06/12/16 – Week 12
In week twelve of art, we looked at Room13. ‘In 1994, a group of students in Fort William, Scotland, set up an art studio in Room 13, Caol Primary School. They formed a management team, opened their own bank account and ran the studio as a business. They employed an Artist in Residence, bought in equipment and supplies, staged exhibitions, took on commissions, sold photographs, stationery and artworks to generate a profit and occasionally applied for grants to fund their ongoing activities’ (Room 13 International, 2012). Her are some of the photos which we were shown:
We sat and reflected on these images and the words which they contained. We then had a whole class discussion about our thoughts about the work and Room 13 and had a chat about work which could be created within mainstream schools. There were some models sitting around the room which we were in which we also discussed and spoke about how we could link artwork to topics and various subjects, taking a more cross-curricular approach to art. I think Room 13 is an excellent idea and it is a shame that every child does not get to experience it. These are the models which were sitting around the room which we discussed:
Reference
Our Story (2012) Available: http://room13international.org [Online] [Accessed: 30 December 2016].
22/11/16 – Week 10
This week in art we were using visual art cards. The cards were of an image and on the other side was a few explanations of what the picture may be about. Here is the card that I was given:
Before we turned the card over to read the explanation on the back, we had to consider process, form, content and mood of the picture on the front. We had to look at and consider all aspects of the image and how it made us feel. This is something that humans do not do regularly enough and I think that especially in this day and age, this is a skill that children should be encouraged to develop. Children should be encouraged to look at pictures and not be embarrassed to share what their feelings or thoughts are as there are no right and wrong answers. I found this activity very calming and think it is one which I would use in schools in the future.
15/11/16 – Week 9
In week nine of art, our sessions focus was on the famous tenements painting by Glaswegian artist Avril Paton.
Her painting is called “Windows in the West”, which shows the lives of those living in the tenement building directly across from her flat in Glasgow. Please find below a link which leads to a video of Avril Paton speaking about her painting: https://youtu.be/BVDRL6wsQYU
Throughout the rest of the workshop, we were given photographs of tenement buildings from which we then drew our own outline of a tenement building design.
Then, we used this outline as a template to cut into a piece of styrofoam to print with. We rolled coloured ink onto the styrofoam and then printed the design onto coloured paper, leaving a mono-print picture.
I enjoyed this session very much and was able to learn more of the Glaswegian artist Avril Paton and about her work. I also enjoyed using this form of media for printing. I think that this activity was fun and quite simple. It is definitely one task which I would consider using within schools as I think children would enjoy it and they would be learning about art that has been created very closely to their own home. This type of activity could also be applied to topics which they are learning about in class which would allow for a more cross-curricular lesson. ‘The challenge for art educators who support art integration is to fully delineate and promote art integration as the complex, dynamic practice it is so that those outside the field can see its potential’ (Marshall, 2015).
References
Marshall, J. (2015) Transdisciplinarity And Art Integration: Toward A New Understanding Of Art-Based Learning Across The Curriculum. [Online] Available: http://moodle.uws.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/715643/mod_resource/content/1/Transdisciplinarity%20And%20Art%20Integration%20highlighted.pdf [Accessed: 15 December 2016].
18/10/16 – Week 5
This week in art, we continued to paint. Firstly, we had a guest speaker, Isobel Laird, from the council, who spoke about integrating art in the classroom. She exhibited various pieces of artwork from different stages of learning, made up of various materials. From this I learned that art lessons do not have to consist of a single piece of work and that one project may potentially last for around six or eight weeks, the one project may combine fine art, design, photography etc.
In the workshop, Isobel guided us through a collage that could be completed over a few weeks in schools. Each stage could be adapted to suit levels ranging from early level all the way up to second level. First of all, we were provided with some photographs of various walls to gain inspiration from. Then, we drew a continuous line drawing of a washing line onto a small piece of paper and using water colour paint, we painted and designed the washing on the washing line. Next, we designed a wall on an A4 sheet of paper, using the limited colours available, forcing us to be experimental with colour. We then covered a bigger piece of paper with a wash of colours and Isobel told us to sprinkle salt onto our paintings as once they dried, it would give them a textured effect. Once dry, we tore the painted paper into strips and were able to make a skyline from it. We pieced the strips onto our creation by tearing and sticking our wall down and cutting and sticking the washing line on top.
