Symmetrical African Masks

 Lois Mailou Jones was a successful textile designer.
These students are using geometric and free form shapes made
of felt to recreate the experience that she may have had as a
textile designer in the beginning of her career as an artist.   

This month students in October's Art Adventures class learned about symmetry in art and created an oil pastel mask inspired by the works included in the Lois Mailou Jones: A Life in Vibrant Color and Histories in Africa: 20 Years of Photography by Liz Gilbert exhibitions.

As the students toured the exhibit, they compared the layout of the exhibit to a timeline of Jones' life because the paintings and drawings were displayed in chronological order.  They were able to see that she tried many things during her life as an artist. We focused on a group of Jones' paintings that featured colorful African masks then returned to the studio to create oil pastel drawings of Africans masks in their own design.

Floral Fun

• Saturday, September 15, 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM - Floral Fun! Art adventures students studied examples of floral still life from The Cummer’s permanent collection then returned to the studio to paint their own floral still life masterpieces. They also visited the garden to examine real flowers and study the parts of each plant. Who knew that we could learn science and art at the same time?

Art and Science Learning Together!

My Art for Two students learned the printing process after studying the portraits in Miradas: Ancient Roots in Modern and contemporary Mexican Art: Works from the Bank of America Collection.

With help from their favorite adult, they examined their facial features in mirrors, used their fingers to feel the bones in their faces made gargling and grunting sounds so they could feel the vibration in their throats.  They learned about both art and science as they created self portrait styrofoam prints!

 

 

 

Pop Artist, Andy Warhol!

Art For Two Students  and their favorite adult study works from 

50 Forward: New Additions to the Permanent Collection 

to learn about a world famous pop artist, Andy Warhol.

The exhibition presents a sample of the art objects that entered The Cummer’s collection in celebration of the Museum’s 50^th Anniversary in 2011. After viewing several samples of his work in The Cummer galleries, then finding his work featured on the Art History timeline, my students view a slideshow of Andy Warhols work set to special music featuring the story of his life.  They were so excited to learn how to make Andy Warhol prints by using soft-cut linoleum and real printmaking tools and ink. Here are some images of my students as they create Pop Art - just like Andy Warhol!

 

Salt Brings Art and Science Together

 Students ages 6 - 12 years learned a lesson in science as well as art at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens during the children's monthly art class, Art Adventures. 
They learned how salt can be hurtful to our plants and helpful in creating exciting effects in their painting. 

After a visit to the museum's garden, students assessed the damage to the gardens caused by the flooding waters of tropical storm, Beryl when the St. Johns River overflowed the bulkhead. They discussed how the St. Johns River joins the Atlantic Ocean, creating a salt and fresh water mixture or "brackish" water.  Brackish water is water that has more salinity than fresh water, but not as much as seawater. When the brackish water washed up into the lower tier of the garden, it left behind debris and salt causing the damage to the plants. 

After a discussion of the kinds of creatures which live in salt water verses fresh water, the students returned to the studios to draw and paint beautiful creatures from the salty sea. They drew coral, starfish, sand dollars and shells in pencil then added beautiful colors of the ocean with watercolor.  They experimented with a variety of watercolor techniques including adding the very ingredient that caused damage to the garden - salt. They discovered that when they sprinkled salt onto their wet painting, it caused a chemical reaction that left a mottled, textured appearance to the painted surface. 

I Get The Point! Garden Landscape Painting

 Students ages 6 - 12 years came to the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens for a children's monthly art class, Art Adventures. This month we explored the galleries to study landscapes in our collection that showed how artists  created  depth by overlapping.   The students learned about the horizon - where the sky meets the ground and learned the science behind the earths rotation. 

 They also learned about foreground, middle ground, and background in a landscape composition and how artists used aerial perspective to create depth in their paintings.
To experience this first hand, they walked to the back of The Cummer Garden and looked out over the St. Johns river.  Imagining that they were actually in a painting, they stood in the garden (the foreground)  and examined the horizon (the background). 

After a quick study of trees and plants in the garden, they took their newfound knowledge back to the studio to paint their own garden landscape.  

Art Adventures Students Make a Good Impression!

Students in April's edition of Art Adventures studied works from the impressionists and post -impressionists in an exhibition on loan from the High Museum.  They compared the different styles possessed by the famous artists as well as studied the techniques they used in their paintings. They were inspired to return to the studio and create their own masterpiece using tempera paint and oil pastels. The session ended with an informal critique with the students making quite a good impression on parents who stopped by early to "sneak a peak" of what was going on in the Art Adventures studio at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens!