One of the main reasons humans create art is to tell a story. Art is made to be seen, heard, tasted, felt, observed--absorbed. So what does a community of artists do when their usual art show can’t happen due to a pandemic? They go virtual!

Tammy Andersen, the art teacher at Euclid Middle School, said, “The kids were upset that we were not doing our usual community art shows, so we decided to flip it and make our situation a positive one. I challenged them that if we put the work online, the audience might actually be much bigger than a typical year, and so I am sharing the responses I get from people with them.” You can send your responses to the students’ work to Ms. Andersen at tandersen[at]lps.k12.co[dot]us. Some of the students are willing to sell their work, so if you’re interested, please let Ms. Andersen know; she will serve as a liaison between the artist and their guardians and the prospective buyer.

To gain a further understanding of the art, Ms. Andersen provided information about the lessons artists learned with each assignment. Look for this information below the slideshow.

6th Grade - We actually addressed a number of different objectives within this painting. First, we looked at careful observation and how artists need to use these skills to learn to draw anything, and that once you understand the mechanics of something, artists are then free to break the rules if they wish. We then looked at working with a number of different watercolor painting techniques to experience the art media, as well as develop and/or strengthen fine motor skills. In the landscape portion, we focused on the atmospheric perspective and how art and science work hand in hand. We discussed how optics and light work with distance, and how artists manipulate this knowledge to create the illusion of depth and space.

7th Grade - In the first assignment, we were focusing on how artists use the art element of value in their art to create both interest and depth. This is often a very hard skill for beginning and emerging artists. We also explored a bit of art abstraction, as many students perceive abstract art as messy and quick. In the second assignment we were focusing on a one-point perspective and how artists are able to create very realistic forms by using basic math skills. We continued to look at how light impacts an object and transferred our understanding to form.

8th Grade - In the logo project, we really focused on the commercial art concept of what a logo is and how companies use this to try and visually communicate ideas. We then transferred this understanding to creating our own logos and investigating personal voice within art works. Additionally, we were focusing on the medium of colored pencils and exploring how artists use their knowledge of blending, light patterns, and value to create work.