Visiting Artist Has Students Pushing The Limits

 “What are you going to do, when no one’s telling you what to do?”

That’s a question being asked in Mrs. Stavolone’s Period 1 and 3 classes, who from Oct. 24 through Jan. 15 are working with Anne Cubberly, a Hartford visual artist with more than 28 years of artistic experience. Her work includes kinetic sculpture, artist-in-residence experiences, installations, and performance art.

On the first day of Anne’s visit, students were assigned to make towers out of newspapers and scotch tape that were the height of Anne. (5 foot 4 inches) They were put in groups and were not allowed to ask any questions as to how to make the tower; instead the students had to work together and use their creativity to make a structure that stands up straight and doesn’t tip over.

Students stood up to the challenge and passed with flying colors making their own version of a tower. Some looked like the Eifel Tower while others looked like the Leaning tower of Pisa. But all took a great deal of imagination, creativity and teamwork.

In the following days, student built other small projects, such as a rubber band powered soda bottle car, and crank toy.   Students were shown how to make the basic structure and presented with exemplars or finished products. There were also diagrams on the board. One of the rules during these projects was the students were not able to ask Anne or Mrs. Stavolone any questions, they had to rely on one another for help. Any adjustments or changes they had to do themselves.