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Opening Minds through the Arts

Opening Minds through the Arts | 2025 E. Winsett, Tucson, AZ 85719 | (520) 225-4900

OMA Showcase

Student Artwork

Grijalva 3rd Grade Artwork

We are the Grijalva Grizzlies! During this OMA lesson, the third through fifth grade classes at Grijalva explored wonderful landscape paintings by Albert Bierstadt (SAAM). His work in the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains are prime examples of a Grizzly Bear’s habitat.

Students investigated bear artifacts like a real brown bear skull and fur sample (available for teachers to borrow from the EMC) and learned all about a Grizzly Bear’s diet and habits. Students created their own mixed media landscapes including everything a Grizzly Bear would need to survive. Students used their imaginations to add their personal touches like a bridge across the river, or a burrowing bunny!

The three works shown here were created by a few of my very talented third grade artists: Layla Tapia, Miah Contreras, and Elize Rivera.

Tara Amy, Arts Integration Specialist (OMA) – December 2021

Watercolor of desert landscape variety of plants and animals with mountains in the background underneath the full sun.
by Miah Contreras

Watercolor of green landscape with a river running through the center underneath a bridge. A row of mountains rests in the background underneath a perfectly blue sky.
by Layla Tapia

Watercolor of green and grey landscape with a river running through the center filled with colorful fish. Four legged animals stand on both sides of the river and on the grey mountains in the background. The blue sky holds two white clouds and the sun peeks out of the top left corner of the painting.
by Elize Rivera

Valencia School - Art Students
Greeting Mural

Valencia art students are creating a dynamic mural on campus to show off their favorite parts of school and of Tucson. Students were inspired by Tucson's Greetings from Tucson mural and collaborated on a design unique to Valencia Middle School, portraying their Jaguar PRIDE. Pride stands for:

Positivity, Respect, Integrity, Dedication and Excellence

The artists formed a mural club and created a postcard of their design. Once it is safe to resume in person collaboration again the goal will be to sell postcards to raise money for more mural supplies.

Prime the Wall
Students prepared the mural wall. First they outlined the border in tape and then painted white.
Prime the Wall
Students Outline the Mural
Several students painted outlines of letters of VALENCIA with black paint.
Students Outline the Mural
More Details for the Mural's Outline
Students painted the outline of people and animals. People in traditional Mexican attire dance below and in front of the letters. A butterfly fluttered out of the letter C.
More Details for the Mural's Outline
Bringing to Life with Paint
A student painted figures of dancers in traditional Mexican attire. The man's outfit and sombrero are black. The woman's hair is black and her dress is unpainted except for an orange stripe. The wall behind the letter has been painted turquoise.
Bringing to Life with Paint
Students Fill-In the Details
Students painted scenes of life: a soccer team playing, a student reading in a library, a person gazing through a telescope at the night sky, a green older style of car driving, a jaguar sleeping on the letter E.
Students Fill-In the Details
Bright Color in a Courtyard
Three rocks rest on sand-colored gravel in front of the finished mural.
Bright Color in a Courtyard
Postcard of the Mural
The complete Mural bordered in red. The mural is a scene of Mariachi's playing and a couple dancing in front of a sign. The sign reads VALENCIA and each letter has a scene inside it representing: sports, study, science, history, nature, and art.
Postcard of the Mural
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OMA Visual Arts by Joshua Floyd's Second Graders at Warren Elementary

Here are a few art projects coming from second graders. OMA Art bags were sent home to students earlier last week to help create these fun pieces of art! We used what we learned about patterns to create some interesting colored cacti and learned how to double numbers up to 10. For this project, we only went up to doubling 4 for a total of 8 cacti at the top of our pictures, but during class we practiced with many other numbers!

Gabriel's cactus drawing
--By Gabriel

Samantha's cactus drawing
--By Samantha

Serenity's cactus drawing
--By Serenity

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