Final Reporting for The Bigger Picture: Sculpture for Community Enrichment 1

Final Reporting for The Bigger Picture: Sculpture for Community Enrichment

Shannon M. Fish

Lancaster High School

NOTE: For reimbursement to be properly processed in the summer, please mail the check to

LHS/NAHS

ATTN: Pam Gardner

1312 Granville Pike

Lancaster, OH 43130

Thank you for awarding this grant to support our project!

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Statement of Need

Lancaster, Ohio boasts multiple connections to Visual Art, yet formal educational

opportunities are limited in the public schools. As a high school Art Department of two and one

half positions, for a total student body of nearly 1,700, every effort is given to providing students

with broad experiences despite space and time limitations in elective-only courses. One means

of extending the Visual Arts classroom experience is through after school workshops sponsored

by the National Art Honor Society Chapter (NAHS). The Art Department budget relies solely on

student fees, from a student population with 49% free/reduced rate. Because of restricted access

to funding, a grant is sought to supplement a major project for the, aforementioned, after school

enrichment offerings. Dubbed The Bigger Picture, the project developed throughout school year

2012-13, culminating in a steel sculpture now exhibiting with Main Street Lancaster’s

community sculpture initiative. This project is designed to develop a wider perspective of Visual

Art in the public realm, while learning new equipment and techniques.

Objectives

Students will…

• Define and identify “Public Art”

• Justify public sculpture from various artists worldwide

• Generate and select themes appropriate for local community audience

• Interact with a local sculptor (work displayed locally and nationally) throughout the

development and design process

• Collaborate on large, steel sculpture design

o Planning in small groups

o Create a maquette in small groups (to scale)

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o Based on aesthetic and conceptual merit, select a design for enlarging in steel

• Articulate criteria for judgment and modification throughout the design process

• Select and explain ideal exhibit location on high school campus. (Main Street Lancaster

makes this decision for downtown exhibition.)

• Organize and participate in sculpture installation (include school and local leadership and

media contacts).

• Create summary (i.e. video) including personal statement of learning

• Complete a project evaluation (survey addressing listed objectives)

Participants

A total of 42 students (NAHS members) grades 9-12 received formal invitations to participate.

The project, while open to other art students (approximately 300 students grades 9-12), only one

joined the project. A core group of 19 NAHS members and one additional Art student

participated in the project planning through sculpture unveiling.

One Visual Arts instructor (myself, Shannon Fish) participated with the assistance of a local

sculptor (Ric Leichliter, provided insight into the media), laser cutter (Hocking Valley Laser, Ltd

provided services at minimal cost), and a local wood artisan (David Fish, lessons on drawing

using a scale rule).

Additionally: sculptor Jaymie Kiggins (assistance with welding as Mr. Leichliter had unexpected

shoulder surgery), Mainstreet Lancaster’s community sculpture initiative (provided exhibit space

for the sculpture, sight-unseen), The Honorable David Smith (mayor of Lancaster, Ohio who

participated in the unveiling ceremony), Lancaster City Schools administration let the NAHS and

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advisor have creative license, and the community of Lancaster including out-of-town traffic (US-

22/SR-37/Main Street) passing the exhibit space.

Project Description

Students researched public sculpture, determining its role within a community. This research

also investigated artists worldwide who utilize the same media. Using this information, students

considered their own community. The discussion worked as a jigsaw activity with small groups

working through conceptual ideas and sharing with the full group. The common theme: The Arts

(visual and performing) have power to unite people from various backgrounds (PowerPoint slide

created during whole group brainstorming Appendix A). Now titled Unified Diversity, a

sculpture began to take shape.

In breakout groups, sculpture designs from sketchbooks (on the concept Unified Diversity)

became 3-D, foam core maquettes. Based upon aesthetics and an acquired understanding of the

material (steel sheets) students determined a final design, which was further refined when

fabrication/support challenges arose. Drawn pieces of the sculpture, using a scale rule to one

inch equals one foot, the design was submitted to the laser cutter. An afternoon at the mentor

sculptor’s studio assembled the final sculpture, which is now installed on Zane Square in

Downtown Lancaster. Following a year of exhibition, the artwork will move to a permanent

location on the campus of Lancaster High School.

Project Evaluation

Students attending the first meeting for this project participated in a pre-survey. Responding

using a Likert Scale, students were asked if they could define “Public Art” with 19.2 percent

strongly agreed, 61.5 percent agreed, and 19.2 percent were undecided; define “sculpture” 30.8

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percent strongly agreed, 60.5 percent agree, and 7.7 were undecided. Students generally agreed

(96 percent, 4 percent undecided) that our (Lancaster, Ohio) community could benefit from more

Visual Art. As an aside, many specifically noted, in an optional extended response, the need for

Lancaster City Schools to add formal Art Education in the elementary buildings.

