Michael Richardson came to visit us at CCES for a second time! Once again he came to share his gifts, knowledge and exquisite puppets but this time it was with all 3 divisions of our school. At the Middle School level he met with my 5th grade students and introduced then to the origins of puppetry with a focus on Indonesian puppets and the unique way they are performed by a single person. We also talked about movement and about how the skeleton helps us move in a particular way.
Students were then asked to use parts of 3 real animals to create an imaginary animal, draw it in pencil first and then trace it on tracing paper with all moving parts separated off to the side. This was transferred to heavy watercolor paper, outlined with black Sharpie, cut out, hole punched and reassembled as a moving creature. The last step was using very watery effects with water color so as not to cover up the detail of the Sharpie.
You will see that the results are stunning as well as delightful! Seeing the resulting project should help you understand why I love teaching this age student and why I adore working with visiting artists Michael Richardson. The whole experience was creativity at its most stimulating. Visit facebook to see how amazing he is as an artist, performer, teacher and person.
.https://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-String-Wayang-Theatre/128992150471954?sk=info
one of Michael's puppets made the traditional way in Indonesia with water buffalo belly skin
bones from all 3 division science departments to help the cause
