5th Grade 2019

Portrait Paintings

5th Grade Art TAG learned about portrait artists Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald. These artists were chosen to paint President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for the President's Exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. This is a very prestigious honor for an artist, all presidents get a portrait added to this gallery once they have completed their term as President.

For this assignment students learned about how Kehinde Wiley chose to portray President Obama surrounded by leaves and flowers native to his home state of Hawai'i. Amy Sherald depicted the First Lady Michelle Obama in a flowing dress with patterns that remind viewers of quilts from Gee's Bend, Alabama. The quilts of Gee’s Bend, a remote black community of the descendants of former enslaved people, are bold and improvisational, and reference the independence and resourcefulness of the African American experience. Portrait artists can depict certain attributes about someone through what items or surroundings they include in the artwork. The students chose to include images around their portrait or on their clothing that tells the viewer something about themselves.

Recycled Animal Sculptures

Students read about the environmental concerns of single use plastic items and how artists can bring awareness to things they care about by making art to start a conversation.

The elephant sculpture below was made by a community in England using all plastic bottles. This reminds the community to to reduce their waste consumption of single use plastic items and is a beautiful reminder to make good choices about the environment to better their community and the world.

Below are some pictures of the beginning stages of students building armatures (frames), using recycled materials for their animal sculptures.

Students then used Plastercraft to cover their animal armature in order to create a smooth surface for painting.