Ambitious Artists

"Noah's Ark" by "C," "B" & "S," Grade 5

It was “C’s” vision, but he couldn’t do it alone. “C” collaborated with two peers to complete his version of “Noah’s Ark” in time for the end of 3^rd Quarter.  The ark itself seemed to come together fairly quickly, but then there was the matter of designing a way to show the flood, and the houses deep below the water. And the animals – what is a good way to make the animals?  “B” and “S” pitched in and helped craft the animals and apply brown tape to the solid side of the ark. The other side, they were proud to show, is open, so you can see inside. Noah stands on the prow and feathered birds perch up on the top.

And one more cool thing? The ark fits inside the flood, for easy transport.

Trickle Up

In a previous post, “C,” who makes graph paper designs was featured. I asked “C,” who is in 7^th grade, to show his work to some 8^th graders who I thought might be inspired by both his skill and devotion  to his art. Since then, “C” has dropped in several times to mentor these older students, offering to “get them started” and lending his expertise to those intrigued by his body of work.  Here is one of the resulting designs.

Graph Paper Design by "K" grade 8

Although "C" does not often use color in  his designs, "K," an 8th grade artist, found that colored pencils really brought out the pattern she designed.

From Papermaker to Collage Artist

Papermaking has been a popular choice in the studio recently. It is magical to concoct mixtures of pulp and turn it into customized paper, each with a unique color, texture, thickness and character. Some papermakers make sheet after sheet, blending rainbows of papers. Some try for the thinners paper, others for the thickest.  

When the blenders finally stop, paper artists are faced with the question: “What will I do with my handmade papers?” Many are turned into handmade books, sometimes becoming pages, other times adorning covers.  

"Me" by "G," grade 5

This 5^th grader used her collection to make this collage depicting summer/winter, day/night and featuring her favorite paper, the one with a little flower embedded, right in the middle.