Insights from the 2018/19 school year

At the FÖS “Astrid Lindgren”, eight pupils from the vocational school class were taught how to cast sand. The focus was on the independent design of a form and its realization in a wax model. The outer shape was created with a fretsaw. The modeling tool and file were used for further processing. Tin was melted with a flame and poured into the depression in the sand that had been created by pressing the model into it. Another challenge was the color design. The surface could be decorated with enamel paint. With enormous patience and creativity, small unique pieces were created, which were proudly given as gifts and will certainly be worn for a long time as special pieces of jewelry.

Pixel Art: Examples from art history, works by Vasarely and Richter, provided impetus for the students to work together. By mixing colors in a very differentiated way, the students created picture elements, modules and pixels – with acrylic paints on cardboard. They were encouraged to think about the effect of color and abstract forms and to consider the arrangement and design on the surface, to see and arrange contrasts of color and light and dark. The seemingly simple task led to calm, good concentration and contemplation among the children. A surface was covered, precisely calculated, with 196 color squares (5×5 cm each), according to a spontaneous, almost intuitively chosen order – starting from the center with dark colors, becoming lighter towards the edge and with simultaneous color gradients from cold to warm. The joint work was very well received by the pupils.

Random structures: Christiane Budig led an art project with 4th grade students at the elementary school in Hohenthurm. The idea for the project was the creative use of chance. In the spirit of Jackson Pollock, splashes of color were created on various leaf shapes. These were expanded or supplemented using various techniques (pen, straw, wooden sticks, colored inks, pens, etc.) and stories were developed in the process. The aim of this art project was to stimulate children’s imagination through free and experimental design with colors. In addition to imaginative mythical creatures, he also created abstract pictures reminiscent of colored stained glass windows. Free association with the resulting random structures expanded the students’ narrative skills, and connections were made between structures and their own experiences.

A mask as a relief: At the Borlach Community School in Bad Dürrenberg, children in grades 6-10 have created a mask. The first time I worked on a thin copper sheet with reaming tools was in first grade. In the “A mask” project, the tool had to be handled differently from a pencil used for painting, drawing or writing. The students learned how much force is required when using the rubbing tools to process a copper sheet so that the desired motif is clearly and plastically deposited. The results are very diverse and the students had a lot of fun.

The aim of the project was for 19 pupils in Year 3 to create small self-written poems using a printing technique (milk carton printing) and then produce their own small book from the texts and prints. The word “odds and ends” used to be used to describe little things. Under this title, the children were able to write their own little elf poems in German lessons. They chose content such as their hobby, their pet or even their little sister. The children were able to design the different parts for their book at various stations. This included stamping the poem, producing the printed image and designing the book cover and title page. The poems and prints of their classmates were copied and bound together with their own poems and prints in the book. At the end, the children proudly held their self-designed booklet in their hands and with it a memento of their primary school days.

Mosaic design: The project started with an excursion into the history of mosaic design. Works by Gaudi, Hundertwasser and Niki de Saint Phalle, as well as examples of pictures from past projects with children were presented. In didactic steps, the children develop a working draft, taking design guidelines into account. Technical conditions were discussed. Everyone really enjoyed the practical work with the tile pieces. Grouting and cleaning were also part of each child’s independent work.

Experimental printing: After an introduction by the artist, the pupils were given enough time to create their designs. They worked on linoleum using the letterpress technique they were already familiar with, but printed in a new way. They had various substrates and different papers at their disposal, so that light colors sat on dark papers, creating surprising reversal effects. Japanese paper or illustrated newspapers were used to change the subject matter and impression of the prints. The participants also achieved a high level of expressiveness in their works by using textiles as a background and the resulting creasing and folding effects. The results of the project, which covered both the surface and the room, were presented at the open day.

Children illustrate poems: Inspired by Paul Maar’s poems, children at Albrecht Dürer elementary school were able to easily find access and enjoy listening to them. Afterwards, the children were able to choose one of the poems presented and read it out again. They then made small sketches of the selected poem. These were then implemented with textile applications as a collage. After some initial hesitation, they were enthusiastic. They enjoyed working with the unfamiliar material and encouraged each other to find original solutions. At the end of the project, more than 30 pictures were finished. We decided to use them to create two calendars for the classroom. The children chose the illustrations themselves. And at the end of the project, the most popular poems were read out again by teachers and pupils on request.

