Point of View

 

Taking inspiration from Sister Corita Kent, a teacher and artist who was a proponent of using a viewfinder as a means for creating compositions, sixth graders in SHS Middle School art teacher Lauren DiCioccio’s art class this past winter created one-inch square viewfinders to take on a walkabout across campus in search of capturing a view to replicate in pastels. Tying math into the equation, they increased the scale to a 12-inch composition, in pursuit of “drawing observationally but abstracting the frame through their choice of composition,” said DiCioccio. “For example one student abstracted a soccer cleat with just one toe depicted.” The project is a “building block” project for the sixth grade, with learning outcomes including the basics of how to design a composition to achieve a successful artwork.

 

 

In a collaboration to produce artwork for display during school Masses, seventh graders in DiCioccio’s class painted roses to celebrate the story of Juan Diego for the Our Lady of Guadalupe Mass. The project is a part of a unit on color theory; students also learned introductory painting skills along with brush techniques. “We thought about using complementary colors to create contrast and make a painting ‘pop,’ – the students were not allowed to add black until the very end,” said DiCioccio. “Roses are a part of Juan Diego’s story [the rich-hued buds appeared during his apparitions of Our Lady], and background elements in the compositions included the night sky, or flames in an Aztec pattern.” A goal for DiCioccio this school year includes bringing “art to the Masses,”—pun intended.