High school win

I don't write a ton about my art teaching on this blog, it seems that when I want to- I am at school.  If I wanted to write on this blog there, I would have to sign out of google on my school account and sign in on my personal account.  And let me tell you - to try and get both of my emails back into the tabs of my computer at school is a royal PITA. I am able, by some sorcery, to have up both of my email accounts available in tabs**, so if I sign out of my school account- bad things happen.  SO, therefore I do not write at school on Blogger.  I thought I was solving all sorts of issues by getting an older iPad to use at school, but turns out google decided to take the Blogger app OFF of the app store- what the ever living hell?????  And the nightmare that ensues to try to post from Safari on Blogger at school is not worth it.  So I take pictures with my phone for now and try to keep up to date on my school blog.....  My plan always is to work on it at home.

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 If you have lately looked at my school blog, well you will see how well that particular plan works.  So until I get a handle on that, oy.... idk.  

4 very cool phone designs and their selfies

Anyway, since I am apparently in a writing mood, I want to show all of you these VERY cool things that my Intro to Art students are doing.  Turns out I have a very creative bunch of freshmen.  **YAAAAAYYYYYY** I'm so freaking lucky!!!  

I begin my Intro to Art class with a design unit.  This has many reasons, one of the main ones is that they don't have to worry yet about drawing.  Which makes many kids nervous when they get to high school, though they are perfectly good drawers.  I have several set "mini lectures", and one of them is about the fact that if they were perfect drawers, they wouldn't necessarily need art class!!  I love those little aha moments that they have when I tell them that....

So anyway, I begin with a Zentangle design, which is pretty nonthreatening, and then proceed to a design project that includes the elements of design.  It is a way to start deliberately using compositional techniques by knowing what they are using.....  Some students are very intuitive and get it, but it helps to know what you are dealing with. Most kids need to actually know the list in order to use them to their full potential.  This is a good way for me to get to know the kids, their abilities and build up trust.  Trust is a thing that if you don't have with your students, certainly in art, then you might as well give them a text book and let them wing it.

I could tell I had a high functioning (artistically) group of students in my intro classes, and so I wanted to push them a little. Plus also I came up with this new lesson to bridge the design lesson with the new intro to photography unit that I am doing with them next.  What could be more engaging that designing something for their phone and give them absolute freedom to make their selfie look like they want???  Not much!

So I presented the assignment and I saw the look of terror on some of those faces...  I had to laugh a little.  The trust isn't complete yet, they don't know me like they will- and actually like they do now that they have completed the assignment.  I had to tell the poor, panicking kiddos that indeed I had not given them one moment of instruction on drawing a face.  So how would I expect them to draw a fantastic realistic portrait??  My idea was to allow them to either cartoon or try to do the realism.  TOTALLY lets them off the hook and allows them to relax and design the phone case- with freedom.  The selfie could have been shown with a filter, or with other students, or what have you, and they had the choice of their backgrounds, all that good stuff.  I did impromptu lessons on colored pencil techniques, drawing upside down with a photo, composition things.....  it was stellar!!

The top selfie is from a student who went to Italy with my group!  His I recognize as the stop we made overlooking Sorrento!  (or possibly on the top of the Island of Capri)

The results blew me away.  I now wish I had thought to take more pictures- other solutions to this problem were very different and just as effective.  Gives me goosebumps.  I'm so excited to get to school every day and see what these folks can do.

Their trust that I won't embarrass them, judge them harshly, or make them feel less than gives them the courage to try out hard things. Without their trust they would never even attempt things that seem difficult.  The Mrs.O they had in elementary school is not the Mrs. O that they have in high school.  Art every day is a far different situation than grade school, and they seem to respond positively to me.  And I am delighted to share my mornings with them.

