Arts Explorer #10- Creative Arts Project

My group and I choose the Lion’s Foundation of Canada’s Guide Dog Program to focus on as we believed it was a form of social justice.  One of my group members volunteers with the program and had many wonderful things to say about it.  When we were first brainstorming ideas for the project she mentioned the program and the rest of us sat captivated while she told us about the dogs and the people they help and how much hard work and volunteer time goes in to raising and training these dogs.  We asked so many questions and were so involved in learning about the program we had no idea how much time had gone by.  It was obvious that we had found our topic.

The Dog Guide program has several components to it:

Canine Vision Dog Guides - for people who are blind or visually impaired
Hearing Ear Dog Guides - for people who are deaf or hard of hearing
Special Skills Dog Guides - for people with a medical or physical disability
Seizure Response Dog Guides - for people who have epilepsy
Autism Assistance Dog Guides - for children with autism

It is a wonderful organization because it gives people the opportunity to be independent and feel secure.  Although it costs over twenty thousand dollars to raise and train each dog they are given to people at no costs and the foundation makes sure that each owner and dog are a compatible match to create an ideal partnership.

You can find more information about their organization from their website:

http://www.dogguides.com/doghome.htm

After deciding on our topic we needed to figure out a way to spread the message.  One of my group members began talking about a video that she had found while surfing the web called “Useful dog tricks”. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9Fyey4D5hg

Turns out, most of the tricks that this dog could do were similar to the ones that special skills dogs could.  We thought, hey? What if a video like this had the message of guide dogs behind it?  The Useful Dog Tricks video has almost ten million views, and not only would that spread awareness; there can be money for the center generated by the advertisements.  We explained all of this to our classmates but our special surprised was a visit from Salem.  A special skills guide dog from the center that preformed some of his various skills (retrieving a dropped pencil case and barking after a small whisper of “help” for example) the class seemed to be pretty excited and wanted cuddles with Salem at the end of our presentation.  Which got me to thinking, this introduction and “show” is an excellent way to involve children in the experiences.  It’s also an excellent way of demonstrating the idea of shapes.

ART WORD OF THE WEEK: The element of    SHAPE

Guide dogs, for people who have visual impairment, guide them through the shapes that make up their communities, the grids of the roads, the rectangles that are stairs, the curves that are paths.  Classes could talk about and brainstorm different shapes they know in their communities and how dog guides would benefit individuals trying to navigate their worlds.

All in all I think our presentation went well.  Our class was pretty excited by Salem but we also had facts, statistics, and ideas to back up our presentation.  We were able to answer all questions and I’m proud of the work we did.  Here we are on presentation day:

Cuddle Time!

On the Job!

Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J.E. (2009). Art and creative development for young children (6th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar.

Arts Explorer #9: Gorilla Art

Gorilla art (also known as street art) is the concept of creating something and leaving it in public places to express (anonymously) your opinion.  Generally, gorilla art is done to spread positive energy through the community.  

A few years ago I was getting the mail out of my mail box when I came across a small piece of paper that had a picture of a smiling face and the words “Have a Happy Day”.  By looking at the writing and the technique of the drawing I was able to fathom that my four year old neighbour had made it for me.  I still have it in my room because it makes me smile.  Another thing that makes me smile is Spring.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the Winter and I love snow but towards the end of march (like most people living in Toronto) I am pretty sick of being freezing cold, so early this week when I spotted the first tulips in are garden beginning to poke through the soil I was ecstatic.  Both of these activities lead me to my Gorilla art idea.  Flowers!  I went on YouTube and found a video of how to make paper flowers.  Here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0uIIzTXvFk (it was pretty easy actually)

What is perfect about these flowers is that they have an inside pocket like area that you can place messages into.  I wrote “Spring has Sprung! Be Happy!” on the inside of mine to remind people to appreciate and take joy from the simple things in life.  I then dropped them into random people’s mailboxes.  Because of this, I was not able to document how they were going to respond to my message but I thought it would probably be similar to how I responded to my “happy day” note.

Here is what my flowers turned out like and also how I placed them in people’s mail boxes:

 

ART WORD OF THE WEEK: The element of BALANCE

I thought that this activity was a perfect way to talk about balance.  Schirrmacher and Fox (2009) describe an object of being balanced once “the picture (or object) is said to have equilibrium or harmony” (p. 143).  The whole concept of creating these paper flowers was so that they would be symmetrical (the narrator of the video continued to say something similar to “we will do the exact same thing on the opposite side”.  The only way a paper could come out looking like a flower (and make people happy- I hope) is to make sure that it is completely balanced and looks the same on each side.

