ARTVENTURING IN MIDDLESCHOOL

Week Three

9/19/2016

2nd Annual STEAM Film Festival

Students spent this week working on and then presenting their videos that included topics about making healthy choices, celebrating diversity, promoting character, and choosing appropriate online behavior.

It was fun to see students work in groups as they took their scripts and storyboard from last week and transformed them into videos this week. At the end of the week, we had students present their videos in small groups as they rotated to different groups. This was a technique we learned from last year that worked well for us in a different challenge. It also helped keep us off the hook if there were internet issues accessing the videos since students streamed them directly from their computers.

Here are a few that were shared and will make their way into various competitions:

One new feature of our STEAM collaboration was having our community television crew visit the kids on our final day! In addition to talking about their work on Byron Center Community Television, students were offered an opportunity to check out and work their equipment and sign up to get more information on volunteering.

There are definitely things we will work on to make this project even better next year. We made sure to ask our students to help us with that by having them fill out a Google Form as a self-reflection. In it, many students said their favorite part of the PSA Challenge was filming and working in groups that included students from both Art and STEM.

Some things they would like us to do in the future is open up even more categories for topics they can create films about in this project.

We will definitely be looking into that...

3D test prints

When students finished their videos early, they were directed to Tinkercad to play with the 3D print designer. We are still learning the potential of our 3D printer, but one student was able to walk away with a pretty nice chicken they printed...

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Week Two

9/16/2016

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Starting with STEAM

For the first full week of school, the STEM teacher and I combine our classes for a STEAM collaborative. This allows for us to start the year out showing the students that we use common language and methods for design thinking.

Students use their sketchbooks to map out the process, so they can have it available as they move from my class to his (and visa versa) at semester. For Design Thinking, we use DICE (Discover, Ideate, Create, Evaluate). We used to use a longer process, but have found that this fits just right.

Lights, Camera...

After students were introduced to the basics of video production and given a variety of topics to choose from, they got into their groups and started working on scripts and storyboards. Students know from past examples that a well done video could mean recognition in a variety of venues and used that to help generate new and innovative ways to approach topics like "Building Character" and generating a "positive digital footprint."

Students spent the later part of the week actually filming their work based on the scripts and storyboards they crafted. It was interesting to see groups make choices on whether or not they were going to "act" in theirs or use animation or use a combination of both.

It will be fun to see hoe these works come together in the end and the showcase that follows as they are featured in our 2nd Annual STEAM Film Festival.

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First Week Review

9/9/2016

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Since starting this blog 5 years ago, I have been looking for new and different ways to share all of the things that go on in our Art room. I used to post daily and more recently have moved to less and less posting.

For this school year, I am hoping to post weekly about what we are working on and how we progress through learning, making, and exploring along the way.

Start with Art

For the past five or so years, I have opened up the first day with clay. We use this opportunity to make our bowls for our annual Empty Bowls event. I am so thankful to work in a community that supports the Arts and that we can in turn support the community through our Art in action. Our Arts a la Mode Night will happen on May 23rd this year and I know it will be even better than last!

Making Marks

In addition to getting students immersed in making art with clay on the first day, I leverage this act of making on day two as I introduced "The Dot" by Peter H. Reynolds. I have been doing this one for a few years, too, in different forms. I am really in love with students making their own mark after being inspired by the story and then bringing it all together to make something larger than their single part. I hope that can see the symbolism in that as we tackle many challenges together throughout the semester and will need each other to get through many of them.

Here are a few of the finished ones and the classes put together to make larger "dots."

Corinne W.: I consider the story The Dot inspirational because Vashti makes beautiful pieces of art, yet so simple, she feels like an artist. I consider myself not the best drawer but in this piece, I let my pencil just take me away and it ended up better than I expected. I ended up finding things I hadn't noticed before while drawing this, like how the shape to the left looked like a dinosaur, and how in the middle shape looked like a distortment of a palm tree, so I colored it in that way. This relates to the story because it was simple to draw and still turned out good ;)

Aiden: The Dot story tells us that no matter how bad you think you are at art, there are a million different ways to make your art work unique. It connects with my art because I didn't know what to make so i just started making different lines and circles and it turn out pretty good.

