Arts Explorer #10: Community Arts Project

What are the three steps to staying a healthy kid this summer??

1. Eat Healthy

2. Get Active

3. Have fun doing it! 

So lets go to CAMP!! 
JERRY LOVE CHILDREN'S FUND

Our BIG IDEA for this CAP project was to promote active living for children this summer, by giving them the opportunity to go to day camp. Our main concept was to get children involved in promoting this idea by bringing in sport items for other children to play with, who cannot financially afford it. The way in which we used 'art' to communicate and pitch our idea to the audience was through a song and allowing children in schools and communities to draw or paint their ideas of active living and healthy eating on a large poster that will be hung around the community and schools. The children can paint using their body such as their hands and feet or objects such as basket balls or rackets to form pictures of physical activity and a way to express themselves.

In terms of having to convince the community to participate we would have both children and adults promoting this idea as oppose to only adults. Once the community sees that children are eager and willing to help other children to get active this summer they will be willing to participate. In addition, handing out blue/green ribbons to signify our Jerry Love Children's fund.

I think that the presentation went very well. We started off with an attention grabber song and ended off with handing out ribbons to support our cause. Our focus was to bring awareness toward not only child obesity but also towards the lack of physical activity among children. 

What we could have done differently is propose further information on how the we could communicate the idea in a creative way. However, we did create and share the facebook page (one camp, one love) that introduces our cause and brings people from all around the GTA to take part in.

 http://www.facebook.com/pages/One-Camp-One-Love/165296386858483

Over all the CAP project was a success and from our peers, We were given positive feedback. 

So the word of the day is not from the text book but from me, and that is FUN! 

Fun as I would describe as mere enjoyment of a task or event that may or may not have a reason to do so (Hundal, 2011).

Finally, we hope to build a healthier community, for children by the children and one child at a time. 

Arts Explorer #9: Guerilla Art

This is the first I learn or even participate in Guerilla art. At first I was a little confused as to what to put out for the world to see. What can be my BIG idea that catches someones attention?? Then I thought of the perfect idea to exploit to the world.

My Guerilla art consists of red roses and a sign that says "TAKE....you hands off"

The purpose of this is to see whether or not people read the small writing, or if they just take what ever they assume is offered to them. I'm excited to start and see what happens...

Step 1: Roses + making a sign.

Step 2: place it out side where someone can spot it!

Step 3:  (11 minutes later...) wait for people to pass by....

This project was very interesting to do! It was a little difficult at first to think of something but once I had the greatest idea I just went at it. The place i chose may have been a little quieter than I anticipated however, I was happy it wasn't over riding with people because if it was, I wouldn't be able to catch people reactions as well as I did for this man! When the man noticed the roses and the sign from a distance I was soo excited and interested to see what he will do. Will he take it? Will he noticed the words saying "your hands off" located in the negative space which means: space left between or surrounding subject matter, symbols, or shapes.
Lets find our the Reaction of that man......




                         Step 4:Their Reaction to my Guerilla art!!
Stranger looking around...

Stranger picking up flower

Stranger leaving with rose...


He obviously didnt read the fine print. But thats okay. This project was very interesting to see how people react to usual situations that we dont see on a regular basis. As a perspective educator, I will most definitely apply this project with children. Maybe take all the children to draw on big collage out on the pavement. That would be interesting to see how people react to children's art on the ground.

References

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

Arts Explorer # 8: Pretend Play and Magical Thinking

When I close my eyes, my stuff come to life. Sometimes I catch them role playing Toy Story. But this one item in my room is an amazing one. Mirror mirror on the wall who's the most glamorous of them all.  Her name is Macy the Mirror. No question! Macy Mirror is marvelously magnificent in her Mac makeup! Every girl wants to be her best friend and she constantly catches them staring at her. She polishes her face and makes sure she has the right lighting.

With her blue pearls and funky earrings, Macy Mirror always catches the spot light. She is a famous actress that is surrounded by photographers who chase her around for a glimpse of her glass. Macy is outgoing and fun to be around. She always tells you if your looking bad or good. She has a confident sense of style and enjoys chit chats with other mirrors and glass. Today she is heading to the beach wit her new sunglasses to, to stroll around on the beach. Her personality is fun, cheerful, caring, and thoughtful. Macy is also very courageous, she is always willing to try new thing. She is a fashion icon and knows her makeup. Macy loves to make Intermediate colours, which is defined as mixing primary and secondary colours to make a new colour. She mixes her green and blue eyeshadow to make geen-blue. She is working on making a career out of this.

Bring things to life is always an exciting time for children and me. I drew out Macy's eyes, eyebrows, and lips. I attached a necklace, earrings and had her wear sunglasses. She was already to come to life. Every day I watch children use their imagination to bring an object or item to life. Whether it is a plain old box or their food, they always manage to create something that fits their imagination and creativity. I am a strong believer in learning through play and the best play comes from creating and imagination. Children get inspired very quickly and that is the best part of being a kid. You get to make up anything and talk to any object and people wont think your crazy. If anything adults will compliment children's intelligence by say "wow, he's so creative". Being a kid is definitely fun! 

