Blog Archives

Week Thirteen

4/27/2018

Last STEAM Collaboration

Students presented their last STEAM collaboration for the year this week. For this challenge, students were asked to design and create structures that represented spaces we use like schools, businesses, homes, and other architectural works.

It was fun to see students from both classes work together to create a variety of buildings using blueprints, digital renderings, and physical models. The pieces are currently on display in our Library until the end of the year.

DE is DONE

Another semester of DE is in the books. It has been almost 8 years since the last time I taught 3D and I am so thankful I was able to come back to it with this group. These kids were amazing to work with, full of so many ideas, and willing to push themselves to try new ideas and techniques.

I was really excited to see their final exam projects complete and how they took the opportunity of designing their own prompt with their choice of media. It gave students to try some things they were interested in doing or revisiting ideas left undone from the past. Here are a few of the results:

For our final farewell of the group, we met at the Meijer Gardens to complete a scavenger hunt and sketchbook activity. A special thanks to The Byron Center Fine Arts Boosters for sponsoring our trip!

Building More Skills

Students also spend this week building skills by learning about printmaking and observational drawing. Our newest themed project asks students to examine the objects we interact with on a daily basis and make art that focuses on that relationship. In addition to that, students are also being challenged to use a different media to work with for this piece.

Next week we will spend time refining ideas and finalizing media for use to work towards project goals. Here are some works in progress so far:

Arts a la Mode Prep

We are getting excited for our annual Fine Arts Night on May 22nd and starting to put the finishing touches on our preparations for the event that includes Empty Bowls, Performances, Art Displays, and STEAM activities (two of which were funded with DonorsChoose.org requests earlier this year).

We are also in process of gathering volunteers for the night, asking students and parents to help out. If you are a student or parent at BCPS and would like to help, please contact me for more information.

Finishing touches on bowl for May 22nd Arts a la Mode event at BCWMS. pic.twitter.com/ztubEqKIdC
— Janine Campbell (@campbellartsoup) April 26, 2018

ArtPrize10 Update

We are continuing work on our part of the ArtPrize piece this year. I am so excited to see it coming together, but know we still have A LOT of work to do before it is complete. This week was spent cutting a lot of reflective paper and then figuring out how to place it on the work.

Hopefully next week we will be able to get our profile up and running and start to secure a venue. If you would like to connect, please visit our ArtPrize page.

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Week Twelve

4/23/2018

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Finishing Up with DE

Students in my KCAD 3D DE class are working on their final exam projects as we get closer to the end of the course. With only a week left, students are at different points of progress when it comes to their final works. It has been an awesome time seeing students select what materials they want to work with for their final projects and how they can adapt the skills and ideas we discussed throughout the term into something that is uniquely their own making.

I have been so impressed with the students from this term and cannot wait to see what they land on for their final works. I am also excited to see many of them return as a part of our program and even more excited and proud for those who will graduate and begin their next learning journey at the college level!

Architecture Almost Complete

Students continued their STEAM projects this week that worked at designing an building models based on architecture. Students will finish up and present these works on Monday/Tuesday of next week. I have appreciated seeing students work together in groups for this effort and discover skills and talents using a variety of tools.

These pieces will go on display in the Library of our school for the remainder of the school year and we look forward to keeping some as examples and decoration for our classrooms.

Working on ArtPrize10

Working on our @ByronCenterPS #ArtPrize10 Youth Collaboration piece for @ArtPrize collaboration today pic.twitter.com/YVc7kmdfDC
— Janine Campbell (@campbellartsoup) April 17, 2018

Students were busy at work last week getting the background for our panels painted for ArtPrize10. We are so excited about this installation that celebrates diversity and how we can come together as a community to work on this statement. Now that we have our backgrounds decorated, we need to finish up the portraits on the bottle caps and apply those to the panels along with reflective paper.

It is going to be amazing to see the other schools' work, too. Especially when we put them all together. I am also looking forward to sharing our completed panels at our Arts a la Mode/Empty Bowls/Fine Arts Night celebration on May 22nd!

