Elizabeth Bailey
A collaborative effort between the Decatur County Community Foundation and Psi Iota Xi sorority enabled students at St. Mary’s and North Decatur Elementary to experience art and music.
Greg Percy came from Madison, Wis., to teach a few fun lessons about art with his Songs in the Key of Art. North had the opportunity to learn from Percy on Monday.
On Tuesday, St. Mary’s students enjoyed an hour-long program, from diddies about primary colors to a rock song about French artist Paul Cezanne. The youngsters sang along to songs about Piet Mondrian, an artist from the Netherlands most known for his grid-like paintings with primary colors, and responded with laughter to pop-art paintings by Andy Warhol.
The crowd learned about mixing primary colors to create secondary colors in a song that gave them the opportunity to cha-cha-cha before watching their teachers follow suit. The youngsters had a second chance to boogie during the Picasso Polka, dedicated to the artist most known for his cubist work.
Volunteers from the audience had the opportunity to join Percy on stage with inflated guitars and then again to pose as American Gothic, the classic painting by Grant Wood.
The catchy tunes create a musical way for students to remember art history facts, Scholastic Instructor Magazine has said, and for local families, the songs may continue to be sung by students for some time to come.
To learn more about Percy’s music, visit www.songsinthekeyofart.com.
