Get a Bird’s Eye View!

This month, Art Adventure Students visited the Cummer Gardens then designed their own garden plan. Students explored the English, the Italian and the newly restored Olmsted Gardens, comparing and contrasting their unique designs. They noted the sculptures, the water features and plantings of each garden as well as the winding pathways that lead Cummer visitors through the magical Cummer Gardens. After the garden tour, the class climbed the stairs to the second story of the museum to peer through the board room windows to view the Olmstead garden from a "birds eye view." They viewed the ariel view painting of the Cummer Museum campus by Christina Foard to get an idea what point of view they would use in creating their garden design. Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, Aerial by Christina Foard. They learned learned about the elements of mapmaking and then returned to the studio to create their own mixed media ariel garden map.

A Royal Collage Fit for a King!

 This month, Art Adventures students visited the Tsar’s Cabinet exhibit to explore royal decorative arts and porcelain pottery at The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens.  Once they explored the magnificent jars, plates and tea pots, they returned to the studio to create a majestic still life of metallic pottery combining printmaking and collage techniques. 

 

 The students learned how to create depth by overlapping their vases, teapots, plates and cups in a composition showing a foreground and a background.

 

 

 

 

 
The students had a royal good time as they each created their own majestic collage still life and learned about the history and culture of Russia!

Glorious Garden Watercolors!

The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens was buzzing with excitement as Art for Two students celebrated Garden Month by painting “en plein air “ in the Cummer Gardens. 

Students and their favorite adult began in the gallery by exploring the work of local artist, Jim Draper, in his exhibit Feast of Flowers. Students studied his Wild Hibiscus to learn the different parts of a flower and tried their hand at assembling parts of a flower themselves.

The next stop was The Cummer Garden to examine the flower parts up close with the help of magnifying glasses. 
When their examination was complete, students recorded their findings in watercolor paint. Each student, with the help of their favorite adult, painted many close up views of the flowers in The Cummer Garden. 

Combining science and art in the Cummer Garden resulted in many glorious garden watercolors!                                                                              

Florida Saltmarsh Marsh Landscapes

For the 500^th Anniversary of Ponce de Leon, The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens partnered with artist Jim Draper to celebrate the beauty of Florida’s native habits with Jim Draper:  Feast of Flowers.  The twenty-nine paintings in the exhibition showcase nine of Florida’s ecosystems. 

Through his paintings, the artist developed a deep appreciation for the native landscape of Florida and considers himself an environmentalist, who uses his art to promote conservation of these special environments. 

Art Adventures students studied the painting Willie Brown's Marsh then compared it to other Florida landscapes within the exhibit. They learned that salt marshes are a vital part of the Florida seashore environments providing a valuable nursery habitat for marine wildlife.  After this discussion, students returned to the studio to create their own version of a salt marsh landscape. 

 

Feast of Flowers Butterfly Paintings

 

To kick off the new year, students in Mrs. Woodlief's Art Adventures Class at The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens explored the environment through art as they visited Jim Draper's Feast of Flowers, a collection of large scale paintings showcasing nine of Florida's ecosystems.

Students focused on one of Mr. Draper's large paintings of a Buckeye, a common Florida butterfly, as the inspiration for this months art project.  They studied the life cycle of the butterfly as well as learned how mother nature gave the buckeye special markings as camouflage to help protect it from predators.



Once students returned to the studio, they selected an image of a butterfly as inspiration.  After folding a piece of newsprint, they drew and cut out half of the butterfly, then used it as a template to trace on to their 8 x 10 inch canvas board. This technique provided for perfectly symmetrical butterflies allowing every student to experience success! 


 

After studying the intricate designs on the wings, they began painting the insect's details with acrylic paint on canvas boards. Students worked at artists easels to create beautifully symmetrical butterfly paintings. Each student felt successful as they showed their paintings to their families.