….Sue Llewellyn’s weekly challenge
For more photos with this week’s word challenge, orange check out http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2014/05/31/a-word-a-week-photograph-challenge-orange/
…..for a recent art assignment I had to use these eyes any way that I saw fit
Week 11
For more odd ball photos check out Cee’s Odd Ball Photo Challenge – week 11.
Sue Llewellyn over at Word in Your Ear has challenged us again with the word ‘watch’.
When I first saw the word I didn’t think of the verb but rather the noun. Seeing that I don’t have any pictures of watches I had to look for pictures of people, animals or things in the act of watching. I think you may find some of these amusing.
For more photos featuring the word watch head on over to Sue Llewellyn’s site.
….an exhausting couple of days
Yesterday my grade 5 class finished, continued and started their abstract paintings. It was a crazy art class with 30 students all working on canvases and acrylic paint. It was the first time that the boys made less mess than the girls and they were really focused on their work. The girls on the other hand were silly, messy and a little too free with the amount of paint they used.
Just as we were ready to start, an announcement for grade 5 boys and girls who were interested in trying out for shot put were called to go outside. All of a sudden about half the class left. The remaining half were pleased to have more space but it didn’t last long because after about 20 minutes the students returned.
A half hour later we were well into our paintings and wouldn’t you know it we had a fire drill. A few girls were literally up to their elbows in paint and I had to quickly cover their hands with towels as we made our way outside. I have to admit that I totally lost it with these girls, who are normally very responsible students but for some reason they turned into 5 year olds yesterdays.
When we returned to class we had another 20 minutes to work and then it was time to clean up. We started clean up a little earlier because last time we didn’t give ourselves enough time. A couple of girls volunteered to clean the paint palettes and they quickly went into my office where I have the only sink in the room. The boys quickly cleaned up their tables and put away their paintings.
The girls in the office seemed to be taking a long time to clean and when I went into my office I was assaulted with a mess like I’ve never seen before. The bell was about to sound off so I sent them to the bathroom to clean themselves. I didn’t really appreciate how bad the mess was until I tried to organize it. I found an empty bin and put all the dirty palettes and brushes into it and then cleared the counter and emptied the sink. There was paint everywhere….. the backsplash, counter, drying rack, cupboard doors and the floor. Even my kettle was covered with blue paint. I spent the next 20 minutes just clearing the paint from the sink.
I had to stop cleaning when my kindergarten class came to the library for a story and when one of my colleagues arrived to continue with the class I went back to my office and cleaned for another half an hour. When the bell at the end of the day went off I went outside to do bus duty and when I came back I worked another hour cleaning. I left the brushes to soak and I bagged the dirty towels to take home and launder.
Today it rained all day which means that the kids had indoor recess all day. It was also voting day in the library. For the last four months we’ve been reading a selection of books written by Canadian authors. The program is called The Forest of Reading and at the end of April students across Ontario vote for their favourite books. Last week the entire school voted for their favourite English picture book and today the French Immersion students voted for their favourite French picture book. The older students (grades 3 to 5) belong to a book club that I run with the help of the staff and today was their day to vote for their favourite fiction, non-fiction and French books. Students came down during recess today and filled in a ballot and deposited it into the ballot box. A busy day.
By lunch time today the students were very restless and very loud. As I get older I find the noise unbearable and it makes me very grumpy. My class after lunch was no exception and after 3 warnings I told them they weren’t allowed to speak at all and they had to use sign language to communicate. I don’t know why it works but it was quiet in the art room for the next minutes. When they got too noisy again I insisted on the no talking rule again and once again it was quiet. This class was working on their weaving projects and they managed to get a lot done.
After recess I went to one of the kindergarten classes to pick up the class and take them back to the library so that they could vote for their favourite book. Like the rest of the school this class was busy and chatty but because I was changing up the routine they were anxious to clean up and see what they would do next. I explained to the class that when we walked to the library we were going to do some exercises to get our muscles moving and we were going to do it quietly. It was like a game of moving Simon Says. We organized the children into a line and I started doing lunges, high steps and large arm movements as we made our way to the library. One day I figured that it is about a 200 metre walk from the kindergarten rooms to the library. By the time we got to the library our hearts beat a little faster, especially mine and the children got rid of them of their pent up energy.
