Outback Landscape

Shaun H

We're still on our Christmas (Summer) holiday break here in Australia, but here is one of the projects my kids did with Lee (my wonderful friend who taught the classes for me while I was away at the end of last year.)

The kids created a collage of torn newspaper trees on a black background, and finished them with oil pastel. They have a real Fred Williams feel to them :)

These are particularly relevant to us now, while we are experiencing unusually extreme temperatures of up to 40C (even as high as 45C out at Birdsville earlier in the month!). For those of you who work in Fahrenheit I think that's 104 - 113. Very very hot!

Needless to say the fire danger is high, and bush fires have been ravaging many parts of the country.

Collections, or Hello Spain and Portugal!!

Sapa - Vietnam

I'm not really a conscious collector - my collections just seem to evolve slowly over time. I get something here and there - and when I turn around I find it's morphed into a collection!

When I was in Vietnam a few years ago, I saw some gorgeous miniature dolls in Sapa - tourist stuff, but cute and decorated with (I like to think) local fabrics. I thought they'd make nice Christmas tree decorations, and they were less than 50c each (I could have gotten them much cheaper, but I can't bring myself to bargain when the starting price is so ludicrously cheap, and the seller so obviously needs to make a sale!) so I bought half a dozen. Then in Hue I found some blue and white china eggs, in Cambodia a little stuffed elephant from a shop supporting people with disabilities.... and a collection was born!

Now wherever we travel, a Christmas Tree decoration is always on the list! (That and ducks, but that's another story :)) Decorating the tree has taken on a whole new meaning, as we can't help but remember where each one was purchased....

Here are just few of our favourite Christmasy keepsakes ....

Beading from  Borneo

Hand made angels from Malacca

Made by people with disabilities - Phnom Penh

Palm leaves from Siem Reap - Cambodia

Cloisonne from Singapore & Hong Kong

Papier Mache from Varkala - Kerala, India

So tomorrow we are off to Portugal and Spain! SO EXCITED!! I've been avidly following a few excellent of blogs by some Portuguese and Spanish art teachers - I just love the festivals and celebrations they seem to have in such abundance (or so it seems to me, coming from a relatively young country that has very few festivals, and nothing on the scale of these!) They are such a marvelous source of artistic inspiration.

I know it is possible to post from your phone, and while I do have a smart phone I'm just not that tech-savvy yet! So while I'd love to regularly update with pics from the Prado in Madrid, the Dali Museum in Figueres, or Park Guell in Barcelona (I can't believe we will be there in just a couple of days!!) I'm afraid it's not going to happen!
Maybe on the next trip :)

My very good friend Lee will be teaching my classes while I'm away. I know I'm leaving my kids in the best of hands!

So you won't be hearing from me for a couple of months...... If I find something lovely to add to my collection I'll share on my return!

More Storms at Sea

Charlie S

These are the last of our oil pastel Storm Pictures. Go to my previous post to see how we created them.

I have been so pleased, during our art shows which conclude our lessons, to hear comments that relate to the techniques we've been practicing.
"I like the way this artist has blended the colors in the sky to get a stormy effect."
"I like the way this artist has used curved lines to show the energy."

Bronte B

Bella G

Sophie K

 

I just had to include this great paper sculpture made by Joe, one of my talented year 7 students. He cuts and folds small rectangles of paper, assembling them into intricate sculptures. This one is a cobra. Isn't it fantastic?

'Cobra' by Joe F

Storm at Sea in Oil Pastel

Emma M

It is coming into the storm season here in Queensland - as we move into summer, afternoon storms become common, and later in the season Cyclones become more likely. Living at Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast, one of my favourite things is watching the afternoon storms sweep in from the ocean. As the sky blackens, sometimes the sun breaks through to bathe the ocean and land below in heightened brilliant color.

Image from Pinterest - source unknown

When I found the oil pastel 'Sailboats in Stormy Seas' by Floriada artist Chris Jeanguenat, I knew it would be the perfect inspiration for an oil pastel lesson (Reproduced with the artist's permission).

Sailboats in Stormy Seas: Chris Jeanguenat

We started by looking at photographs and a discussion about storms - the power and energy, and what sorts of lines (diagonal, curved, jagged) we might use to convey that. We also quickly discussed what might be in the foreground (waves? a rocky pier?), middle distance (boats?) and background (ocean? a headland with buildings? an island?) and how we might simplify these shapes into stylized form.

Students mapped out their compositions using large stylized shapes using black oil pastels. For this picture I have them start with the foreground and move backwards into the picture overlapping shapes as they go.

Only then did we really look at the oil pastel example by Chris Jeanguenat. I deliberately try not to show examples too soon, as many children think that this must be the 'right' way, and while I want them to draw inspiration, I don't want them to copy. Looking at the artist's picture, we talked about the artist's use of color - using at least 2 related (close) colors in each area, with overlapping, layering and blending. We also noticed the lovely contrast between the dark stormy colors of the sky and the brighter, lively colors of the boats and the sea.

Students used oil pastels to color their pictures, while I circulated, reminding them of the key points. Finally, they use black oil pastel to further delineate the main shapes. When think they are finished I encourage them to  view their work from a distance, thinking about the key points and to see if they have achieved the stormy effect.

April K

Charlotte Y

Claire B

Well done everyone!!!

More Clay Gremlins

Clay Gremlins - Thursday Group

The last of our 'Naughty and Nice' Clay Gremlins.
Check my previous posts to see how we made them and how we finished them.

