Featured in the Library’s display case are eye-catching artworks by 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students from Mount Pleasant Middle School and Heritage Middle School from the Livingston Public Schools District.
Students explored a variety of mediums and styles of art to create multifaceted 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional pieces, which can be viewed till the end of April.
Mount Pleasant Middle School
Abstract String Paintings:
Sixth grade students used string, India Ink and watercolor paint to create abstract paintings inspired by the expressive work of Jackson Pollock. Students focused on creating balance and movement in their artwork through the use of line and color. Gradation (a gradual change of color or value) was strategically used to help guide viewers’ eyes through the artworks.
Oaxacan Wooden Sculptures:
Sixth grade students created alebrijes inspired by the sculptures from Oaxaca (Waa-haa-kuh), Mexico. An alebrije is a wooden imaginary creature painted with intense colors and intricate patterns. Students combined elements from various animals to construct their unique fantasy animal out of wood. After selecting a color scheme, students painted their alebrijes with vibrant colors. Lastly, students used complementary colors (colors opposite each other on the color wheel) to create dotted patterns for high contrast.
Heritage Middle School
Scratch Art Animals:
Seventh grade students looked at etchings by master artist Albrecht Durer and were impressed by the realism and details of his artwork. Inspired by Durer, their assignment was to research an animal with fur, feathers, or scales and to draw the animal’s contour on Scratch Art Board. ink coated clay board) Then they used a sharp pointed drawing tool to scratch off the surface of the black ink exposing white lines to create the illusion of fur, feather or scales; much like the realistic etchings of Albrecht Durer.
Free-Form Expressive Sculptures:
Seventh grade students used wood, wire, nylon and acrylic paint to create a painted sculpture mimicking master artist Pablo Picasso’s portraits with displaced features from his Cubist period. Each student molded the wire for their sculpture and did a detailed drawing before painting their sculpture in their chosen design.
Cityscapes Drawn in Two-Point Perspective:
Eighth grade students learned and implemented a technique of drawing called two-point linear perspective in order to draw a cityscape that looks 3-dimensional. Students drew buildings, windows, a sidewalk, and street using this method in order to illustrate an illusion of depth, dimension, and space on a flat sheet of paper. After drawing all elements in black and white, color was added in a color-block style using bright solid colors to pop in comparison to the addition of a dark night sky.
Insects in Ink with Watercolor Background:
Eighth grade students created symmetrical drawings of insects and added shading and value using black ink pens and a choice of three different shading techniques: hatching, cross hatching, and/or stippling. To finish the artwork, they used watercolor paints to add a bright colorful background in contrast to the stark black and white shaded insect.
—Archana Chiplunkar, Adult Services & Acquisitions Librarian