For the last period of the day I had the grade 5 class that I had for art yesterday. After voting I sat them down and complimented the boys for their cooperation and neatness during art and we discussed the problems that we encountered before, during and after the fire drill. I think the girls were a little uncomfortable when they realized that they were part of the problem yesterday.
At the end of the day my library helpers came in to help me clean a few more palettes and brushes, put away books, organize the shelves and count the votes. Before I left I was able to email the results of the votes to the Ontario Library Association. Tomorrow I’ll probably discover that a class forgot to vote or students who have been away want to vote. Oh well. C’est la vie!
Here are a few more finished abstract paintings and three finished weavings. When I see students’ finished work I can’t stay angry for long. In the end it all seems worthwhile.
….it was such an honour to be one of three blogs featured for last week’s challenge
http://ceenphotography.com/2014/04/27/cees-odd-ball-photo-challenge-week-9/
This week I’ve chosen three photos that I took when I was in Calgary back in March. We took a walk downtown and my sister and brother-in-law took us to a couple of their favourite gift/art stores. They were full of wonderful works of art and artifacts from all over the world. Here are three of my favourite pieces; an odd looking duck, a painting of a steer done on metal and a sculpture made from water bottles.
….they say that stripes are worn by very organized people but if worn in the wrong direction they can also emphasis areas of your body that you should probably minimize
Here’s my tribute to stripes. For more photos featuring stripes go to Nadia Merrill Photography.
….another challenge from Sue Llewellyn
….even the boys are enjoying this activity
We’re finally all working on the same project. We started with a paper loom so that everyone could experiment with different materials and weaving patterns. Once the paper loom was finished I gave each student a sturdy piece of cardboard and they each made their own loom. Students were encouraged to bring in yarn, fabric, lace and ribbon to create their wall hangings. I also had a lot of fancy yarns, raffia and trims that they were welcome to use.
The kids are really excited about this project. I’ve even taught a fair number of them how to finger knit. I think there are more boys then girls who are incorporating knitted chains into their weaving. A lot of the projects are about half finished but I thought you might like to see how they’re progressing.
…..after some reluctance on their part and some encouragement on my part they really started to enjoy the process
When I introduced abstract art using charcoal I had a few students who cringed at the thought of using charcoal. They thought they had an option and could choose something else. Not so. I told them I wanted them to experience the versatility that charcoal offered. After some hesitation they started to get into it and when I showed them some techniques, such as smudging the lines and erasing some of the dark areas, they started to enjoy the process.
I have to admit I was never really interested in using charcoal myself never mind teaching children how to use it. After taking the course with Karine Swenson I discovered that I really enjoyed this medium. Here are a some of the samples that students produced.
Do you love to dance, sing, write, sculpt, paint, or debate? What’s your favourite way to express yourself, creatively?
People who have been following me for awhile know that I love to paint and experiment with new art forms. I loved drawing when I was in elementary school, especially when one of my teachers took the time to teach us about perspective and shading. It opened a whole new world for me.
The unfortunate part is that once I went to high school I no longer took art classes. There was no room in my timetable for it. I knew at an very early age that I wanted to be a Family Studies teacher. That meant taking a lot of science classes in high school and of course my one and only elective I had went to Family Studies classes.
Once I started teaching I spent the next 17 years working side by side with the art teachers because we shared an open concept space or were only separated by a door. At the time all middle school students took Unified Arts, which included visual art, shop and family studies. I loved watching the creative process that happened in all three disciplines but I didn’t venture outside my own comfort zone and try my hand at woodworking or painting.
Once my own children approached adulthood the yearning to paint grew stronger and in my late 40s I took my first art class. I loved it. I started with folk art and then moved on to watercolour. In recent years I’ve experimented with acrylics and just recently tried oil painting. This year past I also took a pottery class and loved that as well and last week I attended a 6 hour workshop on dyeing fabrics with indigo dye and of course I’m crazy about that too.
As you can see I need to try new things all the time. Recently I took on the job of teaching art to grades 2 to 5 along side my library duties. I have the best job, books and art. What a perfect combination.
Here is a small sampling of some of the art forms I’ve played with:
Mama Cormier 