Art Literacy is our school’s only structured art program – and the kids absolutely love it!
This “hands on” program teaches kids how to appreciate and enjoy art through exposure to a wide array of artists and art mediums including paint, pastels, clay, graphite and mixed media. Just like math or science, art literacy is a discipline in which skills are built upon each year. Art Lit enlarges our students’ ability to express themselves through their own artistic creations – and it’s a whole lot of fun, too!
The highlight of the year is the school-wide Art Lit Gallery held in May. For two weeks, we transform our library into a colorful gallery featuring a project from every child in every class. Parents are invited to come see what our talented artists have produced.
Art Lit is a wonderful program that the Tigard-Tualatin School District has provided to all elementary schools for more than 20 years. Click here to see the District mission and vision for the program.
No art or teaching experience is necessary to be an Art Lit volunteer!
Art lit is 100% volunteer led. Parent volunteers (just like you!) work as a team to share six prepared lessons and art projects from October-April, minus December. Our PSO generously provides funding for the lessons and project materials.
If you’re interested in volunteering for Art Lit at the class or committee level , we’d love to hear from you. Please contact artlit@marywoodwardpso.com for more information.
Art Lit Volunteer Handbook 2022-2023
Art Lit Master Calendar
To make a change to the calendar, or for any other information, please contact artlit@marywoodwardpso.com.
November 2024 Art Lit – Pablo Picasso
November 2024 Art Lit – Pablo Picasso
Guitar Collage
Inspired by Pablo Picasso
October 2024 Art Lit – Monsters
October 2024 Art Lit – Monsters
Watercolor Monsters
Inspired by Maurice Sendak
April 2024 Art Lit – King Tut
April 2024 Art Lit – King Tut
Egyptian Cartouche Art Literacy Project
Inspired by King Tut and Egyptian art
Students will create an Egyptian Cartouche from clay.
March 2024 Art Lit – Riley
March 2024 Art Lit – Riley
Students will create an optical art project.
February 2024 Art Lit – Lawrence
February 2024 Art Lit – Lawrence
Students will create a collage of a cityscape using geometric shapes.
January 2024 Art Lit – The Jungle Book
January 2024 Art Lit – The Jungle Book Art Project
The students will be drawing a scene from The Jungle Book for the upcoming production at Broadway Rose Theater; one student’s artwork will be chosen to be the cover of the playbill for the show.
November 2023 Art Lit – Wendy Red Star
November 2023 Art Lit –
Wendy Red Star Art Project
Wendy Red Star was born in Billings, MT in 1981; she currently lives here in Portland, OR. She is of Apsáalooke (Crow) and Irish descent and was raised on the Crow reservation in Pryor, Montana. Wendy received the Apsáalooke name “Baahinnaachísh” or “Baaeétitchish”, meaning “One Who Is Talented” by her family; this name was also bestowed upon her grand-uncle, Clive Francis Dust Sr., known in their family for his creativity as a cultural keeper.
October 2023 Art Lit – Mondrian
October 2023 Art Lit –
Mondrian Geometric Art Project
Born in Amersfoort, Netherlands, he was a Dutch painter and art theoretician who is regarded as one of the great artists of the 20th century. When his father, was appointed head teacher at a local primary school, Mondrian was introduced to art at an early age.
April 2023 Art Lit – Michelangelo
April 2023 Art Lit –
Michelangelo Project
Michelangelo was born near Florence, Italy in 1475, during a time known as the Renaissance. When he was born, his mother was ill so he lived with a foster mother who was the daughter and wife of stonemasons. Michelangelo grew up hearing stone being chiseled and sawed. He lived in just the right place and at the right time. In the 1400s and 1500s, people in Florence were very interested in architecture, painting, poetry and sculpture – all of which Michelangelo contributed to significantly during his lifetime.
March 2023 Art Lit – Munch
March 2023 Art Lit –
Munch Project
Photographs, Edvard Munch (Ed-vhard Muenk) was a Norwegian Expressionist painter and printmaker. He was born in 1863 in Loten – what is now Oslo, Norway.
February 2023 Art Lit – Bruegel
February 2023 Art Lit –
Bruegel Project
Pieter Bruegel was one of the most significant artists of Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting. He was a painter and printmaker, known for his landscapes and peasant scenes (so-called genre painting); he was a pioneer in making both types of subjects the focus of large paintings.
January 2023 Art Lit – Chinese Zodiac
January 2023 Art Lit –
Chinese Zodiac Project
We will learn about some of the art and culture of China. Chinese art is art that comes from China or is made by Chinese artists and performers. We will see how Chinese art is both modern (being made today) and ancient (made long ago), and diverse (there are many different forms).
November 2022 Art Lit – Jen Stark Drip Drawing Project
November 2022 Art Lit –
Jen Stark Drip Drawing Project
Jen was born in 1983 in Miami, Florida, and currently lives in Los Angeles, California. Jen Stark graduated from Maryland Institute College of Art in 2005, majoring in fibers with a minor in animation. She couldn’t afford expensive art supplies, so she experimented with construction paper, which became a hallmark of her style.
October 2022 Art Lit – Berthe Morisot Project
October 2022 Art Lit –
Berthe Morisot Project
Berthe Morisot was born to Edmé Tiburce Morisot and Marie-Joséphine-Cornélie Thomas in Bourges, France, in 1841. A French painter who was the first woman to join French Impressionist painter’s group. She often painted scenes of women and children, using free form brush strokes and harmonizing color combinations.
May 2022 Art Lit – Bonheur Lion Project
Rosa Bonheur was a French artist known best as a painter of animals. She also made sculpture in a realist style.
January 2022 Art Lit – Roy Lichtenstein
Lichtenstein was born and raised in Manhattan, New York. As a painter and sculptor, he was one of the most important figures of the Pop Art movement (Pop artists used “popular” items for subjects such as common, everyday items and images from advertising). Lichtenstein liked to use his art to poke fun at the ideas of art and commercialism.
March 2022 Art Lit – NW Coastal Button Blanket
Students will create felt and button blanket piece in the style of NW Coastal People.
April 2022 Art Lit – Shantell Martin
Shantell Martin is a British visual artist, intuitive philosopher, cultural facilitator, teacher, choreographer, songwriter, performer, and more. Best known for her large scale, black-and-white line drawings, she performs many of her drawings for a live audience.