from the Artist Workshop:  Art Work To Go Home #1

Students will be bringing home specially created pieces of art to share with families. They are in sleeves for safe travel, keep the art work and return the sleeves please.

These pieces were specifically created to share with you. I would love to hear of any conversations that grew from this sharing experience. You may see something different from what was intended by the artist. Open ended questions are best to start the conversation. When we share at school we use, “I noticed” rather  than “ I like”, and look for shapes, colors, textures.

Becoming skilled at visual art is a process, a personal process, a lengthy process. The skills become refined with experience as well a maturing of fine-motor, and observational skills. Each student is somewhere along that continuum. My responsibility is to find where each is and set them along that path, while allowing each to work where he/she is and to help them along as respectfully as possible. Art is about trying, looking at, and then trying again. When a student says “I messed up/made a mistake”, I have them set it aside and look at it again later. We talk about what the mistake is, why it happened, and if it detracts from the work for any reason.

The Artist Workshop is where mistakes are part of the learning process. I say   “In math, two plus two has to be four, but in (visual) art  choices can be made”.  Runny watercolors sometimes result in thought provoking visual images. Your child will ask you if you like the work; when I answer this, I sometimes first have them tell me what they like. Then I will point out what caught my eye first, and what kept me looking, or what made me ask questions. 

I posted a link about talking  about childrens’ art previously on this blog and will include some ideas on the paper with the art work. Also, I would appreciate feedback through email, and we can schedule a visit  on Tuesdays or Fridays when I am at EKES.

When I explained the AWTGH project to Mr. Tullar, he asked if I’d had any feedback from previous years. I’d love to hear from you. You can  email me or return this page

child’s class  ___________________

Answer any or all of questions, return to school.

1 = least,  5= most

1.    Did you talk about the work with your child? yes / no

2.    Did he/she seem comfortable sharing?  yes /no         1 -5

3.    Did he/she seem excited?                   yes / no         1-5

4.     Were the words used to describe the work art words?  yes /no  _______________

5.    Were you asked if you like the work?   yes/ no

6.    Did you like the work?                       yes/ no     1-5

7.    What did you notice ?  ______________________________________

8.    Was there a sense of wanting to do more?  ___________________

9.    Did you display it?   yes / no

10.                       Was this an informative experience for you ?  yes/ no    1-5

11.                       Other  _________________________________  

msansoucie@sau16.org

from the ARTIST WORKSHOP

I had to acknowledge Monday evening’s celestial event in art Tuesday. Each class started with students sharing their observation of the Super moon. Some were on the way from an after school activity, some were in their yards, and a few were with families on the beach having dinner.

 After sharing, we talked briefly about the science involved, and I showed a few art examples. Then each sketched art including the moon in their sketchbooks. We are working on Art Work To Go Home, so the mixed media paper was cut to 6”X 9”, and they could choose preferred medium. Several chose a pre-cut circle for the moon. Most will be finishing next class, and may select one of these to come home.

the essence of the event

fifth graders

some added details from stories shared

AWTGH DEC 2016

As part of the year’s work students prepare a piece of work to bring home to, at report card time, and they are eager to share this with you. They are proud of the work. I wish I could eaves drop on these conversations.

Getting them to share their art work freely and comfortably and to learn about them in the process is a joy of being the art teacher. It is possible to foster the openness and enthusiasm with which they generally approach their work.

 When I look at a student’s work, before I assume what it is, I have them explain it to me. My comment might start with “I notice you …This open ended start leaves them space to “explain” it to me without feeling judged which encourages them to keep working creatively, from their own imaginations, and realizing that getting it “right” or perfect comes with practice and that sometimes the practices (or mistakes) are thought provoking, “beautiful” expressions in their own right. You may not see what they see, or what they were creating. You may see something else totally.

My teaching strategy may include “If you want someone to see the dog you need to use colors or shapes that bring the viewer to that image. Blue dog can be any color, but he has recognizable DOG traits.

 Does it matter that someone sees what you don’t see?

