The end has come...

this will be my last post (for now anyways). While I didn't achieve my initial goal of creating an art project each week, I felt I have come a long way over the semester. I'm not scared to share my artistic creations and I have come to appreciate the role of art in the classroom. I am hoping that over the break I can continue to explore visual arts.

Christmas Potluck

Well, we did it. We performed in front of our peers and we didn't die. Initially I was a bit nervous, but we had such a fun atmosphere, that nothing could really go wrong. There is strength in numbers and we all have to be willing to put ourselves "out there" some times. I am proud of the drummers and the recorder players for taking that extra risk.

I want to say thank you to Leisbet for getting the ball rolling and organizing the program. And also thank you to everybody else. So many people helped out in so many ways. I'm glad that I am part of such a strong cohort. Good job everybody!

Capturing Images

I really enjoyed my time at the art gallery on Tuesday. The hand painting was really fun and a good tie-in to the exhibition. I also liked doing the project with the pictures, even though mine didn't turn out exactly as I wanted. It got me to thinking about making art. Many of my classmates expressed how they found creative projects therapeutic. I do to some extent, but I can also find it frustrating when things don't work just right. I got my picture all lined up and the drawing just right, and then I had to wrestle with the double-sided tape. The tape won. I would have loved the chance to do it over again. I think many elementary students have the same problem I do, there is just never enough time to make it right. The teacher runs out of time for art, or there are limited supplies (you only get 1 sheet of paper, one chance to get this right). Do painters only paint at "art time"? How can we avoid this problem?

Rant over. Here is my not-quite-perfect picture.

Practicum Art Project

I've talked about the collages I brought to the art show to some of my colleagues, but I thought I would share with everyone exactly what the art project was.

I made my integrated unit plan with art and science. With my class, we were doing the grade 4 unit on light and sound. Some of the learning outcomes were to identify natural and artificial sources of light, recognize white light can be separated into colours, and define the terms transparent, translucent, and opaque. With the collages, I wanted to review some of the concepts, so the assignment was to represent a natural source of light using materials that are translucent, transparent, and opaque. We discussed why we would use these materials and also discussed mood and use of colour. After showing the students some collage examples in a PowerPoint presentation, I let the students fly at it. As they were working, I questioned the students about what elements they were including and different elements of the collage. The students had blast creating their art.

For Nicola...

and others. I found the images at http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/canvas/cwint01e.shtml
This is one of several online galleries from the war museum. Any one of them could be valuable teaching tools for art and social studies.

Drowning Sailior (1946)

I wanted to post one more image from the Canadian War Museum. The image and the quote from the artist are haunting.

"When you are drowning, you lose your nationality, don’t you?"
— Jack Nichols, official war artist, Second World War

Canvas of War

Several years ago, when I worked at the Glenbow Museum, I saw a traveling exhibition of art owned by the Canadian Museum of War. From this exhibition, I learned that governments would hire artists to act as recorders of war. They would represent great battles, as well as the daily existence of war. This was especially important before the days of photography, but even during the First and Second World Wars, artists were still employed. They lived the war. Like the soldiers, the dodged bombs and watched their comrades die. Their duty was to leave a legacy about "how it was".

It was very emotional and heart-breaking for me to look at these pieces of art. But no matter how hard it is, it is so important that we remember what these men and women did for our country. The veterans from the First World War have almost all past away, and we are quickly losing those who fought in the Second World War. It is my fear that we will forget. I post these works of art for my Grandpa who fought in WWII, but never talks about it.