Sixty-Eight Rooms: Art in Miniature

Posted on 25. Jul, 2010 by Guest Author in All Posts, Books

The following is a guest post written by Samantha Melvin.  She teaches elementary art and music integrating across the curriculum in Burnet, Texas.

Good Things Come in Small Packages. It is such fun to come across a book that our elementary-aged students can read that have ideas for visual arts lessons built right into the story. The Sixty-Eight Rooms by Marianne Malone does just that. It is a fantasy tale, perfect for 2nd-6th graders, about the Thorne Rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago.

In our story, Jack and Ruthie go on a field trip to the Art Institute of Chicago and see the Thorne Rooms for the first time.  Jack discovers a key while on a separate special tour with one of the museum guards. The key leads Jack and Ruthie to discovering much more about the sixty-eight rooms! These exquisite rooms, whose design represents the style of a different era and place, were commissioned by Narcissa Niblack Thorne.  The artists and master craftsmen created each using only the finest materials. They were built using 1 inch to 1 foot scale. Even the doorknobs turn, and the desk drawers open, truly representing design in miniature. Our characters discover that the key is really a magic key, which transforms the person holding it into a miniature version of him or herself. We live vicariously as they walk into these rooms and step back in time to pre-revolutionary France, or to late seventeenth century America. By connecting with artworks mentioned in the story including Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze, we can demonstrate the link between history and art. In this case, Jack and Ruthie realize that they landed in France prior to its revolution, that had been partially inspired by the American’s fight for freedom from British rule.

Kupjack Georgian Dining Room

18th Century Violin Makers Shop

Not all of us can travel to the Art Institute of Chicago to visit this wonderful collection. However there are other museums around the country that also have a connection to Thorne’s incredible legacy. The Knoxville Museum of Art, in Knoxville, TN, holds a collection of Thorne Rooms. These represent some of the earliest of her works. The Mini-Time Machine Museum of Miniatures in Tucson, AZ is a museum dedicated to miniatures. In its fantastic collection, one can find the Kupjack Georgian Dining Room, an example of work by one of Thorne’s primary artists, Eugene Kupjack. The Phoenix Art Museum also holds 20 examples of the Thorne Rooms.

Make curricular connections:

Drawing & Math
Connect this wonderful fantasy to the creativity of our students by asking them to design their own “Contemporary Interior” where they design a room, using 1 inch to 1 foot scale, representing their place and time. Either using one-point perspective in drawing, or photomontage from magazines, the design of their own space would be a fascinating view of our 21st Century world from a child’s point of view.

Sculptural Paper Folding & Math
Jack and Ruthie, our adventurous 6th grade characters, go to school together in a Chicago neighborhood. In the opening chapter, Jack shows a bento box that he brought for lunch to school. Ruthie had never seen anything like it, and your students may not have either! Integrate a wonderful paper folding lesson, that implements measurement and folding for creating the bento box, and using paper folding and sculpture for the food.  There is a wonderful example in the Thorne Rooms collection of Japanese architecture and design known as the Japanese Traditional Interior that would connect wonderfully with this lesson.

The Sixty-Eight Rooms is a wonderful addition to any book or art club looking to connect literature with art. The magical tale would be a great read-aloud in the art classroom, leading to specific art projects that make children think about their enviroments and design.

Special Thanks to the Mini-Time Machine Museum of Miniatures in Tucson, AZ for permission to publish the photographs of works in their collection, both taken by Balfour Walker. The museum can be found on Twitter at @tucsonmuseum Thanks to Nancy Walker for sharing her Bento Box lesson as well. Photos of teacher samples are from the Center for Educator Development in Fine Arts Summit XI Elementary Sessions hosted by Samantha Melvin and Nancy Walkup.

Blogs That Promote Unconventional Discussion

Posted on 06. May, 2009 by Hillary Andrlik + Theresa McGee in All Posts, Art Games, Books, Tech Stuff, Technology and Gadgets

SchoolArtsWe were thrilled to see The Teaching Palette as a featured blog in the May/June issue of SchoolArts Magazine!  If you missed the article, “Building Your Personal Learning Network, Part 2,” by Craig Roland, you can read it here.

Like an artist that visits a museum for inspiration, we visit blogs to challenge our teaching and thought process.  Put simply, a blog is like a living website; it continually digests and shares information.  Considering our forum, we thought it might be appropriate to add to the SchoolArts list of blog resources:

There are some amazing art classroom blogs certainly worth exploring out there, so please list yours or any you follow in the comments area below!

Art Education Resource blogs:

Art Inspiring Blogs:

  • Esty – that place where artists sell their stuff has a “Handmade Blog” too.  Great inspiration for art projects.
  • Vi.sualize.us Inspiration in Imagery.
  • Hongkiat Great for digital media and Photoshop users.
  • Museum 2.0 The name says it all.
  • WebUrbanist Great alternative art and architecture.

General Education blogs:  (because we are all in this education thing together)

Blogs are most useful when you are notified that new information has posted; either through RSS feed or via email.  Keep up with new postings on The Teaching Palette by clicking here.

Review: Bubble Gum Artist

Posted on 25. Nov, 2008 by Theresa McGee in All Posts, Books, Reviews

Book Title: Lester Fizz, Bubble-Gum Artist

Author: Ruth Spiro

Grade Levels: K-8

Category: Books, Art History, Teaching Resource

Product Review: I was introduced to Lester Fizz, Bubble-Gum Artist at an art education conference and couldn’t wait to bring him back to my classroom! 

The story describes a fictional young artist, Lester Fizz, a dreadfully unsuccessful painter.  His life was changed when Uncle Edgar (yes, draw the art history reference) introduced him to a three-dimensional world.  Filled with wonderful references to famous art and artists, Lester’s bubble-gum blowing skills transform into pink sculptural masterpieces.

My students were completely engaged throughout the story as they listened to the clever writing and studied the fabulous illustrations.  On the author’s website, you can find an activity guide, artist word search and bubble gum fun facts to reinforce learning and make curriculum connections.

Bucket Rating (out of 5):

(5) Love it! Need it! Gotta have it now!

(5) Love it! Need it! Gotta have it now!

Click here to learn more about the bucket rating system or to submit your own review.