs and best interests of our students.  At this critical time in our district, we should be completely focused on advocating for, and protecting the educational rights of our kids.  This requires collaboration among teachers, students, parents, administration, board, and community -- now.  We do not have the luxury of petty arguments, blaming, and grandstanding.  I have directed this correspondence to you, as the President of the board, because you are, of course, a key leader in this effort.  

Thank you very much for your service to the district, and your consideration of my feedback.

Lisa Figueroa

Lunar Landscapes Grade 4

Abstract Cityscapes Grade 2

2nd graders are collage and career ready! These are sparkly like the city at night.

Fall Still Life Collage-Grade 5

My students are collage and career ready!

Abstract Trees Grade 5

Interpretation of a tree, done with oil pastels on black paper. I showed students abstract trees by Piet Mondrian. I showed them how to draw organic shapes that remind us of trees, and discussed the meaning of abstract art. Much more fun than worksheets!