References

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!

Mmmmm! Chocolate!! my all time favorite food in the world. I literally cannot function in this world without it. And it is the number one item on my list when I grocery shop. Why chocolate you ask? well why not? The smooth creamy sweet taste of chocolate has not match! When I eat chocolate I like to consider the texture of it, it is smooth and creamy or hard and crunchy, the smell of chocolate whether its white, milk or dark chocolate all contain a different smell all with its unique sweetness. And finally, the way chocolate looks is very important. The best part about chocolate is that it can be molded and shaped into anything. The creative word is Physical Texture in this case would be the texture of chocolate when being eaten and not touch. In my opinion texture (when consumed) is defined as  the feeling and sensation edible substances or foods. Chocolate can be found in many different foods the list is never ending!!

List of different types of Chocolate: include different shapes, colour and  texture

Plain milk chocolate bar : hard

- white and dark chocolate : hard with different colours

- chocolate mousse : creamy

- chocolate with almonds: crunchy

- chocolate brownie/ cake: chewy & colorful

- chocolate chip cookies: crunchy

- chocolate ice cream : cold and smooth

- chocolate truffles: crunchy

- chocolate pudding: smooth creamy

- chocolate dipped strawberries: sweet and sour

continue...

- hot chocolate: warm and sweet

- chocolate fudge: yumm

- chocolate bunnies

- chocolate caramel cups : sticky

- chocolate  and peanut butter : crunchy and smooth

- chocolate covered marshmallow: chewy

- chocolate covered pretzels: sweet and salty

And so forth ....

Not only do I love chocolate, I think children are obsessed with it too. I mean I don't blame them its really good. However I don't recommend children having chocolate during school hours. Even the chocolate spread some children have for breakfast or the chocolate pudding they have for lunch can really make them hyper. I work at a kindergarten class and every few months they have parents come in the morning and have breakfast with their children. We made pancakes and waffles with syrup and some fruit. A few hours later the children we're running up and down and were yelling and laughing. It was fun at first but then it got really crazy... In certain places and appropriate times I think children should go all out.

References

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

Arts Explorer #6: Collaging with Scissors

Media, radio, television, cartoon.... all of which children are exposed to on a daily basis. The question is whether or not it is a negative or positive exposure? Personally anything that is over done or watched can have it's negative toll but that does not mean it is completely harmful to children. From my experiences with children they watch a minimum of two hours a day of cartoons and T.V. It becomes a mesh or collage of cartoons running around in their heads. Some time my nephews pretend play by adding characters from their favorite show all in one act. All I hear is "never fear spongbob is here! lets go to dexter's laboratory to find the poison fish"  Something like what is seen in this picture. A definition of the word Collage is an artwork composed of different shapes and elements (p.364). I think that a collage is not only based on art but can also be incorporated into one's mind and thought.

The reason I chose this collage is because so many of my experiences with children at play are involved with cartoon characters or actions mimicked from tv. When asked to create a collage as a child and even during my experiences with children, the first form of materials children are given to work with are dry foods, paint and pictures from magazines. So why not use pictures of cartoon characters? they're colorful, fun looking and familiar!

Activity for collage

1) provide ample amount of different cartoon characters from many different shows and cultures.
2) bring one large black paper, scissors and glue
3) have the children choose, cut and paste the different pictures onto the one big paper

Final product = inside the mind of a child : D

References

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

Arts Explorer #5: Donnie Darko

This film was by far the worst choice I've made in movies. I always tell my self that I don't have the strength to watch a horror movie, but I always end up watching it just for the thrill and suspense.

Throughout the movie my interest was growing stronger as to what was going on and what will happen next. However, the second the film was over the movie kept replaying in my head. I thought at any moment Frank (the scary bunny) would jump out or would be standing over me while I'm sleeping.
This film is very surreal, in other words dreamlike or unreal hallucination feature of a dream that appears real. I absolutely would not recommend this movie to children to watch but I would tell friends to check it out since it has soo many elements and events that people can relate too or be interested in.

The main idea I found that was interesting  about the story line was that Donnie was living an imaginary life with an imaginary friend. It was very interesting to note that he talked to and had an imaginary bunny. This can be related back to children because like most children, creating imaginary friends is a big part being a kid. I know I had a imaginary friends growing up. They would listen and not judge you, well course not since you answered for them...
This can also relate to children in ways that children may have trouble fitting in in school with friends and sometime families.Which can lead some children to create their own friends for the sake of comfort.

Although this story is unrealistic, there are still many aspects that children, teens and adults can relate to with themselves or with someone they know.

