Art History - Joseph Cornell

Our Specials schedule this year is

Mon - Art History

Tue - Philosophy

Wed - Structured Word Inquiry

Thu - Letter Writing

In my Art History 2024-2025 blog post, I decided November would be Joseph Cornell. Here are some resources and my planning notes:

Joseph Cornell
1903 - 1972

Mr. Cornell's Dream Boxes
by Jeanette Winter

also

books illustrated with three-dimensional collages:

The Good-Night Blessing Book by Nancy Willard

Snapshots from the Wedding by Gary Soto

I Am Marc Chagall by Bimba Lindmann

These Shadow Boxes Are Striking. The Story of Their Origin Is, Too.
The New York Times - Jan 24, 2018

One Frame, Thousands of Snails (interactive article)
The New York Times - Oct 31, 2024

Cornell's work at nearby museums:

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University, STL
Untitled (Landscape with Sheep)

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week of Nov 4:

Mon

read Mr. Cornell's Dream Boxes by Jeanette Winter

continue with dream journals begun during Marc Chagall

week of Nov 11:

Tue

look at collection of books illustrated with three-dimensional collages

give each child a blank box (USPS Medium Flat Rate Box)

fold and tape box together, paint interior as desired, let paint dry
(note: wallpaper samples make wonderful flooring for boxes!)

bring in small items from home to add to our Beautiful Stuff boxes (begun during Alexander Calder in Sep 2022)


Beautiful Stuff! Learning with Found Materials
by Cathy Weisman Topal and Lella Gandini

week of Nov 18:

Mon

look at Soap Bubble Set (1936) on p.199 of Childcraft, volume 13, "Look Again"

give children time to plan their 3-dimensional scene and find or make any objects needed (including found objects, nature materials, items from our Beautiful Stuff boxes; making small figures from clay; etc.)

Thu - Pajama Day

look at interactive NYT article about Adam Elliot's "Memoir of a Snail" -- How Hundreds of Hands Brought 'Memoir of a Snail' to Life -- which shows all the details in one scene in this stop-motion film and beautifully explains that every prop, set, and character is handmade (note: this adult film is rated R so I am not recommending it for kids, nor am I showing them the preview or any other scene from the film)

spend the day building forts and making our boxes!

note: clothespins work well to hold back the flaps of the box while you are working on them

"A Bedroom for Cats"
AR, age 6

Other pieces of art we made included

"A Room at the Hotel Cursive"

"The Cozy Café"

"Totoro"

"Fishing"

"The Ocean"

"My Beach"

"First Time Fishing"

"Cat Playroom"

"Cats in My Backyard"

"The Throne Room"

"Eclipse"

"The Quilt"

untitled

Sample pages from our books illustrated with three-dimensional collages:

Notes:

In November, the older children will be doing the 6th grade Waldorf block String Straight-edge and Shadow: The Story of Geometry by Julia Diggins, so making Shadow Boxes is a wonderful tie-in!

I think this month's artist will also go well with the handmade calendars which we always make in November. Our 2025 calendars will be based on How to Make a Zero Backwards: An Activity Book for the Imagination by Richard Kehl.

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