The third graders in artist/instructor Virginia Levie’s STUDIO
art class at PS 139 in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn were bursting
with questions for their famous visiting artist, Julie Mehretu. The
students had seen images of some of Mehretu’s dazzlingly intricate and monumental paintings that have been celebrated around the world, and when she arrived in their classroom they were eager to know everything.
“Why do you make some paintings so big?” was the first question. “So that you can feel like you can step into it,” Mehretu said. “It looks like 3-D, right? With layers of different lines and paint.”
The students at PS 139 come from many different worlds and seemed to connect with Mehretu (31 languages are spoken by the students at the school). “I come from two different worlds,” Mehretu told them, “half from Ethiopia, half from Michigan. For me, making art is figuring out who I am in the world,” Mehretu told them. “I put in traces of many places, many experiences and memories.”
The students wanted to know about the architectural drawings that Mehretu delicately layers into her paintings
because they have been working on cityscapes and architectural shapes in their class in a variety of media (collage, oil pastel on paper, ink drawings). “I take places from different parts of the world that have meaning to me and use them as a realistic or representational aspect in my paintings; it’s like a story… elements from the world are layered in.
I try to make sense of the world and figure it out in images.”
The third graders then got to work figuring out their own worlds and images, as Mehretu moved around the classroom, observing and asking questions of the young artists. The students chose images from postcards their teacher had given them of various architectural structures and created ink drawings on watercolor and rice paper to explore different brush techniques and different ways to deal with structures in space. Many chose iconic skyscrapers and used creative brushwork to make windows, clouds, rain. Mehretu was impressed by their efforts: “The kids are so articulate, and their brushstrokes are so confident. This work with Studio in a School is so important.”
The students asked when Mehretu had started painting and she said, “I always wanted to paint.” Her parents were very supportive but she had never had a chance to study art in elementary school the way they do.
Mehretu’s visit to PS 139 was her first visit to a school that partners with Studio in a School. Principal Mary McDonald brought STUDIO to her school 8 years ago, two years after she arrived, and chose Virginia Levie as the professional artist and teacher for her program. She described how STUDIO has changed her school – which now has an extensive arts program and an engaged parent body. “STUDIO started it all, was the catalyst for the creative and engaged spirit and engaged parent body.”
At the end of the art class, McDonald told Mehretu she was honored by her visit and Mehretu replied, “I’m the one
who’s honored. Thank you for changing their lives.”
art class at PS 139 in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn were bursting
with questions for their famous visiting artist, Julie Mehretu. The
students had seen images of some of Mehretu’s dazzlingly intricate and monumental paintings that have been celebrated around the world, and when she arrived in their classroom they were eager to know everything.
“Why do you make some paintings so big?” was the first question. “So that you can feel like you can step into it,” Mehretu said. “It looks like 3-D, right? With layers of different lines and paint.”
The students at PS 139 come from many different worlds and seemed to connect with Mehretu (31 languages are spoken by the students at the school). “I come from two different worlds,” Mehretu told them, “half from Ethiopia, half from Michigan. For me, making art is figuring out who I am in the world,” Mehretu told them. “I put in traces of many places, many experiences and memories.”
The students wanted to know about the architectural drawings that Mehretu delicately layers into her paintings
because they have been working on cityscapes and architectural shapes in their class in a variety of media (collage, oil pastel on paper, ink drawings). “I take places from different parts of the world that have meaning to me and use them as a realistic or representational aspect in my paintings; it’s like a story… elements from the world are layered in.
I try to make sense of the world and figure it out in images.”
The third graders then got to work figuring out their own worlds and images, as Mehretu moved around the classroom, observing and asking questions of the young artists. The students chose images from postcards their teacher had given them of various architectural structures and created ink drawings on watercolor and rice paper to explore different brush techniques and different ways to deal with structures in space. Many chose iconic skyscrapers and used creative brushwork to make windows, clouds, rain. Mehretu was impressed by their efforts: “The kids are so articulate, and their brushstrokes are so confident. This work with Studio in a School is so important.”
The students asked when Mehretu had started painting and she said, “I always wanted to paint.” Her parents were very supportive but she had never had a chance to study art in elementary school the way they do.
Mehretu’s visit to PS 139 was her first visit to a school that partners with Studio in a School. Principal Mary McDonald brought STUDIO to her school 8 years ago, two years after she arrived, and chose Virginia Levie as the professional artist and teacher for her program. She described how STUDIO has changed her school – which now has an extensive arts program and an engaged parent body. “STUDIO started it all, was the catalyst for the creative and engaged spirit and engaged parent body.”
At the end of the art class, McDonald told Mehretu she was honored by her visit and Mehretu replied, “I’m the one
who’s honored. Thank you for changing their lives.”
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