Artist of the Month is an RCS High School program that acknowledges an art student each month. The Artist of the Month is a student who comes to class each day ready to learn, participates in class, is dedicated to their projects, and has a positive attitude.
Since it is Youth Art Month, each school selected four students that embody the criteria above to be their Art Students of the Month for March! First, we are sharing our Elementary Art Students of the Month.
Huge congratulations to these students for all their hard work and dedication to their craft!
The Elementary Art Students of the Month for March are Lauren Robbins (PBC), Kaliannah Caligiure (PBC), Grayson Lane (PBC), Owen McDermott (PBC), Kenzie Frodyma (AWB), Beatrice Smith (AWB), Zoey Harry (AWB), & Reiley Frankovic (AWB)!
Learn about these students and their work below!
Pieter B. Coeymans Elementary School
Lauren Robbins, a 5th-grade student at Pieter B. Coeymans Elementary School, has created an adorable cat in Zentangle style with a special pop-up head, making for one very classy-looking black and white Cat. Lauren enjoys all types of art and can often be found in the art room working on her artwork to make it the best.
Kaliannah Caligiure, a 4th-grade student at Pieter B. Coeymans Elementary School, created an amazing mosaic using watercolor media and ripped paper. Kali is very imaginative in her art creations and has a wonderful eye for color.
Grayson Lane, a 2nd grader at Pieter B. Coeymans Elementary School, created a classic picture of a Fox using oil pastels. Grayson has a very creative mind and always makes art fun.
Owen McDermott, a Pieter B. Coeymans Elementary School 1st grader, chose to create a green Cat. He used watercolors and a Sharpie marker for his work of art. While he is still learning a lot of new techniques in creating art, he is very self-motivated and enthusiastic.
Congratulations to Lauren, Kaliannah, Grayson & Owen for being the PBC Art Students of the Month!
A.W. Becker Elementary School
Fourth graders at AWB have been creating masks using papier mache, recycled materials, and paint. Students developed their themes and imagery for the masks. Fourth graders enjoyed the messy process of applying papier mache to a plastic mask mold and cutting a background shape for the mask using thin cardboard. When the paint is dry, fourth graders will select the best extra materials from the ‘all you can art buffet’ to decorate and enhance their creations.
Kenzie Frodyma, a 4th grader at AWB, is a huge fan of dragons. “I decided to create Mushu from the movie Mulan,” says Kenzie, “because he is a character that I’m familiar with.” Kenzie did a fantastic job carefully cutting out the background shape and selecting colors of paint that are the best match for Mushu. As a finishing touch, Kenzie is making Mushu soft and fuzzy by gluing pieces of felt to parts of his face.
Fourth grader Beatrice Smith is bringing rock music to life with her portrait of David Bowie. “I saw the movie Labyrinth at the Greenville drive-in,” says Beatrice. “David Bowie was in the movie. He played the Goblin King. This inspired me to create the mask, and I also like David Bowie’s music.” Beatrice plans to add feathers to the hair to replicate Ziggy Stardust’s abundant mane.
Third graders created adorable Teddy Bear Chairs using a variety of recycled materials, including salvaged cardboard and paper towel tubes. This project took many weeks to come to fruition because each phase of construction required drying time. Finally, third graders were ready to paint their chairs! Our goal was to cover every surface with a beautiful design, pattern, or painting. The Teddy Bear Chairs will be on display at our school-wide art show on Thursday, May 18, 2023.
Zoey Harry, a third grader at A.W. Becker, chose an autumn theme for her Teddy Bear Chair. “Fall is my favorite season,” Zoey said. “I think it’s a beautiful thing when I see leaves falling down. It gives me inspiration.” Zoey’s Teddy Bear Chair features three aspects of fall. The seat and back are decorated with detailed leaves in a variety of autumn colors. The chair legs show the grass, and the upright posts are decorated with bare tree branches. “I think it’s magical,” says Zoey.
Reiley Frankovic, also from third grade, created a tropical Teddy Bear Chair. Reiley says: “Before we started this project I went to Florida, and I loved it! I loved the beaches and the sunsets. It was so pretty and relaxing. It’s just so beautiful.” This special vacation provided Reiley with plenty of inspiration for her painting. She began by painting a sunset on the seat back, being careful to blend the colors together just a bit. Over the sunset, Reiley painted the silhouette of a beach with palm trees, birds, and a moon. Reiley adds: “When I was on vacation, I got a donut floaty.” A painting of this donut floaty can be seen on the seat of the Teddy Bear Chair!
Congratulations to Kenzie, Beatrice, Zoey & Reiley for being the AWB Art Students of the Month!