Shadow puppet theater: During a project week, 15 pupils from grades 4, 5 and 7 at the Lebensweg special school in Bernburg created a shadow puppet theater. In keeping with the school’s theme for the year – health and sport – the play “The animals save the forest” was created, in which a recent visit to the circus and environmental issues were incorporated. Inspired by historical shadow puppets, they designed their own figures and cut them out of cardboard. Detailed filigree internal shapes were backed with colored transparent paper. Moving elements brought the figures to life. The stage set was projected onto the shadow stage using drawings on film. The pupils enjoyed working on and performing the scenes together. In the process, they discovered the effects of light and shadow. Imagination, dexterity, a sense of proportion and team spirit were among the skills trained.

A pea concert with timpani, noodles and trumpets: What does the musical talent of a grain of rice look like? How gracefully does a hunting sausage ballet dance? To what beat does broccoli swing its green curls? Imaginative answers to these and other questions were found in this project. To get the ideas flowing, the students were asked to imagine what it would look like if their favorite dishes were celebrating a feast on the table. Each group found a festival title for their mural, such as food fight, casting show or land of milk and honey. Various utensils such as pasta, peas, paper plates, shashlik skewers, cutlery, scraps of fabric, sequins, pens and paints were used. The result was six murals that adorn the auditorium of the Saaleschule. The murals pick up on the conviviality of this place with a visual bang.

Color and light – surface and space – in search of clues in Halle’s old town: The project Color and light – surface and space – in search of clues in Halle’s old town took place as a project for class A at the Montessori school. On the first day of the project, the pupils made colored drawings of historic townhouses on site. The central location of the school – in the middle of the city and on the grounds of the Francke Foundations – set the scene for the second project day. The children then used different colored spices to create a mandala, inspired by a copy of a historical map. They took this Francke spice mix home with them. A third project day was reserved for the fourth graders. The two-dimensional design of the mandala was used to design an enamel pendant. How did a medieval town center grow? And how is the comparatively modern school town arranged? What treasures can the children themselves uncover by actively and artistically engaging with their environment?

The 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus: In view of the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus in 2019, 21 pupils from the 2nd grade of the Protestant elementary school in Magdeburg dealt with shapes and colors that played a role in Bauhaus teaching. The content of the project was working with color foils. This was to be used to decorate the windows in the hallway of the school building. The pupils created transparent, colorful pictures that have a luminosity comparable to that of stained glass windows. The glass pictures by Josef Albers, who was a teacher at the Bauhaus, served as a model. In the course of the project, the children arranged cut-out shapes from different colored, self-adhesive foils to form ornamental surfaces on transparent PVC foils. In addition to individual patterns made from the basic shapes of triangles, squares and circles, she also created lively, abstract pictures.

Pre-Christmas ceramics: This year’s ceramics project with six special needs pupils from the Levana School for the Mentally Disabled in Eisleben was all about the pre-Christmas season. Together they cut out Christmas decorations from different colored clay slabs and painted them using different techniques: with engobes, oxide crayons and underglaze paints. The artist then glazed the works in her workshop and applied gold plating to some of them. The pupils were extremely focused, diligent and cheerfully immersed in the topic at work, and their very own inner world had a special impact on the appearance of the Christmas decorations.

Animals in a color frenzy: In this project, the students worked with two new techniques. The theme “Animals in a riot of color” should be seen in a new light. First, print templates were produced. They used old textured wallpaper and stuck it onto a white sheet. In the second step, the structure was rubbed through with a soft pencil. This was very unfamiliar for the students, but after some initial hesitation they found lively structures. The works were then reinforced with fineliner – mainly the supporting contours – and then colored with one or two watercolors. Very expressive and unusual drawings were created. The third step consisted of printing with black ink. This work was also worked on with tempera. The results surprised the children, as they usually have to work with very specific guidelines

I’m looking for a picture: With small “viewfinders”, which are also used to search for motifs in photography, the pupils in Year 3 went on a tour of the Neumarkt district together with the artist. The resulting impressions and ideas were then translated into graphite drawings with exciting perspectives and views, discussed in the group and evaluated. In this way, the children playfully internalized the basics of image composition and effect.