Naughty & Nice Gremlins - Friday Group

Initial Adventure Playgrounds 2

Kristen C

Amy H

Cheyennyn B

Caillou D F

Kate P

The last of our Adventure Playground pictures - go to my previous post Initial Playground & The Happiest Accident to see more.

Initial Playground & The Happiest Accident

Alexander K

Painting our Gremlin sculptures takes just over a half lesson, which leaves me with about 30 minutes.....

One thing all of my kids seem to love is the adventure playground. Even my year 7s often ask if they can play on the equipment during the break (sorry guys, since many kids choose to work through the break I can't be there to supervise, so it's not going to happen!)

Students start by drawing their initials large on the page, with a horizon line (if I'm especially strapped for time I will do this part prior to the lesson). Their task is to create an adventure playground using their initials as the support structure. The idea for this lesson was inspired by this idea from THe ARt Cart, many thanks!

Before they begin we brainstorm ideas - starting with usual things like swings and monkey bars, and progressing quickly to rock climbing walls, water slides, roller coasters, flying foxes and bungee jumping as their imaginations take hold!

To encourage spontaneity we are drawing directly with black biro - no pencils and erasers (to the shock/horror of many, but they are getting used to it :)  I encourage lots of detail and the inclusion of children playing on the equipment. We also have a small side discussion about the difference between using stick figures as the basis of small action figures and lazy-drawing stick figures.

Students may choose to leave their designs as black and white, or to add selective splashes of color using crayon.

Although I've used this as a 'filler' short lesson, I really like the creativity involved. There's lots of talking, but as I walk around the room what I hear is lively on-task chatter about what they are drawing, and I'm torn in different directions by kids eager to share their ideas with me.

Jake, a preppy, has put toilets at the top of his letter J, but seriously explains that if someone was too old (I think he means me!) to climb the rope ladder they could climb the rock wall on his second initial, climb over the spiky arrow things, and jump across the big gap to the toilets. Don't you just love it? (Sad that I didn't get a picture of that one!)

Another student (year 3) said to me today - "Elizabeth! I just had a Happy Accident!!"
Now keep your imaginations in check and don't laugh! - this is a genuine breakthrough for this boy, who is usually devastated when things don't turn out 'just right.' I am SO proud of him! :)

A fun lesson that inspires creativity and encourages acceptance of 'happy accidents' with a smile!

Teddy H

Juliana K

Lilly H

Mayah K

The Storm

I'm watching the world news this morning, and seeing the devastating effect of Sandy on the Northeast.  We are prone to Cyclones in my part of Australia, so I know something of the destructiveness of these storms - this one surely surpasses anything we have experienced in my memory. To all my blogging friends who found themselves in the path, we're thinking of you - I hope and pray that you and yours are well!

Finshed Clay Gremlins

Clay Gremlins - Monday Group

Our clay Gremlins are finished.....
To see how they were created, go to my previous post 'Naughty & Nice Gremlins.'

'Nice' Gremlin, spray painted bright copper.

After kiln firing to bisque, I spray painted them with Bright Copper metallic spray paint, and attached their clay feet to their ribbon legs. Students have a free hand in painting their Gremlins using house paint - they may paint the whole sculpture, or simply add highlights and patterns to the copper base as they choose. I do suggest that they might like to add pattern to the feet, to make them 'belong' to the sculpture as a whole.

Clay Gremlins - Tuesday Group

Clay Gremlins - Wednesday Group

 Our finished Gremlins are magnificently scary!

Pumpkins Sing Halloween!

I've never re-posted before, but Mrs T at Mrs T's Art Page has just put out this link to a really fun Halloween video clip...

Jammin Pumpkins

Halloween is just starting to take on here in Oz - love the costumes and halloween holiday posts I'm seeing everywhere right now.
Happy Halloween!!

 

Pastel 'Marbled' Paper & Silhouettes 2

Cheyennyn B (Year 7)

Amy H (Year 7)

Zara B (Year 4)

James R-S (Year 5)

Hannah Y (Year 2)

Taleeha B (Year 2)

Maddy W (Year 4)

Mayah K (Year 5)

Juliana K (Year 1)

Kaiden S (Year 3)

Macy E (Year 3)

Continuing the lesson sequence using a marbling technique with soft (chalk) pastels...

Because I have 5 after-school classes (each at different schools,so each lesson is repeated 5 times) - I  adapt and modify the lesson each time I teach it (to ensure we finish on time... to make delivery a little smoother.... to include another idea.... to maintain my own enthusiasm... all sorts of reasons!)

I have loved this project! It's so effective, fun to implement, and has the added bonus of using the left-over scraps of soft pastels lurking in my cupboard that I just haven't been able to bring myself to throw out - because 'one day' I might find a use for them! Well 'one day' has arrived!!!

I have made only one small modification to the original lesson - instead of the children scraping the soft pastels onto the water tray (which is very difficult for the prep children - we accidentally dropped a lot of pieces into the water!) I have pre-crushed the pastels into plastic pots with a perforated lid. This means that the kids can shake the soft pastel dust onto the surface of the water with much more control.

The end result is a better coverage of pastel on the water (and therefore on the page), and it is far more manageable for the younger students. This method also saves a lot of time, so that the whole lesson becomes very do-able in the hour and a half I have with them.

With both methods there is an (I think a lovely) unpredictability to the process. Small air bubbles trapped between the water and the pastel powder burst when you pull the paper off the water. They actually form lovely organic fractal-like white spots in the color... I've made a bit of a thing about how beautiful they are to stop kids using their fingers to smear wet color over what they perceive to be mistakes!

Pastel scraped onto water

Pastel pre-crushed and shaken onto water