Flower Power

Throughout out art course this semester we kept a visual journal, a physical representation of our artistic journey. My visual journey incorporates many pieces, from painting to stamps to 3D pieces to simple sketches. Something that is recurring for me are flowers; for some reason when I places my tool on the page I have a reaction to draw flowers. I like to draw roses, flowers, petals, bouquets and more. There are many textures which can be portrayed through flowers; however, I also try to expand out of flowers and draw different shapes.

 

My drawings resemble nature walks

For my favourite inspiration, I often find myself doodling flowers and trees.  From rounded trees full of bushy leaves, stark winter branches to jolly evergreens.  Looking through my Visual Journal has various examples of trees, including paintings and drawings. Perhaps I long for a stronger connection with nature.  When I looked up what trees symbolized it said Beauty, Strength, Wisdom and Eternal Life.

Greening our art classrooms

Holistic perspectives
– Art helps us become one in ourselves. It helps us connect to our own minds and venture onto subject that create a positive atmosphere. Art helps students question themselves and how they are becoming into a better person every day. I will use this in my practice as a teacher to remind myself that students do need to connect with their mind, busy and spirit through each subject to fully grasp the meaning of learning.

Legislation
– This section spoke about how art is made too serious in elementary school and should be recognized more as a passion instead of an assignment. As well, teachers should give an amount of freedom to the students. For instance, not have everything cookie cut for them, but instead let them roam free and become true artists.

Organization
– Always consider health and safety within your classroom in the case of an accident happening. Therefore, if the classroom is organized the teacher and students will be able to find the first aid kit and help those in need. Having an organized classroom will also have the students become more independent due to them knowing where most of the objects or materials are.

Equipment safety
– Have safety guidelines within your classroom. For instance, do not take your classroom for granted, because anything can happen at any time. Be sure to protect your students by wearing appropriate clothing to specific activities and by double checking equipment to insure it is in a good working status.

Safe materials
– It is important to keep material in class that are safe and appropriate to be used by students. For instance, if we are using glue guns we should have a designated area to place them where students will use cautiousness.

I will take these all into mind when becoming a new teacher because it is extremely important to have all of these in the classroom. Safety is very important in the classroom, therefore when handling art supplies, students should be kept independent but aware of their surroundings.

Rachel Whiteread

Rachel Whiteread (CBE) is an English artist that primarily produces sculptures, typically in the form of casts. She was born in 1963 in Ilford, a town in East London, but raised until age 7 in the Essex countryside.  Her mother was also an artist, while her father was a teacher.  She studied painting at Brighton Polytechnic and sculpture at the Slade School of Fine Art and became interested in casting objects after taking a workshop on casting with sculptor Richard Wilson.  Her works often use industrial materials such as rubber, concrete and plaster. Some of her more popular works include House (1993), which is a large concrete cast of the inside of an entire Victorian house and the Judenplatz Holocaust Memorial (2000) in Vienna which resembles the shelves of a library with the pages turned outwards. Whiteread represented the United Kingdom at the 1997 Venice Biennale and created Monument for the empty plinth in Trafalgar Square in 2001. She was the first woman to win the Turner Prize in 1993 (the year she made House).

 

Embankment by Rachel Whiteread. Turbine Hall, The Tate Modern, Bankside, London. 12 November 2005

Embankment by Rachel Whiteread. Turbine Hall, The Tate Modern, Bankside, London. 12 November 2005. Photographer: Fin Fahey. CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=422277

Jessica Stockholder

American artist Jessica Stockholder currently lives and works in Chicago, Illinois as Chair of the Department of Visual Art at the University of Chicago.  She was born in Seattle, Washington in 1959 and studied painting at the Emily Carr before receiving her MFA from Yale University. She is a sculptor and installation artist that has had exhibitions in her home country of the USA, as well as throughout Europe. The website Art21 calls her work “energetic, cacophonous, and idiosyncratic.”  Her installations often challenge the boundaries of their sites – moving beyond the windows and doors, incorporating the architecture in unique ways by scaling the walls and carpeting the floors.  She has a particular fondness for colour and the use of unusual everyday objects as materials, some examples being bowling balls, laundry baskets and bales of hay.  She cites many artists as being inspirational to her development, from French impressionist/post-impressionist painters to Canadian Indigenous artists.

