What a mess! It's so frustrating to fail or make a mistake in an artwork. Might as well just give up or settle for less than my best... I'll never be able to fix it... It's ruined... Hey! Stop thinking those negative thoughts! Mistakes, accidents, setbacks, bad luck, whatever! It's just another opportunity for you to push yourself through. Persist. Stay focused. Re-engage. You can do this. Remember what Bob Ross said: "Ever make mistakes in life? Let's make them birds. Yeah, they're birds now." Now, get out there and make some mistakes! Or, don't. But if you do, don't be afraid to learn from them or even turn them into birds. |
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Hand Turkey Tuesday is a modern twist on the classic hand turkey drawing. We've probably all traced our hand and turned it in to some kind of turkey, but with this updated version, your hand turkey can be anything you want it to be, and more! Students started by tracing their hand, as usual, then dove into their own personal interests to come up with a new theme for their turkey. See some of our best turkeys in the slide show below. TASK party was created by contemporary artist Oliver Herring. TASK is an improvisational event with a simple structure and few rules. Decide on a space (the art room), gather materials (cardboard, plastic bags, pencils, tables cling wrap, tape, markers…) and the students who agree to follow two simple, procedural rules: draw a piece of paper from the “TASK pool,” and interpret it any which way he or she wants, using materials at hand. When a task is completed, a participant writes a new task, pulls a new task, and so on. The environment is both chaotic and purpose driven. Learn more about TASK here at oliverherringtask.wordpress.com. We had a BLAST interpreting our tasks and working together! Sound like fun? Come to the High School Showcase night on Wednesday, March 14 to participate yourself!
I LOVE printmaking. It's definitely love. Some of my past students think I'm a little goofy (not just for the love of printmaking!) but I really enjoy the PROCESS of printmaking. You really have to think about it. With drawing, it's immediate. If I want to draw a cat - BOOM - there's a cat. Just like that. But with printmaking it's different. You have to PLAN it out. How would I make it backwards? What would happen if I carve out more here? How can I add texture? Pattern?
Students learned printmaking vocabulary and were able to try out five different types of printmaking: Mono print using Gelli plates, relief print using Soft-Kut, very simple Screen printing, collograph using cardboard and other mixed materials, and relief print using styrofoam. I gave them a suggested theme for each station or they could come up with their own ideas. At the end of the printmaking unit, a few think I’m goofy, others decide that they probably won’t try it again, and many begin to understand my love for printmaking, Last week, painting students took a field trip to the local art center - The Paramount in downtown St. Cloud. We split into two groups. The first group was able to look at the current showing in the gallery by local watercolor artist Dan Mondloch, and the second half of the trip we had a hands on art experience with the artist himself! Mondloch is a plein air artist. He works mostly in watercolor but also does some oil paintings. We were able to talk about the challenges that go with painting out doors in such a short amount of time, but students were also able to see some benefits. A few students were inspired by the artist and created artworks in his style after the trip! In the photos below, you can see some of our group in the galleries and creating our watercolor paintings. The Studio Habits of Mind are a set of eight dispositions that artists use. They were developed by Lois Hetlund and others at Project Zero. I use the Studio Habits frequently when talking about art and work in the art studio and I wanted students to all be on the same page at the start of the semester. I also use a lot of Cynthia Gaub's "Around the Room" activities. This three day event was inspired by her teaching methods combined with Jean Freer Barnett's "Artistic Behaviors Around the Room."
At the "Express" station, students drew a word from a bag and then had to figure out what that would look like as a visual image. For "Develop Craft," students went to the painting station, started with primary colors and mixed three or more new colors that were then added to the community color wheel. At the "Envision" table, students selected three Story Cubes, rolled the dice and then had to picture in their heads what that story might look like and then draw it in their sketchbooks. To "Engage and Persist" students worked as a team to build the tallest tower out of foam blocks. Everyone in the group had to participate and every block had to be used. The tallest tower was over 4 feet high! In the end, students "Reflected" in their sketchbooks. The question was asked, What order do you think an artist would use those habits and why do you feel that way? While there was no correct answer, it was interesting to hear what students had to say. The Studio Habits of Mind will be used throughout the semester to help students reflect in their blogs. On the second day of class, talked about what makes something "ART" and the purpose of art. Students were given two sticky notes and were asked two questions: 1. What is art? 2. What is art for?
When we dove into the second question, students had to think about the purpose of art. We talked about the fact that humans have been creating art since prehistoric times - as a way of depicting major historic events and decoration of utilitarian objects. But WHY?? Students wrote things like, to express emotions, it's relaxing, it shows beauty, to show off, make people think, entertain, to connect people. Finally, we looked at some artworks that one might question their "artness." Students had to decide - YES it's art, NO it's not art, or MAYBE it's art - and then had to be willing to share with the class what specific criteria made something art or not art. Here are a few of the images that we analyzed: It was really interesting to hear student opinions and justifications. Many of the comments related back to the first question - What is art? Artists were showing creativity, doing something new or different, demonstrating a skill or talent, expressing feelings or emotions. On some of the "NO it's not art" images, students claimed it was too common (like the emoji), too simple (Matisse's Snail), "just a dress!" (Oscar de la Renta) or said "I could do that!" to which I responded, "But did you?"
There were convincing arguments on both sides for each artwork. The most reassuring part of the discussion was that each student could support their opinion in all cases. Students were thinking for themselves and speaking clearly about their beliefs. Art Teacher Win. The first days of art were filled with collaborative games designed to get students into the right mindset for the rest of the semester. Games were focused on creativity, team building, and problem solving and also allowed them to practice presenting art to others.
compensate for the weight of the marshmallow. In the end, all five towers stood! Incredible! The tallest marshmallow was 36 inches high and the shortest was still over 11 inches tall (but a sturdy structure!). Teams presented towers to the class and shared plans and processes.
Painting did another of Melissa Purtee's art games: "What's in the Bag?" Students are divided into groups and each group is given a paper grocery bag filled with a variety of supplies (mostly found objects and unique art room findings) but each bag is the same. Then each group picks a task to complete. Tasks included things like, build a campfire, make a flower garden, design a pair of shoes, build a pirate ship... Students have 30 minutes to complete their task and present to the group. Along the way they struggled with making the pieces stick together (only glue and tape!) and making sure that the finished products were visually appealing. Finished works are now on display in the high school cafeteria! Not bad for the first day of school!
I know, I know... School hasn't started yet, but wow! I am excited! (See earlier post about Resting Excited Face.) I was thinking about what I would write in a welcome back letter, so I did some research online. Here's what one letter looked like: First of all, I AM EXCITED to be your teacher this year! We WILL learn lots, I honestly do hope you had a fabulous summer (or at least good!) and I am looking forward to getting to know you.
So, if I did have to write a back to school letter, it would probably sound a lot like the one above, but I want you to know that there might be some bumps along the way. I will do my best to help you along your journey, however, it's up to you to ASK for help, to ATTEMPT new things and TAKE RISKS.
Good luck. Go Team.
Students completed research on the Postmodern Principles and created posters to demonstrate understanding (low-tech in a high tech world!) and then used their research to help figure out what to create.
Here's some work in progress - check out all the different materials, techniques, processes and themes! So great to see the diversity within a single classroom. What is home? That has been the topic of discussion in 2D Art. What is home to you? It can mean so many things. Is it where you were born? The city, state or country that you live in? Does it have to do with your nationality or heritage? Maybe when you think of home, it's the house you live in.
Hard at work showing "HOME"
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