In his unique position as teacher and artist in the classroom, Mr. Pierce integrated his KSMoCA artist residency into the first grade curriculum, working primarily with the seventeen students in his morning class. First he began with a lesson on and a demonstration of the principles of the color wheel. Each student received a blank color wheel on which they labeled the location of the primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. (A color wheel is a visual representation of colors arranged in a circle, showing their relationships to one another.) A few days later, the students added the primary and secondary colors to their wheels, with help from their mentors from Portland State University. 

In a follow up workshop, the students created their own paint color that reflected an emotion or topic on their minds. The mentors helped the students write down their thoughts on worksheets that Mr. Pierce created, each of them naming their color, painting a sample of it, and then describing how it made them feel. Not only did this process connect them to thinking like an artist but also to the literacy curriculum. Each student poured their finished paint color into a small plastic container labeled with their first name. In a workshop the following week, they painted their personal color onto their section of raw canvas. Mentors assisted the students, some of whom used brushes while others used Mr. Pierce’s method of using common materials on hand; in this case, cardboard cut into rectangles for applying paint in wide strokes. 

The following week, Mr. Pierce led a workshop on coming up with subject matter for the paintings. Students drafted their drawings using large sheets of paper divided into three vertical sections and then drew inside them using oil pastels. In the first panel, each student depicted a personal strength. The second panel was designated for an important person in their life and the third panel was for a treasured place or thing. A few days later, the students drew their images on the painted canvases with support from their mentors. During the final workshop with Mr. Pierce during class, they discussed what to name each of their paintings and wrote their artist statements for the exhibition wall labels.

Over 300 students from different grades gathered in the school gymnasium for Pierce’s artist talk. His first grade students joined him on stage and together they answered questions from the audience. Every attendee received a copy of a small magazine about Pierce that was created by Portland State University students. After the talk, Pierce and his students gave visitors tours of the exhibit. Families, classmates, school staff, and members of the public were all invited to attend and celebrate.

Installation documentation

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