Monthly Archives: October 2010
As I See It…
I have just finished editing the ‘As I See It…’ short film created by pupils of Ladywell Learning Centre and their family members. The short talking head films focus on an aspect of the artist’s views on things around them. Each piece was created by painting (acrylics) a portrait on card and then adding moving mechanisms for the eyes and mouth to animate it. There is no digital editing in any of the pieces themselves, they are created and manipulated by hand in front of a flip camera while the artists’ audio is played in the background.
I was very happy that the adult family members were as willing to take part as much as the pupils and their younger siblings, it has made the selection of views varied and very interesting to watch. It’s definitely a project I’m very proud in being part of.
Turn The Other Cheek
A sneak glimpse of some of the work being created for the new Art Clast Podcast. The first episode is a Halloween Special. Below, Alison shows off her cut created for the make up section of the podcast. Photography by Megan R.
Don’t Always Take Things At Face Value
Rebecca D (S1, OLSP) brought in these few items from home that she worked on in the past. I’m not entirely interested in the Children in Need design as it is what it is, though I’m completely mesmerised by the portrait below. First impressions show a kind man, gently drawn, though on close inspection the man’s eyes show sadness and emptiness. His mouth show lips that have a lot to say, though remain tightly shut and silent, down turned, but with a slight, knowing smirk. What is he hiding? Then I am drawn towards his cheek scar, how has this been caused? In defense? A really interesting piece of work that I will visit again. Thanks Rebecca.
It Was Worth The Wait
Poor Megan R (S2, OLSP) had given me lots of her drawings a while ago and I had created a draft post that was meant to go live last week, then something had gone wrong within WordPress and I had lost four posts, Megan R’s was one of them. Since then I have been promising Megan that her work will be aired and I haven’t had the chance to do that until tonight.
Megan is quite a breath of fresh air, she is incredibly keen and passionate about art, something that is now becoming extremely rare in these vain and technologically obsessed times we live in. Any scrap piece of paper is her canvas, any old pen, stubby pencil, her paintbrush.
She has also been working on some of her classwork at home. Megan is currently working on a relief piece on human achievement in class, her theme is ‘creativity’. She has no qualms about taking those ideas and pieces from the classroom and adding to them or finishing them at home. The true mark of an artist is that there is no time that is not a creative time. Art isn’t a nine to five job, it’s an instinct and this shows in Megan’s drive.
What A Relief
This week’s artwork comes from the amazing Hannah K (S2, OLSP). Hannah has been working with the rest of her peers in trying to create a 3D relief piece about human endeavour or human achievement. I believe that Hannah’s piece is about community/networked lighting and features lots of buildings being illuminated by a similar means that Thomas Edison invented over 120 years ago.
Hannah’s work is so clean and immaculately done, from her deep black to pale white pastel gradients, through to her cutting and gluing. This attention to detail will make her relief piece look extremely professional and it should make her final 3D image really successful.
Cutty Sark
S1 (aged 11-12) are working on a transitional piece of work which they started in P7 and will complete in S1 this week. The unit is to make the movement from primary school into secondary school more fluid. In their visit to secondary school as primary pupils they had made initial abstract drawings based on the masts and roping of the Cutty Sark. They are now developing their initial drawings to make a collage of mixed materials that will form the cover of their transitional book and a short film.
Above Kyle D, Charlotte M and Clare S work on their Cutty Sark backgrounds. After this is completed they will finish the work with a porthole frame.
Tasja’s feLINES
This week’s featured artwork comes from Tasja (S3, OLSP). She’s working on her initial drawing for her design unit. She will take her chosen animal and design three dimensional forms and patterns with it, but it is this first drawing on her investigation sheet that the judges will see.
Tasja hasn’t exactly captured her resource, though I’m glad she hasn’t, she’s added more of her own self into the drawing and that is much more interesting to me that an exact duplicate. Looking at the style, I can see that she is interested in graphic/comic style art, the Cheetah’s face is almost human, it’s protruding chin and sculpted face, it resembles a male human face.
She focuses on details of pattern and width of line. By changing the thickness of her line, she makes her drawing interesting to look at, as well as making her drawing easy to look at by varying her lines. Use of dynamic curves (thicker lines on the bends or curves of lines) gives her drawing an air of action. The animal is standing still, though looks like it could pounce at any point. A great piece of work.
SLF 2010
I attended the Scottish Learning Festival 2010 a few weeks ago to see the Lochgilphead ‘Living Without Prejudice’ book and video on display. There was an amazing range of artwork on display from lots of schools in the Argyll & Bute Council area and the work was very inspirational.
While there, I also had the chance to check out the new Art Bus that will soon be touring around schools showing off it’s new collection of amalgamated sculpture, wall art and writing. It really was an interesting space to spend time in, much better than previous years.
Details and contact info on the project ‘Impossible Nation’ travelling Art Bus project, can be found here: http://www.travellinggallery.com/
The Art Classroom 