About GRCC
Interurban Center for the Arts
More than 15,000 children received monthly art lessons last year through the Interurban Center for the Arts. Our 500 (plus) volunteer art docents presented art lessons and hands-on art projects in classrooms in the 37 schools participating in our Art Docent Program! Art,kids, volunteerism - this is a "feel good" program no matter how you look at it. Sponsored by the Green River Community College Foundation, the Interurban Center for the Arts (ICA) administers the Interurban Art Docent Program. This non-profit visual arts outreach program provides volunteers with the training and material they need to present high quality visual arts programs in local elementary schools. Among the resources available to member schools are:
- An extensive collection of large Master and Ethnic prints representing a diverse array of art styles
- biographical information on the artists
- information on the various schools of art represented in the collection
- samples of success-oriented projects and lessons linked to the individual prints
- a library of Art History, Art Appreciation and Art Reference material
- training and support for volunteer Docents
Art Research Sites
DOCENT/PROGRAM SUPPORT
Table of Contents for Art Docent Documents
ART PROJECTS/LESSONS
Incredible @rt Department
Lessons by Grade Level, Art Period, Medium, Artist, Subject
Art lessons, art history, project ideas
Step-by-step lessons in techniques
Registration is easy and free. Search by Media, Curriculum, Grades, Theme. Also find printable coloring sheets.
ART EDUCATION LINKS
Search 8,000 artists, art history, art movements
Tons of information on all types of art terms
Forvo - Pronunciation guide to Artist's names and art terms
Adventures in Art History
Search for books by artist or subject
(select Visual Arts and go to page 187)
Picturing America Image Gallery
Search for books by artist or subject
ART SUPPLIES (check with your school secretary to see if your school uses KCDA)
School art supplies and reference materials
School art supplies at reasonable prices
School art supplies at good prices
Art Walks
Take advantage of the opportunity to see what is happening on the art scene at our participating schools’ Art Walks and Gallery Nights.
- Lake View Elementary
16401 SE 318th
Auburn, WA 98092
Friday, February 1, 2013
6:30 PM - Ridgewood Elementary
18030 162nd Place SE
Renton, WA 98058
Friday, February 1, 2013 - Enterprise Elementary
35101 SW 5th Avenue
Federal Way, WA 98023
Thursday, March 14, 2013
6:00 - 7:30 pm - Grass Lake Elementary
28700 191st Place SE
Kent, WA 98042
Thursday, March 14, 2013
6:30 - 8:00 pm - Liberty Ridge Elementary
12202 209th Ave Ct E
Bonney Lake, WA 98391
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
6:00 PM - Mt. View Elementary
3411 119th Avenue East
Edgewood, WA 98372
Thursday, April 25, 2013
6:00 - 8:00 PM - Covington Elementary
17070 SE Wax Road
Covington, WA 98042
Friday, April 26, 2013
6:00 - 8:00 PM - Meridian Elementary 10th Annual Art Walk
25621 140th Avenue SE
Kent, WA 98042
Friday, May 3, 2013
6:00 - 8:30 PM - Daffodil Valley
1509 Valley Avenue
Sumner, WA 98390
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
6:00 PM - Victor Falls Elementary
11401 188th Ave Ct E
Bonney Lake, WA 98391
Thursday, May 16, 2013
6:30 PM - East Hill Elementary
9825 South 240th
Kent, WA 98031
Friday, May 17, 2013
6:00 PM - Meeker Elementary
409 Fifth Street SW
Puyallup, WA 98371
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
6:30 - 8:00 PM - Glacier Park Elementary Art Auction
23700 SE 280th
Maple Valley, WA 98038
Thursday, May 23, 2013
5:30 PM - Lake Wilderness Elementary
24216 Witte Road SE
Maple Valley, WA 98038
Thursday, May 23, 2013
6:00 PM - Jenkins Creek Elementary
26915 186th Ave SE
Kent, WA 98042
Friday, June 7, 2013
5:00 PM - Northwood Elementary
9805 24th Street East
Edgewood, WA 98371
Sometime in May; still working on a date
For Docents
Training Opportunities
Remember that all new presenters are required to attend a "Basic Training" workshop. These workshops are offered at no additional cost to participating schools. Docents will also benefit from attending the "Projects! Projects!" workshops (a $5 donation for materials is appreciated.) Pre-registration is required to hold your spot for all workshops. The workshops are held each year in the fall.
For more information on any of the workshops presented below, please contact Mary Ellen Bowers at (253) 833-9111, ext. 2735.
- Registration will open for these workshops on September 14, 2012. Reservations are required for all workshops.
- Join our Art Docent Contact List to sign up for a reminder email regarding workshop registration, upcoming trainings and special events.
Our members enjoy a variety of training workshops; there are three different categories of workshops our volunteers can attend:
Basic Training - FREE!
- We require all of our new docents to attend one Basic Training session. Basic Training teaches docents how to use program materials; engage students in art discussions; link art principles and concepts to hands-on projects; organize for improved classroom management and address visual arts EALRs with in-class projects.
- Projects, Projects! - Fall 2011
- We highly recommend that docents attend at least one day of this high energy workshop.
- Our Projects! Projects! Classes are taught by 6 experienced docents who provide hands-on training with each project. Each project takes approximately 20 minutes to complete - making it ideal for in-class presentation.
- Docents who attend both days come away with 12 project samples they can use in the classroom.
- We ask for a $5 donation to cover supplies.
