Changing Education Paradigm

Julia Jul 30, 2011 2 Comments

The above video is an animation that was adapted from a talk given by Sir Ken Robinson, world-renowned education and creativity expert and recipient of the RSA’s Benjamin Franklin award.

I found Sir Ken’s reasoning to be brilliant, and the animation was extremely clever and revealing! I would like to invite your personal responses and commentary!

“Imagination is the source of every form of human achievement. And it’s the one thing that I believe we are systematically jeopardizing in the way we educate our children and ourselves.”
— Ken Robinson

Pop Art Portraits

Julia May 12, 2011 0 Comments

GT Media students were introduced to the Pop Art movement that emerged in the 1950s in Britain and the United States. They were challenged to analyze, interpret, and compare works by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, Jasper Johns, and other like-minded artists. The common Pop Art themes involving fashion, film stars, music, comics, and youth culture proved to be both intriguing for these middle schoolers as well as perplexing. Why would an artist print the same simple image of soup cans over and over (and why would people pay big money for them)? What is the point of building a giant sculpture of a spoon?

In addition to the verbal discussions and written critical responses that were assigned, the students also created their own “Warhol-esque” portraits using digital photography, computer manipulation, and colorful ink pens.

“An artist is somebody who produces things that people don’t need to have.” Andy Warhol

Copper Repousse

Julia May 11, 2011 0 Comments

The theme for this low-relief sculptural project was to render one of Hawaii’s threatened or endangered species in 3-D. Students spent time on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife website researching a plant, animal, or sea creature, and learning about the habitat, current population, potential threats, and conservation efforts. After a full investigation of their topic, students worked on preliminary sketches that included elements of the species’ habitat. Final drawings were transferred onto a copper sheet, and then the meticulous process of forming the convexities and concavities followed. The 3-Dimensional quality was created in the soft metal by rubbing both sides with simple tools such as tongue depressors, popsicle sticks, wooden skewers, and the backs of spoons to stretch and bend the surface. The last step was antiquing the final composition with liver of sulphur and polishing with steel wool. Students’ final projects along with typed artist statements were displayed in the main office to inform and educate our school community and spread awareness of the threats Hawaii’s plants and animals face today.

“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.” John Muir

Expressive Self-Portrait

Julia May 10, 2011 0 Comments

The final Art project of the year for Kapaa Middle School 7th and 8th graders was to complete a realistic self-portrait that also expressed the individual’s personality or character. Students analyzed self-portraits by Van Gogh and Frida Kahlo, while studying the technique and value scales of Chuck Close’s photorealistic large-scale portraits. The students were enthusiastic for the first step of the process, which involved taking turns posing and photographing digital portraits. Once 4″ X 6″ copies of the photographs were printed for each student, they measured and drew a 1″ grid with pencil on top. Next students were given their final 12″ X 18″ paper and enlarged the grid by 3 times. The actual drawing began with a precisely measured contour in order to establish correct proportions, and the final step was to shade with pencil.

“The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who’ll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself.” Chuck Close

No Contest for Cuteness

Julia May 10, 2011 0 Comments

Recess time, passing periods, and any spare classtime minutes were utilized by artist Zuri Shanklin to complete this extra project for the Humane Society’s student art contest. Unfortunately, the extra time wasn’t enough to complete it by the deadline, but this fantastic watercolor painting still deserves an audience. Zuri, your dedication, creativity, and artistic talent are the admirable qualities that will take you to the top!

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated…I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by people from the cruelty of humankind.” Mahatma Gandhi

Scratchboard Designs

Julia May 1, 2011 0 Comments

Texture was the main element that students aimed to emphasize in this artistic endeavor. The scratchboard material is made of a golden surface that is covered by a layer of soft clay and then painted with black India Ink. Using sharp utensils to scratch into the surface, students methodically revealed their golden designs to create a truly dramatic effect!

“Art is literacy of the heart.” Elliot Eisner

Pinch Pots

Julia Apr 27, 2011 2 Comments

Pinch Pots are almost always one of the first projects in any Ceramics class because they help students learn some of the most fundamental skills needed for both hand-building and wheel-throwing. The artist begins with a wedged ball of clay, inserts a thumb by pressing into the center, and pinches the walls of the pot while rotating and smoothing. Sounds easy? Surprisingly this takes quite a bit of practice!

Once my students had successfully created a pinch pot, I asked them to add something to it in order to add interest. That “something” was up to them (as long as there was no trapped air to create an explosion), and it was wonderful watching the original pots transform under the influence of their imaginations!

A Close View of Nature

Julia Apr 15, 2011 0 Comments

Georgia O’keefe’s large-scale flower paintings were the inspiration for this watercolor painting assignment. Students were assigned to choose a natural subject, and then look very very closely at it. When arranging the composition on paper, the subject should flow off of the edges of the page, with the option of zooming in so close that it becomes almost abstract.

Adding another dimension and level of complexity to the learning process, students were assigned to complete 2 paintings, identical in every aspect with the exception of reversing the colors. In order to accurately select complimentary colors, students had to work closely with the color wheel and their knowledge of color theory.

“Nobody sees a flower – really – it is so small it takes time – we haven’t time – and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.” Georgia O’Keefe

Trees

Julia Apr 10, 2011 0 Comments

We studied the artwork of Canadian artist Emily Carr for this expressive watercolor assignment. Just as Carr enjoyed plein air painting, the students took their sketchbooks outdoors and found a tree to capture on paper. Although the initial sketches were derived from studying nature, the students used their artistic license of expression when rendering gestural lines and mixing colors.

“There is something bigger than fact: the underlying spirit, all it stands for, the mood, the vastness, the wildness.”
Emily Carr

Ceramic Coil Lamp

Julia Apr 8, 2011 8 Comments

I constructed this lamp as an example for my Kapaa Middle School students, who are building coiled vessels that incorporate an animal or sea creature. I used an octopus (locally referred to as “Tako”) as my example to demonstrate how the tentacles could be interwoven and entwined within the coil design. I wanted my octopus to blend in with my coil pot in the same way that real Octopus are able to camouflage themselves against the reef.

Kahu Kai Mosaic Mural

Julia Apr 3, 2011 1 Comments

Kahu Kai translates to “caring for the sea,” and is the theme for an island-wide mosaic mural project that KMS Art students participated in. The mosaic panel will be one of 24 panels (all created by school children) that will be installed as part of the newly restored Kamalani Pavilion at Lydgate Park. The original pavilion was built by volunteers in 2004, but was lost to a fire in 2007. We teamed up with the Garden Island Arts Council to sculpt local sea creatures out of clay, and then arrange them with a background of small colorful tiles to create a unified seascape mural. Kapaa Middle School students are currently working on a second mural to be displayed at our school!