CONGRESSIONAL AWARD WINNER MADISON PLOTKIN

When I was teaching the arts at Whitney 

there was a Congressional Art Competition every year usually around mid-May

that we would sometimes participate in.

It was sponsored by our State Representative Linda Sanchez of the 38th Congressional District 

which represents the city of Norwalk, Ca. and surrounding areas like us in Cerritos. 

The last several years at Whitney we didn't participate because the show was moved up a month

 to mid-April and all the best pieces of art were displayed on the walls of my room for Open House

 and then off I'd send them to the walls of our District Office

 for the Annual District Art Show and Competition.

So a big conflict.

And most often the students weren't interested in making an additional piece just for the competition

(they were kept too busy with their academics, sports, SAT classes and music lessons).

But over the 39  years I was there we did participate many times and won several best of shows.

The best thing about winning is their art piece will hang on the walls of Congress for a year

plus there is a scholarship monetary prize.

And before Covid,

the student and one parental was flown to D.C. to meet with the Congressional Representative

for an awards ceremony which was super special. 

So a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to this years winner,

Whitney High School junior Madison Plotkin,

one of my all-time favorite students.

She came to me as a 7th grader who was naturally gifted in the arts

 and gave me her all on every assignment.

She showed original thought and creativity as well as excellent craftsmanship

(so very important).

A lot of kids have the art ability but never develop their craftsmanship skills till college,

so I encouraged her to come back to me in the 8th grade.

She did and turned out many of the best pieces in that Art I class.

She has a brilliant sense of design as you can see above,

as well a tremendous drive and work ethic.

Also her parents have been extremely supportive of her wanting to become an artist

so she has also had the opportunity to study in an after school Art Academy.

And this summer I'm hoping she will intern at a prestigious gallery in Tustin called Chemers.

Just being around the gallery owner Karen is a rare treat.

Watching Karen organize and put up a show is watching a dynamo in action.

To see more of Madison's work over the years,

put her name in my search engine and read thru all the blog posts she was featured in.

Even though I left Whitney two years ago,

Madison has continued to reach out to me and share her art studies. 

And hopefully next year,

 I will be one of her teachers writing her Letter of Recommendation,

always a huge honor.  

A RETURN TO MY STUDENTS

So, ok, it's March and I need to get busy on another of my resolutions,

and the reason I started this blog,

to feature the art works of my students.

I start with sophomore Madison Plotkin.

Even though I've retired she has kept in touch with what she is learning and making

at her after school art program called Ryman Arts in Fullerton.

Madison was so artistically gifted in the 7th and 8th grade when I worked with her 

that I recommended her to this program at the end of her 8th grade year. 

She is currently in her 3rd Semester there and learning all about Acrylics.

But before that she was focusing on watercolor,

one of her favorite mediums in the 8th grade.

She recently sent these examples of some of her watercolor work,

and I wanted to share them with all of you.

She told me this is her last semester there

and is looking to move on to a summer program to further her skills.

Can't wait to see what this very gifted young one will do next.

I'm thrilled that Madison and her parents are looking

to further her studies in Art outside of her high school.

Our top art colleges in the nation have become extremely competitive,

 so these days the kids need to do everything they can to get additional instruction 

from a variety of exceptional teachers and programs in the Art community.

Sadly this is a very costly venture for the parents 

because many of these programs are expensive.

Good Luck Madison!

We are cheering you on.

FOCUS ON THE NUDE

While in Art School the Figure never came easily for me.

It still doesn't.

But for two of my students,

one past and one present,

 they nail it like the champs they are.

We start with 9th grader Madison Plotkin,

one of the most artistically talented students I've ever had the pleasure to teach;

first in the Art Wheel in her 7th grade year,

then in Beginning 2-D Art last year.

Sadly she couldn't fit in my 2nd level 2-D class this year

(she had to start her Foreign Language)

so after school I recommended the Ryman Arts Program for High Schoolers.

It's an art program connected to USC with an extension campus in Fullerton

which is only about 15 minutes away from our school.

I've sent several of my students there over the years and they have given it great reviews.

Madison is loving it as well.  

She just recently started and is already doing amazing work like you see here.

