Empty Bowls Update Part 3 - Harvest

These are a few of the bowls designed and glazed by the 3rd graders of Harvest. In the picture from left to right is Samantha Rice, Reagan Recchia, Noah Nelson, Jason Head, Erin O'Neill


Harvest 3rd grade students made 130 bowls by rolling out slabs of clay, pressing in design "pads" and pressing them into different shaped molds. After a bisque firing in the kiln, the students glazed all the bowls with two coats of glaze and bowls were fired again to achieve the beautiful colors you see in this picture.

Fakes, Forgeries, and Mysteries at the DIA

Fakes, Forgeries, and Mysteries at the Detroit Institute of Arts is currently on display until April 10, 2011.

http://dia.org/

Fakes, Forgeries and Mysteries highlights some of the mistakes and other discoveries made through the years regarding artist attribution, authenticity and value of works in the DIA’s collection. The exhibition illustrates how the DIA constantly re-assesses artworks through research, science, and technology, revealing an aspect of the museum’s work rarely seen by the public.

The show includes 60 paintings, sculptures, photographs, prints, drawings and decorative arts from diverse cultures—European, African, American, Asian, Islamic and Ancient Near Eastern. This diversity of objects provides opportunities to explore issues such as who really created a particular work of art, when it was made, if it is real or fake and other research mysteries at the DIA.

The exhibition begins with a focus on works for which the artist attribution has changed. These came into the collection as being by a recognized artist or culture, but were later determined to be either in the style of a major artist, an exact copy, or by an anonymous artist.

The next section displays known forgeries, with explanations on how the museum came to that conclusion. In some cases, they will be displayed next to authentic works so visitors can see for themselves the different characteristics and clues that led the DIA to determine they were fakes.

The last section contains ongoing "mysteries," for which the jury is still out. For example, the museum is currently examining works by Monet and Van Gogh to determine if they are by the artists, or are forgeries.

Visitors will be able to get a peek into the research that occurs behind the scenes through interactive activities and opportunities for discovery. For example, they will be able to undertake their own artwork investigations at a hands-on lab in the exhibition, which will bring the connection between art and science to life.

Tickets are $12 for adults, $6 for ages 6-17, and free for DIA members. Tickets include museum admission and a cell-phone tour.

Bring your cell phone to access Director Graham Beal's audio commentary on the exhibition. Reception has been improved over the last such tour. Using the system is as easy as dialing a telephone number and then entering the item number that corresponds to a particular image. More than one image may be viewed per phone call. The cell phone gallery guide is provided free of charge; however, you will use your cell phone minutes while connected, regardless of your carrier. A printed copy of the tour is also available.

Private Tours

Student Tours

A painting of flowers continues to puzzle museum researchers. Is it an original Van Gogh or not? Visitors to the exhibition get to weigh in on this mystery as part of the cell phone tour.

Comments

Here's what visitors who went to the exhibition are saying:

NPR: Before they were Films, They were Sketches

Check out the article written by Susan Stamberg "Long Before Computers, How Movies Made Us Believe"at npr.org.You can also listen to the story on NPR , the morning edition . The story is about how films such as "Dr. Zhivago", were based on the artist's sketch for set design , without the aid of computers. Many of today's blockbuster films are reliant on computer generated imagery, such as "Avatar" and "Lord of the Rings". Movie magic that predates the digital age were done entirely by human hands. The book "Designs on Film: A Century of Hollywood Art Direction", by Cathy Whitlock shows the sketches of sets, and scenes from movies long before computer aided imagery.
npr.org/2011/01/27/133209042/long-before-computers-how-movies-made-us-believe
http://npr.org

Empty Bowls Update Part 2 - Woodland Meadows

Take a look at what the Woodland Meadows students created for Empty Bowls.



Students rolled out a clay slab and added texture with stamps. A foot was added using a coil shaped into a circular form.



The slab is then draped with a mold to create shape and volume. The foot is scored, slipped, and pressed onto the bottom. After the the bowl has had some time to dry and reaches the leather-hard stage, the mold is removed and the clay is set out to finish the drying process.



Each bowl must reach the bone dry stage before it can be placed into the kiln to be bisque fired. Once the bowls complete the bisque firing stage, they are glazed and then glazed fired to produce the shinny glass like finish to protect and complete the decoration.

Empty Bowls Update Part 1 - Heritage

We are now in the final stretch for the Empty Bowls Project. Last Friday the Art Dept. delivered most of the bowls to the High School in preparation for the event. It looks like we will have well over 700 bowls. I am personally very excited to participate in Empty Bowls for many reasons. After looking at all of the bowls Saline students have made, I know that everyone attending will feel just as excited.

Here are the bowls that Heritage School has been working on.


In support of the charity event some of the Heritage staff brought their talent into the the art room after school and created the bowls pictured above. Staff includes Mrs. Immekus, Mrs. Vreeland, Mr. Harrison, Mrs. Huang, Mrs. Gudbrandsdottir, Ms. Smith, and Mr. Sharon. Thank you for your support.


Close to 750 students over 2 days helped create 96 bowls in the above picture. Each bowl has been worked on by 4-5 students from beginning to end. All students were extremely excited to work with clay, but more excited to work with clay as a way to help fight hunger.

Don't forget to do your part to fight hunger like all of Saline Area Schools students have done. Get your tickets now!!

Click here to Purchase Tickets

Pymouth Ice Festival January 21-23

It looks like it will be cold enough for the Plymouth Ice Festival this year. If your looking for a way to embrace winter, look no further than this presentation of over 100 sculptures, live music, family shows, and treats for the whole family. Please check out the festival website for a complete overview.

Plymouth Ice Festival