C.V. Starr 4th Graders "Connect" With Lego Self Portraits
“Shine Bright Like Diamonds” is not just the theme for the mural project in the lobby of C.V. Starr Intermediate School. It’s the feeling one gets when entering Danielle Michielini’s art room: bright, sparkly, vibrant.
Today, Michielini is revealing the shading and shapes art project fourth graders will be working on this semester: Lego Self Portraits. The class lets out a collective whoop at the news. Via slide show, she explains how the class will be “stacking shapes together to create our person and then designing it to make it unique to ourselves. This is a self-portrait of you. Consider your clothing and what you like to do and create a background that is appealing too.”
As this is a “no pressure practice day,” students start to work out their ideas. They are given worksheets with blank Lego people to try out different hairstyles (pigtails or frizzy?), facial expressions (surprised or happy?), and outfits (do you wear a hoodie every day or patterned pants?). No pressure, it’s practice day. Students sit at large tables with a rainbow array of colored pencils and get busy. Most of them know exactly what their Lego self-portrait will be wearing.
Mason has already sketched a Brewster Bears #99 football jersey–”my favorite football player on The Rams, Aaron Donnell, wears #99.” Olivia is drawing her Lego avatar with riding pants, a button-down shirt, helmet, and black boots–”I love to ride horses, so I’m adding a riding outfit.”
Julia is shading in a green sweatshirt with a blossom in the corner–”it’s my favorite sweatshirt.”
A few are not as certain.
Adriana says, “I don’t know if my Lego person will wear blue glasses and Mary Janes or maybe it’ll be a Halloween theme. I’m going as The Cat in the Hat for Halloween with my twin brothers, they are going as Thing 1 and Thing 2. Maybe I’ll do that for my Lego self-portrait.”
The Lego theme seems to really connect--pun intended--with the class. Justin says at home he helped his dad build Lego Star Wars Storm Troopers and a Darth Vadar head, so his background is going to show Jedis fighting. Adriana explains that at home she built a Lego “casita” so she will try to recreate that in the background of her Lego self-portrait.
Michielini's goal for art is to “make projects open-ended while teaching concepts and breaking down strategies along the way so that students feel successful.” It seems to be working. Students in her classroom are shading and stacking Lego shapes and–Shining Bright Like Diamonds.