Arts Explorer #8: What does magical thinking mean to you?

When I was little I was fascinated with having a pet rock.  I know that this was a very passé idea but I really loved the concept and I would collect rocks.  So when I saw this assignment (creating a world for an inanimate object to bring it to life) I instantly went to find a rock.  Meena is who I created and here she is!

Schirrmacher and Fox (2009) stated that texture “refers to the surface quality of a work of art”(p.144).  I created Meena so that she would have many different textures.  Her feathers are soft and the bottom is smooth.  Her eyes soft and easy to squish and the gold paint is hard and bumpy.  She is definitely a multi textual “pet” and I think that creating these with children would be an interesting and education experience.

ART WORD OF THE WEEK: The element of TEXTURE

All about Meena:Meena was actually born on Jupiter.  Her full name is Meenaluŵtackãaloutionżis but she decided this was too difficult for humans to pronounce so she shortened it to Meena.  She came to Earth (in her blue spaceship) on a scholarship to explore human traditions (especially our art culture as it is so extensive and interesting).  She plans to return home in 2015 to write a paper on her experiences. 

Meena is very shy and will often hide in rock gardens as well as shoes to escape being seen and spoken to by curious humans.  She loves the colour pink and especially loves spending time in gardens, smelling the flowers.  Meena’s culture back on Jupiter does not allow for any junk food, in fact Meena hates candy! She loves to eat lettuce and carrots and broccoli.  Because of this Meena is fascinated by our Food Network Cannel and especially loves the shows Cake Boss and Ace of Cakes because although she loves the beautiful sculptures they make she is completely repulsed by the “cake” substance.  It is all quite fascinating to her. 

When Meena does feel like socializing she often finds a dog to cuddle with and she especially loves calling her friends back home to find up what they are up too.  She spends a lot of time “on” the phone.

Meena is a lovable little creature who is very curios and loves to watch children play and adults’ converse.  If you want her to be happy, place her on a bookshelf, in a rock garden or inside your shoe and let her be. 

This is one of my favourite magical thinking children's story. 
Not A Box by Antoinette Portis
An awesome friend gave it to me last Christmas and I found a well done version of it on youtube. Check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KXuBcdmktY


Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J.E. (2009). Art and creative development for young children (6th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar.

Arts Explorer #7: Grocery Shopping With a Twist

The grocery store is somewhere where you can find an abundance of colours.  There is so much packaging that it would be difficult to find a colour that is not present.  Schimmacher and Fox (2009) state that “adult artists are consciously concerned with how the viewer will be affected by their choice of colour” (p.136).  This concern can be applied to directly to grocery shopping as I’m sure every single product has an advertiser behind it obsessing over every detail to ensure that you will purchase their item. 

ART WORD OF THE WEEK: The element of COLOUR

This week we had to choose a type of food and find as many items in the grocery store that related to that item.  I chose the world milk, and not counting any other diary products this is my list:

• Infant (Milk) Formula
• Milk Bones
• Condensed Milk
• Milk Shake
• Powdered Milk/Instant Milk
• Milk of Magnesia
• Buttermilk
• Milk (skim, 1%, 2% whole, coconut, goat, almond, soy, chocolate)
• Milk Chocolate (caramilk, milkduds, milk chocolate chips)

Milk is white.  But the packaging ranged from reds, blues, golds, yellows, pinks etc.  These items come in boxes, cans, containers that are small and big.  There is a huge range!  Bringing a child to the grocery store is an excellent way of exploring colours with them.  "What colour is this container? What about this one? But they both have milk!"  In a child care center, often there is a grocery center area.  It is important to create this environment to contain not only the food but also the containers.

Below are my three pictures that I drew.  Milk, Milk Bones and Condensed Milk.  Milk Bones is a bright red box, condensed milk is smaller and round and the actual milk includes many different colours, symbolizing which type of milk.  What I think is very interesting is that every single package includes red.

Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J.E. (2009). Art and creative development for young children (6th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar.

