Art at RMS

21st CENTURY REFERENCE for futuristic design

2009-04-25T12:21:00.000-07:00

Star Wars is still a popular theme for middle school artists at RMS. Here, two learners have appropriated the class laptops, setting them up in the sculpture center for easy visual reference, as they design their light saber handles.

2009-04-10T15:01:00.000-07:00

Avid (rabid?) Puff City master-mind and collaborator, describing his work to his parents:
“Here is Puff city, and this is the Puff jet and this is the Puff armored chamber, and this is the Puff escape hatch, and this is the Puff pilot, and …”

Parent: “So, it sounds like everything has to start with ‘Puff…?’”

“And this is the Puff- lookout tower, and here is the Puff-gondola, this is President Barak O’Puffa, and here is Vice President Joe Puffin, and these are the Puff …”

When I bought the GIANT bag of pom-poms, I envisioned them decorating sculptures and collages and works in fabric. But I should have known better, ever since the first pom-pom entered our studio, they have had, well, personalities. They are not decorations they are beings. Two years ago it was “puff-pets.” Last year, I hid them. This year, they were requested, begged for and finally released from their plastic bin hiding place. And “Puff City” was born.
What started as a two-kid collaboration has become a long-term project which now involves “almost every boy in the class.”
The girls, meanwhile, have been making “babies” out of aluminum foil, or creating fashions in the Fabrics & Fibers center. They glance over now and then to survey the project.
The newest response from the girls has been puff-torture. It was'nt long after the encaustic (painting with melted, pigmented wax) mini-center appeared that puffs started showing up encased in wax. This hostile discourse was unexpected, and the boys are not sure how to respond. Is it a coincidence that Puff-City has been temporarily laid aside?

Artistic Spaces Support Artistic Behaviors

2009-02-28T19:02:00.000-08:00

"I love how I can see and reach everything I need"

I overheard a child say this when she was visiting our art classroom. My students are used to the studio set-up, but for visitors, it may be the first time that have had access to tools and materials (instead of having the teacher pass things out!) I think the studio-set up is an essential component of the program; it lets learners behave like artists.

Tape Artists

2009-02-22T11:58:00.000-08:00

It started with a balloon and a roll of duct tape. The first balloon popped. One boy spent days working on his tape-ball, until it became heavy and very un-balloon like. Of course more followed. Watching the tape supply flag, I issued a challenge: “I see that is a lot of fun, but is it art?”

We have had many discussions around this topic, and we are fairly comfortable with the unknown (this is a good time to start humming the Clem Snide song ; I love the unknown), but my students got the point. If this is simply tape-wasting, it’s all over.

The multi-layered form which once covered a small balloon was opened to create a zig-zag jaw line. Another had several long, dangly legs attached, becoming a “brain-slug” or spider alien.

And one, which by now was the size and heft of a coconut, became a coconut. A tree was added to hold up the coconut (and also to finish convincing me that it was, indeed, art - it is hard to argue with a palm tree).

There is a popular art trick involving clear packing tape and human volunteers: you simply wrap the volunteer in tape, (first layer is either saran wrap or the tape reversed so it won’t stick to the model), then after many layers, the form is cut away and reassembled. This is a very popular project in high schools and art camps. http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/high/Kris-TapeFigures.htm But it takes about three roles of tape per sculpture (ca-ching)…

Quotes for thought

2009-02-15T11:22:00.000-08:00

"Children and their art develop from the inside out, rather than from the outside in." ~John Dewey

"There are many benefits to child centered arts learning experiences, among them,that intellectual growth and increased cognitive function is a direct result of children continuing to become expert in the areas they do well in and building upon these areas of expertise..."

– Clyde Gaw (TAB Practitioner/Art Educator)

Save the Trees!

2009-02-07T15:21:00.000-08:00

From Paper Maker to Paper Artist

“J” is a middle school student who‘s preferred working style is to work in series. Last year he produced an impressive collection of clay bird sculptures. Recently, it’s all about paper.
“J” specializes in designing stencils (early attempts were made of paper and tag board, but he now prefers “scratch foam,” sold for printmaking). “J” prepares paper pulp of needed colors, and proceeds to craft his design into the paper prior to “couching” (blotting).

"J" especially likes the way the trees escapes beyond the natural border of his paper sheet

Sign over Papermaking Center

Papermaking Center

If I Had a Hammer

2009-02-07T14:16:00.001-08:00

“What if we used a hammer for printmaking?”

This question, by 7-year old “S,” sparked a mini-lesson about how artists employ objects in their environment to make art. At the start of class, learners were invited to choose any item in the art studio (any item that paint would not damage) to test as a printmaking devise. Each child in turn dipped their new tool into paint and observed the resulting image or texture. As this experiment concluded, learners were invited to stay and make prints or to choose a different center and begin their work.
All but one student moved off to work elsewhere. The learner who remained had more experiments to conduct: What would the imprint of a feather look like? Would a pom-pom work as a paintbrush? Many different items were tested, and in the end, some of the objects that were used to make prints were attached to the paper (did you know paint could work like glue?), becoming a permanent part of the resulting image.
Art education professor and artist George Szekely (University of Kentucky) once told me about a field trip he conducted with his class of undergraduates. He gave each student a dollar, and drove them to a dollar store. Their mission: find something to make art with or to make art out of. They returned to the studio to make art with their odd-ball treasures-turned-art –tools (picture; toilet plungers, mustard squeeze bottles, feather dusters, pizza cutters…).

Wouldn’t that be fun?

Arthur Ganson’s Machines

2009-02-07T11:28:00.000-08:00

I like to run Arthur Ganson’s dvd in the sculpture center sometimes when students work. It is amusing, sometimes captivating, and always entertaining. Ganson’s work reminds me a lot of the work I sometimes observe my students engaged with. Like Ganson, learners in the sculpture/construction center are inventing, experimenting and engineering. There is often an element of humor. Occassionally, like Ganson, learners design their own tools to suit a special, idiosyncratic task. I think of Arthur Ganson as a grown-up RMS student, and am pleased that he found his own path and relishes creativity. Today I found liner notes in the Machines dvd case. Here is how it starts:

For me, the practice of fusing material with idea and emotion began when I was a child. I was very introverted and found it difficult to talk directly to anyone about what I was feeling. What I did do, however, was retreat to the basement where I would pour my heart into little things that I would make for people. It became my way of speaking, and to some extent it was critical for my survival.
~Arthur Ganson, (2004) Machines, Liner notes

If you would like to see some of Arthur Ganson’s machines, go to:
http://www.arthurganson.com/pages/Sculptures.html

A New President

2009-01-25T11:40:00.000-08:00

The whole school gathered in our community room last week to witness the inauguration of President Barak Obama. Together we stood up, sat down, applauded, cried and cheered. Later that day, in the art studio, I showed some artwork created by artists from around the world; portraits of Barak Obama. I was gratified to point out that with the exception of bronze, students in our art studio have available to them all the media used by the artists in the slides I presented, even, surprisingly, dryer lint. (http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/16/obama.art.irpt/index.html)
After viewing the slides, “E” (age 10) was inspired to draw president Obama’s portrait. This is her first attempt, drawn from memory.

