Category: Artist

art in nature

8/19/2012

Picture I took at Lake Michigan.

I enjoyed the opportunity to spend some time Up North this weekend because I was invited to attend the Michigan Legacy Art Park's Gala at Crystal Mountain. I have been to the park many times and enjoyed the dinner that honored those who have helped make it such a great showcase for sculpture and nature.

On a day of exploring other areas around Northern Michigan, I went to Northport and at the rocky shore of the beach were towers of balanced rocks. This reminded me of Andy Goldsworthy at first, but then I knew I had seen another artist who specifically worked with balancing rocks. John Felice Ceprano is an American born artist who creates the rock sculptures in the video below while living in Ottawa, Canada. There is even an International Festival for this type of art making. So, the next time you are at the beach, try it out (it is a little tricky, but pretty fun)!

summer reading

7/12/2012

Do you like art, mystery, and and figuring out complicated puzzles? Then you need to start reading Chasing Vermeer, The Wright 3, and The Calder Game by Blue Balliett.

I fell in love with the first book, Chasing Vermeer, several years ago, was incredibly excited to read the second, and I finished the last in the series just today. The series involves these curious kids in Chicago (Hyde Park) that have incredible adventures involving art.

My favorite is The Wright 3. The book is focuses on a house in their neighborhood, but not just any house - a house designed by one of the most famous architects in Art History, Frank Lloyd Wright. I have been to the Robie House and really got swept away in the imagery of the struggle and excitement in the book. There is actually a Frank Lloyd Wright House that is similar to the Robie House in Grand Rapids, MI called the Meyer May house. You can visit both houses, as they are both open for tours and have been restored to show Wright's original intent with his design.

The final book, The Calder Game, major emphasis is on work by Alexander Calder (who also has a large public sculpture in Grand Rapids, MI - La Grande Vitesse located in Calder Plaza). This book is just as filled with mystery and art as the others, and even includes mention of Banksy - a street artist that we study in 8th grade.

I hope you will take the time to check out these books (and yes, there are pictures inside - beautiful illustrations by Brett Helquist). If you do read them, or check out sculptures/paintings by the artists in the book, or if you have your own summer reading suggestions, let me know with a post below.

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!

murakami monsters

5/3/2012

8th grade students are planning out their monsters today based on the work of Takashi Murakami. They are learning about the Japanese pop artist who invented the term "superflat" to describe his artwork.

Students will learn more about the artist tomorrow, before making their plush monsters.

an interview with an artist

4/18/2012

Today my students were lucky enough to spend some time with Noli Novak, an artist they studied for their last project via Skype. She creates landscapes and portraits using both Stippling (tiny dots) and Collage (cut paper) methods to get a range of value or color.

In addition to hearing about what inspires her work, how she came to be an artist, and how she makes the photo-realistic work she creates, some students were able to share their pieces inspired by her work. It was a great exchange and I am very appreciative that she was so generous with her time. This was a definite highlight for me this school year and I am sure that those students can say the same!

great times at the gram

2/23/2012

Last night was the Region 9 awards reception for students and their families at the Grand Rapids Art Museum. It was also a time to see friends and beautiful works created by young artists from around West Michigan.

I also enjoyed the Robert Rauschenberg exhibit filled with bright, colorful prints from this iconic artist.

pollution on canvas

4/9/2011

Alexandre Orion uses the dirt and car soot that he collects from his "reverse" grafitti. The video below shows how he uses it to make even more images...

the modern mask

2/16/2011

Nick Cave is an African American artist whose modern take on the mask is like something out of a muppet show.

His colorful "soundsuits" are a part of his performance art pieces that look to engage the cultures of those who view them.

Students are using this artist among others as a springboard to designing their own masks for a Scholastic Art competition.

the great paul flickinger

1/28/2011

Paul made face jugs for the 8th grade classes.

One of my favorite people and artists came to visit BCWMS, sharing both his talent and skill with my students.

I met Paul several years ago when I took a Ceramics class at Western Michigan University as a part of my Master's. As a teacher, Paul taught me how to do so many fun and interesting things with clay that I now pass onto my students.

Paul has made yearly visits to our school to talk about clay, culture, and various other topics while he throws on the wheel. This year with the help of BCFAB and the Arts Counicl of Grand Rapids, we were able to have him come back again and this time he left some special pieces just for us!

This is one of the two face jugs Paul left for us as inspiration for our upcoming clay project.