Here’s a campaign that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Anthropologie has launched its It Starts With Art drive to support art projects in local public schools. Now through September 7th, every Anthropologie store is hosting an in-store art supply drive! Each store has teamed with a local public elementary or high school and all items received during the drive will be donated to that local school. What kind of supplies are they looking for? Paints, pencils, construction paper, and all things artsy are all welcome! If you want to think bigger, iPads and other tablets are an amazing art tool (I’m a huge fan of the Paper app myself).
Don’t live near an Anthro store? Or want to make even more of a difference in the life of a young artistic mind? Find out how inside.
In addition to the in-store art supply donation drive now going on at your local Anthropologie, Anthro’s partnered with DonorsChoose.org to highlight some public school art projects that could really use your support! You can sponsor a future artistic mind in the making and help teachers with amazing creative ideas but insufficient budgets stretch young minds in a way that is sure to benefit every part of their brain beyond just the creative outlets. The full list of sponsorable projects is here. During this campaign if you skip a bag while making an Anthropologie purchase, all Skip-A-Bag funds raised will be donated to one of the arts projects through DonorsChoose!
Anthropologie was kind enough to send me a $25 pay-it-forward gift card to use towards one of the DonorsChoose.org projects. It’s in the mail to me now and when it arrives it will be hard to choose just one project to donate towards! I’ll be kicking in some of my own cash as well towards this admirable campaign. There are 25 projects to choose from on the page. Here are a few that caught my eye.
Who Painted the Mona Lisa? | Highest Poverty | Lida Hooe Elementary School in Dallas, TX
These exciting new resources will help enrich my students’ art experience. Students will create art journals to house their art projects. We already have the paper, but are in need of sketching pencils, hole punches and tape. This personalized book will become a record of their yearlong art adventure. All grade levels will participate in a variety of projects and activities inspired by important artists. For example, students in grades 3-5 will create realistic and abstract self-portraits. Students will compare the series of self-portraits by Rembrandt and Van Gogh and using our new class set of mirrors, create their own series of self-portraits focusing on line, texture and shadow. All students will learn what it is like to paint like Pollock and print like Warhol. Using our new foam printing plates students will create original prints while learning about Pop Art. These prints and other painted artworks will be taped inside their art journals as a record of their yearlong journey…read the rest here.
*****
Une Belle Revolution (A Belle Revolution) FASHION! | Highest Poverty | Grady High School in Atlanta, GA
During the school day my students will use this fashion library to find inspiration, do research for projects and papers, learn about and to improve their sewing, patternmaking and show production skill set. My students love to read fashion/fibers books and therefore improve reading and comprehension by avidly reading books that interest them. This library will remain in the classroom for future students and we hope to add more as time goes by.
Many of my students come from backgrounds that have little to no room or resources for creative expression in the home. My classroom has become a haven for students to safely express in a positive way what they feel inside. This library will boost the moral of my students letting them know that they and their artistic endeavors matter. Many student who may not be able to attend college or additional education will leave my classroom with a skill set that allows them to earn a living…read the rest here.
*****
Architecture Around the World | High Poverty | Lakeshore Alternative Elementary School in San Francisco, CA
Children will read about architecture styles, gardens and building materials found around the world. They will be introduced to images through Power Point presentations traditional and modern architecture topics. Students will learn concepts of sustainability and conservation. They will create drawings, paintings, and models. They will learn concepts of measurement, scientific process skills, and the vocabulary of architecture. Children will learn to identify architecture elements and materials found in their local environs and those in other regions of the world. They learn to further develop oral language, presentation, reading, narrative and descriptive writing skills…read the rest here.
*****
Art of Fashion (Become A Designer) | Highest Poverty | Leadership Charter School – Cooper in NYC, NY
Having colored sharpies, fabric markers, colored pencils & all kinds of colored paper will allow students to first display their own artistic vision of what fashion is. Being able to use the materials like the “Coco Chanel” book & the “Project Runway Tapefitti” (which brings a mannequin & ready to wear designs) set requested, the students will have a better understanding of how to approach their ideas hands-on given the materials available, based upon the assigned topic of that week. The “Fashion Angels Project Runway Fashion Design Sketch Portfolio” Set is an ideal guide for the younger students to be encouraged to attempt to learn how to sketch & design with the help of the stencils & templates that come along with it. Then “Travel Fashion Light Box”; will be very helpful for those students that already have drawing skills & will have the opportunity to enhance them by using more detailed & descriptive sketches…read the rest here.
No donation is too small. If instead of my Starbucks Chais this week I donate that $5 each day towards one of these projects that’s $25. If every reader of this blog (let’s say 10,000 today which is about average) donates $5, that’s $50,000 towards these projects! Every little bit makes a difference.
For full details of Anthropologie’s It Starts With Art campaign check out this section of their website. If you’re a teacher don’t forget that Anthropologie is offering you 15% off your in-store purchase now through September 7th. Details here.
