Art IV students designed, painted, and sculpted a Mardi Gras Art Installation for the Sisters' residence next to campus on Milne and Allen Toussaint Blvd. They learned how to translate their ideas into 3D forms, build to scale, execute bracing and supports, and weatherproof art for site-specific installation. The 2023 theme is "Celebrating Carnival with Mount Carmel."  

As the semester began, Art IV students designed flowers inspired by the style of traditional float flowers. First, they rendered their sketches with colored pencils. Then, the drawings came to life as they constructed petals with 180lb mixed-media paper and 12-gauge aluminum wire. Each petal was primed and painted with acrylic spray paint, and fine details were added with brushwork. The finished petals were sculpted and hot glued together to create the final form. Primed pieces of plywood, screwed into the back of the flowers, made each piece strong structurally while providing the means to hang flowers on the wall or balcony. 

This year's theme pieces were influenced by traditional Mardi Gras attire and decorations seen throughout the season. Students painted the seven-foot wooden class mascots with purple, green, and gold striped shirts. The Butterfly mascot's wings were painted to appear as bead art. With a nod to the set pieces seen at traditional Mardi Gras tableaus, 2D bunting will be hung along the balcony. The stars of the display are two queens, Sister Camille Anne and Ms. Simno, created out of plywood and dressed in sparkly Mardi Gras formal gowns, crowns, and MCA septors. They will be installed on the center of the balcony, looking out at the crowd below. 

The installation will take place on Wednesday, February 8, and will remain up through the remainder of Carnival season. This is MCA's third year creating a Mardi Gras Art Installation (house float).