"Rondo" Collages after Miriam Schapiro

Miriam Schapiro (born 1923), became a professional artist in 1955, originally painting in the Abstract Expressionist style (like Jackson Pollock did). As she developed her art and expanded her vision, she developed her own personal style and became a pioneer in the Feminist Art Movement in the early 1970s. Schapiro eventually introduced the element of fabric collage into her artwork, cutting pieces of patterned cloth and combining them with acrylic paint to create a beautifully orchestrated symphony of pattern and color. Schapiro, along with another artist named Melissa Meyer, coined the term "femmage" to apply to their type of collage art which utilizes commonplace materials and techniques that historically have been associated with domesticity, and therefore with women: quilts, buttons, sequins, tea towels, embroidery, lace, crochet, carpets, and fabric design. Schapiro is one of the first artists in history to make art addressing the feminine experience.

Schapiro’s 1989 book, Rondo, contains a colorful accordion foldout with a string of highly animated dancing figures, using collage as a medium. None of the works rely on “drawing”- the drawing is done with scissors. In this project, fifth grade artists created Rondo-like collages of their own. They first created colorful background papers using bleeding tissue paper, watercolor and salt, and paper dye. After discussing body proportion, students chose a dancing pose or posed their figure performing an activity they enjoy. Various papers, fabric, wallpaper scraps and other textiles were layered to create the final pieces.

Exploded Squares

Seventh graders completed their first project of the year and everyone who walks by is quite impressed! For this project, we focused on creating a harmonious, balanced composition in dark and light, as well as developing skills creating a high level of detail with a craft knife. Students began with a 6"x6" black or white square. On it they designed shapes that related to each other while thinking about balancing the positive and negative spaces of their square. Students used a a craft knife to carefully cut out their shapes and flipped them along the edges before gluing in place (in most cases, additional shapes were cut from already cut pieces and they were flipped back in towards the original square). Each is unique!

"Whirled Peace"

Pinwheels for Peace is an art installation project started in 2005 by two Florida art teachers as a way for students to express their feelings about what’s going on in the world and in their lives. The project was quickly embraced by their students and the entire school community and by millions of art teachers, teachers, parents, children and adults who desire peace in our world. In 2010, over 3.5 million pinwheels were spinning in over 3,000 locations around the world!

In advisory this week, all middle schoolers were invited to create pinwheels for the project. On one side, students wrote their thoughts about peace / tolerance/ living in harmony with others, and on the other, they drew to visually express their feelings. Today, September 21st, is International Day of Peace, so we installed the pinwheels outside of the Middle School as a public statement and art exhibit/installation. We hope the spinning of the pinwheels in the wind spreads thoughts and feelings about peace throughout the country, the world!

                                                
For more information on the project, visit the Pinwheels For Peace website!

Fresco Painting in Art History

The word fresco comes from the Italian word "affresco" which means "fresh" and refers to a painting style done on plaster walls and ceilings. Frescoes were often made during the Renaissance and we just learned about them in Art History this week while we examined the artist Giotto- the first in a line of great artists who contributed to the Italian Renaissance. Giotto is best known for the frescoes adorning the walls of the Arena Chapel in Padua, Italy, painted in 1305 (pictured). Fresco is a challenging medium - it does not allow for errors or corrections and is time sensitive, therefore requiring an adequate level of artistic and technical skill. This is due to the fact that fresco is done on wet, fresh plaster... once the pigment is absorbed by the wet plaster, the plaster dries and reacts with the air, fixing the pigment particles in the plaster (making it quite durable!).

We created our own mini frescoes in the past two Art History classes. Yesterday, we mixed dry plaster with water and poured it into a plastic plate to set until today. Believe it or not, the plaster was still cool and damp about 24 hours later, making it the perfect surface for a fresco!

In the Renaissance, artists couldn't just go to Michael's Arts and Crafts store to buy their supplies- they had to make them (or else their apprentices made them). Artists created powdered pigment by grinding up minerals and mixed it with a bonding agent needed to adhere the paint to the wall. They often used egg yolk for this purpose. We created our own "egg tempera" paint today by separating the yellow from the white, then poking a hole to drain the yellow into a bowl. We added powdered tempera (purchased from Michael's, not ground up from minerals!) and a little water and stirred until smooth:

Fresco painters in the Renaissance would transfer their drawings onto the plaster by poking small holes in their cartoon (sketch) and pouncing charcoal onto it, leaving the pattern of dots on the plaster. We did the same thing with an outline of the Renaissance beauty, Mona Lisa:

With the plaster set, the cartoon transferred to the plaster and the egg tempera mixed and ready, it was time to paint our mini masterpieces! They kids had a great time experimenting with this classic painting technique:

(As you can see, not all Monas turned out Mona-like, but that wasn't the point. The goal was to get a feel for the challenges of using this medium... and there were many!)

Week in Review

Well the first week of school is behind us and we have been busy making art since day one! Here is a recap of what's been happening in the art room...

Fifth grade is working on a new project I developed based on the collages of artist Miriam Schapiro (more on her when I post the finished pieces later on). We spent the first two classes making our own decorative background/collage papers using bleeding tissue paper, dying rice paper, and using watercolor. Now the girls are starting to collage figures in action poses. :
Sixth grade always starts the quarter with the Calvert classic "Pop Portrait" project. They learned about the history of tesselations and are at work creating their own and painting them with a warm or cool color scheme of their choice. Here are some pics of the shape tracing phase from early this week:

Sixth grade Art History has just begun their exploration of the Renaissance. Did you know that a bunch of rats caused BIG changes in society in the mid 1300's??? Ask a 6th grader for the scoop! Seventh graders are working on another new project- what I am calling "Exploded Squares." The project emphasizes the relationship between positive and negative space, composition and balance. Students are creating intricate designs on black or white paper, cutting them out carefully with Exacto knives and gluing them onto contrasting paper. I am really excited to see how these will turn out!
Eighth grade artists learned about French-American ornithologist, naturalist and painter, John James Audubon, and are currently working on bird drawings of their own. Their drawings will half of a two-part piece that will include a watercolor print too. My advisory group is busy having some fun too! Today we are dressed down (or up, depending on how you look at it) for "Purple Friday"- Go Ravens!

Welcome Back Artists!

The first week of school has come and gone already, and I am so excited for the school year ahead! It was great to see all of the returning students and to meet and welcome all of our 5th graders and other new middle schoolers. As older students now, you are ready to build on all the great skills you already have. We will continue to learn to see like an artist does so that we can improve our drawing skills. Don’t forget—improving your drawing skills is like learning to play a sport- practice is everything! We will experiment with lots of different materials and processes, take creative risks and improve our craftsmanship. I hope you will see what a powerful lens art is for seeing history, math, science, literature and cultures with a new perspective.

Make sure to visit this blog frequently, as I use it as a virtual gallery to showcase student artwork, talk about projects and artists that inspire us, share info about field trips, art exhibits, clubs, etc...

See you in the art room!