The beauty of art is not just about the artist or even the subject matter, but also how art speaks to its audience. But how does an artist draw a viewer into the landscape and story of their art? As Keys fifth grade class recently discovered, by building a 3-dimensional space the audience feels like an active participant with a viewpoint, as opposed to a simple spectator. Claude Ferguson, Keys Middle School Art Teacher, teaches his fifth grade students how to depict overlapping objects to create spatial depth, thus giving the illusion of 3 dimensionality in a piece of art. By playing with shadow, size, warm and cool colors, Claude’s students are able to create a world or landscape viewers feel they can step into. Students not only learn proper techniques when using watercolors for this project, but also how to build a dialogue around their art, using their imaginary still life portraits to start a conversation.
