It’s been a whirlwind of a school year for us in the Education Department and the light at the end of the tunnel is almost within reach. The last several weeks have been spent working on different school partnerships, giving tours and conducting workshops galore.  Schedules are constantly changing and EVERYTHING is written in pencil.  I’ve been a busy little bumble bee and I wouldn’t have it any other way.  I’m lucky enough to do what I love and share it with a wide range of students.

In a previous blog post I had written about surviving high school the second time around.  I, along with my colleague Leah Morelli, entered the parallel universe of my alma mater, Perry High School, and worked with two of their art classes.  I did indeed survive and am even willing to do it again next school year.  Over the course of 8 weeks the students learned about Andy Warhol, Pop Art, Warhol’s Wallpaper series, silk screening, composition, and collage.  We also looked at the work of Shepard Fairey and Ludovica Gioscia for their use of silkscreening, repetition, and large wallpaper pieces in their contemporary artwork, as well as their art making processes.

Museum Visit

After sitting through several PowerPoint presentations and surviving, the students were invited to the museum and take part in a Warhol Workshop.  During this 3 hour workshop, students were given a museum tour and the opportunity to get their creative juices flowing in our studio.  It was nice to have the students finally SEE what I had been talking about in their classroom.  During their studio time, students learned about Andy Warhol’s underpainting and silk screening process to make their own celebrity Pop Portraits.

Art Making Process

The students were broken up into groups and assigned a subject matter that Andy Warhol had used in his artwork – celebrities, shoes, animals, food, and cars.  We asked students: “If Andy Warhol were alive today and still making art, what popular images would he turn into Pop Art?”  Through several brainstorming sessions and library research days, each group found 3 images that they felt best represented their subject and they were made into silkscreens.  Students spent a few class periods printing their images in different colors and layers.  The students then cut up and arranged their prints to create a large collage with wallpaper paste.

Finished Projects