October’s “oohs and ahs” are usually reserved for autumn leaves. Last week, however, Beasley third graders were wowed by the vibrant colors and curled edges of their own creations. Sarah Garner, Lower School Visual Arts Teacher, molded a lesson on sculpture based on the work of famed glass-blowing artist Dale Chihuly.
“I love the images of Chihuly’s work that really show the scale and how large his glass sculptures are,” says Garner. The collaborative sculpture the third graders completed was inspired by Chihuly’s sculpture, Fiori de Como (Flowers of Como).
The third-grade classes studied Chihuly and his art before moving into the hands-on process. Students watched a video about how glass is made from heated sand and how Chihuly creates his designs and oversees glassblowers who work on his sculptures. “The students know that just as adding heat to sand turns the sand to glass, we add heat to our plastic pieces and the floral sculpture is created,” says Garner.
For years students have been exploring the question “What is a sculpture?” so when they see sculptures they are easily able to talk about them. “Chihuly’s art has also been inspirational to me and I wanted the students to be able to experience how transformative art can be, not only in its messaging but also in the transformative properties the materials can have,” Garner explains.
An important concept in the art studio is that artists are a part of a community that supports one another. While each piece is beautiful by itself, students collaborated to put their individual pieces together into one large sculpture that really made a statement.
Great work, Rams!