The Learning Tree: Large Wooden Sculpture

I wanted to brighten the dreary patio outside my classroom door with a 10 foot sculpture: The Tree of Learning. This represents the growth and change I expect from my students as they strive to become better versions of themselves. I used three 8'X4' pieces of nice birch wood: two boards for tree shapes, and the 3rd board (and scrap pieces from the first 2 boards) were used to make fluffy tree leaf cloud shapes. 

Once these were cut out and edges sanded, a slit was cut (the width of the board) 4 feet up from the bottom, on one tree, and a slit 4 feet down from the top of the other tree.

Students helped paint every part of the tree front and back in black. There were a handful of students with a little bit of vision who I trusted to follow the marks of dark brown bark (both sides of both trunks and every extra big of root pieces). Then light brown to fill in some gaps and brighten it up. I painted dark green spirals throughout the leafy areas and then students traced with a lighter green, before doing 3rd green which was the lightest and yellowest green. 

Students brushed two layers of deck sealant on both sides of each piece of wood, totally 6 coats (of paint and sealant) on each side of the tree top. With a day to dry between each coat, it was a long process.

I bought a 5 foot pole to put in the ground and strap the tree to, and I made sure that none of the roots were touching dirt directly since that will promote rot. Hopefully we'll get some gravel or pebbles to fill in around the base and that the tree will weather well.

 

Cyanotype Murals Art Lesson

Since we're focused on the history of architecture, why not talk about the history of blue prints? Did you know that the reason blue prints were originally blue is because architects used the cyanotype process, which was a photography process used in the 19th century. 

When chemically treated paper or fabric are exposed to light and and then rinsed in cold water, they turn Prussian blue. Any parts that block the light remain white. Our Art Class community partner, Georgia College and State University Professor, Matt Forrest, explained the process and provided the supplies. We came up with the images, last week.

When we made our large 5 foot by 7 foot fabric murals, the water turned a light green as we moved the fabric around for a minute or so. The fabric turned blue almost immediately. Parts of my hands turned blue as well, and stayed that way for about a week, so I wore gloves the next time.

Flat paper cut-outs, black sharpie drawings on clear plastic, blue prints and words printed onto old over-head projector sheets, photo negatives, rulers, metal hoops from old bar stools, and even a student provided the shapes and lines that became the finished art piece. It's really a chance to be creative and come up with an idea or theme to present with various objects and images. Because we've been focused on architecture, we used blue-prints from famous buildings around the world, with a silhouette of a couple of students, sitting on an I-beam, as though they were constructing the buildings. 

Another mural had a student in a prom gown surrounded by drawings of plant leaves from stencils, and real plant leaves, with the photo-image of a house cradled in her hand, as if she were making a home from the resources around her. A mix of Mother Earth and a domestic goddess. Holding up the wet 5 foot X 7 foot images and draping them over a brick wall to dry was such a rewarding moment.