Provided with a link to complete a post-survey, also requiring response on a Likert Scale, all

students responded as agreeable (Strongly Agree or Agree) to defining “Public Art” with the

same results when asked if they could provide examples of Public Art.

Representative participant responses regarding personal learning during this project:

“I learned that thinking as a group can create great things.”

“I learned how different it is creating a sculpture as opposed to 2d artwork….”

“I learned that working in group art projects is fun and helpful and requires good team work.”

“Doing this sculpture has given me a much better understanding of 3-D composition.”

The project may additionally be evaluated as successful by physical evidence (completed

sculpture) displayed within the community (Downtown Square).

Documentation

Pre and post surveys were conducted using SurveyMonkey.com. The process from planning to

unveiling was recorded with digital photographs included in an iMovie video suitable for public

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relations within the school and community (attached). The local newspaper (Lancaster Eagle

Gazette) covered the unveiling, publishing a captioned photograph the next day (Appendix B).

What I Learned

Two primary lessons are taken from this project: organization is essential and The Arts do

provide unification. An additional objective was also added: enabling students to experience

how to set a reasonable budget and sticking with it.

Using What I Learned

As a Visual Arts instructor for 10 years, I know that organizing the physical environment and the

content is important; however, this became vitally important with a larger group of high

schoolers, working with an artist, within a short (45 minutes to one and one half hours) workshop

setting. Chunking the process into manageable tasks for each meeting worked well (as laid out

in the grant proposal).

Each day on the job, the breadth of student creativity is astounding. This project followed suit.

The energy generated as small group concepts were found related to a common theme (how the

Arts provide unification) was invigorating. The participants (students and various adults)

literally experienced this as the final sculpture emerged from sheets of steel and alighted on the

town square, and people from all walks of life could visually appreciate the sculpture-in-the-

round. A representative student comments at the unveiling, “There sure are a lot of different

people here.”

Project Reporting

A project abstract with representative photographs will be provided to the ARTline newsletter in

early Fall of 2013 with mention of a workshop scheduled for the 2013 OAEA Convention. The

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workshop will present the grant writing process, as well as the project under discussion, with

additional material and information provided by the other grant recipient for 2012-13 (Suzanne

Mitolo with an elementary-level project).

Budget Summary

Appendix C includes the proposed budget with actual spending in the far, right column. Please

note: foam core scraps from daily art classes was used for maquettes instead of purchasing

additional, the initially itemized materials for the base and sculpture support are combined onto

one receipt, and NAHS students participated in fundraisers to earn money for a total budget of

$900.00. Additionally, I received all receipts electronically, so the attached are “original

receipts.”

Appendix D: receipt for Calder DVD (Follett Library Resources)

Appendix E: receipt for steel sheets, layout, and laser cutting (Hocking Valley Laser)

Appendix F: concrete slabs for base, support bars, and welding materials (Ric Leichliter)

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APPENDIX A

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APPENDIX B

Lancaster High School students unveil the sculpture they designed Thursday in Zane Park

in downtown Lancaster. Students from Fisher Catholic High School, Lancaster High

School and Millersport High School unveiled sculptures in the park Thursday afternoon. /

Jess Lanning/Eagle-Gazette May 24, 2013

http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/article/20130523/NEWS01/305230032/New-sculptures-unveiled-Zane-Park

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APPENDIX C

Projected in Proposal Actual

Material(s) Project Use Vendor Qty Unit Price Total Price Amt. Spent

Calder: Sculptor of Air (DVD) Research of large scale public sculptures Crystal Productions 1 $19.95 $19.95 $19.99

Foam Core (box of 5, 20x30") Maquette creation School Specialty 2 $16.95 $33.90 $0.00

Steel (4x8' sheet) Body of final sculpture Hocking Valley Laser 3 $100.00 $300.00 $500.00 (Laser cutting and Steel)

Welding Materials Structure-supporting base Hocking Valley Laser 1 $75.00 $75.00 $0.00 Combined with next line

Welding Materials Misc. Fabricated parts for sculpture body Hocking Valley Laser 1 $75.00 $75.00 $290.50

TOTAL $503.85 $810.49

Note: Mentor artist, Ric Leichliter, is donating labor, time in his studio space, and delivery to exhibition site.

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APPENDIX D

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APPENDIX E

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APPENDIX F