Students in the sixth grade spent time in the 2nd trimester studying various art forms from the Middle Ages.  One of these was that of illuminated letters.  These illustrations centered on the first letter of a page of often religious text.  The term “illuminated” technically refers to pages that use gold or silver leaf, although it has come to mean any page that is intricately illustrated.   

Sixth graders first learned about examples of “composite beasts,” or mythical creatures made up of multiple animals, like griffins, basilisks and the manticore.  Using two or three real animals they designed and drew their own original creation inspired by these examples.

Students next participated in critiquing and researching images and real examples of Medieval examples of illumination before designing their own using the aspects they discerned from the classic examples.  They also learned several painting techniques meant to help them bring out their ability to show detail.  They used one of their initials, and incorporated their original composite beast.

Please click on the image to view it larger and to read the students’ accompanying artist statements.

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CeCe

Anais

Lucy

Sebastian

Libi

Bayo

Giselle

Sarah

Max

Edward

Tomas