Seventh Grade Art

For the last two weeks, seventh graders have been making some very cool art projects. Last week, we learned about the land of Israel and created our very own tourist postcards.

This week, we learned about Israel's ancient mosaics. Inspired by the Lod, Tzipori, and Shilo mosaics, students made their own paper mosaics. We had a great variety of designs, including shapes, animals, and lettering.

This week, 7th graders made beautiful holiday cards!

This beautiful card was given to the Temple Beth Shalom staff!

And this will hang in my office!

Happy Chanukah!!

Sculpey Hamsas!

Last week, 7th graders in the Israel & Art class learned about the Israeli city of Tzvat, one of the four holiest cities in Judaism. They learned about the history of the city and why it is an important place for Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah. Then they created their very own clay hamsas from Sculpey. These hamsas can hang in their homes for protection and good luck!

Some hamsas, ready to be baked!

Chagall Windows

Last week, 7th graders learned about the famous Jewish artist, Marc Chagall! Did you know his birth name was Moishe Shagal? To the right, Chagall's 1914 painting the Praying Jew:










We were especially inspired by Chagall's stained glass windows at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem (left). So we made our own "stained glass" using tissue paper, Mod Podge, and plastic sleeves. These beautiful creations can hang in the window so light will shine through!

Mosaics!

The 7th grade Israel & Art class has been busy! Remember our first project? During our second week together, we made paper mosaics inspired by ancient Israeli mosaics, like the Lod mosaic (now on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York).

These mosaics are made by gluing small pieces of different colored paper (torn or cut) to create shapes, patterns, letters, etc. Mosaics trick the eye into seeing one complete picture that's actually made of lots of little separate pieces!

Aren't they beautiful?

Sand Art Projects

7th graders rotated to new Israel classes this week. It was sad to see old students go, but it was so nice to have new faces in the classroom! In Israel & Art, we made sand "portraits" of Israel to remind us of the great amount of desert that makes up the geography of Israel!

Proud artists pose with their work!

The final products look great, drying on my office floor!

I'm looking forward to getting to know my new students! Have a great Thanksgiving!

Marc Chagall Inspirations

Chagall, "I and the Village," 1911

For our final Israel & Art class, 7th graders learned about the art of Marc Chagall, especially his beautiful windows at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem:


Then the students made their very own "stained glass windows" using Mod Podge (my favorite!) and tissue paper. These beautiful transparent creations can hang in a window and remind us of Chagall all year round!

Tzvat, Jewish Mysticism, and Sculpey

David Maron (left) and Jake Perelmuter (right) sculpting their hamsas.

This week, 7th graders in the Israel & Art class learned about the Israeli city of Tzvat, one of the four holiest cities in Judaism. They learned about the history of the city and why it is an important place for Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah. Then they created their very own clay hamsas from Sculpey. These hamsas can hang in their homes for protection and good luck!

A small but happy class!

Modern Mosaics

Israel & Art spent a class learning about the ancient art of mosaics. Israel is filled with beautiful, well-preserved mosaics from the Roman and Byzantine Empires, like this one on temporary display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York:

For more information about the Lod mosaic and its preservation process, see this article from the Met.

Then our 7th graders created their own modern mosaics made of paper and other materials, inspired by the ancient artform. We had self portraits, tiled letters, and more.

Beautiful work! Maybe these pieces will be on display at the Met next month...