Scratch,
Glue, Foil & Paint: Connecting Classics and the Art Curriculum
by Newell Murri, Enfield
High School
Foil Relief Sculpture
As a Visual Arts teacher I am
concerned with the creative aspects of the sculptural experience.
A World Language teacher may be more concerned with the pictographic
representation of an actual artifact or style. Often times in
my classroom I offer my students the opportunity to do a "special"
project for their World Language teacher that will gain them
credit in there language class as well as "grade-enhancement"
credit in my area. There have been times when I have run a project
co-junct with the language teacher where we set up teams of students
working on a project: the visual arts students work on a more
creative and original design based on historical materials and
the language students use the same process to do a more historically
based representation of an actual artifact - what I term a "real
fake."
Students can learn more about
a famous "real fake" from the Archaeology magazine
article on the Mask of Agamemnon, see Behind the Mask of Agamemnon.
Supplies & Tools
Tooling foil is available through
a number of art supply catalogs. It comes in iodized aluminum
or in pure metal forms, such as copper, in 36 to 38 gauge, 12
inches wide sheets.
tooling foil
popsicle sticks
newspaper
masking tape
pencils
8.5 x 11 sheets of white paper
Project Format
Assignment #1: Students will make a small Illuminated
Letter Design to enable them to experiment with the tooling process.
Students should research Greek and Roman design motifs (see the
Example Drawings below), select a letter of the alphabet, and
combine the letter and designs to develop their small Illuminated
Letter Design.
To tool the Illuminated Letter
Design onto the foil,
- On 8.5 x 11 sheet of white
paper, sketch on the letter design.
- Lay a layer of newspaper down
with the foil face down on top of the newspaper and the white
paper with sketched letter on top of the foil.
- Secure the white paper and
foil so they do not slip apart. You may need to cover the edges
of the foil with masking tape as they can be sharp.
- Using the popsicle stick, trace
the sketched letter so that it is impressed on the foil.
Assignment #2: Students will make a large Illuminated
Letter Design based on an actual letter and illumination form
from a historical reference -or- on an original composition based
on historical forms or format. Students should research Greek
and Roman design motifs (see the Example Drawings below), select
a letter of the alphabet, and combine the letter and designs
to develop their large Illuminated Letter Design. A "real
fake" can also be created by copying the design from slides,
photocopies, transparencies, and images available on the Internet.
Example Drawings
The example drawing provided
here are based on both Greek and Roman origins. I have tried
to orientate my examples more to secular themes given that the
projects would work more closely with the Latin classes. It is
difficult to work into the Middle Ages and not run a close parallel
with the Roman Catholic religious tradition.
Students should use these and
other examples of Greek and Roman artwork to stimulate ideas
for original work or to replicate a work they especially like.
