Sargent's Oyster Gatherers

[David Draime]

Here's this year's collaborative piece, Sargent's Oyster Gatherers at Cancale. Every year, all my Art 1 students do one of these. This year I wanted to see how a more "painterly" painting would turn out, so I chose Sargent. Most of you know how it's done but for those who don't:

I take the poster, cut it up into (in this case) 154 equal sized pieces, laminate them, shuffle them, and hand them out to all 5 of my Art 1 classes. The students don't know what the final image will be until all the pieces are completed and assembled. Their task is to reproduce (using colored pencils) as accurately as possible their particular image on a paper nine times as large. The final piece is then quite large...

Every year we enter it in a local art show, and this piece won a top award - 4th year in a row we've won. This year the award was $40 - so I excitedly tell my 154 students that we won (they applaud)...and that they each get 26 cents!!! They stare at me....

[Garth Herrick]

David,

What a wonderful project, and what a wonderful art teacher you are! Big congratulations to all of your team!

Where will this go on permanent display? Show some details!

Garth

[Dan Landrie]

I just completed a master copy of this very painting, it's one of my favorites, theres actually an oil sketch version(this is the one I used) as well as the final painting, your students did a much better job then I did. congratulations to them and you.

[Marina Dieul]

Great collective work!
Tell your students that it's not the amount of money which is important, the glory is enough.
Well... At least at the very beginning of an artist's career ...

[Tom Edgerton]

David--

Many congratulations....and what a great idea!

I would have killed to have been in your class at that age.

--TE

[Enzie Shahmiri]

Your students did a great job! I think you should start making them paint these on more sturdy surfaces so they can be permanently placed on a school wall.