Within the past two weeks at ACH Clear Pathways, the art center has started creating the beginning stages of the Winter Showcase, occurring on December 9th. The theme of this semester’s showcase is the Concrete Jungle, a concept based on the notion of civilizations becoming overtaken once again by nature. Additionally, the Concrete Jungle will be displayed through an interactive experience, meaning that visitors and guests will be able to walk through the art exhibit, becoming fully engaged and absorbed with the students’ art displays.
The first art project we completed in preparation for the Concrete Jungle was painting a collage of tropical palm leaves on canvases, which later will be combined to form the background of their play. Within this project each student was given their own canvas and allowed complete artistic freedom. The students could position the leaves however they wanted, choose any color, and even add personal touches to the leaves and background. In the end, we merged all these canvases together to form a massive collage of beautiful, vibrant assorted jungle leaves.
Another art project we have completed in the past two weeks was the creation of the Concrete Jungle sign, which will hang as guests enter the interactive experience. The format of this art project was almost identical to the last project, except instead of a completely blank canvas, each student was assigned a letter. From there, the students had to plan, design, sketch, and paint their letters while focusing on the theme of the Concrete Jungle. Once all these letters were set side-by-side, they blended into this array of bricks and plants, street signs, crakes, animals, concrete-covered roads, and blue overcasting skies. The finished project truly encapsulated the idea of a Concrete Jungle.
One aspect that I really love about beginning the creation of the Concrete Jungle is that all the students are working together to complete one combined piece of artwork. Teamwork is essential in life, and it is remarkable to see all of these young students coming together to create something s beautiful and meaningful. While I have always personally planned to incorporate group projects and presentations within my classroom, I have never considered using an artistic approach with group work until I began my internship at ACH Clear Pathways.
Building Bridges 