Abby B.: A story, known as, “The Dot”, has a theme, that can be interpreted that anyone can be an artist. The story starts as a young girl has trouble on thinking about what she should make for her art class. Her teacher tells her to make a dot, which she does, still frustrated with herself. But when the teacher puts it in a frame the next day, the girl keeps working on more dots, surprising herself with her own creativity. I found this book to be funny and inspiring, and a good message to think about when you work on art. This story helps connect with the current piece I’m working on, known as, the dot. I believe that this project was given to us to show that we can be artist too, know matter what our skill levels are.

Looking Ahead

There are a lot of things we can feel good about that got accomplished this week. And with that in mind, I know there will be so many things to look forward to overcoming this year. This week we got to see the 3D printer in action, relive the accomplishments of the past as a challenge to the future, and get excited about our first STEAM collaborative starting on Monday!

I had an awesome summer of unwinding and unplugging because I know this year will be a big one. We have a lot to live up to from the past and instead of being daunted by it or feeling overwhelmed, it is a challenge to push harder and reach higher! I hope everyone else who started their school year feels that same determination in their gut and leverages it to their best year yet!

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August Upload Challenge Winner

8/31/2016

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Earlier this month, in a letter to parents, I invited my students to use Artsonia classroom mode and upload their personal art from the summer.

It is always an awesome thing to see how some students will take advantage of that opportunity to showcase their work, even if it is not for a grade.

I want to take a moment to thank and congratulate Leila for uploading multiple pieces to the gallery for the challenge and winning an Artsonia gift card for participating!

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Summer smARTs

7/5/2016

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Somehow summer vacation is just an excuse for me to get some more time with art. This year my husband and I took a road trip to Montreal, where we were able to visit museums, eat incredible food, and experience new sights and sounds around every corner.

My favorite spot was probably the Beaux Arts where I viewed an amazing exhibit of Pompeii (something I have taught for years). It was amazing and incredibly humbling to see the artifacts from that place up close and personal.

I had a wonderful summer and I learned a lot and was inspired by so many things. I cannot wait to bring that inspiration back to my students when we return in the fall!

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Looking Back

6/21/2016

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This year was amazing!

The Field Trips, the unconventional approaches to ideas, and most Scholastic Awards in BCWMS history are just a few of the highlights.

Here is a look back to the best year ever (although 2016-17 feels like it could be something even more special):

September

Artprize is one of my favorite annual events. It is also a great way to kick off the first week of the school year. It was great to take this group of students downtown and to participate in this fantastic celebration of public art!

October

Scone Day is a BCWMS staple. To cement this International Holiday this year, two students wrote and filmed the melody you can view above. It helped make Scone Day 2015 an epic one to remember!

November

It is always a treat to learn new techniques. I appreciated being able to spend time with my colleagues to learn new printmaking techniques that I then was able to take to my students.

December

Our District Arts show is one of my favorite things about winter. This year was an incredible showing of hard work, skill, and creativity. It was fun to celebrate the accomplishments of students with their families.

January

January marked the 5th year anniversary of this blog. I started this blog as a way to document and share the happenings in my classroom. So many other things have happened that I could not have predicted, including recognition like this award. Thanks again to all who keep coming back and using the resources and ideas shared!

February

Students stepped up their game this year (once again) in a variety of competitions. It was great to celebrate student work at the GRAM more than once this year and seeing students move on from this regional competition to gain State recognition, too!

March

This year BCPS students were the most recognized in our county for the Scholastic Awards. I am so proud of the students this year and know they have set the bar for excellence that others will look to reach in the years to come!

April

We had a great time in Detroit this year to celebrate DAFT as well as the MAEA top 15. It was awesome to spend time celebrating in that great city and see students receive recognition for their efforts.

May

There is a lot from May I could have selected. We raised funds for our local food bank with Arts a la Mode, we went to the Meijer Gardens, we made many fun GIFs of elementary student work, as well as the variety of other things that was amazing! I chose this image because I think it will have a huge impact on the future and the 3D printer we purchased with the grant funds. I know Mr. Dennett and I already have several plans in the works for future STEAM collaborations involving this new tool!

