Easel Elementary

  Tuesday, June 25  Matisse I think I spent a lot of my time just staring at the paintings.  I learned quite a bit about how artists during this time created their own canvases (wooded panels they connected together to create the large paintings)  and that they used a cartoon to place on the surface they painted on to create a sort of blueprint before actually painting. Fascinating! During the 16th century, portraits were valued as were Christian subjects. But during this time a move by the Renaissance painters their work included ancient history and mythology     We looked at 17th century work in which religious subjects were painted in ways to engage the viewers and invoke an emotional response. During this time artists were commissioned to paint by the church, nobles and the monarchy. After our class session ended Alex and I explored the rest of the National Gallery and I was not disappointed. I'll let some of the work speak fo...

Monday, June 24  Today we headed to the British Museum to study artifacts acquired from around the world. The British Museum  purpose is to preserve human history, culture and art. We focused on the Egyptian, Greek, and Assyrian collections. We discussed what was common in the pieces on display, such as the Egyptians and Assyrians had writing on many of their pieces. The collection included the Rosetta Stone, a giant statue of Amenhotep III, the Elgin Marbles also know as the Pantheon Marble.  The Elgin Marbles are surrounded by controversy as to whether they should be returned to Greece.  We debated the pros and cons of returning artifacts to their place of origin.  What do you think? Should the British Museum or any museums that holds artifacts acquired from another country be returned?   Rosetta Stone Amenhotep III Presenting my paper on the Lloyd Building. Before heading to the British Museum, I presented by paper on my chose...

London Calling: Summer Study Abroad Guarding the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London London is Calling! What a way to begin the summer. Just when you think all of your creative juices have been demolished you take a trip to London to study art and your creative juices are bubbling over.  This summer I had the opportunity to travel to the UK through Jacksonville University's Study Abroad Program. They do this every summer, visiting a different country.  I took my daughter Alex and we left a few days before the class began to do a little touring outside of London.  We visited the town of Oxford and toured the Warner Brothers Studio where they filmed Harry Potter movies.  The artistry that went into creating the movies was phenomenal. Oxford, UK I want to go back here, so much to see and learn. Model of Hogwarts I love this saying.  Before we left the states and flew across the pond to the UK we had to research and wri...