Saint Peter High School
2121 West Broadway
Saint Peter, MN 56082
Tel: 507-934-4212
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Paula Eickman Kennedy
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About
Paula Eickman Kennedy
EDUCATION
H.S. Diploma, John Marshall High School, Rochester, MN
B.S. Art Education, Winona State University, Winona, MN
M.A. Studio Art with an emphasis in Drawing and Painting, Minnesota State University,
Mankato, MN
License in Parent and Family Education, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
POST-GRADUATE STUDIES IN ART:
*University of MN at Duluth, MN/Split Rock Arts Program (Nature Photography, Traditional Chinese Painting, Papermaking, Landscape Painting)
*Idyllwild School of Music and Arts, CA (Hopi Pottery and Culture)
*University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (Renaissance Art History)
*East Tennessee State University/Penland, NC (Clay/Wheel Throwing)
*School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA/The Ghost Ranch, NM (Photography in New Mexico)
*Minneapolis College of Art and Design, MN (Photography)
*University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (Artistic Traditions of the Southwest, Principles of Curriculum Development)
*College of Santa Fe, NM (Painting and Drawing in the Southwest)
*University of Washington, Seattle, WA (Northwest Pacific Coast Native Americans, Islamic Art History and Criticism)
*Bemidji State University, Bemidji, MN (Native American Art of the Woodlands and Plains Indians)
*Southwest Institute, University of New Mexico (Early Contacts on the Rio Grande)
TEACHING EXPERIENCES:
LeSueur Middle and Senior High School, LeSueur, MN
Saint Peter Middle and Senior High School, Saint Peter, MN
Mankato State University, Mankato, MN
South Elementary, Saint Peter, MN
Saint Peter Public School's Early Childhood Program, Saint Peter, MN
BEHIND MY PERSONAL GOALS IN TEACHING...
I am excited to be working with high school students, again! I taught in the
St. Peter Schools for about fifteen years, over 25 years ago! Staying home
with my family and going back to school (in Parent and Family Education) occupied my time, until that day when I was asked to help fill a part-time vacancy in Art because of scheduling difficulties. Those 'scheduling difficulties' put me back in the classroom and helped me re-discover my passion for art education! I am so thankful!
Now, as a returning art teacher, I can see some very positive changes that have occurred over the last decade and some things that need more work. Students seem to have a solid connection to teachers and each other. I see tolerance through visible signs of kindness and compassion. I also see students wanting the 'right' answer and high achievement on tests. Wanting that one 'right' answer does have a down side, in my opinion. Some students are pressured to find easy answers online without engaging their own thinking processes. Or they hit a wall when things do not go as planned and start backtracking to a more comfortable and familiar place, avoiding the new challenge. I see teachers attempting to restore some balance to help students to be able to problem solve and embrace learning challenges.
In observing these changes, I have a focus. I think that it is so important for students to develop those parts of their brains that help them create, be flexible, problem solve, persevere, and want to learn more. I am striving to create rich and meaningful lessons, including making connections to their lives, socially and historically. I want students to have experiences with media, to practice techniques and skills that will help them build confidence in what they can do when they invest time in thinking and working. I want students to recognize where they are in their abilities and thought processes, feeling okay where they are..for now..and knowing that they will learn and grow. My goal is for students to see themselves as learners, interested in taking on challenges and seeing 'mistakes' as opportunities for choice and problem solving. So, I work to keep encouraging, challenging, and supporting each student in their own artistic development, able to make those discoveries about themselves through the creative process.
I am honored to teach students through Art!
In the art department at Saint Peter High School,
we strongly believe that encouraging effort promotes life-long learning skills, as in Carol Dweck's research on growth mindset
versus
fixed mindset.
Senior high Art CLASSES
Offered during the 2016-2017 school year:
~Art Concepts 1
~Art Concepts 2
~Advanced Art Studies
~Ceramics
Art Concepts 1 elective (1 credit)
meets every days for a semester,
one block in length (90 minutes)
open to 9th through 12th grade students
The course is based on a study of art concepts, art styles (Abstract Expressionism, Op Art, and Surrealism) and artists. Through this study, the student will experience the limitations and flexibility of different media. This class is a prerequisite to all other art classes. Students will be expected to complete the media technique and composition experiments that begin each new unit. These experiments, as well as class notes and composition plans, will be kept in a folder to be turned in on a weekly basis.
Media areas:
Drawing with pencil, oil pastels, chalk, mixed media
Tempera paint
Acrylic paint on canvas
White and Red Earthenware clay
Fibers
Art styles & Artists:
Abstract Expressionism (Willem de Kooning, Jackson
Pollock, Hans Hoffmann, Helen Frankenthaler, Adolf
Gottlieb, Robert Motherwell,...)
