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Inspiring art show celebrates Zimbabwe crafts, Michele Debuisne
Inspiring art show celebrates Zimbabwe crafts
Michele Debuisne outlines a creative endeavour
Marymount International School, Paris is a Catholic school with a mission statement that embraces diversity and fosters not only individual success but also compassion for those who are less fortunate. As a school, we have annual fundraising that supports our sister school in Zimbabwe. The sisters there belong to the same order as our sisters here: the RSHM (Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary). In the spirit of the RSHM mission “that all may have life”, I came up with the idea to have a school-wide art fair that would feature students’ art from grades 1-8 and would also have a fundraising component: the art auction and “goodies” generated from the student art for sale. Here’s the story.
I am fortunate to teach in a large, glass-roofed art studio. The students come down to my studio once a week; happy, eager and ready to do something new and exciting. After the initial settling-in period of September, I launched into project work that would be displayed in the art fair. I explained that only their very best work was acceptable and that they needed to practice before going on to their final set of materials. The motivation for the art was the animals, the people and the traditional crafts of Zimbabwe. This was rich inspiration.
Giraffe silhouettes, mountain gorillas, African warriors, lions, clay bowls, Ndebele dolls, Ndebele designs and houses, hippos, zebras and elephants. This is the complete list of art created, and each class spent several weeks perfecting their individual piece. A frame was added to every painting with patterns and designs. Some classes enjoyed the process so much we continued to make more art inspired from the first project. In grade 4 after painting lions, they were eager to draw elephants too. One student in grade 2 told me she was drawing mountain gorillas at home all the time!
Artistic surprises also happened along the way. My students
developed a more critical attitude towards their subject. My grade 6 students were challenged to paint hippos in water, and they learned how to create highlights and shadows. Students had to improve their painting techniques, so they practiced using oil pastel and watercolor; wet on wet technique; salt sprinkles into wet paint; and enhancing with thin markers or colored pencils. Grade 7 painted a zebra, cropping from the shoulders to feature the full details on the head. Various techniques were used such as bold acrylic paint, rainbow stripes in watercolor, or rich oil pastels. The zebras featured a black frame that was printed with white cardboard lines and sponges to create a dramatic black and white effect.
The learning experience was as exciting and engaging for me as it was for the students. We were all focused on producing top-notch art pieces. Students helped other students who were struggling to mix the right color, construct a paper frame or make a pattern. As a teacher, I enjoyed seeing genuine excitement and art learning in action every week. I was supported by our Head of School, who absolutely loved the idea and encouraged me endlessly. We had monthly meetings and our team grew larger to include our Parent Teacher Organisation members, our communications department and alumni members. We decided that instead of selling student art, we would select one piece of art from each grade and turn it into a magnet. We sold badges made in our FabLab (a maker space that puts technology for design and construction, such as 3-D printers and laser cutters, into the hands of students) and a poster featuring student art. Lastly, we auctioned two paintings from Asher Jay, an animal conservationist artist whose work reflected our own themes and ideas. Our online auction featured art donated by a member of our community.
On a hot day late in May I was ready to hang the art in our administrative building. This might not seem like a worthy venue to display art but this is a magnificent, mansard-style building. It was the perfect place for an art exhibition. We displayed the auction art and sales goodies in the parlors downstairs. Over 350 student art pieces were
displayed on panels, along staircases, hallways and boardrooms. We displayed on three floors. The result was nothing short of amazing. The ‘vernissage’ (opening night) was held one evening and welcomed enthusiastic parents, students and colleagues. The silent/online auction was underway, followed by a ‘Live’ auction of Asher Jay’s stunning paintings. Champagne and nibbles completed a perfect evening!
QR codes! One QR code was on a student’s art piece. I designed it so that it would explain the meaning behind each of the subjects chosen for the student art. For example, the grade 6 hippo painting had QR codes that told the story of an English couple who saved the hippos from drought in 1991. Every QR code told another part of the story, so if you listened to all 10 of them you would have a better understanding of the story behind the hippo paintings. Students visited the Art fair with their homeroom. They used iPads to scan the QR codes, learn a story and fill out an activity booklet I had prepared. There was too much to complete in one class so they chose the group of paintings about which they wanted to learn more.
To conclude, the event raised several thousand euros for Zimbabwe through the sale of magnets, posters and auction art. More importantly, it was a community event that ended our school year on a high note. Students improved their techniques and skills. They learned to persist and persevere on their individual project. They admired and were in awe of hundreds of art pieces coming together in one place for a week. They were interested in the art for sale in the auction section donated by older students, teachers, parents and alumni. It was exciting to participate and to see the prices going up on the silent online auction. The Zimbabwe art fair was a powerful experience that reached everyone in the school community and a wider public via our social media.