Arts Explorer #6: Painting with Scissors

For this Arts Explorer we had to fill in the blank “_______ with Scissors”.  We had to choose an art word and then create an activity that would communicate “personal identity and understanding of the world”

For my activity I chose the word collaging.  Therefore, the title of this Blog should actually be Collaging with Scissors.  If I were to do this with children I would begin the discussion by introducing/reintroduce the concept of senses. Sight, smell, hear, taste and touch.  We would talk about what each of these senses do and why we think they are so important.  I would ask the children to choose the sense they valued most.  Do you like to taste things? Touch things? Hear things? Etc.  For this activity I would give the children stacks of magazines, newspapers, postcards, anything that had pictures of people and the children would be able to cut out whatever sense was most valued personally and create a collage.  Other than personal identity and artistic creation this activity also allows children to be exposed to the variety of different people and how physical characteristics are different on every individual.  When this activity is finished I could continue by talking about people who may not have the ability to see, hear, taste, etc.  We would talk about what this meant for these individuals and what services are available to assist them. 

This is what I created:

At a future date another concept we could get out of this activity is the artistic concept of line. 

ART WORD OF THE WEEK: The element of LⁱNE

Schirrmacher and Fox (2009) describe the dimensions of lines as “including size, direction, length, width and weight” (p.135).  With the children I could go over some of their artwork and discuss with them how they chose to use lines to create their pieces.  Did they make straight parallel lines (like I did) or did they choose to make many different types of lines going in my different directions.  Did they make small lines and cut directly around their objects or did they choose something else? 

There are always many learning outcomes for a single activity.

Honigman, J. J., & Bhavnagri, N. P. (1998). Painting with scissors: Art education beyond production.  Childhood Education, 74(4), 205-212.)

Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J.E. (2009). Art and creative development for young children (6th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar.

Arts Explorer #5: Watch an ‘art film’ and chat about it

Discussion of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Megan: Hi

Figure 1

Ellaine: Hey. So - what did you think of the film?

Megan: I liked it.  How about you?

Ellaine: I liked it too.  It was interesting to watch and entertaining too

Megan: It was definitely a movie that you had to pay attention too.  The time line bounced around quite a bit.

Ellaine: Yes.  You have to suspend your confusion and have faith that it will all come together in the end.  Which it did, don't you think?

Ellaine: I looked up the title because i was curious what it meant.

Megan: What did you find?

Ellaine: It is a quote from a poem by Alexander Pope just like they said in the film.

Megan: Oh right...

Ellaine: The poem is about Abelard and Eloise.  The story is a little long... give me a sec.

Megan: Sure.

Ellaine: Eloise is writing to Abelard about her love.  I think it is based on two real people.  He was her teacher and they fell in love.  They married and had a child.  But her family was against it.  They castrated him.  He went to a monastery and she became a nun.  Because he was castrated, he didn't feel tortured by their love but she did. She is writing about her feelings.

Megan: “How happy is the blameless Vestal’s lot!
                The world forgetting, by the world forgot;
                Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
                Each pray’r accepted, and each wish resign’d.”

Ellaine: The poem is a long one but the part about the Spotless Mind is about how easy it is for a caste virgin to have a pure mind the virgin can forget the world easily have a happiness.

Megan: I think that the film is saying that relationships have good and bad and that people are both good and bad.  You can't forget the bad without losing the whole person.  It's not worth it because then there is just emptiness. "The world forgetting, by the world forgot"

Ellaine: They are both quite flawed people but they are better off together than just forgetting that they ever happened to each other.

Megan: Do you think you would erase your memory?

Ellaine: No - really for everything that you regret in life, there is the depth of relationships and the impact that events and feeling have on who you become.  How can you forget without erasing the person that you are.

Megan: I agree. When you erase that bad, you also erase the good.  I think that experiences and memories shape our personalities.  I mean, I can see the benefit in erasing something that just makes you feel awful but really, eventually everything passes.  Things that were really important to you several years ago are not necessarily something that is really important to you now.

Ellaine: I think that Joel and Clementine realize that as well.  They hear the worst that the other thinks of them but they cannot go on without each other.

Megan: Yah, even though he knows all the things that bothers him about her, he is willing to have a relationship with her anyways because he still sees all the good things about her.  Clementine admits that she is impulsive.  I think that the Lacuna Corporation takes advantage of that which affected both her and him.

Ellaine: I like the way the film represented his memory being erased... things just disappearing.

Megan: I agree.  I loved how they depicted memory loss by things just melting away.  I also love how memories became entangled in each other, because with the passage of time that is what happens.

Figure 2

Ellaine: I also think the film showed that it is a futile pursuit to try to forget.  Clementine still remembered things so that when the weasel guy tried to steal Joel's relationship, Clem was disturbed.  Plus they both ended up at the beach without knowing why they were there and were attracted to each other all over again.

Megan: Yes, it kind of reminds me of the sixth sense idea.