Dancing colors and shapes – 100 years of BAUHAUS: To mark the occasion, the 2018/19 school project focused on the topic of “Dancing colors and shapes – 100 years of BAUHAUS”. Based on Kandinsky’s elementary theory of color and form at the Bauhaus, the students of the 3. and 4th grade the three primary colors red, yellow and blue and their assignment to the basic geometric shapes square, triangle and circle. By shifting, mirroring, rotating and arranging the individual shapes, various patterns were formed and design principles of order recognized. As a result of this artistic exploration, the students created their own compositions for a memory game using the stamp printing technique, which they tried out together after completion.

The artists Klaus-Dieter Ullrich and Pauline Ullrich worked with 16 pupils from the Salzlandkreis special school Lebensweg using collage, frottage, drawing and potato stamping techniques. Unlike many children without disabilities, the participating pupils in grades 9-12 were remarkably patient and intense in their work – there was real “will” at play here: work with full commitment! Initially, sketches should form the introduction to the topic of the tree of life. Then, using potato stamps, frottages and pattern exercises, they created collages that show a high degree of authenticity. The final event was a joint project. To this end, the participants took turns making silhouettes of all the children involved, pattern exercises and frottages resulted in branches, leaves and flowers, which were arranged and glued onto the large paper by some of the pupils – ultimately creating a common treetop, a common “tree of life”.

“The Goblet of Fire” by Joanne K. Rowling was the starting point for the project work with the children in Year 3 at Beesenstedt Primary School. Gray values, structures, hatching, frottage and collage offered a wealth of artistic means for the thematic search, as well as structures, hatching, chalices, houses and much more. What you hear takes on its own form on paper. Frottage, for example, was used to rediscover the school playground. Structures and hatching could be used to create other shapes on the white paper. No color. Think only in gray values. How do you represent fire? Like the glow of the chalice of fire? The solutions that the children found to these questions were very special.

Inspired by the book “Fantastic Beasts” (Joanne K. Rowling) as well as by illustrations and a (unicorn) carpet picture they brought with them, the pupils of the Lebensbaum special school let their imagination run wild and created and assembled the animals. The children’s drawing could be brought to a new quality with the artistic means learned. The tools of the trade for the artistic work were: Exercises from patterns, hatching, gray values to monotype. For the collages, attractive or suitable items were cut out and glued together in the overall context. Due to the many intermediate steps in the work, it was important to “keep at it” as opposed to just finishing it quickly; special care was required. It seems as if all it takes is a nudge to uncover each child’s very own vision and imagination.

The whole world inside me (for Christmas): In a workshop at the “Friederike zu Anhalt” special school in Bernburg, a team of one teacher and 2-3 young people from each of five lower school classes worked in the teaching kitchen under the artistic direction of Grit Wendelberger. The team wanted a chocolate painting workshop and so everyone wanted to create sweet works of art with chocolate and sugar. The day always began with an introduction to the history of chocolate, a demonstration of the material and suggestions for topics. The figurative and the abstract, wishes and hopes were created by the children, who until then had hardly been on the sunny side of life. All the more important was the creative and fun atmosphere that also gripped the teachers.

Bridgeheads: Four 12-year-old boys from the Hugo Kükelhaus special school in Magdeburg took part in this project by Hendrik Wiethase. The children were to carve heads out of lime wood, which were then to be used as “bridge heads” and replace the heads that had been damaged by the weather over time. So the children first set about removing the bark from the dried pieces of trunk. Then, according to the children’s possibilities, a whole head and three more fantasy heads, each with only mouths, eyes and ears, were created. The participants were very diligent and persistent in their work without disturbing each other. Then the pupils were asked to paint the heads. They could also decorate their creations with hair. The result was a beautiful group of heads that will later be placed on poles inside the school.