Collaborative Hope Mural  (Work In Progress) 

Cedar Road School - Commack, NY 

The Cedar Road School is a program designed for students who struggle with anxiety, depression, school phobia, emotional vulnerability and school avoidance.  The program follows the NYS Common Core Curriculum and students will graduate with a Commack High School Diploma.  For our lesson, we created a collaborative, large scale mural outside of the counseling office. The mural will include a quote about "Hope."

NYS Arts Standards - Visual Arts 

VA:Cr1.1.HSI–III – Use multiple approaches to begin creative endeavors.

• Students contribute ideas for color, style, imagery, or execution within an existing mural plan.

VA:Cr2.1.HSI–III – Individually or collaboratively develop and document artistic ideas and work.

• Students follow a structured mural design, plan their sections, and ensure cohesion.

VA:Cr2.2.HSI–III – Demonstrate awareness of ethical responsibility and the safe use of materials, tools, and equipment.

• Students safely handle paints, ladders, and shared materials as they execute the mural.

VA:Cr3.1.HSI–III – Engage in constructive critique, then apply evaluations to refine artwork.

• Students revise individual sections to maintain consistency and craftsmanship across the mural.

VA:Pr5.1.HSI–III – Evaluate, select, and apply methods for preparing and refining artwork for presentation.

• Students prepare the final mural surface, refine edges, and clean up for display.

VA:Pr6.1.HSI–III – Make, explain, and justify connections between presenting artwork and the viewer’s experience.

• Students articulate the meaning of the mural and its intended impact on the school community.

VA:Re7.1.HSI–III – Analyze how responses to art develop based on knowledge and context.

• Students analyze peer work within the mural’s theme, style, and context.

VA:Re9.1.HSI–III – Establish and apply relevant criteria to evaluate artwork.

• Students create criteria (unity, craftsmanship, clarity) and evaluate their contributions and group work.

VA:Cn10.1.HSI–III – Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experience to create art.

• Students infuse personal expression within a unified community concept.

VA:Cn11.1.HSI–III – Relate artistic ideas and works to societal, cultural, and historical contexts.

• Students examine the role of murals in communities and connect their work to a broader purpose (school identity, SEL, diversity, hope, etc.).

Thermographic Self-Portraits

Studio Art

Students will use technology to generate a thermographic color palette and apply it to a proportional self-portrait by blending warm and cool colored pencils through layering and burnishing to create smooth temperature transitions that communicate mood or emotion, while documenting their creative process through sketches, practice blending, and written reflection.

NYS Arts Standards – Visual Arts

• VA:Cr1.1.I - Use multiple approaches to begin creative endeavors.
  Students experiment with selfies, color palettes, heat-map references, and preliminary sketches to initiate their artwork.

• VA:Cr2.1.I - Engage in making a work of art or design without having a preconceived plan, using problem-solving and experimentation.
  Students test blending, burnishing, and warm/cool transitions, adjusting their approach as they work.

• VA:Cr2.3.I - Use technology to explore and experiment with art-making processes.
  Students use digital tools to generate thermographic color palettes and explore temperature mapping before creating the final portrait.

• VA:Re7.1.I - Hypothesize ways in which art influences perception and understanding of human experiences.
  Students analyze how color affects emotion, mood, and meaning within thermographic imagery and portraiture.

• VA:Cn10.1.I - Document the process of developing ideas from early stages to fully elaborated artworks.
  Students record their creative process through reference photos, practice worksheets, sketches, blending tests, and final reflections.