Well, soap is a far cry from marble, it's true, but sculpting sure is fun! This was an exercise in process over product as the Spirits worked to discover the statue inside a block of soap. For some, the statue was a big pile of soap chips, but many beautiful works of art also took shape. (See the turtle and the dragon's head, below.)
We also tried our hands at painting upside down -- though there are varying reports on whether Michelangelo actually laid down or stood on the scaffolding while painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling, we discovered that he definitely would have had some obstacles to overcome painting above his head, and he probably ended up with a crick in his neck, especially after working this way for years! "This is really hard," and "Mrs. M, my arm hurts!" were almost universal comments while we "painted" our own pastel versions of the famous ceiling's scenes on canvas stuck to the bottom of our desks. We have spent weeks looking at Renaissance art, but the Spirits particularly enjoyed pictures of the Sistine Chapel, (and viewing the 3D virtual tour -- see "Explore More" links at right), especially the well known center panel image of God reaching out his hand toward Adam, fingers almost touching. This powerful image even speaks to children, as you can see in their versions below:
What we've learned from Michelangelo: Never stop creating, no matter how hard the work!
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