After Kandinsky- LS Art Club Paintings

Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky is credited with painting the first modern abstract works.
Abstract paintings focus on geometric shapes, color and line instead of representing natural or recognizable shapes as their subject. For their last project of the term, Lower School Art Club students were inspired to create their own version of Kandinsky's famous Color Study- Squares With Concentric Circles. I love how each student had the same colors on their pallet to start, but the results are very unique after they mixed their own colors and applied their own painting styles:

Drape Mold Bowls

For their last project of the semester, 8th grade artists created free form bowls using a drape mold. First, students rolled a huge slab of clay which some of them decorated using texture stamps and plates for the inside of the bowl. Then, the slabs were draped over a mold (2 quart paint buckets from Home Depot) and pinched, pulled and cut into different forms. Once the bowls dried a little, they were flipped back over off the mold and decorated with extra clay to create these very unique vessels. Although they were all quite creative, here are a few of the most successful projects:

Fish Faces

These whimsical fish are hot out of the kiln! Sixth graders created them by first making two identical pinch pots out of clay and scoring them together to create a hollow egg shape. They then opened one end to create a mouth and added fishy features and textures using additional clay and modeling tools. Once bisque fired, the pieces were glazed and fired once more. Unfortunately, the fish won't make it on display before the end of the year, so enjoy them here:

Embossed Mexican "Tin" Mirrors

Brought over with the Spanish colonists as a basic material for utensils and wares, tin soon became a medium for art in Mexico and continues to be today. Artisans cut, beat, stamp, shape, punch, etch, or press the tin by hand into an endless array of practical and decorative pieces.
In this project, students learned how to symmetrical create radial designs on sketch paper. Then, using special wooden tools, students traced their three designs onto 6" 36-gauge aluminum squares and carefully embossed them to create a raised surface on the front. Next, we painted the metal with India ink and rubbed them with steel wool to reveal the embossed design. A mirror was added and the three are hung together to create these unique Mexican tin art-inspired artworks!

Digital Installations

Installation art describes an artistic genre of site-specific, three-dimensional works designed to change the perception of a space or place by intentionally adding – or subtracting – material of any kind to or from it. In this project, seventh grade digital photography students were commissioned by Calvert School to install a sculpture somewhere on campus. After creating a small model in a variety of materials, students photographed their piece as well a location on campus to install the sculpture, which was done digitally using Adobe Photoshop tools. Students were sure to consider placement, scale, light and shadow in their pieces.

Sumi-e Cherry Blossom Paintings

Sumi-e painting is a traditional Asian art form that involves simple, elegant and serene designs in black ink on white paper. Simplicity is the most outstanding characteristic of Sumi-e. An economy of brush strokes are used to communicate the essence of the subject. The Philosophy of Sumi-e is contrast and harmony, expressing simple beauty and elegance, and patience is essential in brush painting. Balance, rhythm and harmony are the qualities the artist strives for by developing self-discipline and concentration. The goal of the brush painter is to use the brush with both vitality and restraint, constantly striving to be a better person because his character and personality come through in his work.

Fifth graders spent a number of classes experimenting with bamboo Sumi-e brushes and ink to master the design of a traditional subject- the cherry blossom. Although traditional Sumi-e artwork is just done with black ink only, the girls incorporated some watercolor into their designs too. The final pieces were done on delicate rice paper- here are a few of them:

After Andy Warhol

Fifth Grade girls completed a digital art project inspired by the colorful prints created by artist Andy Warhol of celebrities and soup cans. Using the program Adobe Photoshop, students followed a long list of detailed steps to transform their own pictures into the artworks below. Each section of color had to be "hand" selected (or mouse-selected really) separately in order to colorize it. I was so impressed with how well the girls did with such a complicated procedure on an unfamiliar computer program.