Chihuly at Cheekwood

 I don't think I posted my pictures from Chihuly at Cheekwood this past year?!?!  

(I couldn't find them, so I'm guessing I forgot to post them?!?)

This is the second time Chihuly has been at Cheekwood.  I was worried it would pretty much be a repeat of the last time....but I was WRONG!!  What a joy to walk around and see the amazing colors, textures, and how beautifully it integrated with the environment.  

(if you are looking for some lesson ideas involving Chihuly...here is the link to what we did the last time his work was in town!!  http://mnpschihulyartlessons.blogspot.com 

Throw Back Thursday: Chihuly

In 2010, Chihuly was on display at The Frist Museum & Cheekwood here in Nashville.  Our school district had a huge push to share the work of Chihuly with our students.  I was on the team that developed lessons, lead professional development, and created web resources for our teachers to use during this time.  I loved this display of work created by my students.  It was located at the front of our school where everyone entered the building.  What a "WOW" factor!  His work is suppose to be returning to Cheekwood this summer (though I'm not sure what will happen with COVID-19 and such?!?).  Might have to bring back some of these projects.  

MR.E ASKS 3: DALE CHIHULY

    

?WHAT?

People, I'm just as amazed as you all?!?!!? ha ha ha  But yes...Dale Chihuly was willing to be part of Mr. E Asks 3!  I don't know how I'll top this?!?!?!  

 Nashville was blessed to have his work at two locations a few years back.  As a district we created lessons that explored his work...and created Chihuly "like" projects.  I have to say...his work truly excited my students.  They loved what they were learning about....and "FORCED" their parents to take them to the locations that were displaying his work. 

HERE ARE MY CHIHULY LESSONS:  

http://www.artwithmre.com/search/label/Chihuly

HERE ARE THE CHIHULY LESSONS:

http://chihulyelementaryartlessons.weebly.com/

HERE ARE THE RESULTS FROM OUR DISTRICT:

http://mnpschihulyartlessons.blogspot.com

AND NOW....MR.E ASKS 3: DALE CHIHULY

 What inspires you to continue creating art?

"I want to make something that has never been made before, something no one has ever seen, something with power that inspires everyone who sees it, creating an unforgettable experience."

   What is one thing you feel all young people should know about being an artist?

"The whole idea of making art, as far as I'm concerned, comes from doing it over and over and over. You have to make a lot of mistakes. Mistakes made in glassblowing can become some of the most beautiful artworks. Follow your gut and create something no one has seen before."

 Nature seems to be a major source of inspiration in your work. Are there other things that inspire & influence your work?

"Being surrounded by water is really important to me. Glass is so much like water. If you let it go on its own, it almost ends up looking like something that came from the sea. I’ve always lived on or near the water.  It’s always provided a sense of inspiration for me."

PLEASE GO TO CHIHULY'S BE PAGE TO GET ALL THE LATEST INFORMATION!!!!!

http://www.chihuly.com/

Chihuly"ing" on Display

So Wed. is Walk to School Day, and Tulip Grove is the host school for the event.  That means all the TV stations in Nashville, the mayor, the superintendent of schools...everyone will be here. I wanted to make sure that in passing...they would see the amazing art happening at Tulip Grove!!  Hopefully we'll get some free press out of this!  I'm not above using someone's event for the art programs gain!!! ha ha

1st Grade Macchias

I hot glued the Macchias to strips of lamination(holds up to the hot glue gun heat), and then hot glued the strip to the window above the front doors of our school.  Grouped together they look awesome!!

Chihuly"ing" Ikebanas- FINISHED

 To finish the Ikebanas, I had my student use two colors of acrylic paint to add spots to the "bottle" part & outline the "flower" part.  They picked from 3 metalics for one color, and the second was up to them from the availible paints I had out.  They really enjoyed finishing this piece & are extremely proud of their work.

Chihuly "ing" Macchia/Seaforms - 1st Grade

I used Diffusion Circles from School Speciality Catalog for this lesson. You can also use coffee filters, but I do like the diffusion circles better. Standard water based markers...making sure you have a mat paper under the circle or your tables will be very colorful!!  The students then scrunched up their mat paper into a ball and put the circle over it.  They used a pipe cleaner to secure it in place(first time I used pipe cleaners for this project...was sooo much easier than string!!!)  Use  liquid starch in a spray bottle to sprits the form.  This will allow the colors to bleed together & create a stiffer finished form(the diffusion circles have a bit of a stiffer form naturally than the coffee filters).

Chihuly "ing" with 2nd Grade - Ikebanas

Ikebanas are the perfect Chihuly project for my 2nd graders!  With our flowers & vase projects over the past few weeks....this is a natural next step. 

This is what my students created today...and we'll add a bit more next week(probably using acrylic paint).  They cut a water bottle in half to begin with.  Then they glued the tissue paper on(much like the 3rd & 4th grade project).  They then used pipe cleaners & construction paper to create the plant form. 

They are very bright...very fun! 

 If you are not familiar with the Ikebanas...here are to images from the St. Louis show.

Chihuly "ing" Chandeliers

Chihuly"ing" ...THE TOWER! (almost done!)

So the tower is ALMOST done!  Hopefully after today, it will be complete.  I was amazed how many bottles it actually takes?!?!!?  I had 6 classes(around 20 in each class) create the bottles for the tower.  This week I've been having my 3rd & 4th graders create the flower shapes to fill in the gaps.  They really add a nice texture to the piece.  So this is a happy accident I'm glad happened!

THE TOWER - Chihuly"ing"

So I've had many ideas on how to create the armature for the Chihuly tower!  If you have some ideas you'd like to share...please leave a comment.  I bought chicken wire at the local TSC(after seeing another teacher use chicken wire)...but had to figure out how I was going to make it stand & take shape.  I ended up cutting out circles of cardboard  so that it would hold its shape.  I then wired yard sticks to the end so I could anchor it in the ground.  This has worked out very well.  Like I said...there are many ways you can do this, and I'd love to hear what you've done or are considering doing.

The Chihuly Bottle Process

You asked for it!  Here is the step by step for creating the Chihuly bottle that are part of the "Chandelier"

and the "Tower".  I hope this helps!! And this is just how I did it..I'm sure

there is a million other good ways of doing this!

First tie a string around an empty bottle(this is good for hanging on to it..and for hanging it to dry later!).  Have the students remove the label.  Then give each student a large piece of plastic wrap.  They need to ball it up and tape it onto the bottom of their bottle. This gives a little extra length &shape to the twist at the end.

Have the students hold the bottle by the cap & scribble scrabble glue over the whole exterior(including the plastic wrap).  They will then wrap it in the tissue paper...allowing for a long "tail" to twist.

After the tail is twisted, student will paint a glaze mixture onto the piece. I used a mixture of Tempera Glaze, Pearl It & Glitter It(by Crayola).  Then tie it by the string and allow it to dry!