Trust is something that takes time, and consistency, and effort on my part and I hope to never let them down.  We have a lot more to do and it will involve taking chances.  There are a lot of life lessons that happen in the guise of art, and I hope that I prepare them in some small way for some of the choices that they will have. I say over and again- from intro through advanced art,  the easy things in life (and art)  are not the most satisfying.  It is the hard stuff- the things you struggle with,  the things you really have to work on- they are the most memorable.  They are the things that in the end give you the most joy.

**As you can imagine, I am a tab person and I have a ton of them UP and open on my Safari.... don't judge me!  Lol

Half way through

Progress reports are due this morning- which means we are half way through the first quarter already.  If this is any indication of the school year, I will be out kayaking next week sometime. Wowza.

Homecoming is over, and now we are looking forward to the quarter being done by the end of the month. Whoa.  AND it is actually time for me to start working with the littlest kids on their absolute favorite project of the year and that would be the Haunted House book with the scraffito picture- yes Halloween pictures already.  If any of you had me for art, you know what I mean- or ask your children. I have a cult following. Lol.  I'll post a link for that book someday.  It is a pop up book and if I had to replace it, it would cost something ridiculous like $50.

I do wish that my art teacher convention was on actual Halloween weekend like it typically is, but no.  Lol.  I do get to hang out with the other (new) art teacher at convention this year, which is so awesome.  This has never happened before.  No one has ever gone to convention with me.  It will be nice to have some time to discuss teaching things with an actual art teacher type colleague person! YAY

Anyway, I better go get ready for school.  I have a bunch of stuff to do, as per usual.  Including nabbing a bunch of leaves for the kinderkids for their printing project today!  And that is just one of the many oddball things I do each year.  I wouldn't have it any other way.....  it does give me joy.

Student Art work courtesy of the Mad Art Teacher- November 2013

I had mentioned in a previous post that I would put up some really nice student art work and so here it is!  There is a variety of classes represented and a variety of assignments.  From realism to abstract  to design, there is a lot to see here.

This is my HS student's art work, I put some of my Elementary kid's work on the other blog I have.  The other blog is merely a way for me to keep track of the very irregular schedule the elementary ends up having.  Wow, I think I have seen my Thursday kids, in particular the 5th grade once or twice in the past 5 weeks.  

Anywho, there are some single shots of work and some window pictures.  I did no editing, so if some of the pix are dark or unclear, that accounts for it.  :)

close-up drawing

Close-up assignment

Skeleton drawing for drawing and painting. Initial drawings for Advanced art

Design assignment, abstract painting

Closeup

Abstract 1

Design

closeup

Initial drawing

Initial assignment

skeleton 

shading assignment- Intro to art

abstract2- leaf

Abstract 2

Abstract 2

Hand drawing- Intro to art

I am very proud of the progress made during this first quarter.  Even though the advanced art kids are asking for the freedom to do their own projects, they are doing super well with a bit of structure.  AND none of them would have attempted any sort of abstract work.  We are not familiar with abstract up north here, so a little exploration was well worth the discomfort they felt exploring absolutely unfamiliar territory.
Don't worry their chance is coming!  But they will have to prove that they have some deep plans for their projects.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the art work!  I am really looking forward to the 2nd quarter- they are proving to be an outstanding group of artists.  And this is giving me so much joy.

First day!!

The first day of school- the Mad Art Teacher returns.

HEY!  I have an honest to goodness Advanced art class that meets separately from all the rest of my classes!  Life is good!

Lots of ideas are swirling around. I have thought of a perfect project that involves technology and photography. Have to consult with others first to figure out the details. More to follow!!  And have a field trip tentatively planned. Busy busy busy....

Meanwhile we had a good morning in the high school. And a noisy but fun afternoon in the elementary.


All great avenues to joy........

Pawing through the paint brushes for the "best ones"

Advanced art

Cute kiddos!

Lol!

Messages on the ceiling- updated!