This was her very first exposure to a live, almost nude model;

a highly uncomfortable situation for a high school freshman I'm sure.

What is so remarkable about this work 

is that not only was she required to draw it on a large scale,

but then she had to completely cover the drawing with Colored Pencil!

I was flabbergasted when she showed me this piece and told me about it.

It's incredibly done Madison and I'm so very proud of you.

What patience and time this must have taken!

And next we have 2018 Alumni Sarah Oh with one of her first live figures,

completely nude in black & white Charcoal.

For any of you out there who have had to be in a Figure Drawing class,

it's one thing to draw from a picture but quite another to work from the real thing.

I think that was part of my problem when I was in college.

It was pretty uncomfortable and I don't think I ever got past that.

So bravo Sarah for dealing with this young man in this 3/4 view.

Three quarter view is the most difficult view to work from

as it is when drawing a 3/4 head portrait.

You've got part of the body and head that is coming at you and is closer than the other parts,

 so you are dealing with foreshortening and perspective.

Also,

for most people,

hands are more easy to draw then feet because we practice hands so much while learning to draw.

What's really challenging is getting the head, hands and feet proportional to the body

as well as getting the arms and legs the right length.

Basically,

it's all hard.

Ha!

Did you know that the average human body is 7 1/2 heads high

compared to a baby that is 3 heads high?

A fun fact.

FOR ONE SO YOUNG...

these are truly remarkable pieces of art.

All three pieces were done by young artster extraordinaire 9th grader Madison Plotkin,

an up and coming superstar.

She created these works for admission to the Ryman School of the Arts,

an off shot of USC's Art Dept. for High School students.

I'm sure they will take one look at these incredible pieces and reel her in.

Good Luck sweet girl!

A VERY SPECIAL PARTNERSHIP

Junior Kiana Sanchez and 8th grader Madison Plotkin recently teamed up 

to write and illustrate a children's book together. 

I feel this post would be more meaningful in their own words,

so I'm letting them write it together.

I, Kiana, had chosen the idea to publish my research on Adolescent Athletes Self Confidence, because playing sports, for me, has been such a roller-coaster of emotions with my self esteem. Once I was published in a Scholarly Journal, I knew I wanted to spread this message, so that teenagers and their parents can learn how to work together to ensure healthy mindsets. To further the understanding of it, I decided to create a children's book. I knew right away that Madison, a super eager artist in my class, would be the one to do the illustrations. Because I know how beautiful her work is, I wanted to give her lots of freedom with this project! Her kind spirit and talent had made me all the more excited for this project. 

I, Madison, had so much fun doing the illustrations for this children's book!  I felt so honored when Kiana asked me to do them, it was a dream come true!  The wonderful and captivating story that she wrote included a lot of action between the characters, with it centralizing around basketball, so I really wanted to capture the movement in each illustration.  With each character being so unique, coming from a different background and culture, I wanted to give each character their own individual page that was vibrant and matched their personalities.  This overall has been such a great experience and I truly appreciate Kiana for asking me to work with her!!!

Madison here!  I think that this one is the illustration that I most enjoyed doing.  I loved how Kiana gave each character a little background information that gives you a sneak peak into their life.  With this one, one of the characters, Sharon, has a really tight bond with her grandmother, Nai Nai Kim.  I pictured that the two would have a lot of fun baking together so I decided for them to be doing just that for this particular illustration.  I also wanted each character to have a pet that you could see interact and have their own little adventure throughout the book.  I thought a guinea pig would be quite fitting for Sharon.   

I, Kiana, am a basketball player for my school's varsity team, so I knew that it was the main sport I wanted to cover in this book. I think Madison perfectly showed the movement of the player as she is dribbling to the hoop to score. Not to mention, the annoyed face on the character under the basketball hoop is exactly how I imagined it. Her illustrations all include so much color and really make the scene lively. I also enjoy all the small details she adds to every piece. This one will be my favorite illustration from the book!

I'm so thrilled to be able to share this remarkable book with it's illustrations.

I can't wait to see it in it's finished form, 

and hope to get it autographed by it's creators.

Know Kiana and Madison that I'm so proud of the both of you,

and thank you for sharing and giving ll of us a preview.

Junior Kiana & 8th grader Madison