Tag Archives: art

Scribbles

Posted on by
7

…..when a scribble is art

If you had told me a few years ago that scribbling is a viable art form I would have scoffed at you. Today, however, I have a new profound respect for the scribble. It started a few years ago when a well renowned artist introduced me to the art of scribbling. He thought that my students might like the activity. After trying it myself first and finding that it wasn’t as easy as it looked I put it aside and forgot about it.

Flash forward to the on-line year long art class that I’m taking right now. It started in  January and every day Carla Sonheim posts a video with a quote, interview, photo assignment or drawing assignment. Some of the videos are very short, only 30 seconds or less and others are a little more detailed with actual instructions.

On day 56 we were given as assignment to take a pen and start scribbling. It was very addictive. I loved it and want to do more. I tried it with pencil but it works much better with a pen or fine tip marker. Give it a try. Start with just a random scribble and see what you come up with and then darken areas with more scribble to bring out what you see. After that choose an object and try to copy it by scribbling.

IMG_1283IMG_1285IMG_1286

Inspired by Van Gogh’s Sunflowers

Posted on by
6

…..the kindergarten classes that I teach art to created a garden of Van Gogh inspired sunflowers

Recently I read the book The Artist and Me by Shane Peacock to the entire school. The book is one of the Blue Spruce nominees for 2017. the-artist-and-me-by-shane-peacock

I liked this book for two reasons. Firstly, because it is written for young children and highlights how the famous artist Vincent Van Gogh was bullied by children and adults alike. It points out that even adults are bullied when they appear different or do things differently. In Van Gogh’s case he suffered from depression and his art was different from the classics that people had come to expect from artists. The students were surprised that such a famous artist was treated so badly. I explained to them that Van Gogh was one of several new artists that had grown tired of traditional painting and wanted to experiment with texture, colour and paint strokes. People had a hard time excepting this new way of painting and in his lifetime Van Gogh only sold one painting.

Secondly, I liked this book because the illustrator tried to use similar colours that Van Gogh used and he reproduced parts of Van Gogh’s work in his illustrations. For example there are a few illustrations of Van Gogh’s famous bedroom and an illustration of the wheat fields that he liked to paint.

I had other books that showed some of Van Gogh’s many paintings. I showed my kindergarten classes the sunflowers that Van Gogh became famous for after he died. In our art period I demonstrated how to paint simple sunflowers using round stamps. Some of the students used paintbrushes to create the petals of the sunflowers. We talked about the different varieties and colours of sunflowers and I gave them yellow, red, orange and white paint that they could mix if they wanted.

On the first day the students painted the centres and the petals of the flowers. On day two they added green leaves and stems. I also gave them the option of adding a blue sky in the background and I showed them how to paint around their flowers. Some of the students also added some ladybugs and other little critters.

IMG_1560IMG_1564

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

A Garden of Spring Flowers in Paint

Posted on by
4

….in this part of the world spring is not close at hand

Looking at blogs that originate in Ireland, the United Kingdom, parts of Europe and the west coast of North America I’m amazed to see so many gardens that are already in bloom with beautiful spring flowers. With some luck we may see our first daffodil in late April but most of our flowers won’t appear until May.

To get us in the spring mood I painted some simple made up flowers using watercolours and circle shapes. For the background I used a scraping technique that I learned from Carla Sonheim. Once the paint was dry I added more detail, sometimes with  more paint but mostly with black ink from a Sharpie. I liked the final product so much I adapted it for my students and when I return to school this week I will plaster the walls with their beautiful gardens of flowers. I will share their work with you later this week.

IMG_1259IMG_1261

“Thinking is the Enemy of Creativity”

Posted on by
19

…the kids loved this quote by Ray Bradbury

For the last two weeks we have been discussing the concept of creativity in our art classes. Once we established that having artistic ability and creativity didn’t necessarily go hand in hand I shared some quotes from a few famous people.

“Creativity is contagious. Pass it on!” – Albert Einstein

“Bad artists copy. Good artists steal.” – Pablo Picasso

“Creativity takes courage.” Henri Matisse

“Great art picks up where nature ends.” Marc Chagall

“Have no fear of perfection, you’ll never reach it.” Salvador Dali

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” Scott Adams

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” Pablo Picasso

“Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try” – Dr. Seuss

The students were then directed to print their favourite quote or part of it onto a white sheet of drawing paper with pencil. Then they were to turn it upside down and start drawing by extending the lines in the quote. Once the page was full they could outline the whole piece in black Sharpie and add some colour.

At this point the quote is almost unrecognizable so to remind us how the art started the child was directed to rewrite the quote somewhere on the paper where there was open space. The grade 3s really got into this assignment. A few forgot to turn the quote upside down. The first photo is the sample that I created so that the students would have a visual when I explained the process. I would encourage any of you to choose a quote from the ones I’ve posted or come up with your own and get CREATIVE. I would love to see what you come up with.

img_1005

Thanks to Carla Sonheim for the idea of gathering quotes about creativity and Stefanie von Hoesslin for the drawing activity using the quotes.

New Flower (February 4, 2017)- Dianthus ‘Carmum’

Posted on by
Reply

….a cross between a carnation and a chrysanthemum with eucalyptus and rose leaves

Obviously this is not a real flower. For one of my assignments in Carla Sonheim’s 365: A Video a Day, year long art class we had to pull apart flowers and create a new species.

Hope you enjoy these variations of Carmums.

p1020552p1020554p1020556

Share Your World – January 23, 2017

Posted on by
5

…..thanks Cee for Share Your World

Do you prefer juice or fruit?