An observant classmate (“G”) noticed the New York Times Magazine I brought in and displayed, titled Obama’s People. I watched as she quietly brought the magazine, which she opened to a portrait of Obama, and placed it in view of her classmate. “E” then had a reference to work from and proceeded to make two more versions of the portrait, now working with more information.

I often point out to students that artists sometimes work from imagination, sometimes from memory, sometimes from observation, and sometimes from exploration and experimentation. Providing insight and the right tools is not just the role of the teacher however, as was demonstrated in our studio when one student (“G”, mentioned above) supported another with care and respect.

Developing Craft - Handmade Paper Artist

2009-01-25T11:22:00.000-08:00

“J” started his experimentation with papermaking last year. Once he learned the basic steps of crafting paper from recycled and found materials, he began exploring the idea of using small batches of different colored pulp to combine in patterns within a single sheet of paper. This idea led him to devising various methods to keep the colors separate. He made dividers out of cardboard and stencils out of paper and tagboard.

Last week, during our extended “Wednesday Workshop” time, “J” tested out an intricate and ambitious stencil cut from the same kind of Styrofoam we often use to make relief prints (one could use a meat tray as well). He prepared his pulps, agonized over which color should be background and which should be used for the image of the bird he cut into his stencil. A third pulp was prepared for a design element surrounding the bird. The result was not as crisp and clear as he imagined, but while assessing the experience, “J” commented that he likes the end result because it is less overt, more abstract, and this he finds more interesting to look at.

Tubular

2009-01-25T10:21:00.000-08:00

9 ½ year-old “R” has spent a good deal of time constructing with cardboard tubes. He often constructs architectural pieces; buildings of all types. He also makes aircraft and space craft. This week’s animal form was a departure for him, and I observed his process with interest. After constructing the body and legs, neck and tail of this creature, he needed an armature for the head, and asked if I had a ball of some sort. Since I didn’t have anything that met his specifications, I suggested he could fashion his own ball out of crumpled newspaper.

During a recent whole-group demonstration at the start of class, “R” had seen many possibilities for finding or crafting armatures for papier mache sculptures, and readily adapted one of these techniques to fashion just the right size and shape for his animal’s head.

2009-01-25T10:17:00.000-08:00

This watercolor and marker painting was created by 6-year old "K". It was hard for me to watch it walk out the door with "K," because it's magic had already cast a spell on me.

Engage and Persist

2008-11-20T13:10:00.000-08:00

Middle School students at RMS keep artist’s journals containing the following list:
Artistic Behavior (or: What Do Artists Do?)
Compiled by RMS Middle School Students, November, 2007
· Exhibit original and creative thinking
· Explore a variety of media and techniques
· Behave like an artist within a community of artists
(respect needs of others, ideas of others and art of others)
· Reflect on your work and the work of others
· Respectful use of materials and tools
· Engage and persist
(be in PURSUIT of idea, technique, expression, excellence)
· Convey idea, feeling or personal meaning
· Take creative/artists risks

This is list was inspired by Lois Hetland and Ellen Winner’s work in the book Studio Thinking http://www.amazon.com/Studio-Thinking-Benefits-Visual-Education/dp/0807748188

Engage and Persist
The cardboard and found object figure pictures here was started by 12 year old “N” on the second day of art this fall. “N” brought in a color printout of a character in a video game (I believe) and began construction. He has worked on it once a week, during his regular art class, and frequently in five and ten minute increments, stolen from the time between dismissal and whenever his ride arrives to take him home.
Every detail is attended to. Materials are tried, replaced and re-purposed. Paint colors are mixed to exacting standards. Although his class had a deadline to submit a finished piece two weeks ago, “N” ‘s figure was not quite ready. He told me he would rather take an incomplete than display his figure as “a work-in-progress.” Now that it is finished, “N” told me that he is planning to present it to a relative as a gift. Should we add “generosity” to the list of artistic behaviors?

Cardboard and found-object figure with reference/inspiration

A New Printmaker Finds Her Wings

2008-11-19T13:46:00.000-08:00

After a whole-group “5-minute demo” on how to make a multi-color reduction print, this 7 ½ year old artist crafted a 3-color image titled: Beauty Parrot. This was her second attempt. The first day, using the same plate, her inking was unsatisfactory (to her). She returned for the next class and was able to produce this crisp image during one class period. During the following class, she worked with this process one more time, creating a holiday image, which currently has two colors. I suspect she will return to this print next time, and add at least one more color.

The Motions of the Horse

2008-11-19T13:12:00.000-08:00

“C” is almost 8 years old and LOVES horses. She often draws about them in art, and recently hosted her class on a field trip to the barn where she boards her own horse. “C” knows all about horse care, tack and the various breeds. She also knows quite a lot, it appears, about the way a horse moves. The next time her class comes for art, I think I will see what she thinks of the iconic painting by Marcel Duchamp, shown here.

Marcel Duchamp.

Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 (1912).

Oil on canvas. 57 7/8" x 35 1/8".

Philadelphia Museum of Art.

FREE CLAY!

2008-11-19T12:42:00.000-08:00

wet clay - dry clay - fired clay

Students are mining clay in our own backyard, and delivering it daily to the art room. After collecting about 30 lbs of the stuff (which we think is mostly bentonite,) I have called for a moratorium (no more playground clay until we use what we have!) We have done a test firing and were surprised when the yellow-brown “mud” turned as orange as our commercial terra cotta clay, and that it can be fired at the same temperature (without melting). Our playground clay is stickier and has both organic material and pebbles in it. We have glazed some pieces in clear glaze to observe the result. We have discovered that bentonite comes from volcanic ash, which is why the clay is so fine and sticky. I have learned from my own pottery teacher that if we fire the clay to an even higher temperature, it may “glaze itself.”
In the art studio, science and art often come together. A wise 7 year old RMS student once told me; “we are doing experiments like scientists, but we are being creative like artists.” Authentic integration of this kind is one of our specialties in the art studio.

First pieces to be fired!

