Recently, fourth-grade students read the book Unbound: The Life and Art of Judith Scott by Joyce Scott with Brie Spangler and Melissa Sweet. Judith Scott is an internationally-recognized fiber artist who also had Down Syndrome. She created over 160 sculptures and pieces of art at the Creative Growth Center in Oakland, California. Creative Growth is described as “a model for a creative community guided by the principle that art is fundamental to human expression and that all people are entitled to its tool of communication.” The center is an art studio for people with disabilities to explore their creativity. The artists at Creative Growth are not recognized for their disabilities but for their potential as communicators through art.
After learning about Scott, the fourth-grade artists developed a concept that art can connect us all. To illustrate this idea, Garner challenged them to create pieces inspired by Judith Scott which embody how Scott created—with lots of layers, lots of materials, and lots of repetition.
Also this month in fourth-grade art, students were introduced to the Pop Art movement by various artists and learned about the common themes found in Pop Art: bold color, from popular culture, mass-produced, and created for the masses. The artists were then challenged to problem solve and design a pop tart label for a new or favorite flavor that included the characteristics of Pop Art.