Blog Archives

Winter Break

12/29/2016

As I have done for the past 5 years, I am finishing the year out with some closing images that highlight 2016.

It was a year filled with many opportunities for my students and me to shine. My students kicked off the year with our most successful showing at the Scholastic Art and Writing awards, and finished it off with another round of submissions that I am sure will find great success to kick off 2017. I got a chance to start the year with a keynote at ECET2 in San Diego, CA and finished it out with preparing both writing and presentations for various Art Education publications.

I started blogging because I wanted a space to document what my students and I were doing in the classroom and use that to help propel us both forward. What has been a byproduct from this is the amazing connections I have made with other teachers and classrooms who happen to stumble across this space and use the materials I have shared and make it their own.

I am very excited about what is to come in 2017. I keep working and growing to be the teacher I envision for my students and my students keep showing up, working hard, and producing results that are meaningful.

Here is a quick look at 2016:

January

Each year since I moved towards choice-based instruction I work to make my classroom more user friendly. I started out 2016 with this effort to organize my classroom and used students to help me do it. It has worked pretty well so far and we continue to make adjustments as students use the tools to create their art.

February

We had 4 student works in the show and two that ended up making it into the top 15 for the state! I love this show and opportunity for my students and look forward to participating again this year.

March

The 2016 West Central Michigan Regional Scholastic Art and Writing Awards at Kendall College of Art and Design was one of the most successful showings for BCPS Visual Arts Students in the history of our participation in the program. In addition to having the most recognition in Kent County, two of our students were selected as being a part of the Five American Vision Nominee works and three students works ended up receiving recognition at the National level. We are so proud of our student Artists and look forward to seeing the great things they continue to make as they develop their skills and creative voices.

April

BCWMS students enjoyed another great showing at this year's State Film Festival. It was a great way to spend a Saturday in Detroit and celebrate student work at the Detroit Film Theater. Best of show winners were inspired to create more films, one of which will compete in the 2017 competition.

May

This year was one of the most successful years I have ever had with grant writing. In the course of one month, my classroom received $7000 in funding and shattered all records for the amounts of funding we have received annually in the past. The biggest funding source came from Tanger Outlets and was used to purchase a 3D printer for the Art and STEM classroom.

June

NYC in June has become a tradition for me and a deserving National Scholastic winner. Cam Scheulke won a National Gold Medal in Jewelry for his origami necklace and we were able to celebrate the accomplishment in NYC. Cam's visit marked our third year in a row for a national winner and 6th National medalist in BCWMS history.

July

I had the opportunity to visit Montreal at the start of July. It is a great city for art and food and culture. I am already planning future visits in years ahead.

August

This was our first major print using the 3D printer. I am so thankful for the grant funds awarded by Tanger Outlets to purchase this piece of equipment and look forward to many more prints in 2017!

September

One of my professional goals for this year was to connect students with opportunities that existed beyond WMS. It was awesome to have BCTV come to our school and talk with kids about getting involved in broadcasting and something I know really connected with many kids.

October

The STEM teacher and I got to present for the second year in a row at the MAEA conference. It was fun to share how we collaborate and connect our curriculum together through STEAM projects.

November

This year the high school art teachers and I had a series of after school Scholastic critique sessions for students to share and work on pieces for competition. It was the first time we tried this and it was very well attended and received by students. We will continue to work to find more opportunities for our students to connect and share their work as they grow in their skills and ideas! Good luck to all of the students who put work in the competition this year!

December

We ended the year with a new STEAM collaboration: video games. In addition to having students create the art and write the code, they had a chance to share and play each others' games. With the addition of guest speaker, Ben Lambert, and the two high school teachers, many of the students claimed this project to be the best one yet!

I am very excited for 2017 and all of the things that are going to happen in the new year. I hope everyone enjoyed their break and I look forward to sharing more with you next week!

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Week Sixteen

12/21/2016

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Play On

Students finished up their video game design projects this week and had a chance to see what each other did. In addition to going around to each other's games and get feedback, students also had a chance to hear from the High School Visual Arts teachers who connected the learning happening at WMS with what is expected at the HS and beyond.

It was really exciting to see what students did with their games using Scratch. We stressed that there had to be some sort of educational aspect to their games, and some had stronger connections that others, but all tried and created something using tools they had little experience with before starting this project.

I was first inspired to do this project after hearing Steve Ciampaglia from the Plug-in Studio at the NAEA Convention a couple of years ago speak about using video game design with students.

Here are some games that resulted from our STEAM collaboration:

After the video games were shared, students had a chance to complete a self-assessment using Google Forms and in that assessment they were asked what their favorite part of the project was. For many, it was the fact that they could work with a partner to create a game. For others, it was hearing from Ben Lambert and the High School Art teachers and getting feedback from them.

This was a fun way to lead into break and something I know we will do again next year (hopefully with more time)!