Tandem Drawing

2008-10-16T20:29:00.000-07:00

"you draw on that side, I'll draw on this side." Two 6 year old friends, sitting opposite each other in the drawing center had a plan for drawing together on the same piece of paper. One drew from observation, using the many animal models available for this purpose; the other drew from imagination and memory.

the Importance of CLAY

2008-10-16T07:32:00.000-07:00

(This is just the tip of the iceberg...I especially like the mother, father and baby stingray by "W" - kindergarten student)

Clay, Glorious Clay

I have just unloaded the kiln for about the 5th time this school year, and as I look around at the fired work, I notice that students who began the year with little or no experience or facility with clay have already made measurable strides. I also admire several skillfully made pieces by older, more experience students who not long ago struggled. Most impressive and noticeable is that the entire surface of the clay table is covered with work by my youngest students. The K-1 artists LOVE clay. They are fanatics. I worry a little as I survey their accomplishments that parents might feel a little overwhelmed by the quantity of clay items soon to be carefully wrapped in newspaper, labeled with a piece of masking tape and delivered into their homes; which brings me to the following article.
Last spring, I presented a session called Is There a Scribble Stage for Sculpture in New Orleans, for the National Art Education Association. Shortly afterwards, the following article came to my mailbox, from an art education professor in the Midwest. Although the article was written almost 20 years ago, it is relevant today. Especially today; Kiln unloading day.

A Critical Need: Children and Clay
By Eleese V. Brown (Professor of Art at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst)
We live and perform in a three-dimensional world, yet the vast majority of art experiences engaged in by school children are of a two-dimensional nature. Many reasons have been given for this, especially in relation to working with clay. Clay is difficult to handle, messy, hard to store, requires expensive equipment – just to name a few. Clay work and supplies may be messy and hard to store. However, expensive equipment is not necessary for quality clay activities. And to say clay is difficult to handle is a weak reason for avoiding it in art classes.
Having worked with children and clay for the past sixteen years, I have become painfully aware of the fact that we are introducing clay to children neither early enough nor often enough. We do not seem to realize the extent to which its use assists children’s artistic and conceptual development. Indeed, clay may be more difficult for children to control because they simply have not been exposed to it as early in life as they have crayons, pencils and the like. As a result of this bias, children clearly have an edge when it comes to using media and tools that make marks as opposed to those that produce three-dimensional art forms.
Few would disagree that the making of drawings, paintings and prints causes children to pay attention to themselves and the world around them. And that the recording of what they see, by using such media, results in learning about themselves and their environment. Why, then, do we constantly ignore the fact that working with clay is also a unique, even critical, expression of learning? Paying attention to an object and recording all one can is perhaps even a fuller learning experience, developmental experience and logical recording of the three-dimensional world children work, play and learn in.
Most children do not have the success they should have with clay because they do not have early exposure to the medium. We must move away from prejudices against clay and acknowledge the fact that working with clay balances the drawing, painting and printmaking experiences that children’s learning with art has been limited to for so many years.
In my early study involving children’s use of clay, their development in drawing a figure was compared with their development in making a clay figure. At that time, three through seven year old children’s development levels in making a clay figure of a man proved to be from one to three years behind those evident in their drawn figures. From the age of eight through eleven years, developmental levels appeared much the same in both drawn and clay figures.
In a study conducted approximately ten years later, the results were nearly identical. In both studies, the conclusions were the same: While it may not be reasonable to expect primary school children to produce a wide variety of clay items, it is not unreasonable to expect upper elementary children to do so. Children must be encouraged to produce much more than handprints in clay slabs, simple pots and ash trays. Through such encouragement, children would not only increase their ability to work with clay, they would also increase their concept development….(partial paragraph removed by me)
In addition to my work with younger children, I have also had several opportunities to teach Basic Foundations courses to college freshmen. Inevitably, their three-dimensional assignments are more like bas-relief – the “front” is highly detailed, while the “sides” and the “back” are quite simple. I strongly believe that this is the result of years of working with art materials on a flat surface with little or no regard to how something exists in a three dimensional context. I am convinced that all the re-looking and re-training that occurs on the secondary and college level would be unnecessary if students had been given the opportunity to work with clay at the elementary and junior high levels.
I do not advocate clay work once a year, but often. Without practice, regression occurs. Working in clay must be as much a regular and on-going activity as two dimensional activities. It is only logical to expect that as children work more frequently with clay, they will become more adept at working with it as a vital, expressive medium. Children neither write nor draw without time and practice. They will surely not develop any like facility with clay without the same consideration. While clay is certainly not the only three dimensional medium available, it is the most flexible and it provides a strong counterpoint to “flat” art!
(This article appeared in School Arts Magazine, December, 1986)

(collaborative clay face by "S" "S" &"K", a first grader and two 2nd graders)

Three week's work

2008-09-26T14:37:00.000-07:00

6 year old (almost 7) “K” has been working for three weeks on this embroidery, ever since the Fabrics and Fibers center opened.

10 minute bird collage

2008-09-26T14:12:00.001-07:00

With ten minutes remaining in class following a long interactive, multi-media presentation to introduce the idea of poetic inspiration for artists, this middle school student produced a fanciful bird image using cut and torn paper. “A present for my grandmother,” he reported. Since most of the class period was given over to discussion and brainstorming, I think this student NEEDED to MAKE some art, and not just TALK about art!

Girl Power

2008-09-26T14:06:00.001-07:00

These first grade girls worked side by side to create “Art Shields.” In this picture, they have flipped the shields to the back, to demonstrate how they stay on their arms. The fronts are also decorated with colorful gummed-tape (which they call “lick and stick”.) Aesthetic protection?

An Artistic Behavior: Using references

2008-09-19T18:01:00.000-07:00

This 11 year old student started a small, articulated figure the previous week. It was constructed from modified cardboard tubes and had a laser-wielding arm that moved up and down. The following week, he arrived with a color print-out from home, depicting the character he was interpreting with his sculpture. He changed the arm, and made several other modifications, remarking that it was easier to work when he had the visual reference, rather than just relying on memory.
We often stop and consider that although some artists work from memory, and others from imagination, it is often to an artist’s advantage to use various reference materials to inform their work.

Up Up...and Away?

2008-09-19T17:57:00.000-07:00

I was slow to reach for my camera...but a hot air balloon landed right outside my window on Thursday! I will be quicker next time (it was the second time in two days that it landed at school.)

Little Bear

2008-09-19T17:49:00.000-07:00

9 year old “E” is constructing a stuffed bear, called "Flippy-Teddy," at the newly-opened Fabrics and Fibers Center. Since this picture was taken, a body has been added.
Various sewing and weaving projects are underway, and students are already asking when the sewing machine will be available.
One student is working on yards and yards or rich blue fabric, carried in from home, to create a hooded cape for Halloween.

