“Three Birds of Flight” 11 yr old student, 2018, copper and aluminum wire. Not pictured: a wire nest with an aluminum egg inside. The nest attaches to the hand and the birds hang below.

“Three Birds of Flight” 11 yr old student, 2018, copper and aluminum wire. Not pictured: a wire nest with an aluminum egg inside. The nest attaches to the hand and the birds hang below.

2018, 13 yr old student, cardboard tubes, wire. The piece lays on the body like a sash. The smaller end sits on the shoulder and the work cascades down the torso.

2018, 13 yr old student, cardboard tubes, wire. The piece lays on the body like a sash. The smaller end sits on the shoulder and the work cascades down the torso.

Sculpture

During the summers of 2016, 2017, and 2018 I was given the opportunity to teach a sculpture class to middle school students. The students come from all over the United States, with most of them residing in Michigan. Projects include body extensions, cardboard self portraits, blind contour wire drawings. The students have 10 work days during a vigorous camp schedule, keeping them busy most of the day. Each student has two other classes in addition to sculpture. They also have studio time in the afternoon to work on their projects in the class of their choice.  Studio time is not instructional time, it is, however, time to catch up on projects they might be behind in.

At the end of each session, the entire Art Colony and its students put on a final show comprised of the student work. The Faculty of each session, along with a select amount of campers will hang the show together. 

In a fast-paced environment, such as summer camp, there is not always time to finish projects based on the student's work ethic and knowledge of the materials. Most are new to sculpture and it takes a while to learn the limits and capacity of the medium. Each project is carefully picked to make sure that if they cannot complete it in time, we can work together to get it to a point where it appears to be finished. I also choose materials based on accessibility outside of the class. Not all will have access, but it is my hope that there will be one or two lessons they can take home with them and continue working in sculpture.

2018, 12 yr old student, copper and brass wire. The piece fits on to the arm with the smaller circle to the left fits on the middle finger of the hand. The tree sits on top of the arm.

2018, 12 yr old student, copper and brass wire. The piece fits on to the arm with the smaller circle to the left fits on the middle finger of the hand. The tree sits on top of the arm.

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“Wired Face” 12 yr old student, 2018, aluminum wire, wood.

“Wired Face” 12 yr old student, 2018, aluminum wire, wood.

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*To protect the student’s identity, their faces, names, and any other way to identify them is removed from this site.