Oct 27, 2011


Photo: Mr. Hulls grade 7/8 class and their gargoyle creations at LOLPS

No one was more surprised by the enthusiasm students had for a recent art project than their teacher, Mr. Lee Hull, who introduced a 3D gargoyle project to students in his grade 7/8 class at Land O' Lakes PS in Mountain Grove. “Two-dimensional art projects are common but I wanted to challenge students with a 3D project that focused more on sculpture than flat 2D design,” he said.

The gargoyle project had students researching these ancient architectural ornaments that first appeared in ancient Greece and Rome and later were common in Gothic architecture all over Europe. Who knew that these grotesque creatures, often hybrids of mythical, god-like and phantasmagorical creatures, also served a functional purpose; for example, as spouts to drain water away from rooftops?

Students spent two and half weeks on the project, first researching the topic, then designing on paper their own gargoyles, which they then set about modeling of clay around a Styrofoam insert mounted on a wooden dowel. “One of their goals was to make sure that their gargoyle was visually interesting from every angle, and to do so, they were encouraged to explore a number of clay techniques including bas relief and other textural surface applications,” Hull said. Like all great art projects, the resulting gargoyles are as individual as the students who created them. There were hybrids of pigs, elephants, birds, dragons, fish, foxes with intricate defining features that included tusks, horns, fins, wings, woven beards, buck teeth, antennae, tentacles, chains, plus a huge variety of horrid noses, mouths, ears and eyes, each caught in various expressions of ghoulish grotesqueness.

The students loved the project and not only learned how to create a three-dimensional work of art from modeling clay, but also about the history of these fascinating architectural ornaments. “While the project is an art project, we were also able to tie language and history into the mix,” Mr. Hull said. He has plans to further the project and will invite each student to write a fable about their creature later in the term. The 26 completed works have been mounted and are currently on display in the school library, just in time for Halloween for students, staff and visitors to the school to marvel at.

For Mr. Hull the project was hugely successful and one that he is sure that his students will remember and learn from. “For a teacher the fun happens in the classroom when students outdo your expectations. Instead of falling back on existing fads and trends, the students came up with their own original ideas and, in doing so, gained confidence in their own abilities. And when this kind of thing happens in the classroom, that is the best part of teaching.”

 

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