Art // Making connections with artists in our community!
As an artist and educator I understand the importance of finding a diverse range of artists and voices in our community to help inspire and encourage learning. In Detroit we are so lucky to have so many incredible working artists to look upon and learn from. One such artist is Detroit’s own Phillip “Smile” Simpson! At DAA we pride ourselves on showing our Habits of Character in all that we do and I encourage students to use their HOC’s in art as well. Artist Phillip Simpson is such an inspiration to us because he is someone who I consistently see showing all the habits of character through his work as an artist, in community, and with his Smile Brand! One of his philosophies as an artist is “to encourage a life of smiling and spreading joy” which is something we work really hard to do in art here at DAA too!
Our 4th & 5th grade unit about Art & Joy started with learning about Phillips' work. We learned about what inspires him as an artist and the specific style of drawing and painting he uses that makes his work so unique! Next students practiced drawing their own signature “smiles” using a continuous line which is where an artist draws something using a single, unbroken line to develop their image. This type of drawing allows students to use a lot of curiosity, creativity & perseverance! After drawing and painting signature smiles students were then asked to plan and design a collaborative mural for our community about what brings them joy. Students showed cooperation in small groups to plan, draw, paint, and display their mural paintings in a pop-up “Smile Gallery” we created for our school community outside of the art room.
Finally once all our hard work was completed we invited Phillip Simpson to our school to talk with our students, share his process, and celebrate our learning and appreciation with him! Phil was so kind to share images of his work and his story, as well as demo his own signature smile and give students feedback on their artwork! He brought us so many smiles, joy, laughter and even some Smile Brand STICKERS! This unit was so special for many reasons but mostly because our students really resonated with his philosophy, and could access his public works out in their own community. It was really incredible to get messages, pictures, and videos from parents of our students finding and interacting with his murals out in the real world. This is something that really fueled student excitement for working hard during this unit and will leave a lasting impression on their own ambitions as artists in our city and the world at large. Hope you enjoyed learning a little more about a local artist alongside us and KEEP SMILING!!!!!
