I Wanna Be Like Mike(langelo)

We completed several art activities this week related to our study of Michelangelo in Art History class that were a lot of fun! On Tuesday, students laid on their backs under their tables to understand the challenges Michelangelo faced while he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (bending, reaching, aching neck, strained eyes, paint splattering down on him)... I think they really appreciate how TALENTED these artists were:

On Wednesday, students got to see how heavy and bulky real marble carving tools are (Ms. Marlowe has a set) and then did a small carving of their own with small modeling tools and a bar of Ivory soap. Again, it's not as easy as it seems to make a sculpture (like Michelangelo's David) from a block of something, even soft soap!

How did Renaissance sculptors create such magnificent forms from raw hunks of stone? Here is one technique they used:

1. Make skteches to see how the figures will be placed

2. Carve small wax or clay models of the sculpture to see how it looks in 3 dimensions

3. Lay the wax or clay figure lengthwise in a long vat of water that completely covers the model

4. Lower the water level little by little. The parts of the model that appear first are the parts you carve first on the stone. Eventually, the form seems to release itself from the marble...