Cubist Guitars on Display in Middle School

Inspired by Cubists Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso, 8th-grade students recently created Cubist guitars, incorporating concepts of abstraction, repetition, and fragmentation to assemble their works of art. The students learned dowel joinery (no nails or glue!) to create their guitars, an essential technique for the project that will prepare them for Upper School woodworking. Their striking sculptures are on display in the Thornley Middle School’s Carpenter Gallery and, says art teacher Judy Callas, “The community is giving this project rave reviews!” 

“There was some apprehension reviving this project,” said art teacher Irene Yoon, “especially because students haven't had the opportunity to explore woodworking in the past few years. It was beyond thrilling to see how well students leaned into such a process-based project, problem-solving, exploring new techniques, and enhancing their visual thinking skills.”