Advanced Art students discussed the idea of art telling a narrative, or a story. Art has been used to tell narratives since the earliest years of recorded history, with even the caves in Lascaux, France bearing pictures that tell the stories of civilizations past. We also discussed modern-day examples such as comic strips. Students were asked to think of a part of their own personal narrative - part of their story - to tell visually. We created boxes using slab construction, a technique in which you attach leather hard (about halfway dry) slabs of clay together to create a structure. The boxes were fired in the kiln (clay oven) once to the bisque stage, and then students painted them with different glazes. The boxes were then fired one more time to reach the final glazed stage.
Our first glazed load came out of the kiln (clay oven) today - Art I's coil pots are looking wonderful! Art I students worked hard to put a modern spin on an ancient clay technique, coil building. Students incorporated coils, spheres, braids, and swirls into their pot designs as they built up the walls. They also learned about the history, properties, and handling of clay. Check out their work!
Art I did a great job with these sculptures based off of abstracted human forms! We looked at British sculptor Henry Moore's monumental stone and bronze sculptures, and talked about the idea of taking a realistic form and simplifying it down to its essence. Students sketched out their own abstracted human form, bent wire into their shape, and secured it to a wooden base. We then covered them with nylon and they painted the surface to show the rhythm and movement of the figures. Enjoy their work!
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