For the past 6 years the Historic Hampton Inc. non-profit has hosted an art show for any Maryland students and teachers to submit work inspired by Hampton National Historic Park. It was always a wonderful show, however this year we decided to work with BCPS Visual Arts office to create our first Hampton Art Experience at the historic site. I took my 8th grade GT students!
Teachers in Baltimore County signed up to bring 20 of their students to the Hampton mansion for a full day art experience. Students rotated between 2 of the 3 art stations which included:
- Gardens & Light where students learned about the history of horticulture at Hampton Mansion, and about the properties of light as they created cyanotypes using natural objects located on site.
- Understanding Architecture where students learned about the history of the architecture and engineering at Hampton Mansion, and were able to work on creating their own mansion, or recreating the Hampton Mansion in a drawing like an architect.
- Fibers on the Farm where students learned about life on the Farm at Hampton Mansion and used fibers to create artworks that were inspired by Hampton.
My students attended the Understanding Architecture station, lead by architect Anne Boyce and Gretchen Maneval.
and Gardens & Light station, lead by Carroll Cook.
On Saturday, the student work was on display in the orangery for a reception. Families were able to come and see their students work, as well as take a tour of the Mansion!
This was by far the best art experience and we are looking forward to hosting our second experience next year.
<3