Food is portrayed in many ways, so I thought I could cover this topic with many age levels. Some food art is familiar; Wayne Thiebaud’s cakes, Claes Oldenburg’s soft sculptures or Andy Warhol’s soup come to mind. There are also emerging artists who can be good examples. Stephanie H Shih is an Asian American artist working with the concept of feeling at home through food. Her artist statement says it best…
Stephanie H Shih Artist Statement
I think her work is a good starting point for students, she works in ceramics, but the forms are not complex. I will be teaching elementary level students, so I want to have something really accessible for them while still allowing for variation. Food is familiar can be created in simple forms.
Jess-
Each of these lessons provides both technical and conceptual development and I can imagine many variations that could keep your classroom going for a while! This food-related prompt is especially exciting and would lend itself nicely to a cultural celebration that could culminate in an actual party with food! This could be coupled with so many other interdisciplinary opportunities, such as reading and analyzing Amy Tan’s Fish Cheeks https://1.cdn.edl.io/mAHN4mnJZpKQ6ySxI2mwGCpGmmqQnvPly9wZ6dXhmn5IF0az.pdf
Great concepts here!
This is a very rich concept! I thought you might enjoy the artist Lucy Sparrow who stocked an entire grocery store with food made from felt! Here is an interview about her felt grocery store.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB3qR5WGjVU