The sculptures that are represented in this virtual gallery were created by 7th grade students during art class, first trimester.
Students studied the sculpture of Judy Onofrio and other visionary artists. Onofrio, who resides in Rochester, Minnesota has her work on exhibit nationally and internationally. Locally, one of her sculptures, Mrs. B, can be viewed at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Another work, Big Catch, is at the Frederick Weisman Museum.
Students spent time working in the computer lab researching Onofrio as an artist and participating in some directed viewing exercises using Onofrio's sculptures and wall pieces. They learned about techniques and materials that she used in her sculptures.
Adapting all they learned to their own work, students created a sculpture that was based on a story or personal memory, or created an image that paid tribute to a person or event. Most of the sculptures were created with styrofoam as the skeletal framework, and then covered with mortar. Found objects, mosaic tiles, mirror, broken pottery, etc. were added while the mortar was wet. Some students also chose to grout their work as a finishing step.
The final step was to do a critical analysis of their own work and write an artist's statement. |
