Café Sedgwick:Teams of 7th and 8th students team up to create dimensional art

Written by Tracey Weiss

Photography by Tracey Weiss and submitted

Creating a themed piece of dimensional art out of cardboard alone might be a challenge, but working with four other people? Seems impossible!

Not so for the creative teams of 7^th and 8^th grade students at Sedgwick Middle School.

The theme for this year’s annual art project was “The Creative Café.” Students, paired by 7^th grade art teacher Katie Aponte and 8^th grade art teacher Nicole Maldonado, were given the task of creating a “freshly brewed masterpiece,” something delicious to go with the café theme.

The art team of Mara Faga, Emma Cortez, Jayden Ruffasto, Max Hartland and Hannah Krusinski, worked as a team to make this dimensional cardboard croissant covered in fruit. Photo by Tracey Weiss

The larger than life 3-D cardboard delicacies were premiered, along with artwork by every student at all three grades at the school, on May 28 at a reception open to all students and their families.

“It was a successful night,” Maldonado said, made even more fun with a concert performance showcasing the musical talents of the 7^th and 8^th grade students. “It’s a nice night for the arts,” she added. “This (event) is unique to Sedgwick. It’s our Superbowl.”

Students were given four weeks to create their food item. Each team, Aponte added, must “collaborate and comprise.”

This year’s theme at Sedgwick Middle School was “Café,” and 7^th and 8^th grade student teams created dimensional food to go with it, like this avocado toast.

“This allows students to use their talent and input,” Maldonado said, “and to find solutions at the same time.”

To provide inspiration, students were shown a presentation featuring American artists Claes Oldenburg and James Grashow. Oldenberg was “best known for his playful, oversized sculptures of everyday objects.”

Every student was represented through their own work on the walls at Sedgwick Middle School for the annual art show reception in late May.

According to the presentation, “Connecticut-based artist James Grashow’s father had a cardboard factory, and he has been making things out of it since he was a child. His main technique is platforming, connecting two shapes with a strip of cardboard. He approaches cardboard as a sculptor, bending, push and twisting the material into the shape he wants it to be.”

Working as a team allows the students to actively find solutions and at the same time, “find out what they’re good at,” Maldonado said. “They quickly find what job is their own and what their strengths are.”

“The cardboard itself is a teacher,” Maldonado said. “There’s no right or wrong way to use it.”

One team, comprised of 7^th grade students Emma Cortez and Mara Faga, and 8^th graders Jayden Ruffasto, Hannah Krusinski, and Max Hartland, decided to create a large, fruit-covered croissant.

“We looked at a bunch of examples and came up with the idea to incorporate fruits,” Hannah said. “We all worked really well together. We were really good at deciding together. 

“We learned we can do so many things with one item,” she added, referencing the cardboard. “You can peel it, bend it and color it.” Each team used acrylic paints for their cardboard creations.

Aponte gave a lot of thought to putting her teams of students together. “I thought about balance and mixing the kids, to see where they would fit together,” she said. “Emma and Mara have clean, artistic styles. They’re very meticulous.

The art of every student at Sedgwick Middle School was represented at the art reception in May.

“Jayden brings energy to the group. He’s a great communicator. If you need something, Jayden gets the job done. He amps up the group.

“Hannah is a go getter. A little bossy in a good way.

“Max is smart. He’ll say, ‘okay, tell me what I need to do.’ He built the structure for the fruit.”

Aponte loves what they accomplished. “The piece came out and it’s outstanding,” she said. “It brought out the best in the group, to work side by side.”

Sedgwick Middle School art teachers Nicole Maldonado (8^th grade), Katie Aponte (7^th grade), and Julie Petrini (6^th grade) take a moment to pose during the Creative Café Art Reception.

The team members learned a lot during their collaboration. “I didn’t realize you could use cardboard for art,” Mara said.

Max agreed. “You can make anything with cardboard.”

“It changed my mind about art,” Jayden said. “I always thought it was boring.”

Plus, Mara said, “we made new friends.”

“It was fun working with different personalities,” Hannah said, “to work with people who aren’t the same as me. It was fun to collaborate.”

“It was good and I would do it again,” Emma added.

“This is probably the most fun I’ve had in a month,” Jayden said. “I might have to change one of my classes next year (as a high school elective) to art. It’s calming.”

“This is such a great group of kids,” Aponte said. “When they try, they create things that are amazing.” WHL