All American

2008-09-19T17:46:00.001-07:00

“K” will turn six next week. This is her “American Dinosaur,” made from clay and painted in acrylic. “You can tell that it is an American dinosaur because it has red, white and blue!”

RMS Wednesday Workshop: Cold Case Renaissance

2008-09-11T08:13:00.000-07:00

Participants in Nan’s Wednesday workshop dragged four large appliance boxes outside on Wednesday, Sept 10, to attempt to create cameras obscuras (plural from the Latin, according to “M”.) Could an image be projected inside the box, clear enough and focused enough to draw from? The sun danced in and out of the clouds, and the wind came up near the end of the session and closed it down, but the wondrous, magical upside-down and backward images appeared.
Workshop participants concluded that it is possible that this simple technology may have informed renaissance artists, but that more research and more experiments would be necessary to produce the sort of clear, focused images depicted in David Hockney’s book; Secret Knowledge. Practice and patience are also required to make a competent drawing from these projected images.
Upside-down, backward drawing of "R" by "N," drawn by tracing the projected image cast on the inside of an appliance box, created by light passing through a small "pinhole."

PINCH-COIL-SLAB

2008-09-09T17:52:00.000-07:00

Hand-building with clay: the joy of feeling the cool, soft terra cotta and forming it this way and that. The drying shelf in the clay center is full and the kiln is almost ready for the first firing of the year. In the RMS art studio, there are many clay artists.

hitting the floor running: first day back

2008-09-09T17:25:00.000-07:00

My new middle school class tumbled into the art room for their first day of art last Tuesday and it was as if they never left. One student was carrying his shiny black star craft, almost finished before the summer “interruption,” One reached for his “moon station”, on the shelf where he left it last June, and the two plugged in the hot glue guns and started in. Across the room, a student who before summer interruption was involved in acrylic paintings on canvas board, set up his palette and began. My youngest student prepared to use the potter’s wheel (a scramble for me because I hadn’t planned on even opening the clay center yet!) and proceeded to instruct a new student in the finer points of wheel throwing. There was “J,” over at the drawing center, starting a new, intricate line drawing with his favorite fine-tipped markers, as two friends settled in at the clay table with some new hand-building projects. Two confirmed digital-artists grabbed seats in the computer center and was joined by another new student, eager to try a computer program he had heard about but “never had a chance to try before.” A dedicated collage artist decided instead to try his hand at puppet-making, and his collage-partner headed to the Construction/Sculpture Center, to make a light-saber handle. ”D,” who spent many classes last spring making complicated puppets, arrived with plans for a series of puppets to compliment those waiting at home. He got right to work mixing papier mache’.
I looked around with pride and wonder at this motivated, capable, self-directed group of young artists on their first day of art. Our Choice-Based art studio was humming with activity and off to a grand start.

Summer Enrichment Program at UNC: what I did on my summer vacation...

2008-08-08T15:20:00.000-07:00

Guerilla -environmental art; "Starfish," by SEP student

guerilla weaving on UNC campus

(Portable) camera obscura, part of the Cold Case Renaissance project. Students attempted to replicate David Hockney's theory that Renaissance painters "cheated" with lenses.

For four weeks this summer, I worked with gifted middle and high school students from across the country and around the world, as part of the University of Northern Colorado's Summer Enrichment Program. This was the final piece of my Master's Degree program in Gifted Education. I offered three different classes, two which I piloted in previous years at RMS, and one new one, which I created on site this summer. The classes were:

Cold Case Renaissance

Guerilla Art

Poetic Inspiration for Artists

GUERILLA ART ALERT:
SEP students engaged in low-impact, mostly legal, unauthorized art in public spaces this summer on the University of Northern Colorado campus.

Bike Path Alterations

Grafitti art

Grafitti wall at UNC campus.

maticulously responsible grafitti artists get some practice in at the wall near Ross hall, on the UNC campus.

Stencil art for grafitti piece

Final celebration and display.

Poetic Inspiration at UNC

2008-08-08T15:08:00.000-07:00

"The Road Less Traveled" By 'C' - High School Student participating in SEP.
'C' 's 18"X24" acrylic painting was made in response to Robert Frost's poem; The Road Not Taken. 'C' told me that the right side of his painting represents the road society has taken. The left side is the side few take.
.

"L" is a high school student who participated in the SEP class: Poetic Inspiration. She worked on this small (9"X12") watercolor painting over about 5 days, adding her original poem on the final day.

Is it Me?

2008-03-20T19:47:00.000-07:00

"K", a 6 year-old portrait artist, made this drawing of her stripe-hooded classmate, "A," from direct observation. When it was proudly displayed during our "Artsist's Share," I had a strange feeling that I might have seen it somewhere before...or is it just me?

***********(Actually...This is me!).."Portrait of Nan" by "K"

I will be presenting a session at the National Art Education Association 2008 conference next week in New Orleans on the topic of inserting art history into the choice based studio classroom. On the last day of school, before leaving for the conference, there were two more opportunities ripe for relating topics from art history to the emergent art of students. In addition to the connection between King Tut and "A" above, I had the following opportunity to compare and contrast this student's use of the #5 with ...

...Charles Demuth's: The Figure 5 in Gold (1928 Oil on composition board36 x 29 3/4 in. (91.4 x 75.6 cm)Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York )

Valentine Book Invention

2008-02-21T20:43:00.000-08:00

Q: WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU MIX A NEW BOOK BINDING MACHINE WITH VALENTINE'S DAY?

A: Valentine Books invented by a 6 year old innovator.

Practicing with art making tools

2008-02-21T20:07:00.000-08:00

A five year old's first encounter with a lettering stencil is a powerful exerience.It was important for this student to "finish." even though his class had cleaned up all around him and had left the room. Before lifting the stencil to see the magical result, each letter was checked and double checked, to be sure that no pieces of any letters were missed. "Stencils are in many pieces" this student remarked.

Fibonacci on the line...

2008-02-21T20:05:00.000-08:00

(Click the above title to go to fibonacci link)

Put Your Best Foot(art) Forward!

2008-02-01T10:32:00.000-08:00

New art form?
Art sometimes pops up in unusual places…while sitting in on a class meeting recently, I noticed a student who was listening to the conversation, but seemed to have her mind on …”sock art.”

