Oh, what a wonderful year in art class! It's hard to believe it's the end of the year already. I was so excited to join the Aidan Faculty this year and it has been a great pleasure and privilege to get to know each student.
We had a busy last month, beginning with our annual Evening of the Arts. Thank you to everyone who came to Vivid Expressions, and a special thank you to the parents who volunteered their time and helped make it happen! The Upper Elementary students did a great job mounting and organizing their artwork and setting up their classroom for the event. Thankfully the weather held out, and it was a fun night of meeting parents, sharing all the beautiful work the students created this year, and seeing what inspiring ideas emerged at the upcycling craft stations!
Lower Elementary
In our last few lessons, Lower Elementary students studied the concept of artistic style through the work of Van Gogh and discovered the science behind the cyanotype print.
In addition to studying the work of Van Gogh himself we took a look at a film that was released last year and made history as the first animated film to be made entirely with oil paintings. 'Loving Vincent' used oil paintings that mimicked Van Gogh's style and subject matter, so that the film is like watching his paintings come to life. We had our own studio session inspired by Van Gogh's starry night and sunflower paintings, which the students practiced mimicking in the impasto style of the famous painter.
To investigate the cyanotype printing process the students first looked at the prints of victorian botanist Anna Atkins, who published one of the first books of photographic images in 1843: "Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions". They also learned about the chemically created Prussian Blue color that makes the process possible. They had so much fun creating their prints and watching the magical reaction that occurs after the chemically treated paper has been exposed to the sun and is bathed in water. It was a great introduction to photographic printing that seemed to ignite the curiosity of the students.
Upper Elementary
I had lots of fun creating our own indoor "camping" experience with Upper Elementary after their trip was rained out, complete with s'mores, homemade lemonade, marshmallow catapults, and sleeping bags! We returned to the world of art with an introduction to Surrealism and some artistic exercises inspired by their work and process, including collage and automatism - a concept that inspired the action art of mid century artists like Jackson Pollock.
Your students will be finally bringing home their portfolios of work this last week of school. I hope you take a chance to look through them with your child and observe and discuss their work. Art can be a great gateway to meaningful conversation.
Next Year
Next year I look forward to expanding our artistic curriculum with more small group work with students and field trips to local museums.
I hope you all discover some creative opportunities over the summer, and continue to use your 'artist's eyes' to observe the world around you. I look forward to seeing you all next fall!