Special Art Projects
Children attending Forest Knolls E.S. create public art to beautify the school corridors. These special projects serve as permanent installations and are gifts from our children.
Community Textile Quilts
These urban and suburban quilts were created by our second graders under the direction of a fabric artist, Debbie Borkman, their art teacher, Debbie Bermudez, and many parent volunteers. Each child created their own 8" X 8" appliqué panel, which focused on a community theme such as climate, buildings, occupations, living things, and transportation. A Washington Post Grant as well as our PTA helped fund the project.
Education Makes a World of Difference
Fifth graders created acrylic murals under the direction of a resident artist, Elyse Harrison and their art teacher Debbie Bermudez. Art students were inspired by twentieth century artists such as Stuart Davis, Pablo Picasso, and George Braque. Motifs, lines, colors, and shapes from preliminary sketches were combined to create the murals. The first mural grouping focuses on our diverse student population. The second mural grouping focuses on computer technology, photography, video, and radio production. The third mural grouping focuses on the visual arts, music, dance, physical education, and orchestra. The fourth grouping focuses on the academics. An Artists-in-Education Grant from the Maryland State Arts Council and our PTA funded the project.
See a Song Sculpture
In conjunction with their science unit on
structures, fifth grade artists assembled a variety of cardboard shapes
and forms to make a relief sculpture. First students studied a large
sculpture called Shark Massacre by Frank Stella. After discussing
his art they created abstract tempura paintings on cardboard surfaces
using flowing lines, round shapes, and patterns to suggest the movement of
water. Students used a cool color scheme not only to unify the
sculpture but also to symbolize water. Black oil pastel was used to
outline and define shapes and patterns. Finally, students assembled
their painted cardboard shapes to create a beautiful 3-D form. The
sculpture became the inspiration for our Spring Concert. Children
wrote music and created a dance in honor of their artwork.
The Great American Outdoors: Stained/Fused Glass Windows
Fourth and fifth graders created stained glass windows under the direction of a resident artist,Viki Keating, their art teacher, Debbie Bermudez and many parent volunteers. Students learned about the history of stained glass as an art form in various cultures and made connections with their science unit on architectural structures. The glass is hung in the front windows of our school for everyone to admire. An Artist-in Education Grant from the Maryland State Arts Council and our PTA funded the project.
Native American Totem Pole
In conjunction with their science unit on structures, fifth grade honors art students created a totem pole similar to the ones created by Northwest Coast Native American sculptors. The Kwakiutl, the Haida, and the Tlingit are well known for their totem poles which are hand carved from large logs. Often these totems have important animal or spirit designs on them, and they may tell a family's history. With this in mind, students planned and built their own 3-dimensional animal totem which stands 10 feet tall. The armature for their totem was built out of recyclable objects such as cardboard boxes, tin cans, plastic containers and newspapers. Once their armature was strong and balanced, students used plaster paris craft strips to give it form. When the paris craft was dry, children painted the totem inspired by the use of lines, colors, shapes, and textures of the Native American culture. Characteristics such as S-forms, U-forms, and O-forms were included. Once the totem sculpture was finished we placed it in our foyer for everyone in the school to enjoy.
Many Faces...Different Talents...One Strong School: An Indoor School Wide Mural of Children at Forest Knolls
Every child in our school had the opportunity to create a self-portrait that will be used for permanent installation in our school. Through a graphic arts company student art was transferred onto 4" ceramic tiles. Parent, student, and teacher volunteers plan to grout the tiles together to make 2 huge mosaic murals. The first mosaic will be of grades K-2 and will be permanently displayed in the kindergarten hallway. The second mosaic will be of grades 3-5 and will be permanently displayed in our main hallway. Profits from our Square-1 fundraiser, a Washington Post Grant, and a Human Rights Access Grant will fund this project.
Under the Sea: A Forest Knolls Community Mosaic
During the 2009-2010 school year,
every child who attended our school participated in the creation of a
mosaic under the direction of a resident artist, Arturo Ho, and their
art teacher, Debbie Bermudez. Students learned about the history of
mosaics as decorative architectural elements throughout the world.
The mosaic frieze is hung in our school atrium as a permanent
installation. We are very thankful to our PTA for funding this
project.