June

This year ended with another trip to the National Scholastic Awards. This is the fourth time I have had the privilege to join my winning student and their family to NYC. Each time is an honor and I look forward to see what happens in 2017!

Final Thoughts

I am so proud of all that was accomplished this year and how far students pushed their ideas and skills to make those accomplishments happen. I know that this year will be a defining one for years to come. I will refer to it often with future students as the year we tried new ideas, received so much recognition, and planned for the future.

It was a great school year (unparalleled in so many ways) and even though it was the best one yet, I have a very good feeling about what next year will bring!

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Final Exams

6/10/2016

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Our last days of school is filled with exams, clean-ups, and saying good-bye.

To finish out the year, I have students take a test that quizzes their retention and understanding of various terms, concepts, skills, and artists we have studied over the semester and then I have them create a work that demonstrates their learning.

Visual Arts has the unique ability to make learning visible. I was happy to see and read the reflections of my students on these last days of school as they showed me what learning went on during this past year.

I am already looking forward to planning the learning for next year!

Matthew G.: Throughout the course of this year, I have learned a great deal. Most of which has been about Photoshop. I created a space landscape from scratch using Photoshop. I created two different textures, one that is Earth-like, and one that is Mars-like, and put them in a space setting. I added a lense flare to add the effect of a sun. Overall, I would say that this is one of my best Photoshop landscapes.

Sydney C.: I had made the art piece Summer Vibes because I like sunglass and printmaking so why not add both of my favorite things together? Throughout the year I really liked print making and I wanted to do it for one last time before I go up to the high school. Printmaking has helped me grow as an artist throughout the tool and had helped me expand my horizon of materials. This year it was my first year of art and for my final exam I wanted to use the skills I had learned this year and make a print using cool colors. Summer Vibes is not only my final piece as an 8th grader but also my last farewell to printmaking for the next year.

Eli G.: For the final project of the year, I decided to make a photoshop portrait of myself. In the 30 minutes I had, I thought it would look cool do do a portrait, and represent how I have gotten much better with photoshop than when I just started 2 years ago. I chose to do this because I felt like it would be a cool thing to try out as my last project this year. Even though it was a quick piece of art, I really liked the whole concept and enjoyed creating this piece.

Ella P.: The reason why I created this artwork is because, you can see with your eyes when your drawing or making artwork but your hands can also see what you a doing. Thats why the hands have eyes and are covering the face. Also I have learned to use texture in my art to make it more live like, so in the hair I gave more texture to make it look more real.

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Scholastic 2016

6/6/2016

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This is the fourth time I have had the pleasure to experience the National Scholastic Awards with a student.

Each time is different. Each time is inspiring. I am so thankful for the opportunity these awards have given to my students and me; I am also excited about what next year might bring and how my students may raise to the challenge to keep our three-year winning streak going.

My favorite moment from the event was listening to the words of Tim Gunn, who encouraged us to embrace our fear - he said that if we are feeling fearful of failure, it means we are probably doing something important; harness that energy to complete each new idea with a freshness that pushes the work forward.

Congratulations again to our Gold Medalist, Cam Shuelke, who attended the awards, as well as Silver Medalist, Ethan Pipe. Their hard work and creativity will keep inspiring students for years to come!

If you would like more information about these awards, check out the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards website and our local Regional Affiliate.

Images from the show and a video of the celebration at Carnegie are below.

Here is Cam next to his Gold Medal winning piece of jewelry, Modular Necklace. This work will now be a part of the Art. Write. Now. Tour and travel the US to various cities and venues.

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Arts a la Mode

5/30/2016

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On May 24th, we had our annual Empty Bowls Event and Fine Arts Night. It was the first year we had combined the two on one night and it was a great time celebrating the work of our Fine Arts students as we also helped raise food and funds for our local food bank.

With a donation of food or funds, community members came to WMS and enjoyed Music and Art from our students and ice cream provided by Hudsonville Ice Cream thanks to our Byron Center Fine Arts Boosters.

We raised over $600 in food and funds to be donated to Buist Community Assistance Center to help families in our community!

