Hundertwasser

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….. a Haiku challenge

Today in art class I introduced Friedensreich Hundertwasser’s art. The children are creating their own landscapes in the Hundertwasser style and are loving the assignment. I’m looking forward to seeing their final works of art. This was my inspiration for todays Haiku.

Hundertwasser, art

where lollipop trees abound

whimsical and fun

Bold and colourful

Slanted homes and onion roofs

swaying in the wind

Image courtesy of http://www.inspirationgreen.com/hundertwasser.html

To see more examples of haiku or if you want to challenge yourself go to http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/11/25/challenge-haiku/

Winter is at our Doorstep

Posted on November 23, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..cold temperatures and a dusting of snow today (yesterday)…..hit published….looked like it went through…..discovered this morning that it hadn’t…..sigh…..by the way we got another covering of snow last night

An image of what’s to come in the next few months. Brrrr!!!!!!!!!

What a perfect day to do a little Christmas shopping and check out the Winter Arts Fest at Neilson Park Creative Centre. I met a great artist who makes beautiful jewellery with glass imbedded with copper, a retired principal who creates gorgeous wooden boards and boxes made from different types of coloured wood and an author who wrote a novel about Toronto’s history.

I also ran into my former art teacher, LZ, whose classes I took for a couple of years at Neilson Park Creative Centre. She told me she’s been thinking about me lately and hopes I’ll come back to one of her classes in January. She says she’s including collage and more printmaking lessons to the class. She must have been channelling my thoughts of late because I’ve wanted to do more of both, especially collage.

An earlier attempt at collage.

Printing on Gelli plates.

After doing some shopping at the craft show I headed over to the mall which is close by. The kitchen store had some great sales and I picked up some small items for stocking stuffers. I then went to one of my favourite stores and treated myself to a couple of new tops.

What’s up for tomorrow? Well I keep saying I’m going to reorganize my bedroom but there’s an interesting arts and craft show at my old alma mater in Guelph that I might check out. It all depends on whether someone is willing to go with me. I’m all about living in the moment.

Cheers!

“Are you going to put our art on your blog, Mrs. Cormier?”

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….I knew that some of my students knew about my blog but it still surprised me to hear this question

I needed a break from using paint. Most of the older students are pretty good at cleaning at the end of art class but some of the younger children, especially the boys, have a hard time with the cleaning concept. Two days ago I snapped and told my students that we were done with paint for awhile. When we go back I think I may limit the number of students who paint and have the rest of the students work with another medium. In other words, I’ll have two separate projects on the go.

Yesterday I introduced line drawing using pencil and then finishing if off with a fine tip Sharpie. I place a number of objects on their tables to arrange into an interesting still life.

I demonstrated how to draw what they see without lifting the pencil off the paper. We used rough copy paper to practise and then when they felt comfortable the students produced a final copy that was trimmed and then mounted on black construction paper. The following examples were done by grade 3s.

So what’s next? Maybe I’ll use oil or chalk pastels. At least there won’t be any brushes to clean.

Cheers!

Art for Remembrance Day

Posted on November 10, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….Picasso’s Doves of Peace drawings were the inspiration for this lesson

Pablo Picasso was very political and didn’t like how the world’s peace initiatives were emerging after after the the second world war. He created The Dove of Peace as an extraordinarily powerful and lasting political symbol for peace, liberation and equality around the globe. Doves also had a highly personal significance for Picasso, going back to childhood memories of his father painting the doves that were kept in the family home. Doves were a frequent presence in Picasso’s homes and studios in Paris and in the south of France. ( adapted from Tate.org.uk)

Back in the spring when I came across The Dove of Peace I decided then and there that I wanted to do a similar theme for this year’s Remembrance Day assembly. I liked the simplicity of the drawings and felt that my students would be up for the challenge.

I didn’t want every student to draw doves so I had them research symbols of peace that could be easily drawn. My only rule was that the picture couldn’t have blood or weapons in it. After working out a rough copy of what they wanted to draw I gave each student a piece of watercolour paper. They were allowed to choose between a small and medium size.

First they drew their symbol with pencil and then went over the lines with crayon. To make the symbol stand out more I showed them how to add a bit of black marker. Then I taught them how to do a simple wash of colour for the their background while leaving the symbol white. This was a difficult concept for some because they wanted to paint everything.

