Mini Mandalas, Form, Artist Stamps, Etc

In ATC and Art in Miniature, we began a 2-week project creating miniature mandalas. After discussing some of the qualities of the mandala's design--particularly symmetry and repetition--students created detailed drawings and, afterward, began adding color. Once these are finished, each student's work will be titled and exhibited at the end-of-semester Art Show.

Form was the subject of the past week's Explorations in Art class. We talked about form in art, and particularly form in sculpture. We learned that sculpture is displayed differently from 2-dimensional art, because sculpture is intended to be viewed in the round.

Flying Horse, One Leg Resting on a Swallow, Bronze. 2nd century CE from Wu-Wani, China

We also reviewed what we've already learned about direction (vertical, horizontal, diagonal) and identified the implied movement, or lack thereof, of the works under discussion. Students learned about the "lost wax" method of creating sculpture.

Auguste Rodin's The Thinker, 1880. Bronze.

In discussing the sculpture of ancient Greece, students learned that the "ideal" of beauty was someone who appeared calm, thoughtful, and peaceful. We studied the face of The Discobolus, noting his almost expressionless face, and talked about how this is typical for the period when it was created, over 2,000 years ago, and how we can expect to see this same expression on other sculptures from its time.

Myron of Athens' The Discobolus (Discus Thrower), c. 450 BCE. Marble.

After our tour of the gallery, we spent some time creating tiny works of art from paper: Origami! The twirling bird origami, in particular, was a big hit. 

The Virgin and Child, c. 1150-1200. Walnut with paint, gesso, and linen. French.

Ceramics I students used the pinch and carve techniques to create animalitos, finger puppets, and their own artist stamps. Once the stamps have been fired, the young ceramic artists will use them to "mark" their work throughout the semester.

Artist stamps and Animalitos