Starting next week, Kindergarten students will be creating artworks with natural materials. This means that we will be spending lots of time outside, and it would be great to have some extra help in watching and observing the students in their explorations! If you would like to volunteer during a kindergarten class next week, please send me an email! I would like about 3 parent volunteers for each class.
1st grade has already gotten started on a folk art- inspired project using " junk" items. We have looked at images of folk art that incorporates recycled/reused materials and talked about all of the many uses for items we typically think of as trash. Most students have already brought in larger materials to use for their project (boxes, milk jugs, etc.), but smaller items (such as bottle caps, buttons, old pen/marker caps, toothpicks, etc) can be used as "accessories." If you have any small items to donate, please send me an email or send the items to the front office in the next 2 weeks!
2nd graders will be exploring how trash can tell a story. We will look at the photographs of Vik Muniz, a Brazilian artist who uses many unusual materials to create art. For one project in particular, Muniz traveled to the largest landfill in Rio de Janeiro. Using garbage, Muniz created portraits of the people who worked in the landfill, and the results were amazing! (This project inspired the documentary Wasteland, which is on Netflix!) Students will be using small "junk" items to create a mixed- media collage that tells a story. Small items include ( but are not limited to): shiny gum wrappers, bottle caps, buttons, and plastic soda bottle labels. Thin cardboard (the kind used in cereal boxes) can also be cut up to create beautiful mosaic-like tiles. If you have any small items to donate, please send me an email or send the items to the front office in the next 2 weeks!
3rd graders are beginning a project this week inspired by the Art on the Beltline program. We have previously looked at ways in which artists can transform the appearance of everyday places, and now we will be exploring how artists can transform their communities. Specifically, we are discussing artists who use reclaimed and site-specific materials to create sculptures for areas in Atlanta. Many of the sculptures featured on the Beltline utilize reclaimed materials found on the trail (discarded wood, railroad ties nails, etc.) in order to create a relationship between the artwork and the site it is meant to enhance. Students will plan and create a small-scale sculpture for a specific part of the city - this can be the Beltline, GLOBE, or even the students' neighborhoods. They will consider how the materials and imagery they use can illustrate the importance or significance of this place.
I will be offering the reclaimed materials that I have, and we will also be looking for natural materials outside during class. However, students are also encouraged to being in site-specific materials that relate to the places they choose. For instance, if your child wants to create a sculpture for your home that looks like a large dogwood tree you have in the backyard, he or she may want to bring in a few small branches, leaves, etc. from that specific tree, since it is an important part of the artwork.
I am so excited to begin these art projects and really appreciate your support and donations!
