Emmaus high school - East Penn School District

Art Department travels to New York City
A group of 47 students from the Emmaus High School art department traveled
to New York City on Thursday, March 24 th . The trip was designed to
involve students in viewing art in major museums and the subway for inspiration
in their own artwork and a school mural. The specific objective was to
investigate mural art for a mural that the art department has in progress this
year.
Losing my Marbles, Lisa Dinhofer,
2003.
With the Project Based Learning initiative in mind, the art teachers have been guiding their students
to develop drawings, designs and plans to create a ceramic/glass mural that will be placed on one
wall in the department. The Drawing Level 2/3 students were given an assignment to develop a mural
plan with the theme THINK, IMAGINE, CREATE. Design Level 2/3 students took four of the selected
drawings and worked in four groups to further the ideas with design alterations, simplification
and color choices using traditional and photo shop techniques. With these two steps complete ceramic,
craft and 3D design students will now be instructed in methods to develop the actual pieces
from clay, glass and various other materials for the final selected plan to be placed in the wall mural.
While in New York City, the students divided into 2 groups and took subway routes to various points
in the city viewing large mosaic and tile murals underground. Some of the murals that were seen
included the Jacob Lawrence’s mural at Time Square station, which pays tribute to the diversity and
strength of NYC neighborhoods; Eric Frischl’s “Garden of Circus Delights,” which depicts a commuter
being drawn into the surprising world of the circus at Penn Station; and “Losing my Marbles”
by Lisa Dinhofer, located at the Port Authority and 8 th Avenue stop depicting the beauty of marbles
and their colors.
Once above ground the students visited the Museum of Modern Art to see Pablo Picasso’s Guitar
Exhibit, along with an abstract expressionist painting show. The group then traveled up Broadway to
The Museum of Art and Design to see work from Judy Chicago’s textile “Dinner Party” piece and
also to view an exhibit of ceramic jewelry entitled “Clay on Skin.” The day ended with a group dinner
at Carmine’s Italian Restaurant in Time Square, where critiquing of the day’s sights took place to
review the inspirational art seen during the trip.
Page 14