Blog Archives

collaborative efforts

5/31/2012

Tonight was the KCTC collaborative show displaying work inspired by my students. It was super fun to see how Kim Westdorp's students re-imagined the work that my students have created.

Her students were able to use my students' online portfolios on Artsonia.

Kim and I met at the TEDxGrandRapids Livestream event May 10th and decided we wanted to connect our classrooms in this project.

We are excited to do this again next year!

folding paper

5/31/2012

7th grade students are continuing to create various origami creatures for our mural in the library. Students voted on what they wanted the mural to say, and decided on YOLO (You Only Live Once).

This mural will be a nice way to wrap up the year and something to look forward to seeing again once we come back in September. We will start to hang the butterflies, cranes, and pinwheels tomorrow. Hopefully the installation will be complete by Monday so we can review for the Final Exam (yes, we give an exam in art) on Tuesday!

origami revisited

5/29/2012

Jen Stark, Afterglow

The above three artists are being used as inspiration for the collaborative project I will be leading my students as we finish out the school year. We will be creating origami sculptures that will then be formed together on the wall to make a mural. I am excited about this project and look forward to posting pictures when we finish it (hopefully by the end of the week). Here are some worksheets that we will use for paper folding:

remembering

5/28/2012

On Friday, students in my 1st hour decorated the outside hallway to show their patriotism for this Memorial Day Holiday. We also had an assembly honoring those who have fought for our country and those who have given their lives.

art collaboration

5/25/2012

I met Kim Westdorp at the TEDxLivestream event earlier this month. After quick introductions and a discovery that we both taught Art, she and I decided it would be fun to have our kids work together. Like an episode from the Art Contest Reality TV Show, "Work of Art," her students went through my students' online portfolios on Artsonia and selected a piece they wanted to re-imagine. Next Thursday those works, along with the inspiration images, will be on display at the Kent Career Technical Center. I am excited to see the work and look forward to doing this again in the future!

ready for their close up

5/24/2012

8th graders were ready to assume the roles of many of the artists we studied in class for their informational videos. From Andy Warhol (above) to Shepard Fairey (left), students used a variety of "costumes" to get the desired effect.

This project is outlined on this webpage and I have given presentations on this topic at the Michigan Association of Computer Users in Learning conference as well as Kendall College of Art and Design. This project was awarded a 2nd place prize in the 2011 PBS Innovation Awards and I am currently working on a video to submit in the 2012 STEMie awards. First place award includes $15000 for the winning classroom - imagine all of the cool stuff we could do with that!

lights, camera...

5/23/2012

8th grade students have been working on their scripts and storyboards for the past week to prepare for the filming that started today.

Students are working on informational videos about the projects we did in class to help them get ready for their final exam.

clay recycling

5/22/2012

Students helped recycle discarded pieces of clay so they can see new life in future projects!

qr codes

5/21/2012

In addition to seeing all of the colorful art pieces on display, parents and students can also link to the QR codes to find even more work from our class in the genre being displayed.

Each QR code links to our online gallery with a description of the project on display as well as other examples from the class.

I am very excited about the art show tonight and look forward to using these codes in future exhibitions as well!

Check out the project this code links you to... extra credit for any student who emails me the right answer by tomorrow!

rivers and tides

5/18/2012

8th grade students took a break from their Art infomercials today to learn about the work of Andy Goldsworthy.

This environmental artist uses nature as a way to create art that is meant to last for a short period of time. He uses objects found in nature to create his sculptures and as you can see from the video below, the effects are stunning.

With such a nice weekend ahead of us, I challenge you to go out and make some art using nature as inspiration!