Sometimes a child is insulted when you don’t see the image he/she worked so hard to create. I share my personal story of a quilt I made with whites and beiges, and milk weed pods. When I have shared it in the past, many people see the beach with shells. Do I have a problem with that? Does it make it less good? How would I “fix” that another time?

Visual art is about self- expression, putting the self into images, lines, shapes, colors while learning about one self and at the same time acquiring the skills and tools for making expressions that are as close as possible to the desired product.

 http://www.phillyartcenter.com/how-to-talk-to-kids-about-their-art/

November’s arrival brings the preparation for creating small pieces of art work to take home with report cards in December. Since the majority of kids’ work stays at school until June, they are always asking to take something home. They love sharing their work with family.

The first step is to make some plans; seasonally based imagery and sports teams logos have been favorites.  Each student makes at least three drawings. Individual conferencing shapes both the images the students are using and what medium is preferred. 

                     

These planning papers will be included in their portfolios and go home in June. Look for the final pieces with report cards in December; they are in plastic sleeves to get them home safely. The kindies will be taking theirs home in December.Please return the plastic sleeves.

EXHIBIT REFLECTIONS

Once the work is all hung in the hallway, small groups from each class go to look at the exhibit. They find their own, sketch it and find another's work to sketch.

They sketch in the appropriate box for a vertical or horizontal art work. I'll get more photos..

from the Artists Workshop

 EKES Student Art Exhibit will be open on October 19th. These pieces were selected by students (grades 1-5) from their 2105-16 portfolios and will be on display in the halls for all to enjoy.    They represent various media and interests. Students will go into the hallway, find a piece of work they like, and their own, and sketch both pieces as a way of sharing and observing art work.

               

Now that sketchbook cover art and portfolios have been completed, classes are adding work to their portfolios.  They sketch oak leaves then acorns on thumbnail papers. As they finish sketching, they move to the tables to work.  I have a template for a giant oak leaf. I trace it for the kindies to color; first and second graders trace their own. Both beeswax crayons and Slick Stix are used. Some like oil pastels.

Arranging various texture plates under a paper to rub to make an interesting composition extends the work around leaves . A pumpkin/jack-o’lantern can also be either traced or used as a texture to keep in touch with the season. Colored pencils, color sticks, crayons or bees wax crayons work especially well. Classes conclude with brief conversations about what worked, or didn’t, what they liked or didn’t like about the project.

We continue the topic with chestnuts, hickory nuts, and pine cones for observing, then sketching. These ideas are used for creating still life art. Water colors will now become a choice following a review/ introduction to how to use them.

I hope you can get in to see the art work in the hall over the next few  weeks. I am in the building with classes on Tuesdays and Fridays, if you would like to visit an art class. I can be reached best by email msansouce@sau16.org to share, and set a date to meet. 

Artist Workshop....
We talk of the first month of school- and for Artist Workshop it's only four classes- having flown by.
All classes have finished their 2016-17 Portfolios, and most have created their Cover Art for their sketchbooks,
 In fact, both KG and KD learned about" Museum Share ". They met the challenge, and adapted this first experience with putting post-its on a page and circulating through their classmates' art, and making smaller-than-thumbnail sketches of each other's work.  It is fascinating to watch  each respond to this challenge.
It may be the counting and arranging of post-its on the page that occupies, or the creating of undecipherable doodles, or it may be the precise following of directions to sketch all 16 pieces of art work on display, and even add the names of the artist, after asking each classmate how to spell his/her name !
Ahh, the satisfactions, and challenges, of the kindies!!!  And the clear message of how this age "meets the standards"  varies from student to student, assignment to assignment.

 For a wonderful , real Museum experience, consider visiting

the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA. New Hampshire scenery is in the limelight

http://pem.org/exhibitions/192-american_impressionist_childe_hassam_and_the_isles_of_shoals

or NH's Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, where the new exhibit  Mount Washington:Crown of New England  opened on
October 1.

EKES Student Art Exhibit will be open on October 19th. These pieces were selected by students (grades 1-5) from their 2105-16 portfolios and will be on display in the halls for all to enjoy.   The art from KG & KD was done with a study of shapes, and the art of Josef Albers' "Homage to a Square".