From Pages to Planets

My name is Zoe, and this is my online drawing, From Pages to Planets. I chose to observe and draw an open book, and the background is a world. I chose to create this because I sometimes take books for granted and forget just how amazing they really are, this was a piece to remind me of how books can take you just about anywhere, and that’s what makes them so great. To make my drawing I used a stylus, my phone, and a drawing app called Ibis Paint X. 

At first, I had trouble with the drawing of the book, it was really difficult making it look like a book and not a shapeless blob. I kept trying and eventually I got it right. Then I was faced with the challenge of deciding how I wanted to show that books can take you anywhere. I settled on a background depicting many different landscapes. I am very proud of my online drawing, Pages to Planets. 

This is my art piece for the choice board assignment. I chose to do the category of "observing through other people's eyes." The art piece I made is a spectator observing Van Gogh's Starry Night, In pixel format. I chose this piece because it is a really beautiful piece of art, and my mom also painted it when she was back at school, and she saved, so I have referred to it. The way I made the art was I first drew the framed and the background. Next, I drew the stars. After that, I drew the trees and the houses, and the big tree in front. Next, I drew the swirl. There were still some small spaces, but that would be easy to finish. After I received some feedback, I went and erased the star and swirl in the middle. I redrew the swirl and worked on the background more. After that, I added some more stars and fine-tuned everything. Next, I just added a new layer, and on that layer drew the spectator. I changed the spectator's opacity so that you could see through them. After that, I created a new background layer and added the gradient, then I cloned the painting layer, added the lines, and removed the painting part from that layer. Finally, I moved the layers so you could see them in the order that I wanted. And THAT... was how I made this art.  Adrian 4th Grade 

I chose to make a vanilla cake collage, and the cake had buttercream vanilla frosting, with blue frosting on the top and side. I chose to make this because I love baking (and eating!) and I really like making cakes look nice and designing the looks. I used flour, baking powder, salt, butter, sugar, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, eggs, milk, and powdered sugar. I definitely had some difficulties with making my cake. One, I forgot to wait for the cake to cool to put on the frosting. That made my frosting warm and wet, instead of cool and somewhat hard. To fix this, I had to put my cake in the fridge to wait for it to cool. Second, I didn’t have enough eggs to make the cake, so I substituted applesauce. I also didn’t have enough powdered sugar, so I had to half the frosting. 

Also, I think that I chose this assignment because I love baking. I really like designing the toppings, and seeing how color affects the way I want to eat it. Like, for example, if I had a brown cake, and I wanted to add a light blue to it, I wouldn’t want to eat it, because I think that would look a bit bad. Also, sometimes I like seeing how the different ingredients react with each other. I really observed through taste in this assignment because I observed how different items made the cake taste differently. I liked the collage because I could show how the cake looked without drawing it, and show work on the way.

Ainsley 5th Grade

My art was inspired not by objects but by people. The art of three people in my class inspired me to create my art. Amina inspired me to create two pieces. Evan and Grace inspired me to create pieces with lots of missed details. The theme of my pieces is “missed details.” I also wanted to create art with math incorporated into it, because it is something I enjoy. 

In my first piece, I use mathematical equations as art. In my second, I use fractals and other infinite shapes. I chose these people to inspire me because their art stood out to me. Evan’s and Grace’s art stood out because they included details that would usually be overlooked. Amina’s art stood out because she made two pieces representing the same thing, but with different views. 

Tom, Seventh Grade 

Troy G. used the Eight Studio Habits to inspire this beautiful drawing of succulent plants.  During remote learning, Decatur students are starting with the critical habit of Observing. 

This artwork by Decatur sixth-grader, Emmie, was inspired by Chicago Artist Evan LaRuffa, whose artwork is currently on display at Decatur Classical School.  Evan is also the founder of IPaintMyMInd, a nonprofit that helps turn spaces such as Decatur School into an art gallery.  

 

This Evan La Ruffa quote inspired Emmie's art. Evan said, "if art gives you an 'anything is possible' feeling, you're on the right track." Well, that inspired me to make art that showed the human mind opening up and showing caverns. I was attempting to express how you grow and change through life, just like a cave changes as it gets older. It's an analogy in a drawing.