About Great Artist Program
and it’s creator
Laurie White
Three decades of creating an elementary art curriculum for kids & teens
About Laurie
Hi! I’m Laurie White: mom, wife, artist, teacher, and founder of the Great Artist Program. I live in Utah with my husband and seven children, and every day is a new adventure!
In college I studied early childhood and elementary education. After graduation, I began my journey teaching first grade, then later began teaching art out of my home. While my seven children went through elementary school, I spent those 20 years pouring my heart and soul into creating a school-wide art program to guide and shape little artists. I designed my elementary art curriculum in the hope of building artistic confidence and bringing joy to the classroom! This was the beginning of the Great Artist Program.
“I LOVE kids…
I want them to feel good
about themselves”
What is GAP?
innovative visual art curriculum for k-12
The Great Artist Program is the culmination of almost 30 years of experience, work, and love. This program is founded on our fervent belief that everyone is an artist; there is nothing more worthwhile than the pursuit of confidence and creativity. Which is really what art is all about, isn’t it?
We aren’t just teaching our students to color or sketch, we’re teaching them that they can create something beautiful–a masterpiece! We want every student to know that everything they need to succeed is already inside of them.
As students progress through the elementary art curriculum created by the Great Artist Program, their eyes will be opened to a new and brilliant world of art: impressionism, modern art, cubism, pop art, abstract expressionism and more. Students will learn about some of the great artists in history, and they’ll learn that those “greats” started exactly where they are now.
WHY WAS GAP CREATED?
My art program was born out of necessity. Most children don’t have access to art education until high school. We saw the need for better access to art education and came up with a solution in our elementary art curriculum.
Visual art education is critical and should be available to all students. It’s not just about art, it’s about how kids feel about themselves. Expect more from your students and see what they can do. I’m on a mission to offer quality art education that builds confidence and develops expression to all students.
WHAT IS THE GOAL?
Why are we trying to make our approach more universally available to schools? For the kids! For that moment of realization when they take a deep breath and say, “I’m an artist.” Or when we are admiring their very own completed masterpiece together and say,
“Did you know you could do this?”
“You are an artist & You. Are. Amazing.”
That’s why we do this! What motivates Great Artist Program is seeing kids find their confidence as they discover how capable they are!
Great Artist Program elevates the way kids talk about their art…
From: “ I did art at school today,”
To: “Did you know that I am an artist?”
“I created something good, therefore I am good.”
Real elementary art curriculum
This isn’t arts & crafts, and it’s not process art. It’s original masterpieces and guided art instruction and demonstration. By looking at real art, talking about it, and seeing like an artist, we can expect so much more out of our students. They are amazing! They can draw, compose, paint, blend, and create masterpieces they didn’t know they could. Wait until you see what they can do!
Real skills
A new student had just joined the class. She was looking around at what we were doing with a shocked expression that said, “You’ve got to be kidding?! I can’t do this!” Her new classmates began reassuring her by saying, “It’s okay! We have the Great Artist Program. Everyone can draw, including you. It’s just shapes and lines and the teacher will help you.” It wasn’t long before this new student was talking just like her peers and what a magical thing it was at the end of the lesson to hear her say, “I am an artist!”
Real confidence
Each student will be left feeling like they achieved something extraordinary! The message is simple: you are the artist of your paper, if it’s different from Matisse, than mine, than your neighbors, then you did it right! It should be different because each artist is different. You get to change, delete, add, color, and compose your way!
Most adults draw on a 10-year-old level
Do you know why? Because that is when they quit drawing. They couldn’t do it right, they looked around at their classmates’ artwork and decided they weren’t good enough–that they weren’t an artist! But that’s not true. Everyone is creative, and anyone can learn to draw. Students need successful art experiences before age nine or ten to get them past this disillusion, and again at age 11 or 12 to reassure them they can still do it!
The creativity myth
There is a misconception that we shouldn’t show kids how to draw. The problem is, only a few kids in each class have a visual plan and know how to get their ideas out of their heads and onto their paper. You wouldn’t set a five-year-old at the piano and give him Chopin and say “good luck kid.” You would teach him the notes and start off easy, building on that knowledge. The same is true about art. Every masterpiece starts off with a line here, a shape there. Pretty soon, with encouraging instruction, your students can create art they are proud of. And when they are proud of what they did, they remember what they learned. It’s like a magic trick! Now they have more things they can draw, and that fosters creativity.
a few of Laurie’s
favorite things
Favorite Title:
MOM
Favorite Art
Supplies:
Watercolor & ink
Favorite Vacation:
Newport, CA
Favorite Feeling:
Connecting with people
Favorite Artist:
Henri Matisse
Favorite Children’s Book:
Where the Wild Things Are
Favorite Hobbies:
Reading, cooking, & painting
Connect with Laurie
The elementary art curriculum that’s so simple, so effective…
it’s a masterpiece!
Get in Touch!
Online Art Ed K-6
Online Art Ed 7-12
