From the moment I held that box of colors in my hand, I knew that this was my life.” Henri Matisse

My name is Catherine Ingram and I am the very fortunate art teacher at Prairie Trace Elementary. I say fortunate because I am blessed with my dream job: teaching art at a wonderful school with wonderful staff, parents, and students.

Our exhibit at the World’s Smallest Children’s Art Gallery is called “Living Colors”.The name was inspired by a quote by the famous Expressionist artist Edvard Munch: “Colors live a remarkable life of their own after they have been applied to the canvas.”

I felt this quote really captured what I see in the artwork that my students produce. Their artwork seems to come alive and reach a new level of excitement once they begin drawing on the page. They surprise me every day with their talent and creativity. This is the best thing I could hope for. I think the biggest benefit to being an artist is the ability to explore.

* * *

I love teaching my students new media, new techniques, and new ways to create, because then they can explore and that’s where the magic happens. That’s when the artwork comes alive.

This exhibit includes work from Kindergarten through 5th grade. We used a variety of media including oil pastels, tempera paint, markers, crayons, tissue paper, yarn, fabric, and colored pencils. There is an abundance of color and I am extremely proud of all my PTE Hawk Artists. (You can follow the students at @PTEArtRoom on Twitter.)

You can see all the photos of this month’s show at the Carmel Art’s Council Flickr account. Here is a brief overview of what inspired some of the student’s work:

Read more