Balancing the Idea of Sculpture

Nancy Graves


Student Sculpture

Students examined artist Nancy Graves and discussed how her work appears to defy gravity, by looking as if it could fall over at any moment, while at the same time maintaining complete balance! Next, we learned about the three c's of sculpture, which are construction, carving, and casting and even watched a video clip of Nancy Graves in her art studio demonstrating a few of those techniques.  To start our own sculptures, we spent the first day exploring how we could create a sculpture that stands up, but appears to be imbalanced in one or more areas.  Many students realized they could hide where certain objects were being supported, as well as use strong wood glue to help with the construction. 

On the second day, students were able to bring in their own found objects from home to add a more personal touch to their work.  Our young artists also became inspired by Japanese artist Sayaka Ganz and how she, similar to Nancy Graves, uses found objects to construct her artwork with recycled kitchen tools. When it was ready to paint, we explored the color wheel.  Students were able to choose a primary color and a secondary color that are next to each other on the color wheel, to create a tertiary color, in addition to white on their sculpture.  Can you locate where you see a tertiary color?  We will give you a clue:  The six tertiary colors are red-orange,  yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet,  and red-violet.

Nancy Graves

Sayaka Ganz

Student Artwork