Ellaine: Plus all the work of the Lacuna Corporation started falling apart when Mary found out her memory had been erased.  And she was still attracted to Howard in the end.  It suggests that some things are inevitable.

Megan: Yes, and it also shows how a system like this can be taken advantage of.

Ellaine: What do you mean?

Megan: Well you could tell that Mary didn't exactly feel sure about having her memories erased.  She was angered.  In the tape you can hear Howard say, "We agreed this was for the best".

Ellaine: She had agreed to it I think, but perhaps she was pressured.

Megan: That's the feeling that I got out of it.  She agreed out of a pressured situation.

Ellaine: We don't get those details but can imagine from the wife’s reaction.

Megan: I know! That's most people’s reactions though isn't it?  Like Joel finding out that he had been erased.

Ellaine: I think that the secondary story is saying that betrayal is also something that can't really be forgotten as well

Megan: Yes, it was a main theme in the story.

Ellaine: The wife has never forgotten and is looking for more betrayal.

Megan: She never trusts him. I wonder if he pressured her to have her memories erased as well.

Megan: Imagine if that technology really existed.  You would never really know if you had all of your memories.

Ellaine: Except in the film it was an imperfect process... Which is the same in any sci fi type story that I have ever seen.  The process doesn't work and the problems return.  You have to deal with things in life, don't you think?

Megan: I agree. It makes us who we are.

Ellaine: Anyway, I liked the film in many ways.  The construction of the story was interesting and the themes were worth discussion.

Megan: Thanks for talking about the film with me.

Ellaine: You are welcome!

Figure 1. Joel and Clementine lying on ice. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (unknown photographer). Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338013/

Figure 2. Joel and Clementine in bed. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (unknown photographer). Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338013/

Arts Explorer #4: Spot the Pattern

Pattern is everywhere! From where you are sitting look up and count the number of patterns you see.... 16 from my living room couch (and that was a quick scan too).  After that little introduction I think you can probably guess what my art word of the week is...

ART WORD OF THE WEEK: The element of PaTtErN

Schirrmacher and Fox (2009) describe pattern as something that “suggests regularity and repetition”.  This week for our GoBlog Assignment I decided to take my camera with me wherever I went last Saturday and take pictures of the most interesting “regularity and repetition” I could find.

My weekend started at home, eager to start the assignment I went for a walk around my house and found a huge amount of patterns.  Many more than I had anticipated!  Throughout the day I went shopping with my mom, to my brother’s semi-final hockey game (they won) and a walk around my neighbourhood.  Not the most exciting Saturday, but I didn’t have to go far to find an abundance of patterns!  The two photographs below are what I found.



Schirrmacher and Fox (2009) also describes the benefits of patterns for children as they can use them to “enrich their artwork... (and) will also facilitate learning in the curricular areas of math and reading” (p.142).  When I was working in a grade 1&2 class at a local public school a few years back I was working with a child who was having a difficult time grasping the concept of patterns.  He did, however, love art.  I realised the teacher and I had been approaching patterns from a very mathematical point of view so I grabbed some tangrams and found a spot of the floor.  The two of us together used tangrams to create a huge piece of artwork.  The trick?  The only way we could create lines was to use patterns!  The child and I started with simple two symbol patterns and continued to become more and more complex.  We took turn starting the patterns and I watched as he slowly grasped the concept that in order to continue a pattern you must look at what has already been established.  This activity did not miraculously fix his difficulty but because I tied it to something he loved, art, and allowed him to create a picture with the tangrams, he was much more willing to understand and try.  

THE PICTURES ARE AS FOLLOWED: (1st Picture) Blinds from my kitchen, tiles from the front enterance table, decoration from the wall in my kitchen and a ceiling fan and light from the bedroom.

(2nd Picture) A wheel from the car, a criss-cross fence, a close of up a drain, cans at the grocery store, a light in from the parkinglot, red tiles from the outside of a Wendys, tiles from the neighbors house, and tiles from our backyard.

Patterns give consistency but they are also a lot of fun and they really are everywhere!

Art and creative development for young children (6th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar.

Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J.E. (2009).

Arts Explorer #3: Fine Art Critique

The piece of artwork that I have chosen to review is called “The Hidden Life Within” by Giuseppe Penone which is displayed at The Art Gallery of Ontario.  Penone carved the outside of large trees to revile its inner, the tree as it once was.  I believe that through his pieces the artist is revealing the history of the tree- where it came from, what it once was.  This can be symbolically represented in people too- we all have roots.

