African Collaborative Safari

I really loved the Art Inspired by Africa Unit that I planned for my students.  I had gone to Africa on a short term mission trip and taught school at the Nakateete Childcare Center in Uganda. After we were finished at the school  we went to Kenya and went on a safari. The safari trip was one of those breathtaking memories you never forget!  While my students completed many projects, and I'll share them on this Blog in several posts, one of my favorite parts of the unit were the collaborative safari animals we did! Lions, giraffes, elephants, and rhinos, oh my! They were huge and filled the school lobby. Everyone loved them and it really gave you the feeling you were driving around the Masa Mara or the Serengeti in a Land Rover! They were made using giant sheets of kraft paper. All throughout the day differing ages of students painted, colored, and glittered. Tables were pushed back everywhere in the art room, making enough room on the floor to bring our safari animals to life.  Large mammals were everywhere! Each day we finished a few animals.  Finally the day came to have the giant safari of animals march through the school lobby, adhered to the walls with 3M double sticky tape.  Students just loved it! (So did I!) I also placed informational posters all around the artwork so that when students walked through the school they learned about the ecosystem of the Masa Mara! One of my favorite collaborative projects of all time! 

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Ceramic Tile Mosaic in Switzerland by Alice Gori, Italy

With the Istanbul trip coming up soon, I have been thinking a good bit about mosaics and ceramics. Last summer I had a great opportunity to teach an art workshop at The American School in Switzerland at Lugano.  The summer prior to that I had taken a couple of grad school courses in Italy, oil painting and art history.  We had a special guest artist, Alice Gori (pronounced Aleeshay), during the oil painting course.  Alice is a gifted ceramist who is often called upon by the Italian government to repair beautiful centuries old Italian ceramics pieces in historical building and collections.  She made this mosaic of ceramic tiles which is on one of the walls at TASIS.

    

               

These photos are from the summer before (2012) of Alice working with us in our Boston University art studio at Borgo San Lorenzo. Her ceramic work is brilliant! I was particularly CRAZY about the gorgeous headboard she made, inserting her ceramics flowers into a natural crack in the wood. Stunning! While she makes many, many pieces that she sells in as tourist souvenirs, these photos represent the artistic talent she has and uses for custom orders, to sell in her studio and elsewhere, and really show the unique quality of her work. Just brilliant!

The photos, above and below, are of Alice's studio. Really enjoyed going to see this! And her family hosted us to some wonderful bruschetta and wine out on their patio. 

Cut Paper People of the World& A Literacy Connection

A few years ago a I attended a professional development workshop led by a brilliant art educator. The focus was what could be made on the inside of a folded cut paper, three-sided box. Animal habitats for a science integration is one great use of these paper boxes or "backdrops."  During the workshop, however, I was intrigued by the outside of the cut paper backdrop or stand.  I actually made a peacock with the cut paper stand serving as the base of support for the large cut paper bird.  That evolved into the paper stand or backdrop being used for other things. It is a great base for a study involving the traditional dress of the world's countries.  In one of the photos below you see cut paper women from Japan wearing traditional kimonos.  What a great literacy connection can be made with this art project and Suki's Kimono, written by Chieri Uegaki and Stephane Jorisch! You also see traditional cut paper men in traditional costume from Mexico that would be a great literacy integration with The Pot that Juan Built, written by Nancy Andrews-Goebel and illustrated by David Diaz, a delightful book about the making of clay pottery in Mexico. These would also be good for a unique study in self portraits, also with a literacy integration.

                 

                                           

                

Art Inspired by Asia: Japanese Collaborative Mural

Each year my students do a collaborative mural to coincide with our cultural unit. This year might be my favorite one yet. We made a giant red pagoda or shrine to go along with our Art Inspired by Asia Unit in which we studied Japan and China.  It was cut out of three 4'x8' pieces of insulation foam. My hot knife is my favorite $250 tool. I baby and take care of it and rarely share it. Anytime we use insulation foam (an old theatre teacher's trick from my theatre teaching days) we base coat it first with white acrylic paint, which forms a nice base for all further painting.  After that dries, we draw the basic outline and details and then enjoy painting.  Paint moves really nicely on this foam. I really enjoy using it.  The pagoda was made in three sections, which were assembled right on the wall. The background was a painted paper sky and grass. Then we painted large rolled Kraft paper with shades of brown to make the tree trunks.  Finally, many of my younger students colored round pink and white circles with pink, white, and red oil pastels to make the cherry blossoms.  After a lot of positioning and taping which was done by students, the Sakura orchard (cherry blossom) came to life on the wall. (By the way, 3M double sticky white foam tape is the best for attaching heavy murals to the wall.) Students gasped with delight when it was finished. Waiting and watching for the hall mural to be finished has become quite a big moment for my students. There is a huge pride factor in their collaborative effort. I think that one of the things I enjoy the most about collaborative wall murals is that many of the younger students just simply cannot "picture" what it is going to look like as the various pieces are being made on the art room tables.  As the pieces are being assembled on the hallway wall many still do not see how the final mural is going to look, but slowly they each have their "ah ha" moments when the final picture takes shape in their thought processing. Students enjoyed a bit more fun by holding up the kimonos made with the same foam for a photo-booth type of opportunity. Those are the magical moments for me! Enjoy our Cherry Blossom Mural with Pagoda! We sure have!

The photos below show the wall mural.  There is a "wishing tree" strung in front of it and extended from two large real tree branches set in plaster of paris.  Students wrote their messages on the wishing tree cards. This is also a tradition in Asian countries.