FROM STAFF REPORTS

Celia Deaton, art teacher for Mt Laurel Elementary School, will be presenting at the National Art Education Association Conference in New Orleans in March. This is the fourth time Deaton has been selected to present at the national conference.

One of her presentations will be on the pop up book curriculum she created specifically for Mt Laurel.

“This is my first year teaching at Mt Laurel, and I wanted to develop a curriculum special and new for them,” she said. “Before we begin each project we read a pop up book that relates to the project. For instance, students are currently working on a jungle drawing based on Henri Rousseau’s artwork.”

Students started the project with a pop-up tunnel book made from one of Rousseau’s paintings and another pop up book on jungle animals. Deaton used the books to demonstrate the art techniques used in drawings – from value to perspective foreground and background.

“The pop-up books immediately grasp the student’s attention,” Deaton said. “They absolutely love them. For my presentation, I will bring my sample pop up books and also show the projects we have created based on them. This is a fabulous way to get books in children’s hands and have them actively engaged in books and art together.”

Deaton’s second presentation will be based on the work of Vik Muniz, who creates paintings using chocolate, dirt and sugar. Deaton will present his work and then give a demonstration of how to paint in chocolate.

Deaton will also be co-presenting with another art teacher from Tennessee. They have developed a presentation specifically aimed for new art teachers, reviewing several major tips for their first year in the classroom