Using stacks of tissue paper and cardstock, scissors, glue, construction paper and other simple supplies, students at Summit Academy Secondary School – Akron are undertaking avante-garde assignments. Think: Iron Age shoe wear.
Visiting artist Stephanie Stewart of P31 Art & Design encourages students to think innovatively as they take on challenges such as creating functional footwear prototypes in a series of “Best Foot Forward” classes.
“Students are encouraged to think outside the box,” says Stewart, who teaches art lessons to the students every Thursday through December thanks to a grant from the
Ohio Arts Council. This is the second year in a row Stewart has taught art to the students, supplementing their regular art instruction. Her lessons are made possible thanks to Ohio Arts Council funding resulting from grant proposals written by IEP Coordinator Sarah Pavis.
During a recent class, students portrayed members of nobility of the 14th century. Through their use of traditional, blind and collaborative contour drawing, they designed long-toe poulaine shoes, popular in Europe in the Middle Ages. The longer the shoe, the greater the wealth and social standing of the wearer.
“The students made poulaine shoes in a competition to see who is the wealthiest, just to find out their monarch made a law that would have fined or jailed them,” jokes Stewart. “The reactions were priceless.”
The spins keep the classes lively while students delve into not just art, but lessons in history,
technology and fashion. Currently, students are discussing how technological advancements affected art and fashion throughout 1760-early1900s. Their latest assignments involve creating monochromatic silhouette images inspired by contemporary artist Kara Walker and depicting the Industrial Revolution.
Atop a red, orange and yellow tissue-papered mosaic canvas the students create skyline images of factories, steel mills and smokestacks. The lesson will transition into next week’s about Goodyear Tire & Rubber co-founder F.A. Seiberling. During their session with Stewart, students will create 3-D renditions of combat boots incorporating vulcanized rubber from Akron-based Goodyear.
“The opportunity for our art students to gain valuable experience in different avenues and genres of art stimulates their creatively and provides the students opportunities to express themselves. It also challenges students to think outside their comfort zone with the varying types of projects Ms. Stewart has them completing,” says Principal Ralph grant.