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| Artwork by Mariella |
Artists in Lower School are working on their self-portraits for the fall art exhibition later next month in Panther Hall gallery. Our youngest artists are discovering how to represent themselves on paper using their favorite colors. Their drawings are wonderful and spontaneous depictions of how they perceive the world. It is an exciting discovery in self-expression and creative pride that begins as early as Beginner classes at Ranney School.
Can you picture the well known M&M cartoon character with his arms and legs coming out of the head of the round candy? You might see this same characterization in any child's drawing. As young artists perceive people around them, the face is the most important element of anyone they meet, and everything (such as arms and legs) are simply extensions of the face. There might be a body between the head and the legs, but in their eyes, it is not as important to recognize or represent in their artwork.
We expect children to depict reality on paper, yet how can we get them to notice what is not important to them? One thing all children relate to easily are their soft, cuddly animals and dolls. If they get to design their own softies, they would need to make decisions that travel beyond where the eyes and mouth go on the face. For example, what color would they choose for the body or the tail if it is an animal, or the shirt or dress if it is a person? Beginner artists drew a self-portrait coming up with many decisions for color choices for each part of their portrait. Then, using fabric samples donated to the art room, I turned each of these wonderful depictions into a softie and brought their drawings to life!
As the year progresses and we continue to explore art with Beginners, it will be exciting to see if our experiment in turning flat art into a 3D manipulative doll will make a difference in how they see people and how to represent them on paper. With new innovation labs and maker spaces added to Ranney School within each division, I would encourage all of my artists to develop their creative thinking skills by exploring unexpected ways of turning their ideas into three-dimensional designs.
A special thank you goes out to Mrs. Brown (Laney '23 and Lexi '25) for donating these wonderful books of fabric to the Lower School art room and making our softies possible.
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| Artwork by Odin |
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| Artwork by Hayden |
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| Artwork by Matthew |
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| Artwork by Patrick |
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| Artwork by Andrew |
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| Artwork by David |
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| Artwork by Lilly |
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| Artwork by Marlena |
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| Artwork by Oliver |
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| Artwork by Yuze |
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Thank you for your thoughts!
Barbara Levine
Ranney Lower School Art