CAPA Boot Camp Part II

Wow, the second week of Art Boot Camp went by as quickly as the first week! The Brashear kids did an absolutely amazing job keeping with the fast and tedious pace of camp. Despite occasionally feeling frustrated, or discouraged, this group rose to the top and didn't let a few down moments stop them from learning.

This week, we focused on 2D and 3D sculpture as well as outdoor observational drawing and still life art. Our main sculpture piece was an exploration of Sgraffito. Sgraffito in Italian means "scratched", it's a technique used primarily in ceramics to create a design or illustration on a surface layer of paint, plaster, or in this case, ink.



 

Each student was given a dampened clay plate to coat with ink. The plates were set aside to dry so that the students could use a sculpting tool to begin etching their design on the dried layer. 

A plate completed by Legasea (6th grade)

A plate completed by Ellie (5th grade)

Still Life drawing was also a big focus this week. The second major adventure the students embarked upon was really putting their newly developed observational skills to use, as well as their budding knowledge of value and perspective. 

To wrap up our action-packed camp we were able to tour the Frick Art and Historical Center and see the impressionist exhibit featuring the works of Degas, Van Gogh, Monet and a special appearance of the cubism revolutionary, Pablo Picasso. Entrance to the museum was provided by Tickets for Kids with additional transportation support provided by the Frick.

The exhibition fit rather well with the recent lesson on still life drawings. Still Life (as well as portraiture) was a very common theme during the Impressionist Era. We had the lovely opportunity to have a guided tour of the collection. 

             

We even got to experience the traditional drawing style of En Plein Air (meaning 'In Open Air" in French), which was a common method of landscape and portrait placement. 

This has been a great experience and we hope our cadets had as much fun as we did. For many of us, art plays a major role in our lives. It provides a space that we can create,contribute, explore, learn, express, observe, and heal. We are grateful that we have the ability to expose our youth to such a great outlet, and we hope they carry these tools with them the rest of their lives. 

-ALEC