Colby Art Museum, March 16th 2018

We had another fantastic trip to the Colby College Museum of Art last Friday. This was our fourth time going to the museum, and it's a highlight of the school year for all of us. Mrs. Polizotto, Ms. Devin and I accompanied 41 students for the day, viewing exhibits, creating "draw-bots" in the museum studio, working together on an "engineering challenge" and even getting to eat the delicious food in one of the dining halls. Colby is so generous with the programming they offer Maine schools. They feed us, lead us in engaging activities and even pay for the bus transportation. It's a tremendous opportunity for the students of RSU 1. 

The "draw-bot" activity had students incorporate an electric motor with an offset weight attached to its shaft, causing the contraption to vibrate. The resulting images were randomized trails left behind by the robots. This got me thinking... Since I teach LEGO Robotics, I thought it might be intesting to explore creating robots that draw mathematical equations and algorithms. Mathematical statements can be used to control the motion and power of motors, and the robots can drag sharpie markers attached to their body. It will be an interesting interdisciplinary experiment. I'll try and build one myself before asking the kids to try. 

Again, thanks to The Colby Museum of Art for welcoming us to their amazing facility, year after year. Who knows what these kids will take away from their exposure to inspiring works of art, the creative activities and even the experience of walking around a college campus? I am grateful they have this opportunity. 

Shelter in Place

In Early March, a group of 7th graders from BMS had the wonderful opportunity to collaborate with architecture students from the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech.  The students were part of a workshop held on the campus of The Chewonki Foundation to brainstorm ideas for refugee shelters that are lighter than traditional homes, but more substantial than tents.  These structures will incorporate advanced fabrics held in tension with poles and cables.  For an in depth synopsis of the workshop, click here.

Below are links to some of the designs created by the 7th graders with guidance from the architecture students.  Below each hyperlink is feedback from Professor Mark. 











Design #1
"Is smartly engineered."

Design #2 
"...very much in tune with larger social clustering issues we’ve been concerned with and inspired discussions within the studio. I even referred to it [during a] guest lecture to Engineering."

Design #3
"#3 & #4  have the level of consideration sympathetic to what you would want see explored in an architectural studio."

Design #4

Design #5
"...broke new ground, using one of the kits in a way we hadn’t anticipated."

Design #6 

Design #7 

Design #8 

 

"Althea R. did a series of beautiful drawings, including one of a cutaway axonometric projection."

Thank you, Professors Earl Mark and Tom Martin for offering us this amazing opportunity.  And thank you to Chewonki's Lisa Packard for coming up with the idea and putting all the pieces together to make it happen!

Students present their work to their classmates back at school

Clay Creations

Last week the Gateway art classes were able to create with clay! Ms. McKeon offered us the use of the tools and kiln. Artists were not given a specific assignment and had the choice to create anything they wanted as long as it was not flat. They had to work quickly because it is difficult to keep clay malleable over a week's time. The results ranged from cylinders to cartoon characters. Once the clay is bone dry they will be fired.

Paper Mache

Since we got back from Christmas vacation, students in the Gateway Art program have been using paper mache to create marionette puppets and sculptures. There was a lot of building first, then layers of mache and now we are at the painting stage. I love the diversity in the ideas! Please take a look at our album. https://goo.gl/photos/jKs2yTGvrMmAXnsw5

Farnsworth Museum Visit

On January 21st,  we took a drive up the coast to the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland.  The Farnsworth is a private museum which first opened in 1948, and it features a wide variety of artwork with a focus on the work of the Wyeth's, one of Maine's most prominent painting families.

The museum staff had some wonderful activities planned for us.  The group I was accompanying went to a photography exhibit where we were handed cards with adjectives written on them.  We worked with partners to find the one photograph that exemplified each of our adjectives.  This led to many interesting conversations about how we interpret art and connect those interpretations to emotions, feelings and memories.

Mrs. Polizotto's group did an activity asking students to write poems from the perspective of a person or object in a painting.  One example is below.

One of the more interesting exhibits, especially for budding artists, is the "Wyeth Workshop."  This is a small collection of studies by Andrew Wyeth, all in varying states of completion.  It's fascinating to see the evidence of the artist experimenting with composition, coloring and texture as he works toward a final piece.  

 Students were encouraged to make sketches of art that grabbed their attention, and came back with many new ideas.

It's inspiring to see the light in the eyes of the kids as they walk through the galleries and soak in all of the creativity, ideas, skill and countless hours of work on display.  Who knows where this experience will lead these students?  For some, I suspect it will make quite an impact.

Thanks to Mrs. Polizotto and RSU 1 for offering our students this wonderful opportunity!

Field Trip to the Colby Art Museum

Last Thursday, thirty-one students from Bath Middle School boarded a bus and headed up to the beautifully renovated Colby Art Museum on the Campus of Colby College in Waterville.  It was a grey and dreary day, so stepping foot inside the museum was quite a pleasant contrast from the outside environment.  I enjoyed watching the wide eyes of the sixth graders walking in who had not visited the museum before.

We split into two groups and set off to learn about the contemporary art of Alex Katz, and the historic work of Whistler.  Our docents were founts of information, and they did a fantastic job of bringing the art to life for our kids.  

Ideally we would have been able to spend a lot more time at this museum, but we are constrained by the hours of the school day.  With only an hour to view the galleries, some kids tried to sketch as we walked, while others shot photos of paintings on their iPads to study later (a great use of one-to-one technology!).

After eating in one of the dining halls (a big hit with the kids -- "can we eat all the ice cream we want in college?"), we hustled back to the museum for an art project.

An artist who works with the museum introduced the kids to gelatin print making.  This was a perfect project for the group since they have already done linoleum prints with Mrs. Polizotto as part of their Gateway Art programming.  

Students sketched scenes, textures or objects on small pieces of foam.  A rectangular sheet of gelatin was then covered in ink with a brayer, and the styrofoam was pushed onto it and burnished (rubbed in).  After carefully removing the styrofoam, the gelatin was pressed onto a piece of paper three times -- first print, second print, and ghost print.  The prints were quite amazing!  

As you can see below, these kids were into it.  Even though our visit was short, I am certain they will each have lasting memories of it.