Created by Clear Spring High School, Clear Spring, MD
Artists: Brandi and Alison
Title: Rising Above
Teacher: Mr. Edwards
Theme: Freedom
Materials and techniques: Our process involved painting the entire canvas white so that we could add watercolor to it later. Our goal was to be able to lay down water color in a way that when we blew on it, it spread. The phoenix wings and head were painted in black paints and the chains/ words in Sharpie marker.
Did you enjoy this project? It was a struggle and took much time to come up with a concept that we all liked. But once we got going we had fun and love the end product.
About: Our theme revolved around the idea that of breaking from the shackles that once held slaves back. The phoenix is a representation of those who were oppressed rising up and spreading their wings to become something new. We chose to use the reds, oranges, and yellows behind the phoenix as a way to express its power and even new found strength. We then decided to add the poem “From Shackles to Scholars” so that viewers could understand the struggle behind slavery.