It was a great night filled with Art and Music and I am so thankful to Steve Harryman who donated his time and talents to create the video of the event below:

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Everything Old is New Again

5/28/2016

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For our final project theme, students were asked to visit their Artsonia portfolios and select a past work they would like to revisit. In doing so, they had to demonstrate an improvement of skill, understanding, or (ideally) both in the process.

This is probably my most favorite of themes because it is interesting to see what students choose and read why they did. I also appreciate the use of skills to demonstrate their new-found understandings, abilities, and decisions for how they want to make art.

Here are a few of the reworked ideas from the past:

Alayna: I remade the free-day artwork that I made a few years ago at Nickels. I chose to revisit this artwork because I knew that I could put more work into this project than I did the first time, and I also knew that I should put more patterns into the circle-like-hills that I had drawn for this project than just the regular colors I had done the first time. One of the things I did different this time was I painted patterns into the circles instead of just a solid color. Another thing I did differently this time was that I drew out the circles and painted them in, and afterwards I cut out the circles and glued them onto a headband. I really wanted to be different in the media I used, and I am very glad that I chose to revisit this design and improved.

Matt: This artwork shows a lot of improvement from the artwork I chose to make better for many reasons. First of all, it shows improvement because my first artwork is random and does not use any artist techniques, it is just random. Now this video is better because I used a Julian Opie technique to create a cool looking portrait that looks like the people are cartoon characters. I chose to redo my prior art because I knew I could do better on it and I enjoy doing artwork that deals with people and portraits.

Lindsey: My artwork is an improved version of a 5th grade piece that we traced in class. But this I made a new background and I made it 3d with is a skill I have learned this year. I also freehanded this drawing and I used a splatter background which is a amazing technique I learned his year.

Matthew:I decided to re-do project theme 2. During that project, I envisioned the change of seasons and how it affected what we as humans do for fun (snowboarding, hiking, etc). So when I decided to re-do this project, I thought about the the Photoshop skills I had learned. I made a GIF or an animated image of the Earth changing seasons. I DID NOT use any images from Google. This piece is all from scratch. I feel the reason I wanted to revisit project theme 2 is that during that time, I was having fun snowboarding. Now, I am wake boarding. It made me think about the change of seasons. I think that this piece is really cool!

Josh: i choose a panda because pandas are my favorite animal. i recreated this but the first time i made something like this was in 5th grade. plus i picked these colors because they really stand out.

Nolan: For the last project theme of the year I made a rainbow salmon jumping out of water to improve my 5th grade king salmon. In this piece of of art I used a ultra thin black sharpie to outline some shapes. I also used many different colored pencils. With the colored pencils I made shades of different color. This is a new and improved piece of art because instead of just having the king salmon just stay in one spot, the rainbow salmon is jumping out of the water making the water ripple and fly every where. This relates to me because my whole family loves to fish. We have a cottage and a cabin that we go to many times a year. I made a rainbow salmon because I love to catch rainbow trout and I have always wanted to go king salmon fishing. I wanted to revise my 5th grade water color fish painting because I thought it would be cool to make a unreal fish jump out of the water. I also wanted to make a revision because I thought that it would be the easiest to make it look 10 times better.

Ella: The work that I created is a cup of hot chocolate made of felt. In 5th grade we had to paint a picture of a person holding a cup of hot chocolate, so what I did to improve my work and I created a larger and 3D like version of the cup that my girl was holding. The reason why I did this piece was because In 5th grade when I did the painting I felt like I didn't try hard enough to make it good so I wanted to make it better and be more creative.

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<<Previous

Week Three

2nd Annual STEAM Film Festival

3D test prints

Week Two

Starting with STEAM

Lights, Camera...

First Week Review

Start with Art

Making Marks

Looking Ahead

August Upload Challenge Winner

Summer smARTs

Looking Back

September

October

November

December

January

February

March

April

May

June

Final Thoughts

Final Exams

Scholastic 2016

Arts a la Mode

Everything Old is New Again

Archives

Janine Campbell

Categories

2nd Annual STEAM Film Festival

3D test prints

Starting with STEAM

Lights, Camera...

Start with Art

Making Marks

Looking Ahead

September

October

November

December

January

February

March

April

May

June

Final Thoughts

Archives

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