ART WORD OF THE WEEK: The element of    Design (or composition)                      

Schirrmacher and Fox define Design (or composition) as the “overall mark of success, the standard of achievement” (p.142).  Essentially, did the artist accomplish what he or she intended to?  It also refers to the impression of the piece- do the elements go well together and “does it make the viewer want to return and admire again and again”.  The authors also point out that design (or composite) is not something children are concerned about when they approach art.  They often focus on the process, it’s adults who impose the idea of product.  Does “What did you make?” ring a bell?

Figure 1
Giuseppe Penone's
The Hidden Life Within

Thinking about this piece reminds me of talking to my grandparents.  I remember a few years ago, after my high school formal looking at pictures with my grandmother.  After she commented on how pretty my dress was and how beautiful the banquet hall was she started talking about her high school years.  How she had gone through it during World War II and how her senior prom celebration was making care packages to send overseas.  She didn’t tell me this to make me feel bad or spoiled.  She actually reflected on it in a positive way.  She enjoyed helping and it was a nice thing to do with all her friends before leaving high school.  My grandfather also has shared stories with me about his childhood.  One particularly interesting one was when he was a young child during the early 1930s living in British Columbia he spiked a fever and got very sick.  In the middle of terrible storm his doctor ordered an air helicopter to pick him up and risk the dangerous journey to Vancouver Island for the life saving treatment.  He was mentioned in newspapers and on radio broadcasts for days after the fact.  To think, if that doctor hadn’t given the order, if the helicopter pilot had refused to make the trip, or had crashed along the way my entire family would not be here. My grandparents are filled with the most interesting stories.  Mine have travelled all over the world, experiencing cultures like Egypt, China, and Pakistan.  They have experienced show much that I should ask more.

I think the way Giuseppe Penone designed his work was with the intention to make me think about these stories my grandparents have shared and to appreciate what deep knowledge they  have acquired and ask questions about their past, learn where they have come from.  As Penone says, “My artwork shows, with the language of sculpture, the essence of matter and tries to reveal with the work, the hidden life within”.  His art makes me feel young.  It makes me feel as I have so much more to learn. 

This is the AGOs website
http://www.ago.net/
And this is the AGO's section about Giuseppe Penone

Art and creative development for young children (6th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar.

Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J.E. (2009).

Figure 1. Giuseppe Penone's The Hidden Life Within (unknown photographer). Retrieved from
http://www.ago.net/Giuseppe-Penone-The-Hidden-Life-Within

Arts Explorer #2: Instant Sculpture with Found Objects

I actually started out by dreading this week’s blog but by the end I really was enjoying it.   Initially creating a sculpture terrified me.  Although I consider myself creative and I enjoy art immensely I didn’t have any idea of where to start with creating something with dimension.

ART WORD OF THE WEEK: The element of              MASS AND VOLUME

Described by Schirrmacher and Fox, in regards to art, mass and volume “are appropriate criteria for critiquing three-dimensional art, which has height, length, and width” (p.142).  Mass and Volume are kind of the next step passed shape (which will be discussed in a later post).  For example a circle would be reviewed by the standards of a shape while a sphere would be reviewed by the standards of mass and volume.  Therefore sculptures, which are three-dimensional, would use the standards of mass and volume.

So here was my process.  After seeing the description of this assignment I headed straight to my junk door (which was suggested) and started digging.  After trying to balance a stapler on a hole puncher balanced on three erasers I thought, “What am I doing? This isn’t anything!” And the hundreds of little white dots floating out of the hole puncher and all over the floor wasn’t making it any better.  So I tried again- I searched all around the house and finally came across some replacement light bulbs (like the ones that come in a string of lights) BINGO! I had an idea!  I went into my fruit cellar and pulled out big Christmas boxes (that I had just put away) and pulled out all the Christmas lights that I could find.  I tried wrapping them around chairs, tables, garbage cans etc but nothing was looking particularly special or interesting.  So I sat down to look around the room for some inspiration and while doing so absent mindedly started wrapping the string of bulbs around my hand- another BINGO!  If I’m making this sculpture- why don’t I become the sculpture?

I then recruited the help of my mother to help wrap the bulbs around my legs, torso, arms, finger, head etc.  I taped everything in place and asked my mom to take the picture.  I was very happy with the results.  After taking off all of the lights (and putting everything away) I sat down with my textbook and tried to describe, using the words given, the sculpture I (and my mom) and created.  I was a solid, curved, large, moving three-dimensional sculpture.  Anyone ever describe themselves as that before?

Art and creative development for young children (6th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar.

Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J.E. (2009).