Holland Hall News
Primary School Students Create 5-Foot Lizard
Primary School students grades kindergarten through first grade recently wrapped up a unit of study on Spanish architect, Antoni Gaudi. The first project studied was Park Guell in Barcelona, Spain. The lizard is an iconic image in the park as it is a central fountain among the many other unusual Gaudi structures within Park Guell, which was built in the early 1900s. Students focused on the mosaic work of Gaudi and the lizard which is covered in mosaic. Third and second graders worked on the papier mache aspects of building the lizard. Primary School art teacher Andrea Turner created a framework during the summer of cardboard, paper and chicken wire. The students began wrapping this framework with newspaper and paste, a process which took about a month. The next step involved kindergartners and first graders as they worked together to paint the body of the lizard. Lastly, students added a mosaic-like tissue paper surface to complete the over 5-foot lizard.
Additionally, guest visitor and Holland Hall parent and alumna Cara Shimkus ’84 Hall visited the students and discussed her work as an architect. The third graders were able to paint their own “Gaudi” influenced building. They also tied in the work of an italian immigrant named Simon Rodilla who spent 33 years of his life building the Tower of Watts near Los Angeles, a set of large 100 foot towers that are covered with mosaic.
