Break'n it Down

This week we had an amazing time with the students creating sculptures from found materials. We started the class with a pile of used materials in the center of the classroom. Then after some sketchbook time, we looked at a slide-show of artists that make work out of used materials and discussed the implications of that.

After talking about how artist use materials, we talked about our own project. The students were going to make sculptures dealing with themes around the ideas of motions, fluidity, progression, and transformation. We had the pile of used materials to start the students off, but we also wanted them to actively go out and find materials themselves. So we divided the class into two group and walked about campus and found materials in trash and recycling cans, as well as from nature. After coming back to the class rooms and students the students sketched their ideas and collected materials simultaneously allowing the Art to inform the material and allow the material to inform the art.

Then after showing the sketch to the instructor and explained how they planed on depicting the themes, they were allowed to start.

Because this is a two week project they did not have a lot of time to get work done, but next week they’ll have plenty of time (I hope). But next week I really wanted to try and generate more discussion of what the theme mean and how the students are showing and sharing that theme.
Walking around campus, and working with the students was amazing and it seemed that the students were really enjoying themselves and were excited about finding their own materials. We sent a note home with the students encouraging them to bring in materials from their own lives for next week to add a more personal aspect to their work.