Welcome to Our New Decatur Art Gallery! https://sites.google.com/cps.edu/decatur-art-gallery-2021-2022/home
Margaret Koreman Bio
This is Margaret Koreman's sixth year as the visual arts teacher at Decatur Elementary. Mrs. Koreman has a Master's Degree in Art Education from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she served on the teaching faculty. Mrs. Koreman regularly supports regional art education programs by hosting and mentoring student teachers. She regularly presents professional workshops on teaching practices at conferences for the Illinois Art Education Association (IAEA), the National Art Education Association (NAEA), and various local and regional organizations.
Mrs. Koreman helped establish the art education program at Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art and recently completed Intuit's 2022 teacher fellowship. Mrs. Koreman currently serves on the board of Chicago Arts Partnership in Education (CAPE).
Mrs. Koreman’s teaching practice focuses on contemporary art and a multi-media approach. Her enthusiasm for the Chicago art community has led to numerous partnerships that expose students to local arts organizations and resources through field trips and workshops that examine how art impacts our neighborhoods.
Connection
The big idea in the art room this year is Connection between the art community and the natural environment. We explore how nature has and will continue to play a role in the art curriculum, inspiring observational drawings, designing with living plant materials that can enhance calm, inspiring our senses, creating beauty, and teaching us how to care for our earth.
This summer, I was fortunate to visit the Tate Modern in London and explore this unique contemporary art museum firsthand. In addition to their permanent collection, I toured an exhibition featuring the art of Hima af Klint. Nature served as an inspirational force for af Klint throughout her life. In her words, "Every time I succeed in finishing one of my sketches, my understanding of humanity, animals, plants, minerals, of the entire creation becomes clearer. "
The Tate Modern has been a tremendous inspiration for my teaching practices. I have enjoyed using their website Tate Kids to help my students learn about artists from around the world and get a better understanding of why people make art. While I was visiting Tate Modern I was also able to see the interactive art installation Zero to Infinity by Rasheed Araeen. This installation captivated people of all ages and brought them together to use their imagination and creativity, demonstrating how this exceptional museum serves artists of all ages.
Posts
Third and Fourth Grade students have been looking to Elma Thomas for inspiration on how to use patterns and build layers when painting.
Decatur fifth graders are choosing a color theory to create abstract paintings in the art room. Color is everywhere, and students experimenting with the subtle change of each color increases the intensity of their mixing.
Decatur students answered the question: How do you use your imagination? Their results were fantastic!
Seventh and eighth-grade students are practicing shading In the art studio.
Students learning to self-reflect when making art is a valuable part of the process.
Fifth-Grade Students Enjoying the Opportunity to Collaborate in the Art Room!
Kindergarteners started painting this week. They loved seeing the various ways a line can form a composition!
This week 7th and 8th-grade students were taking advantage of the beautiful weather by drawing from observation in front of Decatur School!
Welcome Back Decatur Students to the New Art Studio!
Decatur students begin the school year by using games to bring in chance and unpredictability to help them use their imagination when confronted with unusual problems.
