Winter Art Show!

In this unit, you will explore the concepts of Home, Identity, and Belonging through painting and 3D sculpture. These projects invite you to express personal stories, emotions, and cultural connections in symbolic and creative ways.
Choose one project from the Painting Section or one from the 3D Sculpture Section.

PAINTING PROJECT OPTIONS

• Windows to Belonging – A surreal painting where windows or doors reveal symbolic places that represent where you feel you belong.

• Roots and Routes – A symbolic tree painting connecting your heritage (roots) to your growth and dreams (branches).

• Identity Mask – A creative mask painting blending your inner and outer self through expressive color and symbolism.
  
  

3D SCULPTURE PROJECT OPTIONS

• Fragmented Identity – A 3D sculpture showing how identity can be complex, layered, or reconstructed through materials and form.

• Echoes of Home – A sound-based sculpture or installation that captures the rhythm and emotion of your home environment.

• Belonging Tree – A collaborative class sculpture where each student adds a personal element to represent their sense of belonging.
  
  

BONUS CONCEPT EXTENSIONS (for AP or Advanced Students)

• Inside / Outside – Explore the contrast between your emotional self and your public or social self.

• House of Memories – Build a miniature house filled with symbols and objects that represent personal memories.

• The Weight of Belonging – Create a wearable sculpture reflecting the strength or burden of identity.

• Home Is Not a Place – Develop an abstract art series expressing the idea of “home” as a feeling or connection rather than a location.

PAINTING PROJECT OPTIONS

Option 1: “Windows to Belonging”

Theme: A surreal painting showing windows or doors that open into symbolic places where you feel you belong — real or imagined.

Goal: Express belonging using symbolic imagery, contrast, and emotional color.

Steps:

1. Brainstorm: Make a list of 3–5 places (real or imaginary) that feel like “belonging” to you.

2. Sketch Ideas: Draw 2–3 thumbnail sketches of how a window or doorway might reveal that place.

3. Plan Contrast: Decide what will appear inside and outside your window/door. Use opposite color palettes (e.g., warm vs. cool, light vs. dark).

4. Draw Composition: Lightly sketch your final design on canvas or heavy paper.

5. Paint Background: Block in large color areas first, establishing contrast and mood.

6. Add Details: Refine architectural details, textures, and symbols that represent your emotions or memories.

7. Final Touch: Use highlights and shadows to emphasize depth and transition between the “inside” and “outside” worlds.

8. Reflect: Write a short paragraph explaining what “belonging” means in your work.
   
   

Option 2: “Roots and Routes”

Theme: A symbolic tree painting where the roots represent your cultural and family heritage, and the branches express your growth, migration, and dreams.

Goal: Explore your personal history and aspirations through visual symbolism and pattern.

Steps:

1. Research & Reflect: Think about your heritage — traditions, family stories, or cultural patterns.

2. Sketch Your Tree: Create thumbnail sketches that show how roots and branches can tell a story.

3. Design Symbols: Choose patterns, colors, or motifs that represent your background and dreams.

4. Draw the Composition: On canvas, lightly sketch your tree and background.

5. Paint Base Colors: Start with earth tones for roots and lighter or vibrant colors for branches.

6. Add Details: Paint patterns or small symbols into the roots and branches to show connection.

7. Texture & Depth: Layer paint to give the tree dimension and life.

8. Reflection: Write a few sentences about what each part of your tree represents.
   
   

Option 3: “Identity Mask” Painting

Theme: A mask that blends your visible self and hidden self — exploring how you see yourself versus how others see you.

Goal: Show duality through expressive colors, abstraction, and symbolism.

Steps:

1. Brainstorm Identity: Make two lists — one describing your outer self (how others see you), and one describing your inner self (how you feel inside).

2. Design the Mask: Sketch mask ideas that blend both sides — split face, layered transparency, or symbolic overlap.

3. Choose Your Style: Combine realism and abstraction to show contrast.

4. Draw Outline: Lightly sketch your mask design on your painting surface.

5. Block Colors: Start with flat color areas to define emotional tone (cool for calm/hidden, warm for expressive/visible).

6. Add Patterns & Symbols: Include imagery, textures, or cultural motifs that represent parts of your identity.

7. Final Details: Refine edges, highlights, and transitions to unify the composition.

8. Reflection: Write 3–4 sentences describing what each element symbolizes.
   
   

3D SCULPTURE PROJECT OPTIONS

Option 1: “Fragmented Identity”

Theme: A 3D sculpture that shows a figure or face broken, reconstructed, or layered with different materials to represent complex identity.

Goal: Explore how identity can be multifaceted, fragile, or evolving.

Steps:

1. Plan Concept: Sketch your idea — will it be a full face, half face, or abstract form?

2. Choose Materials: Clay, plaster, papier-mâché, cardboard, fabric, or mirror pieces.

3. Build Base Form: Start shaping the main structure (use an armature or base for support).

4. Add Fragments: Attach or layer materials to show different aspects of identity.

5. Incorporate Texture: Press in fabric, carve patterns, or use transparent pieces to add depth.

6. Paint or Finish: Add color or patina that connects the fragments visually.

7. Reflect: Write an artist statement explaining the meaning of your sculpture.
   
   

Option 2: “Echoes of Home” – Sound and Structure

Theme: Create a small installation using found materials and recorded sounds from your home environment.

Goal: Express the atmosphere, emotion, or rhythm of your home through form and sound.

Steps:

1. Collect Materials: Gather objects that remind you of home — wood, fabric, metal, etc.

2. Record Sounds: Capture short audio clips (voices, doors closing, cooking sounds, music).

3. Sketch Installation: Plan how sound and structure will interact.

4. Build Base Structure: Use cardboard, wire, or recycled items to form a small sculpture.

5. Add Sound Element: Play recorded sound through a small speaker or phone near your piece.

6. Add Light or Movement (Optional): Incorporate LEDs, reflection, or shadow for mood.

7. Reflect: Write a short paragraph describing how your installation represents “home.”
   
   

Option 3: “Belonging Tree” – Collaborative Sculpture

Theme: A large community tree built collectively by the class — each student contributes one branch, leaf, or element that represents their personal story of belonging.

Goal: Create a shared artwork celebrating diversity and unity.

Steps:

1. Individual Planning: Each student designs a small piece (branch, leaf, fruit, or symbol).

2. Material Choices: Use wire, clay, fabric, paper, wood, or found objects.

3. Create Your Element: Decorate your piece with color, texture, or symbols of identity.

4. Assemble Together: Combine all elements on a large central “tree trunk” (wire, cardboard, or real wood base).

5. Arrange Composition: Balance colors, textures, and shapes to create visual harmony.

6. Install in Classroom or Hallway: Display as a collaborative piece titled “Belonging Tree.”

7. Reflect: Write a label describing your contribution and what it represents.

Bonus Concept Extension (Optional for AP or Advanced Students)

Choose one to explore independently:

• “Inside/Outside” – Contrasting emotional vs. social self.

• “House of Memories” – Miniature house filled with personal symbols.

• “The Weight of Belonging” – Wearable sculpture about identity’s burdens or strength.

• “Home Is Not a Place” – Abstract series exploring home as emotion or person.

Assessment Criteria

Composition, Design, & Layout: 25 %

Skills & Techniques: 25 %

Creativity, Conceptual Depth, & Originality: 20 %

Completion, Presentation, Neatness & Time Management: 30%