Kindergartners Make Paper Bowls!

I love to end the year with the kindergarten making paper bowls!  

First the kindergartners blended recycled shredded office paper in a blender with water.  

Next, the students had to press the water out of the slurry of paper pulp.

The students pressed the paper paper pulp into plastic bowls.  

After the bowls were dry, we applied a coat of white school glue mixed with some water to seal them and make them more durable.  Then we painted them with acrylic paint.

They did a great job!

Guest Artist Thea Alvin shares with us her art of building with stones!

During the second week of May, the K-6th grade art classes hosted stone mason, artist and designer Thea Alvin.  At the beginning of each class, Thea shared slides of her stone art installations that are in Vermont and around the country. 

Marion Moon Gate, 2014, Mandala Gardens, Marion Illinois

In Good Time, 2014, Saint Michael's College, Colchester, Vermont

After Thea's slide presentation in the art room, we went outside and she shared with us her love of stones.  She taught us how to build walls and arches, how to look at the stones and how they relate to each other.  

Even when the weather was too cold and wet to be outside, we built with stones inside!

Mrs. Young's class created Frank Stella inspired art through a collaboration with the GEMS innovation lab.

I have always been inspired by Frank Stella's 3- dimensional relief paintings but struggled to find a way for young students to cut out interesting shapes in cardboard.

Frank Stella, Shoubeegi (1978)

Until this year when the GEMS innovation lab was set up with a laser cutter!  Now we have a way to approach our art projects with new tools and methods.  

Mr. Hadd and Mrs. Payne were excited to work with my 3rd graders in Mrs. Young's class to try out our new equipment and programs.  

The students started out in the art room and made paper models of their sculpture.  They worked in groups of 4 to create one sculpture.

Next each group of 4 took their paper models to the computer lab to draw their shapes on the computer, then the files were converted and sent to the laser cutter.

They cut out 4 sets of each model so each student would have their own piece of art.  

They brought the cardboard pieces back to the art room to paint and assemble.

Despite the fact that every 4 students had the same set of pieces, 

each sculpture turned out as a unique piece of art! 

  

Organic artist Nick Neddo visits GEMS

On March 20th and 21st the GEMS art department hosted artist and author Nick Neddo.  He is a 6th generation Vermonter whose lifelong pursuits include the study of the natural world around him, exploring Stone Age technologies, and creating art.
Even before he begins a piece of art, he spends a significant amount of time preparing and making the tools and materials needed to make the art.  He uses only materials that he can find from the landscape around him.
He shared with our students not only his amazing art and handmade tools, but also his curiosity of how things are made and the all the possibilities hidden in the natural world.

Nick Neddo, 2015, wild-crafted willow charcoal on paper

Nick shared his work with the students.

He taught the students how to crush rocks to make paint.

Everyone enjoyed painting with their own handcrafted paint!

Learning About Camouflage and the Art of Liu Bolin

The first grade classes studied animals in winter in their classrooms. They learned that animals can survive in the wild by camouflaging with their environments
We looked at artwork and a video by Chinese artist Liu Bolin where he disappears into his surroundings.
We talked about how color, pattern, and texture all work together to help animals, or artists, blend in.

Can you find Liu Bolin?

The first graders all painted themselves like Liu Bolin and made themselves disappear into their own paintings!

1 Nye

1 Matas

1 Dattilio

1 Mackenzie