Join us on Sunday,March 4, from 2:00-3:30 for the opening reception of the Lake Drive Art Program’s gallery exhibition at the Somerset Art Association. Light hors d'oeuvres (kid oriented) and refreshments will be served. The show will run from March 4 through March 31. This exhibition, held in conjunction with Youth Art Month, will feature works completed this year by our talented students. The selected works were the result of the following projects developed by our art teacher, Denise Mastroieni:

I Can Fly Mural
Tempera paint, cut paper and marker on paper
This class group project was inspired by the film:
“I Can Fly Part 3 – Kids, Painting and Modern Art”
We created this mural after seeing the film and looking at the works of artists like Monet, Seurat and Van Gogh. We did not use brushes to make this work, but instead used sponges, fingers, sticks and paper.

Chuck Close Self Portraits
Acrylic, pencil and marker on vellum
These self-portraits were created as a result of our study of the artist Chuck Close. We saw the documentary: “ Chuck Close, Close Up” and then looked at slides of his work. They were created from digital photographs, which we then traced onto vellum on which a grid had been drawn.

Harold and The Purple Crayon Prints
Tempera paint, ink and glue on paper
The Lake Drive Preschool classes read the book “Harold And The Purple Crayon” and saw the film series. We then drew our favorite part of the story with a large purple crayon on heavy oak tag. Next, glue was applied to the line drawing. When it dried, we rolled paint and block ink over the “plate” and then pressed our papers on top with a brayer and pulled these prints.

Where The Wild Things Are Collages
Tissue paper, glue, color pencil, pen and ink on paper
Students in our lower elementary classes read Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s book “Where The Wild Things Are”. We then saw the animated film. From these experiences we created these pictures. First the students created a tissue paper painting to create their background. After that they used colored pencil to make a scary “Wild Thing” which they glued onto their background painting. Finally the children created their own version of Max, the star of the story, using pen and ink.

A Walk Around A Chair Collages
Ink, pastel and pencil on vellum and paper
Our Middle School and Upper Elementary students learned about Pablo Picasso and the evolution of cubism as a force in modern art. After seeing slides of Picasso’s work they saw “David Hockney: The Illusion of Depth”. This film allowed them to watch Hockney create a drawing of a chair as he walked around it, incorporating all the views he had of this object within a set span of time. This allowed the concept to become very real for them. As a result we created these works. First the students created several contour pencil drawings of a chair from different locations in the art room. Then they chose one and created a vibrantly colored pastel drawing. Finally they chose another and created an ink drawing on vellum. The ink drawing was then adhered on top of the pastel, creating this view of “A Walk Around a Chair”.

Roman Portrait Sculptures
Newspaper, glue water, model magic and tempera over balloon and plastic cup armature
Students in our Early Elementary classes have been learning about the human face. As an extension of these lessons, we created these sculptures in the style of classical Greek and Roman portrait busts. Looking into a mirror, the children drew their own faces. Next, students built their own armatures and layered them with newspaper and glue. Using their drawings and continuing to look in the mirror, the children used model magic to duplicate their own features. Finally they covered the sculptures with white paint and then using wads of newsprint they “faux” marbleized the heads.

Dr. David Alexander, our principal, and Denise Mastroieni, our art teacher, invite the entire Lake Drive Community to this wonderful event. The Somerset Art Association is located at 2020 Burnt Mills Road in Bedminster, NJ. Their phone number is: (908) 234-2345. We hope to see you there!

posted 2/2007