Young at Art Student Art Show

May 1 - 22, 2022 | Alexander Community Gallery

Thanks to the generous support of the Blowing Rock Community Foundation and other donors, students in Kindergarten through fourth grade from Blowing Rock School are treated to a monthly visit to BRAHM. Some months we visit the galleries and exhibits, but the real magic happens in the Wilson Education Center. Hands-on art experiences with inspiration from art history are the focus of these visits.

Students learn about pieces or movements in art through the ages. Although projects are focused on particular subjects and techniques, students are free to explore their use of color and composition. Artists are also often given a chance to create original pieces and further explore materials once their initial project is completed. We work through challenges and find solutions to persevere through projects, “turning mistakes into masterpieces.”

While visiting galleries, students learn “museum manners” while developing their critical thinking and literacy skills while analyzing and discussing works of art.

We begin with the ancient world. Kindergarten and first grade students traveled to Easter Island to learn about the Moai stone figures found there and created their own Moai collages. Students in grades 2-4 traveled to ancient Egypt and created scarab beetles, mummies, hieroglyphics, and sarcophagi.

When we looked at art and culture from ancient Rome and Greece, the younger students learned about the Lycurgus Cup and created their own dazzling “glass” goblets out of tissue and tempera. Second and third grades looked at Greek pottery and painted symmetrical designs printed with geometric patterns. Fourth grade students created marbled papers and drew classical columns.

For middle ages art, younger grades explored art by Albrecht Dürer and created their own colorful patterned rhinoceros. Students painted portraits of royalty and designed their own Rose Cathedral Windows. Fourth grade learned about printmaking while creating heraldic crests.

Renaissance art brought us to the art of Hokusai as we created their own interpretations of the famous The Great Wave off Kanagawa . Fourth grade students explored one-point perspective in original drawings.

Impressionism is always a favorite era to explore - what colorful applications of paint! Students were inspired by Claude Monet’s paintings of blossoming trees and gardens, including his lilies and Japanese Bridge.

Expressionist and cubist inspirations for our group included artists such as Henri Matisse (Bowl of apples on a Table), Vincent van Gogh (Starry Night), Amedo Modigliani (portraits), Paul Klee (Castle and Sun), and Pablo Picasso (portraits).

Students finished the year with fun projects inspired by contemporary artists such as Alma Woodsey Thomas, Jean-Michel Basquiat (Dinosaurs) and sculptor Jeff Koons (balloon dogs). Young students also spent time exploring our exhibit of Storyland: A Trip Through Childhood Favorites™ and created paintings inspired by the iconic book Snowy Day.