Below is a link to my presentation on art therapy relating to people with learning disabilities. All references are included in the slides.
Month: April 2017
My Evocative Object
Below is my evocative object, the paragraph about my object and the finished art piece.
A vast amount of time.
Infinite.
What could I achieve? Who will I be?
In an infinite amount of time will the world be the same?
We might fly around on hover boards, zooming through the sky.
An infinite amount of time is a lifetime. A lifetime full of happiness, sorrow, love and hope.
A life lived to the fullest.
To infinity and beyond.
I choose to combine my words into the infinity symbol by writing the words in the shape of the symbol and in the middle.
Kelvin-grove Art Gallery
“Museums inspire powerful and identity-building learning in children, young people and community members“
(DCMS, 2003-2004)
This week’s session took place in Kelvingrove art gallery in Glasgow. I had never been to this particular art gallery so it was a fantastic experience. We were able to take part in various workshops and activities while visiting that are widely available to primary classes across the country.
One particular activity which I found to be interesting if doing with children was the feely bags. We had to put our hand into the bag and feel an object whilst looking at the painting ‘Still Life’ by David Horn, and find the object in the painting. This activity is great to stimulate a child’s imagination as they are using multiple senses, not just their sight. This also introduces children to a wider range of vocabulary when describing objects. Activities like this would engage children more than just looking at a painting, especially children who are more ‘hands-on’ learners.
We then proceeded to take part in creating a drama performance, using the painting ‘Windows in the West’ as our stimulus. The class worked as one big group and chose a scene from one of the windows to act out. I thought this was a great idea as there were so many different options for different types of dramas that could’ve been created, due to the wide variety of artwork throughout the gallery. This could even be related to a class topic such as the Ancient Egyptians, as there are many exhibits and displays in Kelvingrove, as well as artwork.
According to DCSM (2003-2004) museums “Target and motivate disadvantaged individuals and groups effectively”. This is something which I have witnessed while on placement. There was a child who struggled to focus and stay on task, however, when it cames to the arts he excelled and engaged fully. Therefore, visiting an art gallery would be hugely beneficial for this child as he could explore, imagine and create the arts in a practical manner.
References
- DCSM (2003-2004) Inspiration, Identity, Learning: The Value of Museums. [Online] Available: http://moodle.uws.ac.uk/mod/folder/view.php?id=715071 [Accessed 5 April 2017]
Learning through OUTDOOR LEARNING
This week, we had to incorporate a piece of art material into the outdoor environment surrounding the university. We were instructed that we could take any materials that we wished to create our art piece. This is a good technique to use with children as it provides them with a choice and the teacher is not limiting the child’s creativity. This type of activity would be great for children as their outdoor environment can be a stimulus for them and give them more creative opportunities than they would have inside a classroom.
“Education that focuses on the built environment and public art can contribute to young people’s intellectual, emotional and social development as well as their moral and cultural well-being” (Adams, E. 2008)
My group choose to use string to create our art piece, in both pink and purple shades. To create our piece we started to wrap the string around some fencing in a triangle shape to create a bridge-like appearance. This type of activity would teach the children that art does not have to be a painting or sculpture but can be anywhere using a stimulus such as an environment and emotions.
Below is the before and after pictures of the surroundings.
The contrast in colours made the piece stand out. Although my group felt that the piece was “not very good”, this illustrates that there is no right or wrong in art, there is only creativity. This is a vital lesson for children to learn as they can fully express themselves without concern.
References
- Adams, E. (2008) Art and Design Education and the Built Environment. In Coutts, G. and Jokela, T. (Eds) Art, Community and the Environment: Education Perspectives. Bristol: Intellect
Learning through STEAM
During this week’s session, we looked at the concept of turning STEM programmes into STEAM. Personally, through placement experience and my own school experience, a lot of schools are encouraging and using STEM projects, to get children more engaged with science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This is an attempt on the schools part to prepare children for the rise in jobs in these fields in the future.
Even though highlighting these particular areas will provide children with great opportunities to excel in these fields, there are other skills and qualities that are vital for a child’s development, such as creativity and innovation. This is where STEAM comes in.
Adding the arts into STEM education “removes limitations and replaces them with wonder, critique, inquiry and innovation.”
(Education Closet, 2017)
Below is a TED talk about why the integration of art into STEAM is so vitally important.
“In my opinion, I have always felt that the arts and science go hand and hand, as the two are related in many ways. Being a musician I appreciate that being able to read music is a mathematical process in itself. Many mathematicians were also musicians, such as Albert Einstein.”
(Bailey, D. and Borwein, J. 2016)
Although, through my own placement experience, I have not seen much of the STEAM project I am particularly interested in the implementation of it. I believe that it is a crucial component of a child’s development and should be present in every school.
