PTC Weekly #8: Lino-carving and Lichenstein.
This week at PTC, we study Rory Lichenstein; have more fun with lino carving; and find out the answer to the ultimate question... Real Madrid oder Barcelona!?
Last week we launched our new Artist Masters series, in which we study the works of a famous artist over a period of a few weeks, and then bring the kids to see an exhibition of their work. Our series began in Pankow, last weekend, with pop art pioneer, Roy Lichenstein. We charged the kids with recreating one of Lichenstein's most abstract pieces, 'Coast Village' (1987).
We gave each child their own canvas and paints, and a print-out copy of Coast Village. We then let them have a go at recreating it, helping them try to make sense of the array of colours and shapes, and tackle one section at a time. We were hoping that this activity could span a couple of classes, but most children were keen to finish their canvas by the end of the session. However, we have kept the canvases and we will come back to them the next week.
Some kids, like 9-year-old, Fuad, were so eager to dive in, that they finished their painting very quickly, and then made more paintings on normal bits of paper. Others, like 7-year-old Saz, and her younger sister, weren't too keen on the brief, and preferred to work on their own creations.
A lot of the children were daunted by the complexity of the Lichenstein, and of course, most of them didn't know who Lichenstein was! Hopefully, when we take them to the art gallery in a few weeks time, they will feel more connected to the project. Most of the children really enjoyed the task, and after some initial reluctance, got really stuck in, producing some super colourful interpretations!
Meanwhile, on Tuesday in Weisensee, we did one of our favourite PTC activities: Lino carving! Using the same methods as traditional woodcut printing, the kids each made a design for a small piece of lino (about 5x5 cm), and then carved out their design using special carving knives. A lot of the children wanted to start carving straight away, but we made them plan and draw out their design first, and then we showed them how to hold the knives correctly, so as not to cut themselves.
There were a lot of football fans in today's class, and many of the boys chose to make football-inspired prints. At one point, we all got into a round-table discussion, followed by an open vote, about which was our favourite team, Barcelona, or Madrid? (Barcelona won!) One little artist made a tiny football pitch print, and two more made prints of their favourite footballers: Christiano Ronaldo, and Lionel Messi.
We all had fun during the class, and things got quite messy at the end during the printing part. Some of the older girls even printed on their clothes!
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