LOVE the additions students made to our #artprize10 Youth Collaboration entry as a part of the @ByronCenterPS @ArtPrize work. Hoping we will find a venue this year to showcase our work! More to do tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/3NaBoCOBmh
— Janine Campbell (@campbellartsoup) April 18, 2018

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Week Eleven

4/13/2018

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Acting Like Designers

For our final STEAM collaborative of the year, students are acting like an architecture firm and creating spaces using a variety of tools. To begin, students get into groups of four and assign roles: Project Managers are responsible for collecting images of the work, writing a purpose statement for the work, and creating a presentation of all of those items; Blueprint Designers are responsible for sketching out the way the building will look and the layout of the structure; SketchUp Artists are responsible for creating a digital rendering of the structure; and Maquette Builders are responsible for creating a physical model of the piece.

In STEAM class, we are working on thinking like Design Engineers and creating concept sketches of products. To get them thinking about product design, we watched the video below:

Afterwards, students started to brainstorm products that currently exist as well as those that do not that would help resolve frustrations they have. It was fun to see students come up with ideas and then getting feedback from others through a roundtable sharing process.

Before working on their final designs, I also took students through the act of creating a "Mood Board" to help better define their product. They combined images and words while thinking about their product and consumer to give an overall feel for their design as well as hone in on their point of view as the designer. I had never done this before with students. It is such a quick and easy activity to do and it helps secure their idea before finalizing their sketch.

Here are some of the results:

I am also super excited that the latest issue of Scholastic Art Magazine fits right into this project. I made sure to spend time yesterday going over their interview with Nike Chief Design Officer, John Hoke with my STEAM students.

Sometimes I think the people at Scholastic are reading my mind. This issue could not have come at a better time!

Alter Egos

We are nearing to a close for our Dual Enrollment class and students worked on finishing up their alter egos before starting their final exam projects. It has been fun to see students interpret a variety of media and concepts throughout the term. I am excited to see that students took a lot of liberty with their alter egos. Some used clay, others used wall paper and wire, and some used hot glue. With only a couple of weeks left before we finish final exam projects and say goodbye, here are a few of the solutions from this last project.

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Spring Break!

4/6/2018

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Always time for Art

When people go on vacation, I am sure their goal is to get away from their jobs. It is my experience that when Art Teachers go on vacation, their main priority is to find the Art wherever they are. My Spring Break started with the opportunity to tour the Cincinnati Art Museum. In all my years of traveling south for this vacation, I had yet to visit this place. I am excited to say that is no longer the case.

Driving up to the building that overlooks the city, I got to play one of my favorite games: guess the artist. It is this silly thing (and probably obnoxious to some) I like to do when I see a piece of art from a distance. I simply guess who it is before I see the tag/plaque and then check to see if I am correct.

To my delight, I saw the giant statue of Pinocchio and instantly knew it was by Jim Dine, a native of the city. There is something so fun about reaching within your own knowledge base and testing it out in new environments. I was able to do this time and again as I saw works by Miro, Chihuly, LaMonte, and Warhol throughout the space.

If you have yet to tour this space, I cannot recommend it enough. The staff are friendly, the fee is free, and the collection is well balanced with a mix of pieces from historical periods as well as contemporary works. One of my favorite things I saw while I was there was the positioning of the education area as well as interactive tablets for people to use as they explored the collection. It is clear that this museum prioritizes the experience of their viewers and wants kids to get into the action and start learning about, appreciating, and interacting with art at a young age. I was also inspired by the layout of their space in the education area and will try and find some ways to bring that back into my own classroom sometime soon.

Take a Hike

A lot of people use Spring Break to catch up on sleep, catch up on their tans, binge-watch their favorite shows, or hike up a mountain. I am thankful I have the ability to venture to places like the Smoky Mountains and use the resources available to better connect with nature and in turn, myself. I have been hiking up mountains for almost two decades and each time it is a challenge. I am thankful I have the ability to keep climbing and the will to complete each trail. Remember, you can sleep when you are dead.

In the RAD

In addition to our hiking adventures, we also took time to enjoy art in Asheville, North Carolina. I was fortunate to be able to plan a meet up with my friend and fellow art teacher while we were there and we enjoyed the vast array of Street Art and studios located in the River Arts District (RAD).

