Artists are inspired to do their work from their lived experiences. Through various mediums, artists are capable of communicating emotional, timely, and important stories to the world. The purpose of this project is to learn from expert storytellers in order to begin telling our own story through art.
Day 1: Painting
Students started the day with fun introduction games in order to get to know each other, as well as create a safe space where they are comfortable exploring and sharing their stories. We then had a discussion as a group centered around two questions: 1) What makes a good story? and 2) How can we tell our stories through different mediums of art? After exploring these questions, the group was assigned their first artistic piece of the week: a painting that depicted, in some capacity, their favorite space on campus. After exploring their spaces and writing out their ideas, students began sketching their pictures before transferring their drafts to their final canvas. In the afternoon, the group finalized their pieces with color. If you look closely at the student’s work, you might find a friendly face in their painting - none other than Harry the Husky! To wrap up the day, students wrote brief artistic explanations of their paintings, focusing mostly on how this space has played a critical role in their time at New Hampton thus far.
Day 2: Mosaics
Students had an exciting day two, where they were able to work with local mosaic artist, Lizz Van Saun. Lizz was generous enough to visit New Hampton School and guide students through the crafting of their own mosaic. After giving a brief overview on the history of the mosaic art form, Lizz walked students through the various stages of mosaic making: generating creative ideas, sketching, choosing the right colors, cutting glass, and gluing the pieces together to create their final product. The student’s work today was inspired by a variety of of things - music, cars, the natural world, and so much more. Similar to their paintings on day one, students ended the day by writing up their artist statements, which will be displayed with their work in a gallery style showing at the end of the week.
Day 3: Community Quilt
The “Storytelling Through Art” group had another visiting artist for day three, with Maddy Pinheiro leading a fun session on quilting. After giving a brief lesson on the history of quilts and the integral role they play in a variety of communities throughout the world, Maddy tasked students with creating a Call to Action that would be the inspiration for our own community quilt. After some discussion, the group decided on the title “I’m Just a Kid.” This title was inspired by the variety of issues students brought up during discussion - war, gun violence, social media, climate change, gender inequality, censorship, technology, etc - and how all of these issues weighed heavily on their mental health. The consensus among the group was that these issues oftentimes felt overwhelming and insurmountable, especially since they were still “just a kid.” However, by raising awareness around these issues and having difficult conversations, the students felt hopeful that they could effect change. With that said, each student picked one issue they felt most passionate about and created a 12x12 quilt box that would eventually become one piece of our community quilt. After students sketched out their designs, Maddy helped them through the process of cutting, gluing, painting, and designing their official quilt block. While students were not able to sew the quilt together as a class, Maddy was generous enough to finish the quilt for the group. The hope is that one day this quilt can be displayed somewhere on New Hampton School’s campus!
Day 4: Photography
Today we met with professional photographer Maundy Mitchell. Maundy was kind enough to let us visit her studio in Plymouth, NH, and walk students through the many factors that go into portrait photography. Our morning began with a discussion about the language we used when discussing photography. Words like shoot, frame, trigger, headshot, and take are used in the world of photography and have violent connotations. Maundy believed that a large part of a photographer's job is to make the subject comfortable, and a large part of this is choosing the correct words and tone to talk people through their portrait sessions.
Students then learned about light, composition, and angles through a hands-on approach. Maundy set up various portrait stations and students took turns taking portraits. Some students even came prepared with wigs and special outfits! In the afternoon, students selected one image to edit, name, and print an 8x10 copy of. This portrait will be displayed alongside an artistic statement at the end of the week.
Day 5: The Currier Museum of Art
After a morning of supporting various other Project Week groups, the “Storytelling Through Art” group spent the afternoon at the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester. This felt like a fitting way to end the week, as the students could see how other artists portrayed their stories through various mediums. The students were given a private tour by a very knowledgeable guide, who made sure to question the students about their own interpretations of the art they examined. The students were lucky enough to see some amazing pieces of art from throughout history: a Van Gogh piece, a gallery by Kara Walker, a very expensive set of Andrew Wyeth paintings, and an awesome showcase of Raphael Barontini’s moving piece, “I live a journey of a thousand years.” It has been a great week of exploring art and storytelling!