View video:

Another student was noticed in the hall wearing his latest duct tape fashion. Did you know you can win a scholarship creating duct tape fashion for Prom? http://www.ducttapeguys.com/fashion/prom/index.html

(click title for Duct tape prom contest link)

The Eyes Have it, Definitely

2008-01-30T21:06:00.000-08:00

Photos by SG, middle school student

I noticed him out of the corner of my eye… A student moving about the busy art studio, camera in hand, seemingly taking close-ups of random objects…the clay shelf edge, the pencil cup, the paper rack…I warned once not to take pictures too close, they would blur…better to stand back and use the zoom for better focus. I didn’t give the student’s activity much more thought. Later that day, I down loaded the photos into a file for this artist to access next time. Then I saw for the first time what he was doing. He had a set of eyes, which traveled all around the room, appearing in weird places. The last shot was a slef portrait, a “reveal” if you will, of the artist hold the eyes, one in each hand, and looking straight into the camera lens (for this shot, he borrowed my tripod).
Ingenious.
Captivating.
Contagious.
A traveling pink scarf was next, as an admirer appropriated the idea. Next, a bottle cap snake popped up in a series of photos…the imitators were clever too, and all attributed the start of this new genre (?) to their clever classmate, who by then, was on to something different.

Dragonologist

2008-01-30T21:01:00.000-08:00

Colossal Red Dragon
By A.B. (Middle school)

“I based this dragon off a dragon that appears in a video that my friend knew about. It was constructed out of mainly cardboard, some ‘ArtStraws,’ a bit of paper, tape and paint. I’m a real fan of dragons, so it’s just instinctive to make one – I can’t say why.”

Is it a Cheetah?

2008-01-30T20:47:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite essays about giftedness and gifted education is the classic Is it a Cheetah, by Stephanie Tolan (see link above). She compares gifted children to cheetahs, using a poignant metaphor. RMS students recently adopted the cheetah as their school mascot, and have explored this metaphor through their art, in a Wednesday Workshop format (see next post for further description of WW’s). During a two hour studio session, students employed the cheetah as their subject, while creating paintings, collages, clay sculpture, stencils, drawings and ceramic tiles. The conversation was engaging, and the results a welcome addition to our hall art display; Are you a cheetah?

Mosaic Workshop

2008-01-30T20:37:00.001-08:00

Do you see the Big Blue Elephant?

Self Portrait in ceramic and glass tile.

At RMS, we have a new innovation called "Wednesday Workshop". This is an extended block of time, each week, in which learners can focus on a topic, dwell on an idea, try something new and work in smaller groups. This two hour space is set aside to facilitate greater depth and complexity of learning. A half hour reflection time follows, to allow learners the opportunity to assess thier experience. In the art studio, we try to focus on topics and ideas that would be difficult to do given the regular contrints of 50 minute classes. With fewer students, and more time, the learning can be fuller and richer. These mosaics were created during a recent Wednesday workshop by 9-11 year old students. They were later grouted during their regular class period, which allowed the learning to spill over into the experience of the regular classroom.

Developing Skill - Starcraft

2008-01-30T20:09:00.000-08:00

Step One: Learning about structure, and means of attachment... A 5 year old's early attempt at crafting a sculptural form from found objects.

Step Two: Know your subject

This Intricate design demonstrates a sophisticated knowledge of the subject, and attention to "surface."

Step Three: Innovation

This modern looking starship is sleek, strong and exhibits innovative design and decoration.

Step Four: An Artful Finish

No longer satisfied with the overt appearance of cardboard tubes and tape, this (middle school) artist attended to every detail, to produce an elegant final product.

Did You Know? (video)

2007-10-20T11:17:00.000-07:00

"We are living in exponential times."

I showed this video ("Did You Know" - posted on You Tube) to our staff at our recent "Wednesday Workshop" collaboration meeting. It was created by a Colorado teacher (from Durango High School) and is being viewed and discussed around the world.

Click on the green title above to view video

Big Ideas and Independant Artists

2007-10-11T09:30:00.001-07:00

(Almost)6 year old "C" had an idea too big to be contained on one 18"X 24"paper (or the table!). He solved the problem quickly and skillfully, without my assistance.

MASK CENTER OPENS!

2007-10-11T09:17:00.000-07:00

There is not enough space in the art studio for all the centers we dream of. The mask center occupies a small space that has been designated as an "ephemeral center." Next month, it will morph into a calligraphy center...

Family Album

2007-10-11T09:11:00.001-07:00

4-year old "H" made a book about her family. There is a portrait of a different family member on each page, even one of her cat.

The Start of Something Big?

2007-10-11T09:02:00.001-07:00

Colored tape and paer towel tubes continue to be favorite media in the sculpture center. Students who favor tape as a surface choice, need to learn about "burnishing," in order to have the tape stay stuck.

Inspired by Moroccan weavers...

2007-09-08T18:57:00.000-07:00

(12 yr. old "Z'" learns to weave)

I hadn’t even said “Good Morning” to my new group of middle school students, on the first day of school when one eager artist asked; “Will you teach me to weave?”
“Z” had to wait until the second day of art class before beginning this weaving on a wooden lap loom.
He not only had to learn how to weave (‘over-under over-under, reverse to come back…’) but he had to learn to tie a knot, in order to join one color to the next.
I asked “Z” where he got such an interest in weaving, and he told me it was from visiting Morocco. “This past summer?” I inquired. “No”, he replied, a couple of years ago. I saw a lot of weaving there and it was interesting to watch the weavers at work.”
Since beginning this weaving, he has stared a new color and has been joined by a classmate, who has started a piece on our other wooden lap loom.
In a choice based art studio, young artists are free to follow their individual interests and learn new skills at their own pace.

Clay Sculpture

2007-09-08T18:51:00.000-07:00

(Clay Sculpture by "J")

The 11 year old student who made this perched hawk has a great deal of interest in, and knowledge about, birds. In just two classes he has drawn several pencil sketches of birds and completed this sculpture. It is drying now and waiting to be fired.

Drawing Tools

2007-09-08T18:45:00.000-07:00

(6 yr. old "M" finds she can control her line very well. This is her third glue drawing of the day.)

