Grade Level: 4–6

Project Title: Balancing Acts

Objective: Explore geometry, balance, and emotional expression through abstract sculpture.

Activity: Students use cardboard and paint to construct stacked abstract forms that express a personal feeling (e.g., calm, excitement, tension).

Just a Little Peace reduces the familiar gesture of a hand forming a peace sign into angular, intersecting steel elements that balance tension and harmony. The work draws on ideas associated with constructivism—a modernist approach emphasizing geometric structure, industrial materials, and visible assembly—transforming a recognizable symbol into an abstract composition. Mendez’s bold, interlocking forms suggest both strength and playfulness, where humor and seriousness coexist and the familiar gesture becomes a dynamic sculptural presence.

Rendered in vibrant blue steel, the sculpture merges modernist geometry with symbolic meaning. The “V” shape evokes peace and victory while subtly referencing Vincennes itself, encouraging viewers to consider how shared signs and gestures carry layered cultural and personal associations.