Nuria Martinez believes traditional cultures and environmental education can provide building blocks for a vibrant art program. At Bolinas-Stinson School, where she works as the lead art teacher, students rotate in small groups through four art shops, learning everything from wood and stone carving to jewelry-making, ceramics, painting and 3-D printing. A new environmental education curriculum intersects with studies of traditional cultures.
Last month, the district received an award for its exemplary visual arts program from the California Art Educators Association, and this month the Bolinas Museum will feature work from each student as part of its yearly school exhibition. The show opens Saturday.
Ms. Martinez said the recognition from state educators reflects the priority her district places on the arts. “I have never worked in a program with resources like the ones we have here,” she said.
Though Ms. Martinez is the only certified visual arts teacher, she has support from three other instructors. Oliver Whitcroft oversees the woodshop, Janis Yerington is the painting and drawing specialist and Carlos Lopez-Alvarado, himself a graduate from the district, is the ceramics
specialist.
Last year, the school started an environmental education matrix wherein each grade focuses on an aspect of the environment and applies it to their work in the arts. Kindergarteners explore habitats, flora and fauna; first graders learn about adaptations in nature; second graders learn how the land and water interact with each other; third graders learn about how environmental changes impact what can live and thrive in an area; fourth graders are taught about weathering and erosion; fifth graders learn about freshwater as an essential resource; and sixth through eighth graders investigate environmental protection.
In creating this new curriculum, Ms. Martinez said that the school sought opportunities for learning that were experiential and representative of the school’s vision. “It connects disciplines and the community,” she said.
Students relay great appreciation for their town and the world around it, from the lagoon and mountains to the vast Pacific Ocean. “It feels like a home year-round,” said Cody Onorato, a second grader. “Even when it’s packed with tourists in the summer, it’s a locals’ town.”
The art program, established by Harriet Kossman in 1970, has long been a beacon for the arts in Marin. July Guzman, a Bolinas native and senior at the Rhode Island School of Design, said the program was instrumental in his evolution as an artist. “The abundance of resources that the school provided was so great,” he said.
In a class with just eight or 10 people, Mr. Guzman said the experience of community was ingrained into his work. Ms. Martinez, who has taught at the school for 11 years, was also key, he said.
“Nuria was definitely a huge inspiration and I just remember she would come up to me and give me pointers even when we weren’t in class,” said Mr. Guzman, whose work, which often features reflections of Bolinas, was exhibited in Miami last month during Art Basel. “Every time I look back, it makes me feel so grateful.”
Ms. Martinez used to work in the Oakland Unified School District, teaching multiple subjects in a bilingual classroom. There was no art program. She began integrating artwork into the daily routine using the resources she had—paper, cardboard, colored pencils and paint that she supplied.
“We had fifth graders who had never used watercolors before,” she said.
Now, thanks to a supportive community, an administration that prioritizes the arts and a relatively wealthy district, her resources are plentiful.
The art studio has four rooms, and on its walls and shelves sit oil paintings, woven baskets, papier mâché, stained glass and a cornucopia of colorful works by students. On a recent morning, a red gas can transformed into a crab with googly eyes and paper mâché claws stood in the foyer of the main studio. The creature was created from garbage collected from the beach by students who were not only learning about the environment, but also about being resourceful when it comes to art.
On one table lay four yarn paintings crafted by second graders. The dolphin, starfish, bird and elephant seal, made from bright blues, yellows and oranges, were a play on a 19th-century tradition from Mexico called “Huichol,” named after the Indigenous people who created it. Nearby stood carvings of animals made from soap, soapstone and wood. Ms. Martinez said the materials present different levels of difficulty, and younger students start with the soap bars or the soapstone, rubbing them against the ground to create arrowheads before moving on to wood.
Ms. Martinez said she provides students with materials and an objective, but allows their imagination to control the direction of their work. “We come up with a lesson plan and have a main goal, but they have a lot of opportunity to choose materials,” she said. “And once they get to middle school, they can choose their own art electives.”
The students have no shortage of inspiration, and it’s not always from the natural world. Clutching a vintage copy of “Skeleton Crew” by Stephen King, Emrys Evans, an eighth grader, said he draws inspiration from science fiction books and television shows, sketching and sculpting the monsters he reads about. He is currently learning TinkerCAD, an online 3D modeling program that can render objects for 3D printing.
During recess, 11-year-old Isaias Garzia ran across the soccer field, tossing a homemade parachute into the air. The parachute deployed at its peak and slowly dropped back into his hands before he carefully wrapped it back up and tossed it up again. Six strings attached the parachute to a piece of loose-leaf paper wrapped around coins, which acted as a weight. When Isaias threw the parachute, a slider glided up from the weight to the chute, holding the lines together and steadying the opening of the chute.
“I made dimensions,” he said. “A 12-by-12 square [for the main chute], and then I divided it in half to make the other parts of the parachute.” Using multiplication, Mr. Garzia knew he had to use 24 pieces of string, six on each side of the chute, to achieve the proper weight distribution.
Last month’s award from the California Art Educators Association recognizes outstanding public school visual arts programs at the state level. The 2022 Exemplary Visual Arts Program Award celebrated Bolinas-Stinson for integrating local community resources, including the Bolinas Museum, which hosts an annual art exhibition by the students, the Marin County Free Library and local artists. Ms. Martinez said the process of applying took many months and involved making a short documentary, which the students narrated.
In partnership with the Marin County Office of Education, the Bolinas Museum is inviting kids from around the county to see the exhibit and is organizing free busing. The exhibit is free for all, said Heather Mickley, the exhibitions associate at the museum. A reception will take place next Saturday, Jan. 21 from 2 to 4 p.m. The exhibition will show until through Jan. 29.