The beginning of school and the onset of fall can be a more serious time of year for students of all ages. Initially, that transition can be jarring for young students that have been enjoying the warmth of summer months. As the leaves fall, the color palette also changes to colors we recognize as signs for colder months ahead. The colors we observe- brown, beige, orange, red, gold and black are part of this transition.
Lower School students began the school year with those cozy autumnal colors in mind with a glance back in time to the beginning of artmaking. We started our first unit thinking about how mark making began with our paleolithic ancestors. Delving back to the stone age and where humanity first began communicating with visuals- both pictures and symbols. Our Lower School artists contemplated how it might feel to be making a mark for the first time in history!
We turned our focus to the Lascaux Cave Paintings, a subject rich with multi-disciplinary, story-telling that involves history, commerce, and even a bit of science. The students were asked to imagine how limited resources might influence artistic choices- noticing that sometimes limitations can inspire artists to create and invent new and exciting work. Skills we learned or honed included observational drawing, manipulating paper to create texture and mark making. Broader concepts we explored/discussed were negative versus positive, composition on an irregular shaped page and artistic collaboration as a uniting force for creative expression.
