Busy Start to the School Year...

And so it begins!

We have been in school for a few weeks now, and my students have been hard at work.

This week, we have been working on the Beakerhead Challenge, Atomic #13- working with aluminum foil. The students were involved in a number of different projects, and the following is an image that shows the culmination of all of their efforts:

The theme of this piece was Aliens and Robots Visit Pompeii, and it was a collaboration from students in K-10.

I am teaching a few more subjects this semester as well, so middle school students have also been developing a story to go with this scene. We started a pass-on story, and this coming week, students will be working on their own body and ending for the story that we started as a group. I can hardly wait to see what they come up with!!

More to come in the coming weeks as we all get settled back into our routines.

Cheers!

Practicing "Batik" with Middle School

Creating colourful designs on fabric has been a long standing tradition in many cultures. Though not a traditional batik process, the students were quite interested in developing their pieces using white glue as a resist.

For this piece, students drew from life, using the plants around the classroom. The drawing was done on paper first, then outlined in black marker. Wax paper was put over top, and then the fabric. Students then traced their design onto the fabric using white school glue. This was done in the first class session.

In the second class, we used diluted acrylics to paint in the colours. After it was completely painted and dried, the glue was washed out. We used this project in an exploration of warm and cool colours and how to develop levels of contrast in their work, and discussed the works of Georgia O'Keeffe for colour pallet inspiration. The students were quite excited about the process, and enjoyed working with the different colours.

Other possibilities for this project- creating it with multiple layerings of glue/colour rather than the single painting step to see if we can get the full batik effect. Definitely something to think about for next time...

Periodically Integrating Art and Science

I came across one of the most interesting projects as an integration of art and science. In Australia, there was a large group of printmakers who took the elements from the periodic table and created an interactive art work. For the full project, see here:
https://blog.etsy.com/en/2008/art-and-science-converge-the-periodic-table-printmaking-proj/

I have a bit smaller classes with my senior high students, and decided to do this project a little differently. Each student was able to choose 3-5 elements, and develop different visual representations for each of their elements. They did some printmaking, drawing, relief sculpture, paper sculpture and wire sculpture, to name a few. They are also working on a research powerpoint presentation to accompany their work.

Some of their work in progress:

This project has been a challenge to organize as each student gets a choice of elements and artistic practice. The enthusiasm that they have demonstrated in developing their ideas and integrating their scientific understanding has been wonderful to see. The students have, at times, done their own research on technique when they want to learn more. I am looking forward to seeing all of their finished works.

The School Mural

The Mural is complete!

Unfortunately, I am waiting for the Final Reveal at our Fine Arts Evening on June 4th before posting. :-)

So here is just a small sample of the painting in process...

We utilized a pointillist style of painting, where students used their fingers to create the points of colour. Inspired by the works of Seurat, this project was undertaken as a communal effort, involving as many students as possible from grades 1-12. Students were encouraged with the understanding that each individual tile would become part of the bigger picture, as we encourage all of our students to be a part of the larger community.

I am taking the opportunity here to again thank my senior level students who worked on the design and preparation process, from layout to priming the panels. Without you, this would not have been possible.

As well, a great big THANK YOU to all students who helped with the painting. This is YOUR school mural. I hope that you all enjoyed the process and that you will continue to enjoy the finished product.

Busy times, my friends, busy times!

Updates since the last time...

We have been working on getting the school mural up and running, and have finally started on the painting process! A few of my senior level students and I have designed a mural for the school that I am hoping will be ready for unveiling at the Art Show in May. The majority of students from grades 1-12 will have had a hand in the creation of the mural. 

Some pictures of the works in progress...

And Chiaroscuro for Grades 10 and 11. The Students worked on three drawings for this one. "Chiaroscuro" is literally "light/dark", and is a technique developed in the Renaissance to help create a strong sense of the figure in space. 

The first drawing was the draped fabric in two tones on a neutral background paper to represent the mid-tone value. 

