Atascadero Middle School students to create paintings of City Hall with local artist
Students will have architecture drawing lessons from Paso Robles artist Anne Laddon
– In the coming weeks, 270 6th grade students at Atascadero Middle School will create paintings of Atascadero’s Historic City Hall under the guidance and direction of premier local artist Anne Laddon.
AMS 6th grade students will enjoy a 90-minute architecture drawing lesson led by Laddon. The student artists will be drawing the building in groups from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Sunken Garden. The dates are as follows: Nov. 3, Nov. 4, Nov. 9, Nov. 10, and Dec. 2. The students will then take their drawing back to the classroom to add watercolor detail.
“We are lucky to have such an incredible, historic building footsteps away from our school,” says AMS Principal William Wallace. “We are luckier still to have a dedicated team of community volunteers, teachers, and arts education advocates who have made this project possible.”
In advance of the art lesson, the students will receive a tour of city hall, conducted by the Atascadero Historical Society. The tour of the building will provide context about the artwork the students will create. Among other details, the students will learn that the building is a California Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places.
The artist, Anne Laddon, has been a professional artist for over 40 years. In 2007 she founded Studios on the Park in Paso Robles, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing a creative, educational, and transformational experience to enhance understanding and appreciation of the visual arts.
Jenna Hartzell of local company Honey Jo Creative Co. assisted with envisioning and creating the project, as well as producing worksheet materials for the students.
The art supplies for this project are provided by Studios on the Park’s Art Smart program. Since 2011 Studios on the Park has been providing hands-on professional art classes completely free of charge to children in San Luis Obispo County.
