Called to Creativity

We are more than a few weeks in to second semester and great work is being produced.

Mixed Media class has completed projects related to both the Renaissance and Gothic art movements.  The Renaissance revolved around artwork used in religious environments and so we patterned our project in a triptych dealing with ideas about home, school and our faith.  During the Gothic time period manuscripts were considered artwork and so we have created a piece which included typography which communicates about a person or people in our lives.

Print and Photography class is busy developing black and white prints in our dark room and shooting images using film photography… this really teaches the students to control the camera and think before capturing an image.  We have also completed 2 handmade printmaking processes which include collograph and etching.  We will soon be headed into the vast world of digital photography and work on maintaining our own web-pages to hand in and store our images… exciting stuff!   In the next couple weeks we will be having 2 guest speakers in our classroom who use digital photography in different ways in their own lives.

Drawing class has completed 3 projects which include oil pastel still life, graphite realistic and we are just wrapping up pen & ink.  Next up we will be tackling self-portrait!

Painting class has worked on paintings dealing with still life done in the style of Richard Diebenkorn, as well as completing an abstract d.  Currently we are working on a watercolor painting that has to do with a subject which reminded the students of what is really important in their life.

That is a quick re-cap of our semester so far, be sure to check back soon when images have been added to our gallery!

It has been a while since the last update and part of the reason is we have been busy working in the art room.  The students are really into a groove now in how they come in to the classroom and work.

Intro class has been working on a painting project which incorporates color theory, 4 different painting styles and consideration of environmental composition… whew!  IT has a tough assignment with a lot going on within it and the students have done very well.

Ceramic class is busy on the wheel thrown pottery, an abstraction series and glazing finished bisque work.  The abstraction series involves 3 sculptures which address realism, minimalism and abstraction using clay, plater and mixed media.

Our independent class is really producing a lot of solid artwork which ranges from portrait oil painting, oil pastel drawing, and clay work

Take a look also at our “Discussion” page and view a 6 minute video about creativity in the educational setting, interesting thoughts!!!

We have been in the midst of a lot of work days in the Art room!

Intro students finished up their ceramic work last week and now I am getting things dried to fire.  They now are working on a drawing project of something they value.  I introduced a process of drawing to them that will hopefully be a basic skill in a variety of ways in their art projects to come.

Ceramic class is busy working on the wheel.  Many students are getting the hang of it while others are still facing the frustrating process of learning how to center their clay. Some days the students leave our room looking like they have been in a mud fight but the reality is they potter’s wheel may have won the battle. We have also been working on hand-built methods to create a vessel that has both sculptural and functional qualities.

Check out the various pages on this blog, new updates have been added!

Enjoy

This week has been wonderful!

Over the summer the Washington Pavilion has had an exhibition of Andy Warhol displayed in its Visual Art Center Gallery.  On Wednesday myself and 29 students had the opportunity to view this work.  It is a priveledge to have this caliber of work available for the us to view.  The students and I prepared for the day by looking briefly into the life and work of Andy Warhol.  As I believe most of the students would agree Andy Warhol might not be their most favorite art to view, the simple fact of seeing original art done by such a well-known artist was a big part of the day being a success.  Warhol lead the Pop Art movement which happened 50 to 60 years ago during the days of “old hollywood” as well as when commercialism & media were becoming big business.  His work begged to be looked at because of its vibrant and graphic colors but rarely dealt with more than what its superficial images depicted.  The students also got to experience how to conduct themselves in a gallery setting while listening to a docent, great experience for all!

After the Warhol exhibit we walked down to Philips Avenue where we had roughly an hour to take in the collection of sculptures on the Downtown Sculpture Walk for 2011.  We were blessed with wonderful weather, sunshine & mild temperatures.  If you ever have some time or are looking for a free activity within our city I highly recommend the sculpture walk.

In the classroom this week we have been busy with clay relief tiles and hand-built clay vessels done with coil or slab techniques.  So this means all 75 art students are working in clay currently!!!  Needless to say the kiln is going to be working over-time in the coming weeks.

In the next couple weeks I will be asking all my students to be adding to this blog under the “Creativity” page.  It is a goal of mine this year to focus on the wonder God has placed in all of us and really test the limits of creativity he gifted each of us with.  So be looking for some insightful entries to come.

I will leave you with a quote from “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan, “Whatever God’s reasons for such diversity, creativity, & sophistication in the universe, on earth, and in our own bodies, the point of it all is HIS GLORY.  God’s art speaks of Himself, reflecting who He is and what He is like.”

We had a great start to the school year in the art room last week!

In Intro. to Art we started looking at where lines are found in the world around us.  It is our goal to develop our eyes to tell our hands exactly what we see by working with contour drawing.

In Ceramics and Sculpture we began working on relief tiles.  The students are composing tiles that relate to something from nature and carving them out of a flat tiled surface.

Keep checking back to see what else is going on!

I am excited for this year and what is in store for us as we explore the gift of creativity.

This semester we will be using this blog as a way to display our artwork, discuss information, respond to each others ideas & thoughts as well as inform you about what is generally going on in room 304!

Look for some exciting things to come.