First of all, rest assured that the teachings of Art For the Sky are aligned with benchmarks and content standards set by the board of education. The beauty of an Art For the Sky week is how well it dovetails with regular school work AND stimulates the imagination like few things in school can!

     Prior to Art For the Sky week, teachers are encouraged to excite children about a giant art project that is coming to their school that is going to help them learn about what it is like to see from a "birds point of view".  Thousands of years ago in Peru, native people created gigantic figures in the desert like this one below, called the "astronaut."  No one is sure exactly why they did this. There are many theories and you can learn about them via links found on this website. Children love mysteries and this is a big one! You might begin discussions about "perspective." What differences are there in looking at things obliquely and from above, from close-up and from far away, i.e., Earth from space, a leaf through a microscope, etc. What advantages are there to be able to see from above? Why do you think the ancient people of the desert did art that only made sense from the sky. How might this kind of art help us solve our problems today? And finally, why might it be important to use our imaginations to learn to see through the eyes of other species.

     Math teachers may want to begin discussing principles of  "enlarging from scale," a technique used by artists throughout history. Science teachers may want to study the life cycle of the chosen animal or natural form in the design chosen by the school, the environmental problems they face, their history and importance to humans. History teachers can help children examine the role of  symbolism in different cultures.  Art  teachers may choose to look at the unique history of art literally written upon the Earth as geoglyphs and intaglios. Why did the ancients employ this art form and how can this way of art in it's modern context, help us solve problems today? How does sky art demonstrate the power of collaboration

    A wonderful topic to explore is flying dreams. One-third of people have them which suggests that in a way . . . we are already aquatinted with our skysight. It's been said that we only use a small portion of our brains. Could a form of "flight" be locked in inside of us? Children love to explore this topic with art and in writing. One very fun way to begin to help students to learn to shift their perspective is to have them design skysight glasses like those below! Have students cut them out from a pattern, writing messages/affirmations on the inside panels before folding over and coloring/decorating them. This is an empowering way for them to breathe their essence into their intention about awakening their skysight.

"Dude . . . Get your skysight on!"

     If you could spend a whole day being "paint dots" out in a field, look what we could do! Below is a black and white image of President Woodrow Wilson done by an aerial artist named Arthur Mole back in the early 19th century. He used 20,000 soldiers, to make this picture which he took from an 80 foot tower! Amazing isn't it?? He corrected for perspective by grouping all the soldiers much closer together in the distance than up front below his tower so it looks like a portrait on a wall. During these photo shoots it was common for a soldier or two to faint from standing up so long!  We'll only be out in the field for an hour as there won't be nearly as many participants. Aren't you glad?!

      Students can play a part in helping create the design of the image that will be used on the field. To enable this, teachers are asked to supply the students with green colored paper which mimics the grass of the athletic field and then ask children to draw their version of a bird, tree, salmon . . . whatever figure the school has chosen for its design. Unlike the ancients who only used light and dark shades of soil and rocks to color their figures, we have colorful clothing to work with!

     Speaking of green, how green is your school? Do you recycle? Do you have a dishwasher in your cafeteria or do you throw tons of plastic plates away every day? Part of learning to see the big picture with our sky sight is to look at how sustainable our schools are. Check out the wise owl in this super kid friendly sight about helping to make your school ecologically responsible.

     Students should look carefully at the "art for the sky" images on this website to learn about the kind of designs that work on grass with human bodies functioning as "paint." Visit the sky gallery and see the difference the elevation above the image makes.  Very few people have experimented with "human paint drops." Lets explore together.  What kind of image idea can you come up with? More complex design elements can be worked in if one uses material like leaves, recycled cans or paper, thrift shop clothing, etc..

     Students interested in photography, video or journalism have a unique opportunity to play a part in the documentation of our Sky Art project. We are happy to provide assistance in these areas as requested. The local paper always shows up to take photographs and conduct student interviews providing unique interactions with the media world.

"Good Luck! Have Fun!"