First off I would like to say if anyone reading this hasn't seen Ariel Bowman's work, I would most definitely advise it. Her clay sculptures are AMAZING!
As for the classroom, I think most of her projects are way too advanced for an art one course, but, I do think there is a lot to learn from her work.
As for the classroom, I think most of her projects are way too advanced for an art one course, but, I do think there is a lot to learn from her work.
One of my favorite pieces from here were her elephants on a circus ball. Not only did she get her idea from the movie Dumbo (a focus on history and cross- art collaboration), but she actually recreated one of its greatest scenes! The time and dedication she must have put into the sculpture is simply astounding. In the classroom, I can see myself showing students a work like this and talking about just that. Her work is so carefully crafted and detailed that the elephants look real (focus on form and function). In high school, a lot of students or obsessed with the idea of perfection and realism. When they don't achieve that, they feel as if they have failed. This is one project that I believe is a great example of the fact that it takes incredible amounts of time, patience, and practice to achieve this level of quality in a piece. Even Ms. Bowman said it would take her months upon months to make just one sculpture from start to finish. And this is even after several years of college training with a focus on ceramics. But with hard work, many students could achieve pieces like this in a medium that best suits them. |