Lower School artists have been filling the Swartley building with their original ideas, creativity, and joy. This semester we have been exploring paper marbling, papier-mâché, drawing, origami, textile art, and clay sculpture. Each class begins with a five-minute demo where students learn a new technique or look at art by a contemporary artist. During their studio time, students enjoy having a level of choice as to how they use the materials and what stories they want to tell with art.

In Kindergarten, we learned how to make origami cats, dogs, and houses. The Kindergarteners have also been using stencils and hole punchers to create shapes and textures. They are currently making patterns with beads and gleefully learning how to twist pipe cleaners and make them into spirals. The first graders learned how to use ceramic air-dry clay and applied special techniques like “slip, score, seal” to keep their sculptures together. They have also generously volunteered to be “Art Co-Teachers,” wearing DE lanyards during class and helping demonstrate our techniques. Second graders have also been developing their sculpture skills—making symmetrical tiles, pinch pots, and relief sculptures. Third graders learned how to make coil pots and abstract sculptures and they looked at the ceramic sunflower seed installation by the artist Ai Wei Wei. Fourth graders have been jubilantly crafting colorful pom-poms and practicing perseverance in the lengthy process. Fifth graders practiced perseverance as well as they spent several classes weaving with loops and square looms.

Our Lower School artists deserve a lot of credit for developing so many ways to make art and for keeping our studio such a vibrant and organized space. In the coming weeks we will dive even deeper into sculpture and textile art and introduce watercolor painting.