Art with a message.

Wisconsin painter Randall Berndt recently worked as artist-in-residence with our district's second and sixth grade students. His work depicts farm, camping, and rural scenes. His imagery, along with the strong storytelling element in his work, makes his paintings interesting and appealing to elementary students.

Writing and Illustrating Stories

As part of the residency, second grade students were to write a story about something that had happened to them in their community and illustrate it with a painting. To create a spark of ideas, students viewed artworks by Mr. Berndt. One thing became clear: His paintings did not tell the entire story; they left a lot to the viewer's imagination. Students spent many days thinking, sketching, and mapping out what their story would be and what part of it they would tell in their painting. They worked on their writing with their classroom teacher and worked on their painting during art class. The paintings and stories were remarkable. Students had taken the challenge of showing only part of the story in their painting and created art that encouraged the viewer to fill in the rest.

Connecting Art and Science

Mr. Berndt also worked with sixth grade students, a science teacher, and middle school art teachers to integrate language arts and science into their artwork. This ecological approach to art education explored the interdependency of individuals and all living organisms and ecosystems with environments that surround them. Students were able to embark on an interdisciplinary unit that provided them with the opportunity to experience an authentic and profound learning adventure.

Student artwork was directly connected to the biodiversity of plants, anthropods, birds, and trees found in our area. Students also studied the Great Lakes and issues facing the health of the Great Lake Ecosystem. They also studied Hawaiian ecosystems. They studied the energy web in these two ecosystems and discovered the interconnectedness of ecosystems and how delicate they are. The ecological problems in far-off Hawaii were found to be similar to those close to home. By studying these two ecosystems, students became aware of how interconnected our world is.

In the artroom, students were introduced to the life and artwork of Randall Berndt. They learned how to read a painting. They discussed the relationship of humans to nature. Students analyzed the current situation of our area, the Great Lakes, Hawaii, and the Wetlands. They defined a problem and identified a solution to the problem. Students were then challenged to develop a unique way to create art with a message.

Sharing Paintings, Telling Stories

The residency culminated with a public reception for the artist, teachers, parents, students, and community, with both the artist's and the students' work on display.

Through the exhibition, students developed a dialogue between the community and the natural environment. Some students adapted a political stance that translated into a visual message--or in some cases, actual intervention.

Note: This project was made possible through a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board and with assistance from the Home School Connection, the Rotary Club of Columbus, and Randall Berndt.

NATIONAL STANDARD

Students identify connections between the visual arts and other disciplines in the curriculum.

Bonnie Halvorson is an art educator in the Columbus Elementary School in Columbus, Wisconsin.