Let's get to the point! Creating a masterpiece mural

Arts & Activities, April, 2004 by Charlotte Skurow

As an art teacher, I consider the heart of the school to be the art room. The art that is created there flows throughout the school enriching the lives of all.

Throughout the school year, the art-room windows sport scenes of the seasons and pictures fill every available spot on the walls. Student artwork is featured in the lobby, and we even have a painted fiberglass pig in our cafeteria!

But, one project that we are particularly proud of, is our attempt to recreate Georges Seurat's pointillism painting of A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte.

Absolutely everyone in our school worked on it! The teachers, administrators, custodians, parents, visitors and, most of all the children, added points (in the form of their thumbprints) to the canvas in order to create (or recreate) a masterpiece. The painting that resulted is impressive and has created much attention. I have had many requests from schools and groups who want to know the details and steps necessary to create similar projects.

As part of our art curriculum, our sixth-grade students studied the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist era. Of course, Georges Seurat's paintings are fascinating to the children because of his use of tiny dots of contrasting color to create the illusion of visual vibrancy. In class, we discussed the fact that the colors mix in the eyes of the beholder, rather than on the artist's palette. Because of this rather scientific approach to painting, even the academically inclined were drawn into the endeavor. Following is a description of the steps that were taken in the recreation of the painting.

We started with a 4' x 5' piece of stretched canvas. With a piece of yellow chalk, I sketched the horizon line and the figures. Realizing that the thumbprints would allow white spaces to show through the paint, I put a green wash of acrylic paint over the grassy areas and a blue wash over the area that was to be the sky and the water. The figures were left free of color.

We then placed the piece of canvas oil a table in the most conspicuous place in the school, the lobby in front of the cafeteria, and portioned out acrylic paint in a variety of colors on paper plates. A print of La Grand Jatte was taped to the wall for reference.

All who passed by were invited to put their thumb in a color, refer to the original print on the wall and place their thumbprint (or point) on the corresponding place on the canvas. Water and paper towels were available, but most put as many prints as it took to remove the paint from their thumb. People were allowed to repeat this process as many times as desired, as we needed thousands of prints. Since the canvas was so large, several could work at a time. As soon as an area of the picture appeared to be finished, we covered it with a piece of acetate so it would not become overworked.

The end result was the creation of our very own masterpiece (or should I say conversation piece). We displayed the painting proudly in the office area of our school.

Charlotte Skurow teaches art at E.H. Greene Intermediate School in Cincinnati, Ohio.

MATERIALS

* Large stretched canvas

* Chalk for outlining main figures or objects

* Acrylic paint

* Water and paper towels

* A print of a famous piece of art

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will ...

* observe and study examples of the Post-Impressionist era.

* learn about Georges Seurat and his style of pointillism.

* make critical decisions involving the selection and placement of color.

* work cooperatively on an extraordinary and unique project.