Mix It Up Part 2: With Alexander Calder

The next step of this Mix It Up project was to learn about artist Alexander Calder. Calder is an amazing artist and he is the originator of the mobile. To introduce Calder we read the book Sandy’s Circus: A Story About Alexander Calder by Tanya Lee Stone. This is a great book about Calder’s life and the creation of the miniature circus, a series of figures including a lion and trapeze artists out of wire and other materials. The book is very colorful and the story is engaging for preschoolers to follow. I did add some details and explanation about topics in the book to make it more accessible for my Junior Kindergarteners.

Next, I shared images of Alexander Calder’s work including his circus wire structures. Then, I shared some pictures of Alexander’s work that have a connection to Chicago, his Flamingo sculpture is a famous work of art known to many Chicago residents. Many of my students were familiar with the piece and had seen it on trips in the Loop. I also shared some of Calder’s famous mobile works that have been on display at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art and the Art Institute.

I shared with students that Calder’s mobiles will be the inspiration for the piece of art that they are going to create using the materials they had painted with the colors they had created.

During our next class students will decide on the shape that they want to cut their pieces into and how we want to layout our mobile!