It is a tradition in my art room for the seniors to paint a ceiling tile as a farewell. And as a reminder of the wonderful kids that I have taught. Right now the present seniors are busily painting up their tiles, which caused me to look up at some of the old ones. Wow, such memories they brought up. Many of these wonderful people are my facebook friends, and I get to communicate with them regularly. Some of them I have not heard from since they graduated from Park Falls (or recently, Chequamegon*) High School.

I really wish I would have started them off painting tiles in 2003 or 04, which ever year it was that I started teaching HS. I don't remember exactly which year it was- that would cause me to do some math and it is WAY too early for that!

These are a few of the goofy things that my dear students have painted- 

This first one is one of my favs (sorry guys, it is!) along with another that I will photograph and update this post with in a while. The South Park figures are so funny, as they are such good representations of them, and ME! It was hilarious to be depicted, too, and the fact is- I was very touched and honored to be included in their tile.

Luv this one!

Here is my fav tile- right over my desk

LISA!!!!!

There are some really pretty ones!

I can not express adequately the pleasures of the stories and images that come flooding back when I take the time to read these. I have such fond memories of these students of mine, many many of whom I have known since they were kindergarteners. I hope they remember me as fondly as I do them.

Funnily enough, I have actually had a few kids apologize to me for their behavior when they were in HS. It makes me laugh, because at the time they thought they were so BAD. In reality, they were acting like every other senior/high school kid has acted. It is the time of their life that they are in, and it is our job as teachers to get them through those years with some semblance of sanity and hope that we can teach them about life as we teach them a subject. I don't take what they do too seriously, really, as they have so much they have to learn about life and I am happy to do my part to push them down the right path. The apologies come when they realize that life after high school is NOT what they are expecting. I give them my little spiel every spring- I did it about 3 weeks ago- saying: Don't hurry your way through the last few weeks of school. Don't wish your year away; life does not get easier than it is right now. Enjoy the time you are living in! They look at me skeptically and usually say- Yeah, yeah, but Mrs. O!!!

I smile and say- I know honey, but you will understand someday. And they do!

So, another batch of seniors is going off in the world. Some WILL be my facebook friends (and in some cases, my real friends) forever- and some I may never hear from again, but I will have the memories - and they can be seen as messages on the ceiling, waiting for me to read them again, and remember.....

One of my little joys in life.

* Chequamegon (pronounced shuh-wah-meh-gon) is the name of our consolidated school district.

Little gift from a little boy

I am a really lucky Mad-Art Teacher.  Even though this is SUCH a difficult time of the year for me:  I have some of my favorite seniors ever graduating, my rooms look like a bomb has gone off in them, I'm always behind in my grading...... I still get little gifts from kids.  Most of the little gifts are not physical gifts.  However, today, I was blessed with a gift of stones.

I had Kindergarten first down in the "Elemental school" as I call it.....  the HS students think that is a hilarious thing to say, and then they ask what I call the HS!  hehehe.  They are called the "Dark Side", and they are not so sure they like that, but it is fitting, believe me.  :)  Anyway, I digress, I had Kinders first thing and we made these cutout dandelion things on light blue paper.  Like a Dandelion portrait!  I lined them up and took them outside to "find a dandelion" so they had something to look at while I showed them how to cut up yellow squares to make a three dimensional dandelion.  Seemed like a great idea, I've done this before!  So while out there, for the first time in about 15 years of doing this lesson, there were actually TWO kids who swore they couldn't find one!!!  SERIOUSLY?????  So we took a little stroll, oh, I don't know, about 2 inches away from where they were standing and found a badillion of them.  I don't know if they thought they were looking for one that had a little halo of light around it, or a pot of gold near it, or just wanted someone to pick it for them, or what all.

Anyway, things went south pretty quickly and there was a lot of neediness and other normal kindergarten behaviors,  and they did not get their dandelions done- which is fine, they can finish next week.  