I’m definitely a fruit person. I stopped drinking juice a long time ago when I found out how much sugar is added to juice and how much of the fibre is removed. Eating one piece of fruit is much more satisfying than drinking a glass of juice (equivalent to 2 or 3 pieces of fruit).
p1010948

Did you grow up in a small or big town? Did you like it?

I grew up mostly in a large city. For a period of 4 years I lived in a smaller town and I have fond memories of playing in the neighbourhood and riding my bike. When we moved back to the big city I lived directly across from the skating rink, the park, my school, the tennis courts and the outdoor swimming pool. I loved it. There was always something to do.

If you were to paint a picture of your childhood, what colors would you use?

I would use bright colours like blue, red, pink and green.

Ways to Relax List: Make a list of what relaxes you and helps you feel calm.

• reading a  book

• knittingimg_0861

• painting and drawing

• having tea with friends

• enjoying a cup of coffee after dinner with my husband

• doing yoga

• going for long walks with my husband

• going out for dinner

• lying on the beach at the cottagep1010410

• having a pedicure

Optional Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I’m grateful that my father is adjusting to living on his own again and finding a new purpose at the retirement home where he resides. I spent time with my family this weekend and was introduced to our daughter’s new dog. She’s a beautiful French bulldog. A and J named her Olive. Winnie wasn’t too sure about this new addition in her aunts’ home but I’m sure both baby and puppy will adjust and get used to each other in time.

I’m looking forward to finishing my report card comments this week and doing some more art assignments from Carla Sonheim’s 365: A Year Long Class.

A Week of Art, Knitting and Play

Posted on by
4

….starting with a visit and an open house on New Year’s Day

What a great way to bring in the New Year. Visiting a long time friend and catching up over wine and cheese and then going to a New Year’s open house at another friend’s house directly across the street from where we live. More wine and nibbles and great conversation, catching up with the news in the neighbourhood. Thank goodness I was able to walk to both venues and didn’t have to worry about driving.

On Sunday, I started participating in a new year-long on-line art class with Carla Sonheim. The interesting thing about this class is that Carla posts a new video every day for 365 days. I was hesitant to sign up for another class but I knew I would miss it if I didn’t. So far I’m not disappointed. The videos can be short mini lessons on techniques, supplies, quotes from celebrities and interviews from other artists. So far we’ve had a lesson on making your own cloud stencil, a quote from Alan Alda, an interview from Carla’s nephew who is a clown, a photography assignment, a blind contour assignment, a glue resist lesson and a lesson on quinacridone paints. I haven’t even checked out todays class.

It’s very interesting how some of the other 400 plus students interpret each video. Even when there isn’t an assignment many of them, including myself, play with the concepts from the videos and create a piece of art. My son sent me a small journal and I’ve been painting and drawing in it every day since the class started. It won’t be long before this one is filled and I’ll start on the other one another friend from school gave me.

I’ve also been knitting on my knitting looms. For my daughter’s birthday I knit her a large infinity scarf to match the hat we gave her for Christmas and I knit my granddaughter a hat and a small neck warmer. On Thursday I drove to Hamilton and brought my looms with me. While Winnie was sleeping I taught my daughter how to use the looms and left her one to make another hat. I even knit Winnie a little pot holder for her little kitchen.

When Winnie woke from her nap we played together while her mom and dad prepared lunch for us. She’s at the age where she likes to play peek-a-boo but she runs to hide behind a table or chair and then peeks out to see if I’m watching. When she wasn’t running she did sit with me for a minute and I read part of a book. After lunch we dressed up warmly and went for a walk over to James St. N. to look for fabric for a quilt that G wants to make and then to another store where she had a gift certificate from her birthday that she wanted to spend.img_0840

On Saturday I finally took down our Christmas tree and vacuumed up all the needles. I also put together the organizing unit that J gave me for Christmas and I’ve already filled it with my art supplies. I have one more shelving unit to assemble for my pens. Already my drawing table is much neater and ready for more art projects.

Today I’m hoping to get to the ROM to see the Chihuly exhibit. It’s the last day so I may not be able to get in but it’s worth a try. I still have a lot to do around the house and even though I had two weeks off it seems I never get to the mundane things like cleaning my bedroom. Having said that though, I did have a lot of fun and spent time with family and friends.

Cheers!

Nature Art at Camp Kawartha

Posted on by
3

….environmental messages from our grade 5s

Last week I spent 3 days in the Kawarthas with 59 grade 5 students.  The days were filled with great learning opportunities about the environment, survival practices from the past, games played by indigenous peoples and songs sung around the campfire. Most of the activities were outdoors and involved scavenger hunts, archery, night hikes, fire making and a game of survivor amongst herbivores, omnivores and carnivores. During free time the students could continue playing outside or pick up one of many games that were available to them in the lounge.

Every meal, students took turns setting the tables, serving the food and cleaning up, including washing the dishes using the large industrial dish washer. There was lots of food (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack) and no one needed to go hungry. The kitchen was impressed with how much salad this group ate.

After supper two of us were responsible for organizing hour long activities for the students to participate in before the evening program began. I took on the role of planning an art lesson. During the day I had students pick up things from the ground to use in a nature collage. Days before the trip I cut up about 80 pieces of cardboard to use as our background material and I brought bags of magazines and pieces of assorted papers.

I instructed the students to come up with a piece of art that gave some kind of message about protecting our environment from global warming or saving wildlife from poaching and/or loss of habitat. They were free to use any of the materials that I brought and the things that they found in the forest. The students were completely engaged and came up with some very interesting  works of art. Here is a sampling of their creativity.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.