Art Program – February Update

Greetings From the Studio!

As we continue to study some of the greatest artists at the cottage, elementary and intermediate levels, we have been particularly amazed by Pablo Picasso. His first word wasn’t “Mama” or “Dada” – it was an abbreviated version of “pencil”. Though by the age of 14 Picasso painted like legendary masters many years older, his greatest impact occurred when he broke trends and did his own thing. When photography was invented with an ability to realistically portray people one click away, Picasso was especially motivated to “paint what was inside him.” As a result, he dove deep into one of his most influential movements: Cubism. Portraying the essence of an entire being from 360 degrees with shapes and often bold color, Picasso forged styles of representing his subjects that forever changed the modern art world.

Picasso produced over 30,000 paintings in his lifetime. His cubist style portraits often contain frontal and profile views with eyes facing different directions. Sometimes perceived as “creepy,” Picasso’s work evokes strong reactions and instills a freedom to be wild! We enjoyed painting in the style of this master who is arguably the most successful and famous painter of all time.

We worked our Picasso-style creations with myriad oil pastels, Koi Brush Pens, Faber- Castell Broadline Jumbo Markers and Sharpie on mixed media paper as well as cardboard. We also worked with fancy and painted papers to create collage portraits which is fitting since Picasso, along with Georges Braque, coined the term “collage.”

Mid-February, ten Picasso – inspired works will be selected for submission to the juried 2022 Island School Council for the Arts Promising Picassos Student Art Exhibit. The gallery will be viewable on the ISCA website as well as their Instagram and Facebook platforms and prizes are awarded to the “top four.” Very exciting and more on this to follow!

In the primary building, we began our fiber arts exploration with specialty yarn OWL paintings. Through parent donations and busting my own stash, we used high-end cotton, linen, silk, cashmere, mohair, and merino wools with felt on burlap and cardboard to create owls with incredible sensory feel and personality! They are adorable, unique representations of their creators and both students and staff have been delighted by their display in the halls! Tune in next month for negative space hearts (back by popular demand) and the commencement of our gala paintings!

Happy creating and happy Valentine’s Day!

Miss Sari