I was walking around the room, telling them what a great job they were doing cutting their squares into circles (they have made great strides in their small motor abilities this year!), and looking at their progress.  A sweet little boy looks up at me and says that he has something for me.  "I have some stones!"  Oh, ok.  He digs around in his little pocket, looking at me with some HUGE, liquid, brown eyes that can melt my heart in an instant.  He is one of our Micronesian children and to say that they are gorgeous is the biggest understatement of the year.  AND those kids are amazing artists, they have a very strong tradition of drawing and it shows.  At least the ones in Park Falls do!  So, he says, "I brought them for you!"

Oh wow.  I took them and he has the biggest smile ever.  He is a shy child, so this was a pretty neat event for me.  I gladly took them, thanked him profusely, and put them on my desk which is where they were when I took a quick photo of them.  This little gift of rocks makes me happy!  It represents a lot of things- mostly though that I have a connection, and a trust, with my student that is a joyful thing.

I have been getting a lot of intangible gifts lately, lots and lots of little kid leg hugs, children YELLING my name across the cafeteria, multiple stories in the hallway and lots of "when do we have art?"  And  my High School kids give me gifts, also, just a little less loudly!  

 I am fortunate to teach a subject matter in a way that is so different than what any other person in the district does, or at least few others.  I grade them on their creations that come from their own personal expression and ideas, not he reproduction of facts on a paper, or writing, or the juggling of numbers.  I evaluate them on their efforts, their vision, their ability to learn new ways of thinking and seeing.  It can be very painful for some of the kids to make their art, it often lays open some raw emotions that are hard to examine.  And it is all based on a foundation of trust in me.  They trust that I won't belittle them, that I will help them find a good way to show the picture that is in their head, that I won't betray the words that are so often spoken in the art room atmosphere, which is unlike any other room.  I have been getting the words- You are my favorite teacher, Mrs. O- a lot lately.  It is a selfish pleasure, but I take those gifts and tuck them away in my soul.  It gets me through this really hard time of the year!

The trust starts when my kiddos are little.  The beginning of this trust is shown with a little gift of stones!

May you get a little joyful gift today!

Heading outside for art

The only logical thing to do on a beautiful May day, only 9 days before school ends..... on  a Friday no less, is to go outside.  It had to be done.  We all knew that if we didn't we might all go MAD.

And we wouldn't want that, because one Mad-person in the art room is PLENTY.

So, I gathered my wits and my art supplies and the 3rd grade and 2nd grade went outside to draw.  Clipboards in hand, watercolor pencils, brushes, pencil sharpeners, and water in a bin and off we went to the little circle of covered picnic tables known as the outdoor classroom.  The sort of remind me of covered wagons pulled into a circle for protection.  I'm not sure what they need protection from, but you get the idea.

I gave the kids a "challenge" to find a dandelion. Which they of course looked at me like I had lost my mind entirely- of course this was on purpose, so they would think about what I was saying!!  Or because I was one pleading whine to get a drink away from running to my car and speeding away before the official end of the 3rd to the last week of school.

Dandelions in hand, they gathered around me and they took a good look at their dandelion, and as they gazed upon the wonders of a little yellow flower, I began to draw it.  We talked about how the stem is not just green, but is in fact brownish and green and some places a little yellow.  We looked at the next part- the green part under the flower, that has little hooks in it.  They noticed the colors in that as well-  blackish, reddish, greenish.  We then went onto the yellow flower and saw a few colors in there as well, all the while I was drawing for them.  They got their pencils and started their drawings, and later I showed them how to use a barely wet brush to dissolve the watercolor pencil and make it look like paint.  They discovered that if you dip the pencil into the water, it makes a different kind of look, too!  They are very smart.

And they absolutely ROCKED their observation drawings.  Most added the leaves that have an arrow shape at  the end- coming up from the ground, just like a real dandelion.  And then the put in grass and the sky and often the sun.  They did so well.

c

We are artists!!

It turned into a wonderful afternoon, filled with some artistic joys!  AND it is FRIDAY!!!