Whether it be a Picasso or a Haring…

we love three-dimensional art, sometimes referred to as sculpture or ‘craft’. We might even dare to call upon these articulated vessels as design, but let’s not get into a debate about it!

In 1984 American Pop artist Keith Haring stopped by in Milan and left this recollection:

“I began by visiting a workshop on the outskirts of Milano where they
produce terracotta pieces. I chose several vases of different sizes and shapes
and began the next day to systematically sand, wash, and then embellish the
surface with marking ink. The largest of these was big enough for me to stand
inside of. There were several small vases which I was attracted to because
of their similarity to the shape of nuclear cooling towers. The confrontation
between the history of vase paintings and the contemporary approach of drawing
with marker and the mixture of contemporary and ancient symbols produces
an ironic mixture of opposites.” –Keith Haring

A group of third year middle school students took a deep breath and lots of inspiration from the Pop Art genius himself before embarking on these amazingly embellished terracotta planters, armed, simply, with black permanent markers. 

Our pots are a lot smaller than Keith’s but the dedication to this particular project has been astounding nevertheless!

Taking some aboriginal and pattern research cues from a previous project, each pot was transformed into an art piece in a very personal style by each student.

Some students added white marker to the surface to create further contrast and stunning patterns.

God is in the details….

and here we are in the lab during the vase marking process!

The final results are absolutely fantastic!