Q - Why is there glue in the Drawing Center?
A - Because artists can draw with glue

Teaching for Artistic Behavior

2007-08-28T09:41:00.000-07:00

(Computer aided drawing by 8-yr old S, sent to me by e-mail over the summer. )
Choice Based Art Education:Teaching for Artistic Behavior
My friend, colleague and mentor, Kathy Douglas (retired Art educator of 35 years), stresses tirelessly that TAB (Teaching for Artistic Behavior) means teaching for artistic behavior, not teaching artistic behavior. This appears to be a minor detail, but she feels that artistic behavior is nurtured and provided for, not taught. Dr. George Betts, my professor at The University of Northern Colorado and developer of The Autonomous Learner Model is a kindred spirit to Kathy. He feels very strongly that we should refer to students not as “students” but as “learners.”
Learning implies autonomy, individual purpose and active pursuit of knowledge. To “facilitate learners” is different from “teaching subject matter”. A colleague reminded me this summer that she teaches “students” not “art”. With that in mind, the following list is interesting to consider. It was not created for art educators, but for all teachers in all domains. (It can be found on the Colorado Department of Education website listed below.)
As we embark on a new year in the art studio at RMS, it is gratifying and re-assuring to find this list and to notice how well the concept of choice-based art education aligns with best practices in gifted education.
~Nan
(Excited to begin anew)

Frequently Asked Questions
What can I do to enhance creativity in my classroom?
• Provide a private place for creative work to be done.
• Provide materials (e.g. musical instruments, sketch books, scientific instruments).
• Encourage self-expression and display the students’ creative work.
• Create a creative atmosphere with good music, books, and pictures.
• Do your own creative work.
• Value the unusual, the divergent, and the creative work of others.
• Provide special classes.
• Emphasize that talent is only a small part of creative production and that discipline and
practice are important.
• Get creativity training.
• Reduce anxiety in classroom, especially that created by the teachers.
• Nurture individuation and differences within the class.
• Provide situations that present incompleteness and openness.
• Allow and encourage lots of questions.
• Emphasize self-initiated exploring, observing, questioning, feeling, classifying, recording,
translating, inferring, testing inferences, and communication.
• Help the student learn by mistakes.
• Reinforce creativity, but do not place too high a reward on it, as this makes creative behavior
“high stakes” and increases anxiety.
• Give opportunities to investigate ideas of successful, eminent people who used the creative
process.
What are some blocks to creativity?
• Expectation of judging and evaluating.
• Constantly being watched or observed while working on a creative project.
• Creating a competitive atmosphere.
• Conforming to others’ expectations.
• Anxiety.
• Perfectionism.
• Reward systems.
• Authoritarianism.
• External locus of control.
• Trying to be creative.
• Requiring the one right answer.
Can creativity be taught?
We can teach some of the aspects and skills of creative behavior. We can model creative acts and
attitudes. We can provide safe places for creativity to be expressed, and value its expression. We
can take the risk of sharing our own creativity. Six real-life results of creativity training in
elementary and high schools were reported by Torrance (1985). The results were increased
satisfaction; evidence that academic achievement is not affected by creative performance; writing
more creatively in different genres (one student even wrote a novel); growth in personality and
the acquisition of a healthy self-concept; improvement in attitudes toward mathematics; and an
openness to pursue creative choices.

http://www.cde.state.co.us/gt/download/pdf/GiftedEdGuidelines.pdf
Pg 60

Sumi ink painting

2007-04-10T22:16:00.000-07:00

As students begin to learn Japanese in their language"exploratory", a new "mini-center" has made it's appearance in the art studio. Students can explore and practice using japanese ink sticks and ink stones, bamboo brushes and bamboo pens. Nan's brother is an artist in Japan and hand-selected many of the ink stones that are available for student use.

Jeffery and Humphrey

2007-04-10T22:12:00.000-07:00

Droids standing guard

2007-04-10T22:02:00.000-07:00

Two of four droids wait out the night, for 11 year old "L' to return in the morning to add finishing touches. These droids have posable arms, swiveling heads, telescoping necks and in one case, a secret "smuggling" compartment inside the head. One has a light installed behind a screen-like face, and another is designed to be ridden on.

RMS Represented at National Art Education Conference

2007-03-27T22:09:00.000-07:00

Two RMS artists were represented in NYC in a TAB (Teaching for Artistic Behavior) display of student art from Classrooms across the US. This prominent display served to inform over 5,000 attendees about Choice-based art education.

Guerrilla Tactics NAEA NYC 2007

2007-03-27T22:03:00.000-07:00

"Frida Kahlo" Speaks out for the Guerrilla Girls and equal rights for women and minority artists at the National Art Education Association annual Conference in New York. My hero.

Re-vision

2007-03-27T21:51:00.000-07:00

9 Year old AE was not satisfied with his first attempt at designing a catapult. He made a second attempt, modifying materials and design, and it was better. But it wasn't until he made a third version that he felt satisfied with the result. The progression illustrates "Artistic Process", and shows how an artist explores and experiements with materials and design, getting to know what will work and what will not.

Printing Press

2007-03-27T21:48:00.000-07:00

AP worked all period making Collagraph prints on the small etching press stationed in the Printmaking Center. He learned about getting the right amount of ink onto his "plate" and how to operate this sweet little real artist's press.

Allosaurus

2007-03-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

"Allosaurus"
By BFM, Age 5
This painting was made after celebrating the Chinese new year. In the picture, the Allosaurus is fighting with a long, many-footed Chinese Dragon from the parade. The artist is there inside the dragon costume...the last set of legs.

2007-03-27T21:37:00.000-07:00

"Ocean Depths", By AL, Age 5

"This is a tuns caught in a net. you see a big fish saying "help", that's the Tuna. Theres a dolphn playing freeze-tag with a shark, because he is a friend. There is treasure on the bottom, and a few rocks."

Middle School Elective: Altered Books

2007-03-27T21:36:00.000-07:00

TB, Age 13

2007-03-27T21:35:00.000-07:00

Altered book by BT, Age 12

Altered POCKETbook

2007-03-27T21:27:00.000-07:00

After completing an altered book, TB, age 13, embarked on a "variation on a theme", altering this pocketbook

Architecture Center Opens

2006-11-30T11:50:00.000-08:00

A new, temporary center has opened in the art room, (thanks to my super student teacher from Colorado State University), providing information and inspiration to art students interested in architecture. Some students have used this center to draw diagrams and blueprints of buildings. Others use the blocks to experiment with building design. Some students start with a drawing, and then build a model of their design using tag board or cardboard. Graph paper, rulers, French curves and sharp pencils are the tools of choice.

Off to NAGC

2006-10-28T12:12:00.000-07:00

Here is the poster I will be presenting in a session titled “Whose Art is it, Anyway?” at the National Association for Gifted Children Annual Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina next week. I tried to highlight the benefits of a student driven art curriculum, in a 4’X4’ space.
I will also be presenting a session for “Creativity Night” (sponsored by NAGC’s Creativity Division, and an annual favorite event of mine). My offering is called “Altered Headlines”. I will invite participants into a mini-art studio to artistically respond to the day’s news by “altering” newspapers , using paint, marker, stamps, ink, scissors, stickers, templates, graphite sticks and who knows what. I have packed a complete art studio into my carry-on bag. Are squiggle scissors allowed through security?