Techniques
Workshops (low-cost; price varies by presenter.). These special interest workshops are mini-courses in art production. Past workshops have included working with clay, watercolor, acrylic paints, etc.
- Tues. April 2, 2013 - Print Making! (back by popular demand) - REGISTER HERE
Lela Brugger
10:00am - 12:00pm
Green River Main Campus, Auburn
- Thurs. May 9, 2013 - TBA - REGISTER HERE
10:00am - 12:00pm
Green River Main Campus, Auburn
- The full schedule will be published in October, updates will be sent to those on our Art Docent Contact List
- Travel Directions
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- Green River Main Campus: 12401 SE 320th Street, Auburn, WA 98092. See the box half-way down on the page; enter your starting address to get specific driving directions from your location.
- Shuttle from Pacific Raceway - For daytime classes only: Our campus parking lots get very full. Check out our clean, convenient shuttle service from Pacific Raceway - located off Highway 18 at the 304th Street exit.
Giving to the ICA
You can help us provide quality visual arts programming to local elementary school children
The Green River Community College Foundation established the Interurban Center for the Arts Endowment designed to help support the Art Docent Program as a non-profit arts organization serving citizens within its boundaries.
If you have questions about the Interurban Center for the Arts or your donation, please telephone us at Green River Community College, (253) 833-9111, ext. 2735 or 3382.
Your donation of:
- $25 provides program support for 10 students for one school year.
- $60 provides program support for an entire classroom for the school year.
- $250 provides program support for an entire grade level in one of our member schools for the school year.
Local Museums
- Bellevue Arts Museum
- Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
On the UW campus at 17th Avenue NE and NE 45th Street
The museum is responsible for Washington State collections of natural history and cultural heritage, and for sharing the knowledge that makes them meaningful.
(Free Admission-First Thursday of Every Month) - Children's Museum of Tacoma
- Frye Art Museum
(206) 622-9250
704 Terry Ave,
Seattle WA, 98104
(Always Free)
Emphasis on painting and sculpture from the nineteenth century to the present. - Hands On Children's Museum
- Henry Art Gallery
University of Washington
15th Ave NE & NE 41st St.
Box 351410
Seattle, WA 98195-1410
(Free Thursdays 5-8 p.m.)
The art museum of the University of Washington, is a nationally-recognized center for the exploration of visual culture and is the Pacific Northwest's premier modern and contemporary art museum. - Museum of Glass
1801 East Dock Street
Tacoma, WA 98402-3217
Phone (253) 284-4750 (Pierce County only)
or 1-866-4-MUSEUM
Free Third Thursday of each month 5 to 8 p.m. - Seattle's Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI)
The Museum of History & Industry is currently closed, will reopen in a new building on December 29, 2012. - Seattle Art Museum, Downtown
100 University Street - Seattle, WA 98101-2902
(206) 654-3100
(Free Admission-First Thursday of Every Month) - Seattle Asian Art Museum
Volunteer Park
1400 East Prospect Street
Seattle, WA 98112-3303
(206) 654-3100
Admission to the Seattle Asian Art Museum is free on the first Thursday and the first Saturday of every month. - Tacoma Art Museum
1701 Pacific Avenue in downtown Tacoma.
Third Thursday of each month - FREE 5pm-8pm
(253) 272-4258
Tacoma Art Museum has built a permanent collection that includes works from world-renown artists such as Mary Cassatt, Jean Baptiste, Camille Corot, Dale Chihuly, Edgar Degas, Robert Henri, Edward Hopper, Jacob Lawrence, Fay Jones, Robert Rauschenberg, Pierre August Renoir, John Singer Sargent, Everett Shinn and Andrew Wyeth.
Role of the Schools
Schools using our full program receive enough large prints and research information for each classroom to have an art presentation once per month for eight months. The schools (usually through their PTA or PTO) provide the art supplies (paint, paper, etc.) used in the program.
The art presenters, referred to as art docent volunteers, are recruited from within the school. There must be at least four art docents committed to the program before the school will be considered for placement in the program. Most volunteers are parents, grandparents and community volunteers who have taken specific training from the Interuban Center for the Arts. The art docents learn basic art concepts to teach the children as well as classroom management skills and information on reading the state's Arts Standards for use in their lessons. They have also learned how to present an art project that will reinforce the concepts they have discussed with the children. The "Basic Training" is presented by the Interurban Center for the Arts at no cost to the school or the art docents.
The program fee is $175 per year for the full program or $100 for affiliate membership*. Fees are sometimes provided by the school budget, but most often are paid by the school's parent/teacher association.
A letter of agreement is signed by the school principal, the art docent chairman, and the Interurban Center director. This letter includes the responsibilities the school, the art docents, and the Center have assumed. There are no additional fees for the program, provided all materials are returned in good condition at the end of the school year. There are penalties for lost or damaged materials.
Experience has taught us that volunteers in our program take a responsible role in maintaining the materials, and seldom are materials permanently lost or seriously damaged.
Art lessons may be observed by the Interurban Center for the Art's staff. Observations are coordinated between the art chairman, the Interurban Center for the Arts and the classroom teacher with the approval of school administration.
We also ask teachers to return a short questionnaire each year expressing their experience with the art docent in their classroom.
*Affiliate Membership: Some schools have an established art education program in place and desire the additional support of the Interurban Center for the Arts to train and motivate their art volunteers. These schools may elect to sign up as an Affiliate Member school. Affiliate Members do not borrow any of the materials (prints, biographical packets or project samples, etc.) but are welcome to attend training workshops and other special events (museum visits, etc.).