By completing projects like this in schools, it would allow each child to have a completely different collage by the end of it, giving them a sense of achievement and allowing them to be proud of what they have created. This stimulus of this project was from a photograph in a book of a washing line, wall and landscape. Therefore, projects can be created from all types of stimuli and can be developed over a series of weeks, which may vary depending on the age group. This was an enjoyable lesson for myself as a learner and one which I feel would not be particularly difficult to teach. Also, I feel that it is vital that teachers give children these kinds of opportunities and allow them to be as expressive as they can be. Teachers should not strive to get children to merely copy art. They should be striving to inspire and guide their pupils imaginative, expressive and inventive with technique in art and design.
11/10/16 – Week 4
This week in art, we were painting using primary colours and unusual tools. We created our paintings in an unusual method also, as rather than paint from a visual stimulus, we painted from an audio stimulus. Our lecturer gave us a detailed account of an image that only he could see, which we had to paint, this included a sky, the sea, various surroundings, a lighthouse and a boat. We used handmade paintbrushes which all had different textures and three primary colors (Red, Yellow and Blue). This was an interesting way of creating our artwork and a harder way to create work, as we had a limited number of colours which we were trying to mix to create the shade we needed, we were using untraditional tools to paint the picture and we could not see the image and had to try and remember what was said.
The painting above is the painting which I came up with from the audio stimulus and the tool above is the ‘paintbrush’ which I used to create the image. After creating our own images, we went round the classroom and had the chance to view the work of others and see what different variations they came up with. Everyone’s pieces looked similar although they were all individual as different tools were used to create the pieces and the colours were mixed differently to make unique shades of colour. These are a few of my peers pieces:
27/09/16 – Week 2
In week two, we began the art workshop by looking at a story called ‘The Dot’, written and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. It is a picture book about a girl named ‘Vashti, who thinks she can’t draw. But her teacher is sure that she can. She knows that there’s creative spirit in everyone, and encourages Vashti to sign the angry dot she makes in frustration on a piece of paper. This act makes Vashti look at herself a little differently, and helps her discover that where there’s a dot there’s a way…’ (Reynolds, 2014). I think that this is very important and is something that every teacher should remember, especially when it comes to the arts. It is a subject for everyone and anyone.
I really enjoyed the story. I found it inspiring and thought that it would be very fitting to use within a school environment, to actually show children that anyone is capable of making art and also, to inspire them to be as creative as Vashti. ‘Children have a natural interest in shape, movement and location of objects, and have an innate desire to express emotions and communicate with others through visual representations’ (Cox et al., 2007).
We then began our own mark making. Each group had a board in the middle of their desk, we then put black paint on the board which we then rolled out with a roller. Then, we printed different parts of our hands and fingers in the layer of black paint and make various marks and printings on our own paper
We then looked at each mark to see if we could create a picture or turn the mark into something that it resembled, using a black fine liner pen. This required us to be creative and allowed us to see each mark in our own way. We also went on to make marks with a variety of objects such as lego, toy wheels and toy figures.
References
Cox, S., Watts,R., Grahame, J., Herne, S. and McAuliffe, D. (2007). Foundation and Primary Settings. In Teaching Art and Design 3-11. (Edited) London: Continuum.
Reynolds, P.H. (2004) The Dot (Creatrilogy). [Online] Available: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dot-Creatrilogy-Peter-H-Reynolds/dp/1844281698 [Accessed: 8 November 2016].
20/09/16 – Week 1
In week one, we had our first art lesson in the afternoon with Diarmuid McAuliffe.
In this lesson we looked at artwork made by children, some created over forty years ago. All of the paintings were displayed across the tables in the class. Arranged in terms of age to allow us to compare and discuss the work with our peers. It amazed me how well preserved the artwork was after such a long time and after thoroughly examining the pieces it was interesting to see the variety of resources used to create the work, from pencil alone to paints and oil pastels etc. One of the pieces we looked at (shown below) was by a boy called Richard, aged five. Richard painted a picture of a teddy bear, concentrating on its furry texture. I found it interesting to see how he has applied the paint to create this furry texture. It was one of the pieces which really stood out for me and at Richard’s age, he would fall into the ‘pre-schematic stage’ for art and design to help teachers inform their observations of children’s work.
This class made me consider how to take a cross-curricular approach to art by incorporating other lessons or topics when it comes to art in my own classroom. Diarmuid also highlighted the importance of us as teachers in the classroom and our ability to shape the art career’s of our students. I feel the lesson has also taught me that as a teacher it is essential to encourage creativity in the classroom and not merely allow children to always copy my own work or templates I provide for them.
References
McAuliffe, D (2007) Foundation and Primary Settings. In Teaching Art and Design 2-11 (Edited by Sue Cox, Robert Watts, Judy Grahame, Steve Herne and Diarmuid McAuliffe) London: Continuum.