Artistic Behaviors: Some Artists Work in Series

2006-10-28T11:44:00.000-07:00

One benefit of the Choice-based art program is that student artists can latch on to an idea and pursue it over several class periods. This behavior is typical of many adult artists, who tenaciously chase inspiration. Five year old "BFM" is creating a picture for each season of the year, and "ML", age nine, has assembled his series of computer-aided drawings into a bound edition. There are students who are amassing collections of line drawings and others who are working to make sets of functional pottery. "LE", age 11, has been working for months on a collection of artfully rendered light sabers, and "TJL", age 7, is exploring the possibilities of paper sculpture. This sort of dedication to an idea, style or medium allows students to work out artistic problem that they, themselves, have posed.

A Work in Progress, "The Four Seasons"

2006-10-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

Five year old "BFM" is working on a series of mixed media paintings about the four seasons. These are titled: "Fall", "Winter" and "Spring". He combines marker drawing, stamping and painting techniques for these intricate compositions. We await "Summer" with much anticipation.

Transforming

2006-10-28T11:28:00.000-07:00

Leather Scrap, CD's, Faom Shapes...and a Cheese Box? "A" , age 10, has crafted a bear from found objects.

("MS" and BK" age 6, admire their day's work)

The mask center in our art studio is fairly simple. Basic mask materials are there and a single question: “Why do people wear masks?” I have a box of masks handy. Students enjoy trying on different ones. There are feathered mardegras masks, plaster masks made by past students, Victorian half masks, paper dust or germ filtering masks, wooden carved masks from Africa (well, from T.J.Max), and Halloween masks. Younger students often use paper plates as a mask starter. Older students usually favor plaster or papier mache' . It is important to have a mirror at the ready, and a camera!

"Scarecrow"

2006-10-28T10:43:00.000-07:00

6 year old "CS" studies himself in the mirror as a Scarecrow

Inner Workings of a Star Ship

2006-10-11T19:43:00.000-07:00

The plan is; after the insides of this star ship are complete, an outer shell will be added, with a flap you can lift, to see the inside. Two artists are collaborating on this highly detailed piece.

Leaf Collection Collage Artist

2006-10-11T19:38:00.000-07:00

“The Ocean”
By "MS", Age 5

“She was a Rainbow-Bird Fish last time and all her rainbow feathers came off, except one white feather. Now she’s a Catfish. She just got some kids and she named them ‘School-fish.’ At the top of the ocean some people dropped a flower on her and she gave it to her kids to eat, because they love flowers to eat. And they dropped a card for her to be named ‘Angler Fish’ and tomorrow they will put a light on her so her kids can see.”

"May I Take Your Order?"

2006-10-11T19:29:00.000-07:00

“SS” worked on this “Chef” puppet for three class periods. Once the chef character was completed, he constructed a cardboard stove that doubles as a counter, for the chef to stand behind and ‘take orders.”

Blue Dragon, Day One

2006-10-11T18:50:00.000-07:00

"NS" has the sort of expertise that drawns the attention of his classmate. He has agreed to mentor two other artists. We now have both a second and third “generation” of Tube and Tape builders, since the apprentices can now teach new apprentices.

Planning for Art

2006-10-09T22:19:00.000-07:00

10 year old "EA" is using his sketchbook to design a game, including intricately drawn playing pieces. Equiped with a special box of extra sharp crayons (which he brings with him to class), he is able to get the look he prefers.

Specializing

2006-10-09T21:53:00.000-07:00

10 year old "NS" has honed the skilled he needs to build objects of interest, using cardboard tubes and colored masking tape. He is a fine craftsman, taking care to make his spaceships, airplanes and dragons strong and elegant. He favors tagboard for fine detail (teeth, for instance) and is willing to take on apprentices who are eager to learn from "the master."

"Rock a la Rock" Art History put to the test

2006-10-09T21:35:00.000-07:00

6 year old "CS" worked hard on this action packed scene. He ground all his own pigments, and made his own brush.
Caveman Paint set - includes rock "palettes", Pigment stones for grinding paint, Twigs and "bashing rocks" for making brushes, Charcoal, Leather pieces and "water from the river".

Two Legged, Four Legged and More Legged;Rms Artwork is "on the town"

2006-10-09T21:29:00.000-07:00

RMS Student artwork may be viewed through October 29th at the FastFrame gallery on 28th street (in the plaza with Barnes and Noble and Whole Foods) Eleven artists, ranging in age from 6 to 12 have work included in this show. Stop by and leave a comment for the artists in the guest book!

Construction Center Ready!

2006-09-05T17:36:00.000-07:00

WELCOME back ARTISTS!

2006-09-04T09:25:00.000-07:00

A new school year begins...

It was clear on the first day of class that many RMS artists had been thinking about and planning art ideas over the summer. Those veterans students, familiar with the studio set-up, felt frustrated on our first day, when “house-keeping “ chores (labeling portfolios and decorating sketch-book covers) took precedent over art making opportunities. I will need to accelerate the “grand opening” of “Centers” in the art room for many classes, who are raring to go.

Some students greeted me on the playground, during our school-wide opening ceremony, to describe summer art experiences they enjoyed. I shared some of my own summer art making with classes as well, and felt the joy and exhilaration that has become the trademark of our RMS artist community.

Parents have already started dragging bags and boxes of precious materials of all kinds to the art room, in anticipation of our reputation for making use of almost anything. Thank you for this tangible support, and for all the kind words on behalf of your children. It’s going to be a great year!

~Nan

SUMMER ART CAMPS AT RMS

2006-08-01T08:33:00.000-07:00

Summer Art at RMS: We had two week long summer art camps this year. The first was a week of puppet making, culminating in a rip-roaring puppet show called “The Castle Mystery” and featuring rod puppet, hand puppets, finger puppets and sock puppets. The second week was dedicated to making one-of-a-kind picture books using a myriad of watercolor and acrylic painting techniques and original story writing. The proud authors finished their week with an “Author’s Chair”, treating us to a reading of these lushious books.

Puppet show rehearsal

2006-08-01T08:29:00.000-07:00

Collage Book Week

2006-08-01T08:24:00.000-07:00

Each artist read their books to parents and freinds at the end of the week
After making a folder full of beautiful papers, campers made collages and wrote stories.

