van Gogh: more than sunflowers...

Rethinking Vincent van Gogh

I was thinking about spring and the amazing flowers that bloom in the warming weather, coloring the landscapes of backyards and parks.  *sigh*

I live in Chicago and the palette, right now, is less than colorful.

So, I decided to do some "Googling" and find some inspiration of paintings of flowers to brighten this dreary afternoon.  

I found lots!  No surprise. 

 The still life, of vases with flowers, has a strong history within the art timeline and provide amazing examples of the lineage of art movements.  

Bowl with Peonies and Roses, 1886

In the scanning and skimming process, many images were of the infamous "Sunflowers" by Vincent van Gogh.  This, also, is quite common with such a search, but I gravitated towards a painting of peonies and roses.  One of my most favorite flowers is the poofy, full, luscious peony.  The small Google image was not very clear, and as I clicked on the image, I saw it....."Vincent".

I thought to myself, "Wow" and "Wait a minute".

and "Why?"

Oleanders and Books, 1888

Why do most, meaning all, books I have about Vincent for my classroom only talk about his "Sunflowers"?  Why do so many other paintings go unnoticed or are not given the attention they deserve.

Vase with Red Poppies, 1886

I, too, am guilty of the "sunflower" painting.  Just recently, I was trying to come up something different for the "van Gogh" unit. 

All signs pointed in one direction, "A Vase with Sunflowers" (of various numbers).  

Vase with Zinnias and Other Flowers, 1886

Now, I have a fresh perspective and appreciation for our dear Vincent.  Perhaps he was also looking for some color on some dreary days.  

And now, I feel compelled to write a children's book about the many beautiful vases of flowers from Vincent van Gogh.

Vase with Asters and Phlox, 1886

Still Life - Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers, 1888

Want to paint a vase of flowers?  Click here:)

xoxo, SMocK you.

a trip to Peru with Yianna and Helios

Peru

The adventure of 'traveling' with these two friends continues!  In our last adventure, Yianna and Helios sent us an email from the 'Forgotten City'.  Thankfully, it is no longer forgotten.  

One of my most favorite grades (don't tell the others) is 3rd grade.  Third grade students still have that wonder and amazement that makes teaching them exciting.  They also start to 'know stuff'--just enough stuff to have really great discussions about art, history and just a little mystery.  

Well, back in November, as the sunshine seemed to disappear over Chicago, 'our friends', Yianna and Helios shared their exploration of a very sunny place...Peru.  This was a very exciting country for me, as a life long dream is to visit the ancient ruins of the Incas and imagine to be Indiana Jones exploring Machu Picchu.
Our focus for this adventure was to investigate the meaning and symbolism of the sun, as represented, not only in Inca artifacts, but celebrated once a year in this ancient city. 

video introduction to Peru

I first developed this art unit while on sabbatical in Argentina on a Fulbright.  I connected with an Argentinean classroom teacher and focused on integrating art into a social studies unit.  Luckily, they were studying their ancient histories and landed me, well on my way to developing a lesson that has crossed curricula and grade levels.
Something I call fabulous.

This time, I did things a little different.  With the talk, trend and evolution of teaching kids, assessing kids and developing creative peoples, I thought to give my students an opportunity to take the reins.  After reading them the email from Yianna and Helios, exploring Peru, taking notes in our passports and spinning the globes (literally-they love it), I gave them one direction:  You have 10 minutes to make the sun.
And I left the room.
There was a sense of panic.
Students scrambling around the room, and asking each other questions.
I listened from outside.
How the students monitored each other, helped with problems and stayed focused made me proud.
This was their formative assessment.  WoW- the big "F" word.:)

preliminary drawing: 10 minute sun

This art adventure slowly evolved to 'just making' something to learning about different beliefs, diversities in cultures, artistic variations and the joy of yoga:)

student group analysis of two different images

We had a few connecting goals, relating to "the sun".  

First, each student was commissioned by the king of Machu Picchu to design a great pendant, made from the finest clay in the art room:)

Second, the CBS program "Sunday Morning" sent notice that they are in need of some new and creative representations of 'the sun'.

students doing some "sun salutations"

We sketched, we designed, we constructed, we fixed, we painted...we evaluated...
we did a lot.