References
- Bailey, D. and Borwein, J. (2016) Why are so many mathematicians also musicians? [Online] Available: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-h-bailey/why-are-so-many-mathemati_b_9814796.html [Accessed 9 April]
- Education Closet. (2017) What is Steam? [Online] Available: http://educationcloset.com/steam/what-is-steam/ [Accessed 9 April 2017]
Learning through PRINTMAKING
Printmaking is a great way for pupils of all ages to experiment and explore visual art.It can be applied throughout the key stages, adapted to suit different levels of ability and can encompass almost any theme or curriculum area.
Learning outcomes for printmaking include: problem solving, teamwork, communication, listening, personal reflection, debating, being objective and critical, developing own visual language and artistic interpretation. Printmaking can also develop literacy skills through encouraging critical and expressive use of language in response to the student’s observations.
Due to the ‘hands-on’ nature of printmaking, pupils will naturally develop fine motor skills. From pulling ink with a squeegee, to carving into lino, they are nurturing dexterity and the capability to manipulate materials. This hands-on approach also means pupils have a direct connection to the work they create, they can see their creations unfold before them which can often feel quite magical.
“The exploration and fascination with the endless possibilities of printmaking are at the core of my work with children. The idea that there are no wrong turns and no mistakes opens up a whole new way of working and creating which is something I truly believe in.”
Sally Gilford, Artist and Screen-Print Specialist
Printmaking is an activity which many teachers avoid due to the ‘mess’ that can occur. However, it is a fun and engaging way of teaching children a new skill.
During this session, we were able to use our evocative object to create a print. We were to focus on a specific aspect of our object and draw this in order to create our print. Once we had chosen the area we were focusing on, we had to carefully sketch an outline using a ball-point pen. Children may find this difficult as if they make a mistake they can not rub it out but must continue on with their piece of artwork. This teaches children that in life everything can not be perfect but we can still make something beautiful out of it.
Below are images of the task being implemented.
References
- Moodle.uws.ac.uk. (2017). 1617_EDUC08027_01. [online] Available at: http://moodle.uws.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=709049 [Accessed 6 Apr. 2017].
Learning through ANIMATION
Before todays session, if someone would have asked me what animation was I would have answered cartoons. This is a common answer for people of this generation or later. Animation is a filmmaking technique where illusion of motion is created frame-by-frame. The word comes from Latin word, ‘anima’ meaning ‘life’ or ‘soul’.
Animation can be traced back to sequences of images used to decorate the walls of Egyptian tombs. Since then, the quest of capturing motion has been a common theme for artistic endeavour and its applications are diverse, ranging from motion pictures and games to medicine and scientific simulation.
This method of art is especially beneficial for visual learners who are motivated by pictures and sound and prefer to express themselves in this medium rather than through traditional methods. Animation gives pupils the opportunity to develop visual literacy skills and build problem-solving skills.
Through this session I was able to create an animation using sand. This method is time consuming but will teach pupils patience and how to look at the tiny details of things in order to create something beautiful. My group decided to create a story about finding love.
Below is some pictures of the process.
Through patience and paying attention to detail we were able to create a short animation. To create the look of continuous film, we had to create a picture in the sand and take around 25 pictures per frame. Below is the animation we created. Unfortunately, the file with the video is not supported by this blog, therefore a screenshot of the video has been inserted.
References
Evocative Objects
“Theory enables us, for example, to explore how everyday objects become part of our inner life: how we use them to extend the reach of our sympathies by bringing the world within.”
Today was our first insight into this module and we spent some time going over what we were to expect from the module and the different areas that we will be covering. The following passage gives a summary of the module.
In general this module will give expression to our understanding of the role of the arts and culture in society. Through this module, learners’ intellectual, personal and social development will be enhanced. Learners will also be provided with opportunities to experience group and partnership working.
In today’s session with Diarmuid, we spent time going over each individuals evocative object and the meaning behind it, which makes it so special. An evocative object is something which holds significant meaning to the person, not necessarily anyone else. It is a personal emotion, feeling or memories for that individual.
Some peoples evocative objects were small, large and some were common household objects or instruments. This illustrates that anything can provide you with a memory or emotion if it has a story. In my case, I choose to bring in a bracelet as my evocative object. This simple bracelet has a powerful and emotional story behind it, which makes it the perfect evocative object. This was a bracelet that my great-grandfather gave to me before he sadly passed away. My sister, cousin and myself all received this infinity bracelet as he stated that “the bond family shares is ever-lasting.” This expression and the infinity symbol has stuck with me throughout my life and holds a special place in my heart.
After everyone had explained the story behind their evocative object Diarmuid displayed a book containing several evocative objects within it entitled “26 treasures”. This book included several objects with stories attached to it, 62 words or less. Diarmuid instructed us that he would like us to write our own creative passage for our object. He stated that we must not think about what we are writing must just do it! Let the words flow on the page.
Below is the page in my notebook where I expressed my creativity on my object.
References
- Simmons, J. (2012). 26 treasures. 1st ed. London: Unbound.
- Turkle, S. (2011). Evocative objects. 1st ed. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
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