Sallie Lanham

Sallie, an accomplished painter and teacher in Frankfort. She has been an art teacher, graphic designer and art director with work reproduced in publications nationally.

Her work has been exhibited in juried shows: Lexington Art League-Kentucky/Equador Partners-Language of the Land, Fine Art of Fine Wine and Masterpieces of Maturity, Kentucky Watercolor Society’s-Totally Transparent, Chicago Northwest Arts Council-Women’s Works, Kentucky Arts Council’s-Kentucky Visions, and Frankfort Arts Foundation’s-Arts Showcases.

She received a fellowship to Virginia Center for Creative Arts sponsored by the Kentucky Foundation for Women. Her awards include 1st Place-Capital Expo Art Festival, Grand Champion Art-Franklin County Fair, and many others.

Residency Designed for Grades 3 or 8
Childrens’ lives are dominated by motion pictures, television, computer games, news photographs, advertising images and illustrations all designed to elicit a reaction and influence their behavior. My project will enable students with the skills to express their own ideas through creating art.

Developing skills in the structures of creating art will instill an appreciation for art as a tool for self-expression. Once children learn to observe within the context of creative expression they can share their ideas and emotions through art as a form of structured communication. These goals are compatible with the guidelines of the Kentucky Core Content.

The teaching format will follow this procedure.
We will begin by teaching the children the art of observation—developing the desire to see more of what is around them through hands-on experiences. They will learn to recognize color, texture, line, shape, emphasis, repetition, movement and light as it exists in the natural and man made world.

Next we will cover the basic principles of drawing, to include line, shape and perspective in preparation for moving on to painting portraits. This will include brief reviews of a history of the art of various cultures demonstrated through visual examples consistent with what the teachers are currently teaching .

Next we will have exercises in painting technique. They will become familiar with the definitions of art terms, the painting medium and its tools. I will demonstrate these techniques in preparation for their own painting exercises.

The students are now ready to begin painting. We will have a brief review of the art of observation and I will provide visual aids as examples to stimulate their creative thinking. Paintings will be created on large boards measuring approximately 30” x 22”. This age group is typically looking for adult approval, so this large format is important to aid in ridding the children of these inhibitions to unleashing their own creative spirit.

The project will culminate in an art exhibit of the childrens’ works incorporating a gallery talk where each student will discuss his creation.

Parents will be invited to attend the art show as a way of encouraging parental involvement and encouraging positive feedback to their children and grand children. There is no better way to advocate for arts education and arts in education than to support these children as they progress.