Summary
In this lesson, the students began with Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ Dale Chihuly exhibition as their inspiration. Students learned about the artist and various exhibitions/installations, viewed and discussed works, viewed and discussed video segments on glass blowing, and reflected on how they would create their collaborative project. (A chandelier) Plastic bottles were collected by students, painted, cut in various ways, and put together with wire and circular supports. Throughout this project blog posts were added to the Art Blog site and students (all students not only 4th graders) were encouraged to participate in discussions which included their personal experience at the VMFA Chihuly exhibit. The chandelier was so well received by the school community, we wanted to share it with others. The piece was featured in the Virginia Art Education Association’s nationally recognized quarterly newsletter and on Dale Chihuly’s Facebook page. The FB post resulted in comments and “likes” from across the country and around the world including Turkey, Cyprus, Singapore, Kenya, Greece, Japan and Israel!
TIPC Ratings
Students and teacher looked at variety of sources to study artist and consider collaborative solutions. This is target range since students continually referred back to instructional videos, websites and books about art.
Students communicated and collaborated with peers to produce a group sculpture. They participated in a community discussion and generated a global response. Their study of the expert; the artist himself and his work and techniques, plus his endorsement of this collaborative task puts it in the target range.
After learning about the artist and medium, students discussed how they could respond to Chihuly’s work. Discussions included making the paint transluscent like glass, working as a team toward a goal, and how best to “engineer” the sculpture’s elements.
Group and class discussions on how best to respond with and “engineer” the sculpture’s elements had students synthesizing knowledge to generate a new product. Students engaged in an authentic and collaborative task in an environment that fosters creativity and risk which scores in the target range.
Student Artifact
Download Files
- Lesson Plan
- Pictures of Student Art Work
- Teacher Blog Page with comments
- Art Work spotlight on Dale Chihuly’s Facebook Page
- VAEA link (scroll down to Student Art Gallery)
