PACE Students Serve Up Delicious Dessert Artwork

Students in Carmel High School’s Personal, Academic & Community Experience (PACE) program have been busy making delicious art in Danielle Marino’s class. The PACE program focuses on functional academic skills for students.

A recent dessert unit focused on the art of Wayne Thiebaud, a pop artist in the 1960s who examined how food was a major part of American iconography and showcased it through his artwork.

“I chose Wayne Thiebaud because he is an artist who we can all relate to,” said Marino. “Everyone loves food, especially sweets and dessert.”
The students had the opportunity to create their own versions of Thiebaud’s art by sculpting and painting paper-mâché cake slices, and drawing donuts, ice cream and cupcakes that looked good enough to eat.

Each art re-creation provided the opportunity for students to learn new skills. To create the paper-mâché cake slices, the students learned how to create a wedge template and layer glue and paper before moving on to decorations made from clay. The donut drawings focused on learning about patterns and how to add shadows to make the food look more three-dimensional. The ice cream cone project provided a lesson in color mixing. Each scoop on the cone was mixed by the students to gradually make it darker.

“I am pleased with how all the projects came out,” said Marino. “One of the most rewarding parts of teaching our PACE students is seeing all of their different abilities in the same classroom. They were able to create their own piece of art that is unique to them.”