Born of Landscape Linoleum - 1999 - Middelheimmuseum

Born of Landscape Linoleum – 1999 – Middelheimmuseum By Sandra Fauconnier – Own work, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=59794494

Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun

Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun is a Vancouver based artist of Coast Salish and Okanagan descent who was born on 1957 in Kamloops, Canada. Yuxewelupton’s work consists of indigenous people and history which he incorporates into his contemporary art. His artwork has immense meaning behind it as he paints to contribute to his heritage as well as to let people know about the history of his people including the effects of colonialism. Something admirable about Yuxwelupton is that as a history painter sometimes he might not want to work on certain projects about certain times in history, but someone has to do it and he takes that upon himself.

Ted Harrison

Edward Hardy Harrison was born in 1926 in Wingate England, Ted Harrison is an artist who contributed to art and education for many years. Ted Harrison learned art and design during his college years, however his studies were interrupted by the second world war. Once his military services ended Harrison resumed with his art studies and received a diploma in design, the following year Harrison completed his B.Ed. Harrison traveled in different parts of the world until he immigrated with his family and settled in Yukon, Canada. Different parts of Canada (Yukon, Vancouver) has inspired much of his work and Harrison went on to put on expos as well. Harrison also won many awards for his contribution to Canadian culture.

Chapter 5 Summary

Chapter 5 “So how am I supposed to do it?” 2011

This chapter focused on the role of the art teacher, whether you are a designated art teacher or a general elementary teacher the chapter provided tips and insight to incorporate. “As a leader you plan for a variety of learning experiences and prepare the materials and resources for the initiation of the project, but also are prepared for the possibility that students may change the shape of the course and eventual outcome” (2001, pg. 50). This quote encompasses most of the key ideas from the reading; even though teachers are typically “leading” a classroom it is not necessary for there to be steps to follow, rather present the idea and see where it goes. This may seem unsettling for some teachers however when it comes to art we want to set the least number of boundaries for our students. This connects with the next key idea, which is that students learn to do by doing, art does not need to be perfect therefore, students should be allowed to learn about art through trials. Once an example is presented with or without instructions it sets standards which children may try to strive and result in frustration. This goes back to the quote, that art should be a free-flowing exercise as its results will vary between students and even change from the intention.

Teacher will have the opportunity to observe and acquire students’ talents, identities, challenges along with the skills and knowledge they will have developed over the course of the school year. The reading also talked about practice of reflection in action, it can be said that art should be valued for process over product, this can be an important value to take into practice as future art teachers. Some of us may not be artistic but that is okay, the process of art includes asking question and experimenting which can be of value for children. For instance, I am not artistic or very creative however I find the process of drawing very calming for me. Another key idea which teachers can take with them is to avoid too much information in the beginning of an art lesson, too much instruction and direction can cause resistance and frustration within children, to which may affect them when they get older. Instead teacher can try to go through an inquiry based learning, where students are provoked with questions about art works and art techniques. Teachers can also try to use storytelling, showcasing art work and imagination to build a connection between art and students.

Janet Morton

Janet Morton is a Canadian artist who is famous for her knitted sculptures, although she started out as a painter. Her artwork has been showcased in galleries internationally. She is most famous for enshrouding her entire house in a knitted cozy. Janet is also known for having installed Greco-Roman style columnar covers for the hydro poles in her hometown of Guelph. These particular pieces are a commentary on the surrounding subdivisions that are increasingly taking over the local farm land, and are generally not made to withstand the test of time, reflecting a short-term way of thinking about housing and neighbourhoods as disposable. Her more recent works incorporate bits and pieces of found objects like bottle caps and other detritus.

Brent Sparrow, Jr.

Brent Sparrow, Jr. is a contemporary Musqueam carver. He was born in 1970 to his mother, Susan Point, who is a renowned artist in her own right. Sparrow apprenticed with her and Kwakwaka’wakw artist John Livingston. We know his work well from the welcome post we walk past every day on our way to the Scarfe building. This particular post tells the origin story of the Musqueam people and how they got their name. This and some of his other carvings are acts of reconciliation, art works that are building relationships between indigenous and settler communities in the lower mainland. His work incorporates the stories and teachings of the Musqueam people, represented in traditional shapes and design elements.

 

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