The second piece was a set of two drawings that once completed, were woven together. The students first created the chiaroscuro drawings, one with charcoal on white paper, and the sec on with white conte on black paper. 

Then, they cut their drawings in strips, one drawing cut vertically, one cut horizontally so that they could be woven together. We left one of the drawings connected on one side so that they were easier to weave. the second drawing was connected on one side, but each piece was taken off as the weaving progressed. (hopefully you get the idea from the pictures!!)

And as they were weaving, the students chose which areas to emphasize by creating an interesting weaving pattern. And her are some of the results:

The students really seemed to like this project, and they were able to recognize and develop implied dimensional space as well as create areas of emphasis within their work.

And in Kindergarten...

Students were given instructions and "followed along" in the creation of a simple artwork inspired by Klimt. Above are some of their individual interpretations of the instructions.

Grade 1 and 2 students working on Kandinsky inspired circles:

Students were inspired by classical music by Vivaldi- The Four Seasons, and by discussion about colours that we see in each season.

And Middle School Sketchbook Sensations!

These students demonstrated some quite inspiring work in their sketchbooks, developing a variety of ideas and exploring how to use the different media. 

And lastly, the development of positive and negative spaces within a "skeletal" framework for the grade 9 students. 

Students drew the skeleton lightly in pencil, and then went over the edges with watercolour pencil crayon, blending the colour to create a dimensional effect. 

As you can see, the art room has been quite busy in the last month or so, and will continue to be as we gear up for the spring art show and the unveiling of our finished mural. 

Until next time...

Taking a break from the Art Room to participate in a little Science!

We had a special guest come in to work with our HS students to do a pre-launch weather balloon. This launch was a pre-cursor for another launch of a full-sized weather balloon later on in the school year.

It was a pretty frigid day, but the launch went off without a hitch. 

It is important to note that about two hundred years or so ago (I am not exact on timelines for this, sorry) this was something that was unheard of. For students to have the opportunity to participate in something like this show how far the science has come, and the efforts that education makes to ensure that things like this are accessible to learners.

Why is it important? It is important because without the basic knowledge, how do we progress our understanding of the world around us? Without curiosity and a sense of wonder, we would not be where we are today. 

Think of your phones, computers, televisions, etc.  The technology we have today is still in its' infancy in its role in human evolution. As an educator, I am excited to have the opportunity to share this with my students, and work on building curiosity, excitement and a desire to explore!

Range and variety

Well, it was another adventurous week in the art room!

I just started teaching full time about a year ago, and am constantly trying to adjust my expectations based on the student's skill level practicing guided lessons to help them raise their level of understanding of art.

It is not just about getting a project done, but learning and committing themselves to doing it WELL. Some students will tend to race through the process, just wanting to finish as quickly as possible, while others take their time and build on their knowledge and develop good quality skills. Does this mean that only some of them are artists?

I believe that everyone has the ability to create, whatever their area of expertise. What I am trying to do is provide them with some background skills and support so that they will develop the confidence to find their own paths.

That being said, there is something about guided projects that help students to establish a foundation of artistic learning that helps to expand their ability to truly "see" the world around them.

Working with Tesselations is a way to make connections between the world of art and math. In creating these images, the grade 7/8 students have been looking at geometry and how translations can be used to create an interesting work of art. They have been working with their tesselations to create images of animals, monsters, dinosaurs and even tiki statues. We have also been focusing on quality workmanship, and developing a good layering style with pencil crayon. As you can see, there is some good focus and quality work happening.

Grade 1/2 students are learning how to use a variety of media, building up their skills and understanding of how things work as well as how things can work together. By experimenting with oil pastel and liquid tempera, they were able to create these designs, which, according to one of the students, "look like fireworks!" :-)

The grade 10 and 11 students are building their understanding of value and shape, working with pencil and pencil crayon to produce dimensionality within their work. These images are for the guided drawing warm-up, to help get the students into the artistic frame of mind, ready to focus on their major project.