As a final touch the children were allowed to take photographs of each other. The photo had to symbolize friendship and or peace. Some children embraced each other while others shook hands. If they didn’t want a photo taken the other option was to find a magazine picture with the same theme. The pictures were in black and white because we printed them from the computers in the room onto our shared printer which only prints in black.

On Friday, most of the art was finished and ready to be displayed in the gym. Other classes did a similar theme and some of the younger grades changed it up a bit. All in all, everyone did a great job and the space looks wonderful. A big thank you goes out to all the staff and students.

Hung Over 120 Pieces of Children’s Art This Week

Posted on November 9, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..90 of them were put up yesterday

I teach about 110 students art and I feel it’s important that every child’s work should be displayed. This week I knew it was time to take down some of the older work and replace it with newer assignments.

In grade 5, I taught the students about the colour wheel. Even though I’ve taught art as a prep coverage subject for only the last two years, when I had a grade 5 homeroom I always did my own art. So for the last 14 years, the colour wheel was always been an important aspect of my art program. This year I decided to change it up a bit and instead of giving them a prepared wheel that they added colour to, I had the students create their own wheels and I encouraged them to be somewhat creative while remaining true to the colours and placement of the colours.

Once the acrylic paint dried I had the students take it one step further and add a splash of Zentangle designs to their wheels. Zentangle is an art form using structured repetitive patterns to create beautiful images. It’s like doodling but more carefully applied. Here are a few examples of their amazing work:

The other 90 pieces that I hung yesterday were inspired by Picasso’s Peace Art. Here’s a sneak preview.

I’ll post the lesson in the next day or so. Have a great weekend!

Ai Weiwei – Part 2

Posted on October 21, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..one week to go

If you live in Toronto or are visiting this is your last chance to see the Ai Weiwei show. Last week I posted some of the installation pieces at the show. Featuring photographs, sculpture, installation art and audio and video pieces, Ai Weiwei: According to What?examines how the artist spotlights the complexities of a changing world and probes such issues as freedom of expression, individual and human rights, the power of digital communication and the range of creative practice that characterizes contemporary art today both in China and globally.(as cited in the AGO newsletter).

China Log 2005

This sculpture is made from 8 pillars salvaged from Qing Dynasty temples that were carved at the centre and when joined together they formed an opening through the entire length of the ‘log’ in the shape of China. The China log implies that present day China is made up of a variety of cultural and historical elements.

Kippe, 2006

This sculpture is made with parallel bars as the frame for a three dimensional puzzle of tightly fitted pieces of wood salvaged from Qing Dynasty temples. Ai Weiwei’s memory of childhood school yards that were equipped with a set of parallel bars and a basketball hoop were part of the inspiration for this sculpture. The other part came from the beautifully stacked firewood outside his family home that was openly admired by the people in his neighbourhood.

Wenchuan Steel Reebar, 2008-2012

Ai Weiwei uses rebar recovered from the rubble of collapsed schoolhouses following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. It is a large physical work, designed to remind people of the individuals in danger of being forgotten.

Forever, 2003

These 42 Forever bicycles were dismantled and reassembled to form a circular sculpture. The Forever Co. was established in 1940 and became the largest manufacturer of bicycles in China. In recent years with the onset of modernization the bike is disappearing from city streets but many Chinese still cherish memories of their bicycles that will last ‘forever’ in this work.

Coloured Vases, 2007 – 2010

This series consists of Han Dynasty vases dipped in industrial paints covering the patterned surfaces of the jars with bright modern colours while maintaining the original forms.

I love this man’s work and I discovered today that we share the same birthday. The show will be leaving Toronto this coming weekend and will move to Miami, Florida to the Perez Art Museum (November 28, 2013 – March 18, 2014) and then moves to Brooklyn, New York to the Brooklyn Museum (April 18 – August 10, 2014).

Cheers!

Pattern on Pattern

Posted on October 20, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….not everyone can carry off this look

I admire people that take risks in fashion. Not many people can successfully mix patterns and make it work. L’s sister, teacher and artist, knows how to put patterns together. Check it out.

