Ceiling Tiles Not Just for Ceilings Anymore.

This is a project that originated with one of the high school art teachers in my town.  If it has an origin earlier then that I am not aware of it.  The high school art teacher had kids pick a master artist to research.  They did a paper and a reproduction of their favorite piece from the artist and paint it on the back of a ceiling tile.  Which later goes up into the actual ceiling.

So, since all art teachers are at heart "borrowers" a bunch of us at the elementary level started doing a version of this with our own kids.

I introduced a program called "F.A.S.E." at both of the schools I'm assigned at.  I'm lucky enough to have two great principals at my buildings this year who have designated a whole class period for this.  F.A.S.E. stands for Fine Arts to Support Education.  It's a character reward program.  I take the older students, 5th and 6th grade, and pull them for this special program.  I rotate the groups.  Once a week for five weeks I'll have a group of 6th graders who have earned through good character the chance to be there. Then I rotate to a 5th grade group.  It's never more then 6 kids and I take input on who has earned it not just from their classroom teacher but also the librarian, P.E. teacher, and music teacher.  It's not enough to show the pillars of character just in my class or homeroom, you have to show them everywhere.  It's also not based on artistic skill, just the pillars of character. In the past I've done master artists as well, Da Vinci, van Gogh, Cassatt, etc. However this year I decided to go with some more of the unsung artists - children's book illustrators.

My current 6th graders are working on H.A. Reys' Curious George.  Here's some of the tiles in progress:

Since this is elementary and not high school, I do draw the panels out.  It takes some of the pressure off of the kids - they get really nervous about living up to the standard of the master artist they're reproducing.
The kids are responsible for matching the colors on the ceiling tile panels to what's on the print they're copying.  I may step in just to show them how to dry brush or where the shadow goes, but these are really all done by the kids.  We flip the tiles over to the cardboard side and use acrylic paints.  It takes two or three coats but they always look fantastic when finished.  I have very patient school custodians who then climb ladders and hang the tiles in our hallways.

Here's some more examples of what I've worked on with my groups (which are lining the hallway ceilings of my schools):

Dr. Seuss' Cat in the Hat:

Franz Marc's Blue Horse:

 M.C. Escher's Seahorse Tesselation:

 Georgia O'Keeffe's Oriental Poppies:

Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night:

Norman Rockwell's Boy and his Dog:

Degas' Blue Dancers:

da Vinci's Mona Lisa:

Rene Magritte's The False Mirror:

I'll snap some shots of the others that are in the halls.