My students enthusiasm for discovering new places and faces has increased.  They simply can't wait for their next message from 
Yianna and Helios.

I learned that 3rd grade students are not as flexible as I thought.
We are still doing sun salutations until we can touch our toes.

students taking a gallery tour of preliminary drawing

Check out the snapshots!

And click here for
 power point and lesson plan.

Here are some additional resources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dufODjUHzxM (cartoon of boy in the Andes) http://www.unesco.org/archives/multimedia/?s=films_details&pg=33&id=2886 (cartoon, cultural video of Peru)
My students analyzing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMPiEH56jRw

xoxo, SMocK you.

Pi Day.....

a delicious celebration

I really could not resist today:)

As I sip on coffee and indulge in a little sweet treat of the day, I thought to the beloved artist Wayne Thiebaud and his delicious renditions of pies (and cakes).

 I think it is something about how Thiebaud sculpts with paint that really makes me love him.  

Whitney Collection

So indulge a little today and celebrate with a little pie or Pi.     

Resources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vI_QJ5D9Qm8

          

http://www.nga.gov/kids/interactive/cake.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QwWpvxQ3ls

Wayne Thiebaud art lesson.

Hani's Cake...click on the picture for Instagram feed

xoxo, SMocK you.

                                

Celebrating International Women's Day....with women artists

Petah Coyne, Untitled #781, 1994

As I woke up this morning, made myself some coffee, realized I lost an hour from my day and checked Facebook, I became aware that it is International Women's Day.  I immediately turned on the television in an anticipation of a parade, but none to be found.  This made me go hmm.  I thought to myself, we celebrate a jolly ol' man with a white beard, but not someone that is actually real.  

hm.

So, here is my parade celebrating International Women's Day through art.  It's not all.

It's not even most.

But, just a few.

Untitled Film Still 3 (1977). Photograph: Cindy Sherman

Louise Bourgeois, 1911-2010. Photographed 28 February 1992. Sculpture, installation art and painting

Yayoi Kusama: one of few women to have had a major retrospective at Tate Modern.

Georgia O'Keeffe in 1918

Self-Portrait as a Lute Player, 1615–1617

Frida Kahlo

Joan Mitchell

Florence Henri -Portrait of Sonia Delaunay, Paris, 1931

Pained Madonna painted by Plautilla Nelli.

Edmonia Lewis, sculptor

Kathy Kollwitz

Faith Ringgold

Barbara Kruger, Conceptual Artist

http://artbookscreativity.org/curriculum/

I think the last one is my favorite:)
These are just a few from a list of thousands. As I was researching and browsing, I came across an excellent resource from the National Museum of Women in the Arts to use in the classroom. 
A big "Thank You" to these artists who mark the path for others.

xoxo, SMocK you.

4th grade...Jasper Johns

Re-thinking Symbols

Purpose and Process

Jasper Johns's, Flag

Scholastic Art Magazine

Close to the end of last school year (spring, sometime), I worked with my 4th grade students on a lesson to be published in Scholastic Art Magazine.  The focus for this issue was Jasper Johns and 'Working with Symbols", on new stands today!  

I wanted to take this opportunity to challenge my students' perceptions and ideas on the various interpretations of classic, often popular, imagery, by creating a dialogue,  re-think symbols and alter a familiar symbol's connotation.

The Stop sign.

Our discussion began with an introduction and overview to the art and life of Jasper Johns.  In researching, anything and everything about Jasper Johns, what really caught my attention was how great the impact of "Flag" was in society.  We see this encaustic, big representation of the United States flag and think nothing of it.  As art teachers, we may think, "Great, let's make Jasper Johns flags for Memorial Day."  But this was not the sentiments in 1955 when the work was created (and perhaps this is something we miss about teaching art).  

Alfred Barr, critic and curator, of the Museum of Modern Art wanted to purchase "Flag" but worried that it might be seen as unpatriotic by his board, so he arranged for someone else to buy it and later donate it to the museum.