Grade Three’s X-ray Paintings

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. using Norval Morrisseau’s painting style

Norval Morrisseau was a First Nations artist from Canada. He is often referred to as the Picasso of the North and his style is characterized by thick black outlines and bright colours. He developed his own techniques and artistic vocabulary which captured ancient legends and images that came to him in visions or dreams. The lines in his paintings represent energy and often connect one symbol or body part to another. The x-ray technique allows the observer to see the energy within the person or animal.

After discussing Morrisseau’s style the boys and girls were directed to draw something that was important to them. The beauty of this activity is that drawings should be simple, and don’t even need to look like the animals that they represent. The students learned how to apply bright watercolours to their paper after they outlined their line drawing with black markers. Once they finished painting they went over the black lines again.

I love each and every one of them. Here are the first 8 pictures that were completed today:

Food is Art

Posted on October 15, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..a special treat to end our Thanksgiving weekend

Yesterday I told you about our trip to Trinity Bellwoods Park. When we reached the south end of the park, my daughter A asked if I wanted to stop for coffee. Is the pope Catholic? You don’t have to ask me twice.

Of course she already had a very special place in mind. Right on Queen St., on the north side and east of the park is a very fancy cafe called Nadege. It was warm enough yesterday to sit outside so we found a table for the four of us on the patio facing the park.

We all wanted Americanos, so A and AB went inside to order. When they came back they raved about the pastry counter and insisted that I had to go inside to see it for myself. I wasn’t disappointed. It was like an art gallery of pastries with real French croissants, tarts, Danishes, French macaroons and delicately and beautifully designed slices of cake. My description here doesn’t do it justice. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words:

A waitress brought out our coffees, glasses of water and a small tray of cream and custard filled puff pastries. Luckily they were small so even though it was an indulgence we didn’t feel too guilty. They were definitely worth the calories. I was glad that I had saved up my calories earlier in the day.

When I had gone inside to check out the counters I noticed that at the back of the store there was an in house bakery that one could see into and watch the bakers at their craft. I took a picture but when I looked at it later it looked like one the the pastry chefs was not too pleased to have her picture taken so out of respect for her I’ve decided to not publish it.

When I went back outside I noticed that there was water on the ground close to where we were sitting. I asked where it came from and they told me that the waitress had accidentally spilled water on J’s back. She had her coat on so she didn’t feel it but the waitress brought three French macaroons, on the house, to the table to compensate for the mishap.

Bonus! We all took a nibble from each one. The orange one was my favourite. It’s a good thing we had to walk back across the park to get to the car. It helped burn a few extra calories. What a great ending to a perfect weekend!

My girls and AB.

Ai Weiwei (part 1)

Posted on October 13, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….pronounce ‘I way way’

Today my friend L, her sister and father and I drove into the city to the Art Gallery of Ontario to see the David Bowie Show and the Ai Weiwei Show. A lot to take in, in the short time we had. Considering it is the Thanksgiving weekend the gallery wasn’t too busy when we arrived at 1:30 but later in the afternoon the line-ups were quite long.

I’m going to share a few of the pieces that I saw at the Ai Weiwei show. This incredible contemporary Chinese artist produces photographs and installation art pieces that raise crucial questions about the right to express and conduct oneself freely and that feature repurposed furniture and artefacts.

One of the first pieces that you can’t help but notice is the snake like sculpture that hangs above your head as you enter the exhibition. It is made from 800 backpacks, commonly used by students in China, to represent the souls of the many children who died in 2008 during the Sichuan earthquake.

As you pass the through the hallway of floor to ceiling photographs and enter the main hall you greeted by a sculpture called “Grapes“. It consists of 40 wooden stools from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) that have been reassembled in a way to transform its meaning and obscure its function. There are no nails in this piece and like the individual stools it is held together with traditional joinery techniques. The whole piece is supported by the legs of one stool.

In the same room, a series of seven chests made from huali wood are lined up across the far side of the room. Each chest has four circular openings that when aligned created the effect of showing every phase of the moon to visitors who walk through the installation. The challenge here was trying to get a shot without people passing through. The piece is called Moon Chest.

I will feature a few more pieces in future posts. In the meantime if you’re in Toronto and you haven’t seen this show, I highly recommend it. Hurry though, it closes October 27th.