French modern painter inspires elementary students

Posted on: February 5, 2010 | musiclover | 1 Comment | Print Article | Rate Post:

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Heidi Zemach for SCN
heidizemach@yahoo.com

Students at Seward Elementary School in K-6 are spending three eventful weeks in art class mixing paints, painting patterns and shapes, and fashioning collages with brightly colored paper. Their inspiration is French modern painter/sculptor Henri Matisse (1869-1954), under the guidance of Artist in Residence Justine Pechuzal. Justine is the young Seward artist who created the new mural in the elementary school last year, and designed the Seward Centennial Mural displayed outside the Seward Post Office. Some of Justine’s work also is displayed at the Resurrection Arts Coffee House.

By their second week of art classes Katy Turnbull’s first-graders had already filled pages with brightly repeated patterns similar in style to the ones Matisse sometimes used in his wallpaper, backdrops, and vases. Tuesday afternoon they were learning to mix yellow and green paint and draw green leaves, outlined and veined with darker green. They would cut them out and piece them together into a collage later. “This looks like snot!” an impressed boy commented as he mixed the colors together. “It’s like 3-D!” exclaimed another as Pechuzal demonstrated how outlining the leaves almost made them stand out. Then they painted red curves for their flower petals, and orangey-red vases.

“It’s great having a known professional artist in our building,” said Principal David Kingsland, who selected Pechuzal for this three-week residency at the school. She is focusing on teaching techniques to the children at an age-appropriate grade-level; providing art ideas for their teachers; and will also create another original art work to donate to Seward Elementary School. Her program will culminate with an art exhibit of the students’ work Feb 18, 5:30-7:30 p.m. along with the school band performance and Spring Book Fair. The Kenai Borough School District provides art curricula for every teacher, and pays for an artist to visit the school for a while every fall, but Seward Elementary has no special art-teacher on staff. So opportunities like these are much appreciated by the school—and its teachers, Kingsland said.

“It’s nice to see how excited they are about what they’re creating under Justine’s direction,’ says Mrs. Turnball, who watches closely as she helps Pechuzal pour small globs of paint onto each student’s paper platter and maintain discipline. “Remember, don’t mash your brush,” Turnball reminds the students, some of whom forget that they are supposed to sweep their brushes smoothly in one direction and the other when painting.

“Mine looks horrible,” complains Makiara Williams, head in hands, struggling at perfection. “No it doesn’t, it looks awesome,” says Daniel Darbyshire, the boy sitting next to her, not even glancing away from his own work. Pechuzal compliments Williams on how red her flower petals are, and suggests she draw a few more to choose from. “The key is to combine encouragement, with finding value in what they are working on, with reminding them that like everything else, art takes lots of practice—and that it doesn’t need to look perfect,” Pechuzal says.

While the youngest grades were learning how to mix and apply paint and create patterns, the 3rd and 4th graders were creating a room with simple furniture and a window with a watercolor scene of the outdoors. They got a kick out of learning simple foreshortening techniques—such as the closer things are, the larger they should be, and the farther away they are, the smaller. They also really seemed to enjoy designing their own rooms and furnishing them the way they like, Pechuzal said.

The 5th and 6th graders were practicing figure drawing, using wooden mannequins as a model to observe how bodies move, and to help them depict foreshortening. Later, they would choose their best line drawing, trace it onto black paper, cut it out, and place it in a collage, where they would start to think about concepts related to color and composition, how to show volume, and how to bring balance to a piece of art. Pechuzal studied Art History and Studio Art at the University of Arizona, and later received her Masters in Art Education. She began coming to Seward about six years ago to work summers as a Kayak Guide. Inspired by the public art murals all over town, and encouraged by the owner of the Resurrection Art Coffee House Gallery to display her own work there, Justine began to step out artistically and try new things. Having her design selected for the Seward Centennial Mural was the “opportunity of a lifetime,” Pechuzal said. It emboldened her to create a mural at the elementary school, which one of the teachers had suggested. And that experience was so positive that she put together this year’s proposal for the Matisse residency. It all goes to show how a small town that encourages art can help nurture artist talent, and in turn be nurtured by it.

(Photos by HZ. Justine Pezuchal watches as Makiara Williams paints leaves. Daniel Darbyshire
and Jordan Sewell paint their leaves. Pezuchal displays a student’s sketch and what the completed picture may look like.)

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