The Jerome J. Crowley Community Gallery

Lesson Starters: A Resource Room
March 8 - May 11, 2008

(Images featured on the website are in '2D Into 3D Lesson Starters')

This exhibition, entitled Lesson Starters: A Resource Room, highlights a unique educational program, Lesson Starters, initiated by the SBRMA for local educators and uses the museum’s own art works as models for learning about and teaching art in all classroom disciplines.  This display of works is a companion show to Made In America: Historical and Contemporary Works from the SBRMA Collection.

 
Designed by Jessica Loyd, the education curator at the SBRMA, she describes that program and the three 50-page workbooks that comprise Lesson Starters as, “appetizers before a meal, designed to whet the imagination and inspire teachers to create lessons that incorporate visual artwork and the visual literacy skill that promote thoughtful arts inquiry.  These collections offer a new realm of possibility for lesson planning and design.  Distinct from fully detailed lesson plans, Lesson Starters inspire teachers to create lessons that integrate the visual arts and potentially multiple other content areas.'  There are four sections in each workbook: 1) A Visual Literacy guide, 2) Art Project, 3) Art Concept, 4) Curriculum Connections.   Each section is designed to provide access to the artwork to teachers with any level of artistic ability, visual literacy skill, and content area knowledge. 

In honor of local teachers, the SBRMA invites all educators to Teacher Night on April 1, 2008, 6-8 p.m. At which time special tours of current Spring exhibitions will be going on, teachers will be given the newly published 2D into 3D Lesson Starters, and refreshments will be provided. As a gift of appreciation, each teacher will leave with a bag full of goodies.  United Art and Education will be on site doing art activities and prizes will be given. This event is free of charge and open to all educators (public, private, home school) in the community.

All Lesson Starters are available on CD to any educator free of charge, to request a copy please call Jessica Loyd at 574.235.9102.

Pastel, Not Chalk: Northern Indiana Pastel Society Exhibition
June 7 - September 7, 2008
Opening Reception and awards ceremony is Friday, June 6, 2008, 5:00 - 7:30 p.m. 

The popular art medium of soft pastel takes the spotlight in June when the Northern Indiana Pastel Society puts 40 works on display at the South Bend Regional Museum of Art’s Community Gallery. The show will be juried by noted pastel artist and author Richard McDaniel of Santa Rosa, Calif.  This will be McDaniel’s first visit to South Bend since 1984 when he got his master’s of fine arts degree from Notre Dame.

The Northern Indiana Pastel Society was formed in the spring of 2006 and has grown to 70 members, including many award-winning artists from northern Indiana and southern Michigan. The show will feature portraits, still-life and landscapes as well as some surprises.  Most surprising may be the range of work that artists can produce using this powerful and vibrant medium. Pastel is powdered pigment, rolled into sticks and held together by a non-greasy binder. It can be blended or left with visible strokes and lines. When framed under glass, pastel is the most permanent of all media, for it never cracks, darkens or yellows.

This exhibition is supported by Lexus of Mishawaka.