References

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

Arts Explorer #4: Spot the pattern

In case you couldn't figure out what this picture is... its a pineapple. But not just any pineapple, a pineapple that has be specifically selected among the many others surrounding it. Alike all special fruits, it is only a matter of time before this delicious pineapple is gobbled down. Aside from its extra ordinary taste, the outer layer of the pineapple provides an amazing textural pattern. To define the term pattern: it is forms, shapes, lines, colours, textures, or symbols that move across a surface in a recurring sequence (p. 142).

What really inspired me to take a picture of the patterns on a fruit is the element of it being a unique pattern created by nature alone. I find that man made patterns are not distinctive from one another, whereas patterns form by nature is not repetition of with one another and is naturally formulated according to the process of nature. Not only are the patterns apparent, but the texture has a particular flow and shapes. The 3D texture is important to pinpoint since it plays a vital role for keeping the inside of the fruit fresh. Although we come across many different patterns in our urban settings, the natural ones are usually the ones that are WOWed! and noticed. 


Growing up creating patterns was the ideal activity for children because it allows open-ended thinking instead of a fixed activity. From what I can remember the first type of pattern my teachers introduced to me is the patterns we see on a butterfly. I still remember designing our own butterfly patterns with different coloured paint on paper and folding it in half to create a rhythm of motion of different colours and designs. Even today I find when working with children that the most enjoyment comes from creating patterns with different materials, colours and objects.

References

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

Fine Art Critique

 I think I've seen this painting maybe four times in my life. Every art gallery I've been too has this painting. I remember the first time I saw it I was in a grade 5 on a field trip. I still remember my teacher explaining the idea and reasons behind this painting and what the artist was trying to get across his audience. Surprisingly I don't remember a thing from what my teacher said. But I do remember looking carefully at the picture, analyzing it's every brush stroke and colour. I loved how the candle light stood out as if it was really lit and it's light was the one brightening the gallery. 


Now, when I look at the picture I see more than just the candle or merely a girl sitting. I see emotions that are flooding the picture. Sorrow, loss, regret and even relief. The first word that popped into my head was emotions, is it a mental state that arises spontaneously rather than through conscious effort and is often accompanied by psychological changes; a source of feeling. The first feelings I had when glancing at this picture is confusion.I remember thinking to myself "what is going on?" but I couldn't pull myself away. The word of the week is Shade which adding black to any color to darken its value (p.137). This painting I find has lots of shade in it which is what is making the picture stand out and feel realistic. 

I'm a strong believer in incorporating feelings and emotions in children's art and creativity. When working with children now I try to ask children questions that may tricker a positive or negative emotional response. For some people talking about one's negative emotions or feelings is a taboo. I think that all emotions are healthy to express and talk about especially as a child. If it's there talk about it or even better draw about it. Be creative, let your emotions explain your ideas and art work.

References

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

Imagine a sculpture

The best part about imagination is that there is no right or wrong, there isn't a beginning or an end and there certainly no limit. My creative word is imagination that I will be incorporating into my sculpture. According to brainyquote.com, imagination is defined as "the representative power; the power of reconstruct or recombine the materials furnished by direct apprehension; the complex faculty usually termed the plastic or creative power".

As you can see in the picture I didn't build my sculpture alone. I had the handy help of my creative niece. A little description of my, or I should say Our sculpture is we designed a comfort home for our fellow Gerbil, named Dice. We used a keelex box, tissue and scrap paper that we found to create a sofa, t.v and a kitchen for Dice. We took our reality and converted it into an imaginary setting for Dice.

The best part of this activity is that I did it with my niece. We both had many ideas and were excited to get started. It first started with just a chair for Dice but our imagination took over. This reminds me of all the homes i build for my stuffed animals when I was younger. I remember getting so excited to build it that I didn't want to touch it when I was done, in case of ruining it. The difference this time was my niece and I did end up playing with the new home we built. Practicing this with other children I find would be really fun. The children I worked with have soo much imagination and creativity to build their own sculpture.

Creative Inspiration

If someone were to ask me what my definition of inspiration is, I would have to say anything or anyone that gets me thinking outside the box. Maybe that little crack in the window will be the exit I need to explore my world in a creative and more inspiring way. Writing this blog is hard enough but to write about creativity and inspiration is way out of my league. Somethings are just better done than said...

Creativity was never my best friend. Usually I would reuse my old creativeness. I cant even think of anything to write now... thats how blah my mind is (sigh!). But maybe if I really dig in I'll find that light shinning in from a window. Till then I'm a blank sheet and the only light that i see is coming from my laptop. 

I can proudly say I have a rather close relationship with Inspiration. One of my greatest inspirations was my grade four teacher. It only makes sense that wanting to teach stems from being taught by, who I consider the most awesome teacher evvaa! As a perspective educator I will ensure that my class and students are expressing creativity and are being inspired to do so with the many different elements and materials  I will provide them with. Inspiration to me is a feeling of achievement before reaching your goal. Its like knowing that yummy cake or sushi is soooo delish before eating it. Oh the smell of success is rewarding. 

-Till next time Salut!