Architecture
Op Art (Bridget Riley, Victor Vasarely)
Surrealism artists (Salvador Dali, Rene Magritte, Sandy
Skoglund, Yves Tanguy)
Regional clay artists/potters
Native American designs
International sculptors
SAINT PETER
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Art Department
PAULA KENNEDY
Art Concepts 2 elective (1 credit)
meets every days for a semester
one block in length (90 minutes)
open to 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students
Prerequisite: Art Concepts 1
This course gives students an in-depth study of drawing, painting in both watercolors and acrylics, printmaking, hand-built pottery, sculpture, and architecture. Students develop an awareness of the limitations and flexibility of the various media while exploring their own personal style and expression. Art styles studied include Pop Art and Expressionism. There will be discussions on creativity throughout the course. Students will be expected to complete the media technique and composition experiments that begin each new unit. These experiments, as well as class notes and composition plans, will be kept in a folder to be turned in on a weekly basis.
Media areas:
Drawing with pencil, oil pastels, chalk, mixed media
Watercolors
Tempera paint
Acrylic paint on canvas
White and Red Earthenware clay
Fibers
Art styles & Artists:
Abstract Expressionism
Architecture
Op Art
Futurism artists (Giocomo Balla, Gino Severini, Umberto Boccioni, Carlo Carra)
Expressionsim artists (Kathe Kollwitz)
Regional clay artists/potters
Native American designs
Illustrators (Chris Van Allsburg, Betsy Bowen)
Social and Political Art and Artists
Advanced Art Studies elective (1 credit), meets every day for a year,
one block in length (90 minutes)
open to 11th, and 12th grade students
Prerequisite: Art Concepts I and Art Concepts 2 (with a grade of C or higher in Art Concepts 2).
This course is for students who have completed Art Concepts I & 2. Students will be challenged to seek unique and complex subject matter while refining their skills in two-dimensional and three-dimensional media. A focus on creativity with be ongoing throughout the course in examining the works of artists and discussing creativity versus what constitutes plagiarism. Major media areas will be explored (drawing media, watercolors, acrylics, mixed media, earthenware and stoneware, fibers) and techniques in manipulating different materials will be reviewed and practiced as an introduction to each unit. Artists and styles will be studied to enhance the studio experience. Independent units of study will be included within the course to allow further exploration and individual artistic development.
Students will gain experience in writing their own artist statements and participating in critiques of their work and the work of others. Evaluation will be in the form of rubrics (students co-writing these with teacher), group critiques, and individual conferences
Media areas:
Drawing with pencil, oil pastels, chalk, mixed mediaWatercolors
Tempera paint
Acrylic paint on canvas
White and Red Earthenware clay
Fibers
Printmaking
Jewelry
Art styles & Artists:
(Students select artist and style of their own
choosing and inspiration)
Artists who have created Self-Portraits
Artists who have created Social/Political work
Ceramics elective (1 credit),
meets every days for a semester,
one block in length (90 minutes)
open to 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students
Prerequisite: Art Concepts 1 with a strong interest in clay work.
This course includes wheel work and hand building with clay. Students will receive instruction in wheel thrown pottery with emphasis on skill building, task completion and creativity. Students will make functional and decorative clay sculpture using coiling, slab construction, and pinch pot methods. They will also learn the strengths and limitations of earthenware and stoneware clay bodies and glazes. The focus will be creativity, problem solving, and increased visual awareness. Some assignments will include exposure to a variety of present day and historically significant artists.
Students will be required to maintain a sketchbook and folder for this course. In it, they will be expected to complete the media technique and composition experiments that begin each new unit.
Students will gain experience in writing their own artist statements and participating in critiques of their work and the work of others. Evaluation will be in the form of rubrics, group critiques, and individual conferences.
Media areas:
Drawing/sketching ideas
White and Red Earthenware clay
Low fire glazes, bright colors
Stoneware clay (standard, with manganese, and with grog)
High fire glazes
Art styles & Artists:
Native American traditional pottery techniques, designs and motifs (Maria Martinez, Lucy Lewis, Pueblo pottery)
Local and Minnesota potters (Warren MacKenzie) and studios
Choice of art styles in creating a clay sculpture (Review of numerous art styles throughout history for direction)
Art Events and Exhibits
Art Competitions
NEW CLASS OFFERING 2017-2018:
ART CAREER EXPLORATION:
Arts, Visual Communication and Design
Ten Lessons
the Arts
Teach
By Elliot Eisner
1. The arts teach children to make good judgments about qualitative relationships. Unlike much of the curriculum in which correct answers and rules prevail, in the arts, it is judgment rather than rules that prevail.
2. The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solution and that questions can have more than one answer
3....