Visual Arts

Focus on Optical Illusion

Grade 3 students have been focusing on the work of optical illusion artist Victor Vasarely (1906-1997). Using the elements of art and principles of design including shape, color, placement, and proportion, students created the illusion of depth and movement in their artwork. Students used various media including colored pencils, markers, and cut paper to create their own unique optical illusions, or “op art.”

Frida Kahlo Spotlights Student Art

A new visitor has been frequenting St. Johns’ visual arts classrooms on Fridays—famed artist Frida Kahlo has been joining classes, observing lessons, and interviewing students about their work. The puppet version of Frida, along with puppet master Visual Arts Department Chair Ms. Anna Reynolds, has been making rounds, recording videos, and posting them on the visual arts Instagram.

“Puppets are a great way to get kids talking about their art work,” says Reynolds. “Self-reflection and artist statements are a big part of our art education standards, and Frida makes the process a little more approachable and hilarious.” And the project is definitely a full-department collaboration, with Reynolds serving as the puppet master and Mrs. Mary Beth Allgaier and Mrs. Pam Ayres serving as camerawomen. Be sure to follow St. Johns Visual Arts on Instagram so you can catch Frida’s next spotlight interviews!

st.johnsvisualarts

Left to right, Grace McNulty, Francis Bailey, Westin Cowherd, and Grayson Moody.

Grade 8 Crafts Pen & Ink Self-Portraits

As they move through their Middle School years, St. Johns’ art students work to fine-tune essential skills and hone their craft across a variety of media. This fall, Grade 8 art students completed self-portraits in which they used pen and ink with a variety of different textures, such as hatching, cross-hatching, and stippling, to create light and dark.

First the students studied Rembrandt’s expressive self-portrait etchings and spent several classes practicing pen textures and value in preparation. Then they took photos of themselves with the help of Middle School art teacher and Visual Arts Department Chair Ms. Anna Reynolds. Finally, using the photo as a guide, students incorporated the textures to best recreate themselves, in pen and ink format. “Drawing with pen and ink takes an extreme amount of patience and the students were willing and excited to commit to such an advanced technique,” said Reynolds. “Without the ability to erase, every mark counts.”

Students Prepare Scholastic Submissions

Almost as soon as students returned to School in August, art students began preparing their submissions to the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, the nation’s premier awards program recognizing the vision, ingenuity, and talent of American youth. Beginning as early as September, art students in Grades 7-12 began planning submissions, saving their work, and creating artist accounts. Students in Mrs. Ayres’ sculpture classes started working on 3D self-portraits, shown here, for their portfolios.