Happy Arts Advocacy Day in VT

Teaching for Creativity!  That's what we do.  Thanks for showing support by reading :)

Here's a TED talk that gets at what the focus has been in my artroom this year:

Portfolio Assessment time!

Its the time of year where students have built up enough of a body of work to reflect upon it, while still there being enough time to take that reflection and set goals for the rest of the year.  Which is precisely what is going on in art in the next couple weeks (in between monoprinting, clay mask, and claymation work).

Here are some stellar quotes from some evaluations:

ON WHY THEIR STRONGEST PIECE WAS STRONG:

It has a good balance and lots of colors.

I thought that this piece of artwork looked majestic like in the endings of movies and stuff I also thought that I put a lot of details

Because I thought that it was cool the way I put it together and I liked the outline and collage and the blend of colors.

We really took time making the characters and it was a lot of fun to make all the frames and see it go together.

This is my strongest because it really uses color and structure to make my piece come alive and it really makes it look like its pops.

I like how the colors and shapes blended together to create a painting with different “moods” and highlighted the picture as the focal point.

ON WHAT TO IMPROVE UPON FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR:

I can work on my artwork by taking time, using cool materials, and not rushing.

I want to learn new ways or creative ideas for my work

Being fully engaged in my own work.

Straight Lines. Weird goal but I can NEVER draw a good enough straight line. I also want to take more time and adjust my work until I am satisfied.

One thing I want to do to make all my future work better would be adding more detail to make it look realistic.

I  want to try and make work that’s more specific to me, and include more of my own design in pieces.

7th graders monoprinting based on African textiles

Having way too much fun.

Sixth Grade Paradise Paintings ("Islands in the Suns" turned out to include a LOT of VT scenes)

Students used acrylic paint and used the techniques of layering and glazing to create fun paintings of their own personal paradises.  Artist Pam Hobbes was the original inspiration.  They worked so hard and spent weeks on these works of art!  I suggest all parents invest in framing!

Trimester 2: Arts and Citizenship Show: Time

Winton 7's One Word paintings

Becasue of student portraits being in the work, I did not want to put a close up of these paintings out there. But these are 7th grade renditions of the ONE WORD PROJECT, that include self portraits ("selfies")

Quick note on Pinterest accounts

I am starting to have students create Pinterest accounts.  Pinterest is a wonderful tool for gathering ideas, pretty much a virtual corkboard.  It is a searchable, virtual treasure trove for those that are creative and need inspiration.  After a discussion of aesthetics and what that term means, they are creating an "art" board and then searching and pinning art that is "aesthetic" to them.  Outside of class they are free to create boards of their own that may include other areas of interest.  Brainstorming, being inspired and finding ideas is a huge component of the artistic process and pinterest is an incredible tool for that.

A couple caveats:  Students cannont block others from following them, therefore it is searchable and their account is public.  Students have had education on digital citizenship, however they need to be mindful of this and their pin choices.  We have discussed this.  Also, Pinterest requires one to be 13, and the last thing I want anyone to do is lie about it.  I am of the opinion that with my guidance and with their digital citizenship curriculum behind them, they are capable of safely navigating and using this tool.  I am currently having some student volunteers create emails to write pinterest asking for options/thoughts on the matter, and I will be including them in a letter I write as well.  Anyone under the age of 13 has choices: looking on with other students and working in collaboration with them, or has emailed you with a request for you to create a shared account that would allow access, or they can just choose to forgo the experience until they are 13.  I have plenty of ACTUAL BOOKS (wow! They exist) that they can use to gather information as well.  Thanks!

Feel free to take a look yourself!  Its more than just a wedding planning or birthday party guide!

Conference Times in Art!

Stop by with your student and we can pull out your student's work and talk about it!  I rarely have more than one person at a time and therefore treat my PT conference times as open house hours, but if you would like to set up a time, feel free to email: clilly@cssu.org

Here are my scheduled times for conferencing: 
Tuesday, March 15, 3-4:30 (I am out at the National Art Education Conference W, TH, F that week).
T,W,TH March 22-24 3-4:30