"A.T.A.T"

2006-05-23T22:31:00.000-07:00

Remember this guy from Star Wars? In 10 year old “E’s” version, the legs are jointed for movement and the laser blasters on the head swivel to aim in all directions. There is a flap in the back of the ‘body’ to load warriors.
When this student started at RMS, two years ago, he puzzled over trying to get two pieces of paper to stand up for‘walls’. I told him recently that I am very proud of all he has learned to now be able to manipulate materials so skillfully.

Action Jackson

2006-05-23T22:15:00.000-07:00

I have a small but abundantly enthusiastic group of “Action Painters”. They started inside by the sink, painting with their feet. They soon moved on to splatter and drip painting, then on to large format murals with giant brushes and alternative tools. Sometimes they fell in. Sometimes innocent bystanders got dribbled on. They persevered.
We moved outside and threw water balloons filled with paint at large sheets of butcher paper, and tried mops and rollers.
The latest request was to try spray paint.
It was a covert mission, carried out during lunch recess.
(We are having a total blast.)
[Above, 9 year old 'D' adds a border to his painting on cardboard.]

An Alien walked into a bar…

2006-05-23T22:09:00.000-07:00

Two like minded sculptors used ‘art straws’ and masking tape to construct these aliens. The one on the right has since sprouted very impressive wings and has moved on, away from this futuristic interior. Designed by “C” and “N”, Age 9

Mask from a Clay Slab

2006-05-18T21:15:00.000-07:00

Masks of all kinds have been popular this Spring. This clay mask was crafted by 6 year old “C”.

The Power of Powerpoint

2006-05-17T07:51:00.000-07:00

8 year old “M” taught himself to use “Paint” on the classroom computer earlier this year. Since then, it has been his medium of choice. He has collected, titled and stored a dozen or more images. Sometimes he works in series. Sometimes he adds words and artist’s statements right on the image. He likes to print them out, but sometimes they arrive in two pieces, and we have to crop and glue them together. We are on our second ink cartridge…
Last week I suggested that he might want to make a power point slide show of his work, and quickly showed him how to add a new slide and import an image. By the end of class, he had his slide show, and triumphantly displayed it for his classmates, using a video projector hooked up to my laptop.

Jackson Who?

2006-05-11T21:35:00.000-07:00

First they painted with their feet, then they "invented" splatter painting. These 9 and 10 year old students were delighted to discover after this session that there was once an artist who liked to paint the way they do.http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/pollock/lavender-mist/

DEFINITION: ACTION ART

2006-05-11T21:12:00.000-07:00

An Abstract Expressionist style of painting, widespread in the 1950s and 1960s, where paint is dripped, dropped, smeared, spattered, or thrown on the canvas. The term was first used about Jackson Pollock's work.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_painting

18"X36" Color Field Paintings

2006-05-11T19:53:00.000-07:00

These paintings are part of a series by 9 year old "K". She decided to limit her choice of colors on each painting.

Trickle-up

2006-05-11T19:49:00.000-07:00

These older students discovered the paint and large tools left over from a younger class's action painting session and explored painting in a new way. "Everything old is new again."

Ready for Battle

2006-04-11T20:32:00.000-07:00

The arms are hinged and initialed…the helmet designed for maximum protection and field of vision… This modern suit of armor was constructed over about three art periods.

Jumping in with…

2006-03-15T18:27:00.000-08:00

Japanese expressionist painter Kazuo Shiraga, was more interested in the act of painting than in the resulting object. But it was his painting that demanded the attention of every class viewing this week’s collection of 4 art reproductions that made up a “5 Minute Museum” in the art room. The wild red and black slashes and swirls in Shigara’s painting defied definition and got my students talking, and then, painting.
Two students were especially fascinated to learn that Shigara made his painting by hanging from a rope and painting with his feet. Could they make painting with their feet?

Face Lift

2006-03-01T19:58:00.000-08:00

Papier mache carefully applied to a plastic mask form somehow yielded an uncanny likeness to this artist. So lifelike was the result, the “P”, age 9 determined not to take it home, but to keep the mask at school “because it freaks everybody out when I wear it.”

Independance

2006-03-01T19:44:00.000-08:00

6 ½ year old “T” declared that he was going to build something, then sketch what he produced. I showed him the book Design Technology (listed under ‘Recommended Reading’ at right) and specifically a page in which a young artist had done just that. He discovered inspiration within these pages. There were diagrams of inventions, parts lists and photos of student created innovations. “T” set out to refer to a page in this book, not to re-produce what was shown, but as a place of departure for his own ideas. He wanted to craft a “connecter” that would swivel. I showed him some jumbo wooded tongue depressors and a hand drill. At first I held the parts in place, but “T” soon discovered that if he used his feet, he could do it himself (this was an advantageous position, as it placed his chin in a good spot to add downward pressure to the drill. This looks like it will be along term project, with a wealth of possibilities for growth and discovery.

Mask Center Opens

2006-02-07T08:05:00.000-08:00

The latest center to debut in the art room is the Mask Center.
Paper plates, Papier mache’, plaster and plastic milk carton armatures are standing ready for artist’s to transform them into masks. On display are several different kinds of masks; Disposable protective masks, Feathered Mardi Gras Masks, Carved wooden masks from Ghana, Student made plaster masks and a cut out of the Cat in the Hat from my daughter’s “Dr. Seuss day” in first grade 15 years ago…
Masks are crafted and worn through out the world and throughout human history. Some are functional and protective, others are decorative. Some masks serve in sacred ceremony, some for celebration. Students are asked to consider “why do people wear masks?”

Hold still please, and no talking to the artist...

2006-01-27T07:15:00.000-08:00

"JR" by JTF, age 8

I don't want a mustashe

2006-01-27T07:12:00.000-08:00

"DK" by ZH age 8

Drawing Directive

2006-01-24T18:42:00.000-08:00

Occasionally I assign a project that is a “have-to” It is unusual for me to do this so I try to give two class warnings ahead of time (to avoid a mutiny and help students to prepare.)
In honor of the new mask center, students donned masks and modeled for each other. The idea was that when faced with a friend in a Victorian half mask, the artist has to observe their subject very carefully. It is easier to look closely at a friend in a mask, and puts both model and artist at ease. It’s also very funny.

2006-01-24T18:39:00.000-08:00

2006-01-24T18:34:00.000-08:00

Masquarade

2006-01-24T18:25:00.000-08:00

“Why do people wear masks?”
This question is taped to the front of the new mask center.
Masks can disguise, entertain or protect. Masks can be used for ceremony or bank robberies. Masks can be beautiful, grotesque, practical or scary.
Students may choose to make an instant mask on a paper plate, or work for several classes and craft one from plaster or papier mache’.