I questioned why someone would go to such lengths to avoid scrutiny.  This notion led the class discussion on altering the viewer's perceptions of symbols.

One, amazing, moment was when a debate ensued among my students, defending the work to be art....and insulting.

As we moved forward, our focus steered towards another common, universal image...the STOP sign.
I chose the stop sign to stimulate my students' individualized ideas and use Johns' work as inspiration, not mimic what he did. 

 Our goal was to use the hexagon and S T O P, as the platform for creating an art work that makes you look twice, exploring with layers and stenciling.  At first glance, "Flag" looks like a flag.  On closer examination, "Flag" has embedded images, making the viewer to a closer look and re-think its representation and what the artwork is communicating.

Take a closer look....
http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=78805
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasper_Johns
Google Slide Presenation/Lesson Plan
Scholastic ART Magazine: Jasper Johns Issue

Thanks to Scholastic ART Magazine for publishing this lesson and for the great resources and teacher materials they have created to support arts education!

xoxo, SMocK you.

Process Art....

Value in the Making...


A lot of big ideas have been spinning around in my brain these past couple of months.  As I am trying to sort them out, I find myself reflecting on what I do everyday in my classroom.  One of these daily activities is creating art units and lessons that are engaging, interesting and fun.
(we can't skip fun...after all, we are working with children)

Lesson ideas are easy to come up with, yet I pause with slight hesitation with every component of the lesson, to ask myself, "Is this ok?"  I ask myself this question because I am not the art teacher who cranks out pretty projects or mattes all student work to look good.  And although that should not concern me, there is always the little voice in my head asking, "Is this ok?"

This week, I have been busy developing new 4th, 5th, and 6th grade units.  In doing so, I have covered my composition book (where I "write" all my lesson...ideas), my computer screen and my desk with sticky  notes.  A bit like a game of Tetris, I keep moving them around to make sure they fit into idea.  
A week, or so, ago, my one of my 5th grade classes asked me "What are we doing next?".  I always seem to respond with, "I don't know, what do you want to do?"  Little do they know, I know exactly-ish, what is next.  But in this instant, one young lady asked if the class could offer ideas.  After taking  a vote, from numerous suggestions, we landed on "Perceptions of Space"... my idea.:)

In my process of connecting the sticky notes, I began researching contemporary artist Richard Serra.  His monolithic, steel sculptures are amazing.  I had the pleasure of walking through one, a few years ago.  It made me feel really small.  As I was clicking away, looking at his drawings, I thought back to my college years, as a BFA student.  One assignment that I remember is choosing various artists and re-creating one of their artworks, simply by knowing measurements and materials.  I remember being down in my parents basement, with a few oil sticks, trying to figure out Richard Serra's process for one of his drawings.
And then I read...."involved in the Process Art Movement".

Hmmmm....This sparked my curiosity because even as a Art History major, 15 years ago, this movement was not entirely mentioned in my books.  But, there it was...on Wikipedia.

Process art is an artistic movement as well as a creative sentiment where the end product of art and craft, the objet d’art, is not the principal focus. The 'process' in process art refers to the process of the formation of art: the gathering, sorting, collating, associating, patterning, and moreover the initiation of actions and proceedings. Process Art is concerned with the actual doing and how actions can be defined as an actual work of art; seeing the art as pure human expression. Process art often entails an inherent motivation, rationale, and intentionality. Therefore, art is viewed as a creative journey or process, rather than as a deliverable or end product.

And, aside from developing a process oriented lesson, I thought back to what my students do everyday and how we get to the end.  



We:
investigate
study
explore
mess up
try again
fix
step away
create
think
re-think
question
...

and we go through a process.

Sometimes we come up with something great....sometimes we do our best ;-), but it is within the process that my students grow.  It is within the process that my students build all those 'real world' skills that are necessary....
But who sees that from an art work on a wall?

Now, as I Tetris the sticky notes together and the little voice asks, "Is this ok?", I can respond...
"I think so." 

Now, all I need is a balloon animal artist.

xoxo, SMocK you.