The third graders have been enjoying a study of Chinese art in the art room, leading up to their field trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to view their collection of Chinese artwork. The third grade artists investigated traditional ink and brush painting, learning how to mix three shades of ink - dark, medium and light - and how to grip the special paintbrushes, made of bamboo and animal fur, so that they hold them vertical to the paper.
The paintings were done on rice paper, and students built up a number of skills, learning different brushstrokes and how to traditionally paint pandas, bamboo, mountains, flowers and fish. Once the third graders had a few classes to practice to their newfound skills, they combined elements that they had learned to create their own unique compositions which will be mounted on scrolls.
The third graders were also busy getting their hands messy in clay. After examining some images of Chinese dragons, they noticed their distinctive claws and long body shapes. The third graders used a combination of slab and coil construction techniques to create their own dragons out of clay, giving each one a distinctive expression and unique details, like fire in the mouth, special scales and long curly tails. The clay dragons will be put in the upcoming raku firing, when AFS welcomes visiting artist Brett Thomas.
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