Artist Altin Stoja took a break from Greek Orthodox icononography on Monday to conduct a master class in form and color with students at New Scotland Elementary School.
Stoja – the artist whose murals grace the walls of St. Sophia’s Greek Orthodox Church in Albany – spent time in art teacher Helen Martin's classroom, guiding students from Colleen Ryan’s fourth- and fifth-grade class in painting a pomegranate.
When the artists finished their canvases, they ate the pomegranate models. And later this week, students will tour St. Sophia’s to see Stoja’s work up close and personal.
Stoja’s visit was coordinated through Local Learning: The National Network for Folk Arts in Education, where art teacher Martin took a workshop last summer.
Martin was among a group of educators from the region chosen to have an artist visit their classroom, and she will share her experiences with other artists and educators on Nov. 18 at the Culture, Community and the Classroom Showcase at the Albany Institute of History & Art.
Check out photos from the master class. (You don't need a Facebook account to see the photos linked in the highlighted text. A window may appear that says, "To see more from Albany City Schools on Facebook, log on or create an account,” but you can dismiss it by clicking “not now.”)
