Welcome to our ES Art blog at ASB. This blog includes photos of artists at work, reflections from students on their learning, and updates regarding the projects and happenings in grade 1-5 art.
Last weekend Coach Dax and I spent some time on the beach. As an artist- I find the sea to be such a source of inspiration- from the fresh air, sound of the waves and beautiful sunsets reflecting in the water.
However though I love spending time walking near the sea my eyes are usually looking down at my feet- scanning the amazing variety of sea shells! This weekend was no different- the unique patterns colors and shapes of shells is really incredible! I used my camera to snap some shots of the beautiful array of shells as a means of tapping into my creativity. I played around with sorting them by pattern color as size and photographed different arrangements. I can't help but think like an artist everywhere I go!
Where do you find inspiration? In nature? At the beach? So you have any collections you could sort and photograph? Take a close look around everywhere you go :)
Really, I am nearly speechless after seeing the incredible art from these two artists recently. I've seen their photos and stories being shared online through different news and social media sites, and thought I must share! I know some of you have seen these artists too- what do you think!? I am amazed by their unique idea to create such large but temporary art. Would you spend that much time planning, designing and creating something only to have it destroyed by the next wave or snowfall? It certainly take a special passion and drive and a deep love for creating. Kudos to these artists who are creating breathtakingly beautiful designs with essentially the world around us!
Click on the hyperlinked text below to find their websites and more information about them!
Simon Beck: Snow Artist
Creates giant drawings using his snowshoes, a compass, a brilliant plan and a good sense of direction. Originally a map-maker, he loves creating temporary designs in the fresh snows that fall in France during ski season. You can find his photos of his art and learn more about him through interviews on social media sites and news outlets. He was even asked by Disney to create an image for the recent film, Frozen!
Creates designs by raking sand on beaches, exposing the wet sand which looks darker and creates the lines for his drawings. Originally from California USA he loves spending time at the beach- this style of art is also known as playa paintings or beach art. Here's a time lapse of him creating a work:
There's even an entire community of beach artists like Andres! Check out a video from BBC on their competitions:
Imagine you were going to try to make a piece of art inspired by these artists? What type of weather, terrain, geography would you look for? Imagine large and small ways you can do this around you in your every day life.... growing up I used to draw in the frost on the glass of windows on my bus ride home :) Share your thoughts!
Grade four just finished a unit exploring expressive lines. They added line quality to their drawings by using descriptive, unique lines to draw scenes inspired by their study and visit to mangrove biomes. An added challenge of creating the entire drawing with one continuous line added a creative effect to the artwork. Look for these pieces to on display in the ES soon!
Last week a group of 10 creative KG-Grade 2 students explored the art of Andy Goldsworthy. He is a well known sculpture artist who used mainly natural elements and nature itself to create stunning and simple yet interesting artwork. We talked about the patterns we noticed (simple shapes, using the thing such as rocks or leaves repeated over and over again, sometimes adding color but usually keeping the natural color of the natural object).
We wondered:
What would it be like to find one of his artworks in nature? surprising, awesome, funny, weird
How does this art make us feel?...and Why? calm, peaceful, curious, excited, happy... the environment and music also help us feel this way
How could we get or give that same effect using materials we found naturally around us at school? naturally found objects at school might be markers, pencils, crayons etc...
How would it feel to make a piece of art that is temporary, or will not last forever? sometimes just making art can make us happy, it's ok to break or remove a piece of artwork after we have shared it with others, not all art has to be perfect and in place forever
Where would we choose to build pieces like this to inspire people around us? in our home, in our private room/bedroom, at lunch, in school where lots of people will see it...
Using the most natural objects we can round up in school (without harming any plants or living things), we assembled designs on the ground using office supplies, rocks, sea shells, pencils, rubber bands, gems, and assorted wood blocks. While these elements were not the same as those Andy Goldsworthy would use, they are easily found, simple and common, and can be used to create surprising and interesting designs. As a group they created an amazing collage of items that really wowed the people passing by. We also tried using ordinary objects in drawings and in cards we could give to other people to inspire and surprise them with creative beauty. What a fun day using our imaginations and putting our creativity on display!
Grade 4 visited a mangrove forest last week in part of their unit on understanding biomes as we learn to share our planet. They are currently learning about characteristics of a mangrove (what they look like, where they grow, how they help us every day). In art we are currently learning about characteristics of lines (called line quality, how thick or thin a line is, how interesting, creative, or descriptive a line can be!). We took this opportunity to look for line quality in a new setting and found quite a few interesting ideas that we can use as inspiration for our next drawing project!