I hope everyone enjoyed their last days before break with their students and finished 2016 with much success!

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Week Fifteen

12/16/2016

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Game On

The second STEAM collaborative started at the end of last week. Even though we had a snow day and a two-hour delay this week, students stormed full force into their projects and worked to make playable games.

As a part of the design, students needed to work in pairs and come up with a concept that linked to education and create all of their original art for the game. Students used Scratch to create their games and many used Piskel App to create sprites and even some backgrounds.

Games will be playable next week and we will be having a mini Game Con so that students can experience each other's creations.

Students took a break from programming to hear from Ben Lambert, an iPhone Developer and Designer at (i)collective idea out of Holland, MI.

Ben got his start in 2D animation and graphics and began programming games after teaching himself. His game, Hungry Munchers, is available on the App Store and he is currently working on a game that should be available within the next year.

He shared a lot of tips on how to get started with developing games and students enjoyed the time he spent working with them on their games.

Scholastic Submissions

This week was the FINAL week for students to create and upload work for the 2017 Scholastic Art Awards. Here are some of the worsk we hope to do well this season. Good luck to everyone who submitted work this year!

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Week Fourteen

12/7/2016

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Challenge 4

This week students were challenged to create a 2D work that tacked an issue they felt strongly about and shows importance to either the past, present, or future. After brainstorming ideas, students were encouraged to use PBS LearningMedia as a resource to research their ideas and apply the information to help craft the imagery for their work.

An artist I used to help gear students up for this kind of challenge was Maria Fabrizio. She is the author of "Wordless News," a blog where the artist aims to capture a headline everyday in an unique image. Maria spoke at the MAEA fall conference and shared her process and how she gets ideas. I especially like that she creates many of her textures at night and scans them in to create a library of them that she can use when appropriate for her work. I knew when I heard her speak that I would have to use her as an artist of note for my students.

Students really connected to her work and enjoyed going through her posts and trying to guess the headlines.

After only five days of work, here is what students came up with for their answer to the question, "What is your issue?"

Can you guess their topic based on the images?

Trevor O.

Ashley W.

Abby B.

Jackson C.

Jenny P.

Colton S.

Braeden H.

Connor B.

Lexi M.

Jackson Z.

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Week Thirteen

12/3/2016

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Challenge 3 Complete

This Challenge revolved around the idea of "Treasure and/or Trash." Students were encouraged to think about material use and could not use a material they had previously used in other works.

This lead to some new and interesting adaptations of objects and techniques. It was fun to see students struggle through and invent new ways to apply their concepts.

Here are some of the results:

Avery H.: For the elements of design I used line and shape. I used different kinds of lines with the hot glue. I also used shape by have many different shapes put together to make the necklace. For the principals of design I used balance and rhythm. I arranged the pieces of hot glue to balance the necklace. Using repudiation of shapes but changing them slightly created rhythm throughout the necklace. My aesthetic opinion of my art is that I like how the necklace looks in color and shape.

Colton S.: For this challenge, I created the famous line of T206 baseball cards out of felt. I used the element of form to create actual cards. I also used the principal of unity, because all of the cards are the same size and shape, just like the original line of cards. I think the cards are fun to look at and compare to the actual cards. I think they are for the most part very similar looking to the originals.

My T.: In my artwork an element I used was shape. I used shape in my art because of the paper swans I made and the paper stars. All of the origami is hung by a strand of yarn connected to the cone. A principle I had in my artwork was balance. I had balance in my artwork because when I added the paper swans and stars I had to make it balanced and not tilt on only one side. I had to make it even so that it would look nicer. My opinion on my artwork is that I think it looks really calming. There is nothing too crazy about the work it is really plain. The only thing that had a pop of color was the stars and I wanted some color in my artwork so I thought of stars and it worked out really good.

Lauren A.: The artwork I created was inspired by Joseph Cornell, I was inspired by this artwork by using unique objects to create the artwork. The elements and principles of design I used in my work was the rule of thirds and I used a lot of material out of magazines to create my artwork. My artistic aesthetic opinion of this is very good. I think that The was I made the shirt blue made her skin and hair look more natural, and I think that it makes the blue eyes pop.

WIP

As it happens sometimes, not all students finished by the deadline. I did not want to leave them out of this post, so here are some stellar works still being completed for this challenge.

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Winter Break

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Week Sixteen

Play On

Week Fifteen

Game On

Scholastic Submissions

Week Fourteen

Challenge 4

Week Thirteen

Challenge 3 Complete

WIP

Archives

Janine Campbell

Categories

Winter Break

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

​December

Week Sixteen

Play On

Week Fifteen

Game On

Scholastic Submissions

Week Fourteen

Challenge 4

Week Thirteen

Challenge 3 Complete

WIP

Archives

Janine Campbell

Categories

December