This project was started as the last activity of last school year for our current sixth grade students. As mature artists, writers, and readers we work with symbol almost intuitively. But this intuition is built on many, many experiences thinking and talking about symbolism in school and at home.
The human hand is an obvious symbol. it can be expressive and representational. It can show affection as well as dissent. In the case of this project, the hand represents the reach of each of us as individuals, striving to grab and hold something of desire. As we talked about it and quite unexpectedly, our sixth-grade students began to frame their hand projects as a kind of self-portraiture, revealing that they all have desire and complexity in their own lives.
The project involves working with different types of line, consistent application of detail, balance and contrast, and color generalization (background). It is a great way to start our year and a great way to engender good, high-level discussion about both art and individual purpose and agency.
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