If you get a chance, visit this art-filled place and enjoy the visuals (they also have a great array of eateries to try, too)!

Spring break was a time to connect with nature, with art, and even with colleagues. I am very thankful for the opportunities I have and use them to help make me a better teacher in my classroom for my students.

More from NAEA

After a week to really go over materials and the variety of items I brought back with me, I have a few key take-aways from this year's conference:

Stop Searching for Perfect Solutions

One of the most impactful presentations I attended was actually the first breakout session I went to about Design Thinking. In this presentation, they discussed a concept I haven't really thought too much about before and that was the idea of finding a solution.

As they shared their stories about students working with materials to develop items that could help communities in the developing world, they stressed the idea of using resolution rather than solution to discuss the end game with design thinking. By saying solution, we infer that there is only one ending that will work and in reality, there are many. In addition, solutions are impacted by resources.

Through this presentation, I started to think about my own approach to making art and how I might need to approach it with my students as they are making art. If I stress a single solution to a problem, rather than the best was to resolve it, I may be shutting the door for some students on their thinking and ability to push past roadblocks in their own learning. Learning is about a continuous path. There is not a straight line that goes from one thing to the next. There are peaks and valleys and short cuts and long hauls. This presentation helped me refocus on that and I am excited to bring it back into my classroom.

People Make the Difference

For me, the conference is not just about sitting and getting information. It is about the interaction with my colleagues and hands-on engagement that occurs through discussion, creation, and presenting to others. I feel incredibly fortunate that I was able to attend this year and had the opportunity to learn from my colleagues about how they adapt learning for their students. This was done in many of the medley's and conversation with colleagues sessions I attended.

It was also done in the session I had the joy of presenting in with my fellow Middle School Art teachers. Every time I have presented with this group, I learn something new. Because we come from diverse areas, we are able to share our unique perspectives with an audience of teachers as well as with each other.

In addition, being able to connect with various vendors and see product demonstrations and hear from those who know best is so valuable for my own understanding and what I can bring back to my classroom. I am so appreciative to the vendors for their generosity (both of time and materials), which help advance my ability as an artist and teacher. Working in the exhibition hall with make and takes and other samples is also a great way to connect with other teachers and share tips and tricks that we use with various products in our own classrooms.

These personal connections are what makes a conference successful and it is why I am so thankful I was able to attend in person this year.

I am so lucky to be able to connect with other teachers from other schools at the conference. Being able to experience the sights with friends I have made as a result of my participation in MAEA and NAEA is something that has helped me grow as a person and better serve my students. It is so awesome to be able to spend time with other people who get it. They understand what it is like to be obsessed with Art and they share that obsession in the most unapologetic way with you during these events.

Collaboration Is Key

I have been a big fan of collaboration for a long time. It is silly to work in isolation and it is unrealistic to expect our students to always work alone when they are creating art. It was awesome to go to places this the Seattle Art Museum and the Chihuly Garden and Glass to see that spirit of collaborative work in action.

One of the pieces I was most moved by at the SAM was the large installation by John Grade, titled "Middle Fork." Rather than explain it, here is a video short that explains the work and how it is still in progress and still being created by a collaborative effort.

There were a lot of favorites during this conference. One of them included going outdoors and viewing glass artists at work in the hot shop at Chihuly Gardens and Glass. Again, working collaboratively to create large works is innate to artists and I will be sure to keep that in mind as my students begin their final collaborative STEAM project when we return from break.

Here are some additional Art sights from both places:

As a final note, I wanted to share some of the goodies I brought back and awarded to students who had completed a coding challenge from CSFirst. Finger feet and the Seattle Art Museum pen that looks like a paint tube for the win!

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Week Thirteen

Last STEAM Collaboration

DE is DONE

Building More Skills

Arts a la Mode Prep

ArtPrize10 Update

Week Twelve

Finishing Up with DE

Architecture Almost Complete

Working on ArtPrize10

Week Eleven

Acting Like Designers

Alter Egos

Spring Break!

Always time for Art

Take a Hike

In the RAD

More from NAEA

Stop Searching for Perfect Solutions

People Make the Difference

Collaboration Is Key

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Janine Campbell

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