Trees, dots and colour blending :TR Mack style Yr 5 Primary art

My year 5 boys have just completed a painting unit based, 

inspired by the work of TR Mack.

There are a number of art education ideas

 floating around the internet,

 regarding this artist.

 One I particularly admire 

is by One Crayola Short,

 so check it out too.

I have taken a slightly different approach with my Yr 5 boys.

We began with some colour wheel theory and vocabulary (building the foundations).

Eventually we turned our focus
 to monochromatic colour schemes.

The boys were set the task
 of painting a monochromatic background.

We discussed choices they could make such as blending,

or using a more textured cross hatching approach.

Monochromatic Background using a textured approach

The next step was to look at the work of TR Mack
 and deconstruct his approach to tree scapes.

The boys practiced drawing trees...
 splitting branches again and again.
We discussed styles; swirly, angular, sparse, spooky etc.

(incidentally there are real science and Maths links

 possible here, as my husband pointed out).

Fill in the trees in a solid colour such as black or navy

Before the boys were ready to draw
 up their tree(s) on their background,

we recapped some compositional concepts
 that we had covered in a previous unit.

Points such as:

•  avoid placement in the centre,
•  anchoring the image by connecting to the edges,
• variety of size if there is more than one tree etc. 

Add a ground if you wish

Finally, we printed dots,
 and dots on dots,
 and dots on dots on dots. 

We used old corks, cotton buds,

 industrial offcuts, anything circular will do. 

Testing colours and objects for printing.

Spacing is important here,

and we discussed clusters,

 regular spacing, irregular spacing

 and the pros and cons of all possibilities.

These examples are only a handful of the class,

as they were all successful.

I love how each tree has its own story.

Cancer Council Art Eggs

My boys have been doing something for others.

Its what we all need to do-

think of others a little more.

They have been decorating wooden eggs

for The Cancer Council.

These eggs are sold around Easter time as a fundraiser.

Some eggs are also given to the courageous people

 fighting the hardest of battles.

The Cancer Council

is not just an organisation.

Its backbone are the volunteers in the shops,

the researchers, the educators, the supporting carers.

Its backbone are the people,

 who search out schools and other community groups

 to help where they can.

They quietly plug away, 

doing and amazingly selfless job.

My students researched messages 

of hope that 'spoke to' them,

and used the words to decorate their eggs.

It was touching to see the boys

 approach this task with such pride and care.

 It was wonderful to use Art as a link between

the students and the community.

Teacher Aides: Super-workmates

I hear a lot of people grumble and bitch

 about the people they work with.

This makes me feel sad for them,

and all the more appreciative of what I have.

There is one person in particular 

who enables my workplace

 to function smoothly and happily.

Maybe you are lucky enough

 to have one of those people in your work place?

 They are always happy.

They will always to do what ever is needed.

They find the time for everyone.

They are supportive.

They are generous and graceful.

My super-workmate and friend

is the art assistant / teacher aide at our college.

She works tirelessly and is always positive.

Teacher aides are the backbone of our schools

and so often unrecognised for their efforts.

I love our chats about creativity, family.. whatever!

Teacher aides are the backbone of our schools

and so often unrecognised for their efforts.

So today I made her a little thank-you gift.

A metrocard wallet with one of her favourite singers-Pink.

Its not much but I hope it gives her a smile.

Love Lace Exhibition Review: Powerhouse Sydney

It is the museum aspect of the Powerhouse 

that makes it an attractive destination

 for children and parents alike.

Certainly, the robots, tram rolls

 and eco displays are interesting.

It is the artwork that I found exciting in a recent visit.

The current exhibit is

 Love Lace

(Make Lace not War)

Simply put: It is a sensational investigation

 into the world of positive and negative.

When I first entered the exhibition space there

was an elderly lady tatting away in the traditional way.

You could be fooled at this stage

 that the curator, Lindie Ward, 

had designed a predictable lace display.

Love Lace is anything but.

Optical fibres create this Lace Jellyfish

The definition of lace for this exhibition is rather open to include any ‘openwork structure whose pattern of spaces is as important as the solid areas’.

Jenny Pollak installation

Love Lace is a playful exploration by

 artists and students alike 

and includes a competition also, 

The Powerhouse Museum International Lace Award.

The use of new technology and a mind boggling variety of materials ensures that there is something to inspire

youth and the elderly (and all us in-betweeners)

while strategically placed lighting

brings to life beautiful shadow play.

Chain wire fencing

 

As an art educator, 

I regularly try to impress upon the students

 the equal importance of positive and negative.
I can't recall an exhibition that asserts this concept
 with more clarity.

Traditional notions of lace are relegated to fibre and textile work, a deeply entrenched female domain. 
Through the materials and artists' approach to the theme,
these boundaries and definitions no longer exist.

Screen

My only disappointment is that Sydney is a bit too far to take my students for an excursion.

However, the website is a plentiful source of educational resources for art teachers and class teachers alike.

For educational links click here

ipad drawing lesson for students and adults

The Background:

 ipad drawing apps are plentiful.

They interest me for both my personal work and my high school teaching.

This is what I have been doing and am now teaching to my Yr 8 classes.

I use Sketch Book Express with the students- but Sketch Book Pro is worth the $1.

To Begin:

It is pretty simple to begin with a line drawing like Twiggy.

In the first lesson or two I get the students to use a specific pencil (no 4) 

and then they practice brush shortcuts.

"Just play with variation of thickness and opacity".

App + App = image development:

Filter Apps like Instagram, Camera Bag and my favourite BeFunky allow students to manipulate their saved image. Through these simple apps they make visual choices regarding cropping, saturation, frames, filters and more.

The students now have two images and are building up a portfolio.

A Step Further - Using screen shots and Layers:

Once you have a basic line drawing - you can add a layer.

Here I simply took a screen shot of a 1960s fabric and imported the photo as a new layer.

I erased parts of the fabric layer so that my 1960s woman was visible underneath.

A Third Layer- Colour:

SB Express is limited to 3 layers- SB Pro has 5 layers- much better!

So now with the hair I have added a third layer on the bottom for my colour.

 Having the drawing layer, the screen shot layer and colour layer separate is really important.

 When teaching this to a class, the students need to be aware all the time WHICH layer they are working on.

 The benefit of adding colour onto a separate layer?

Students can delete the layer if it isn't working.

So here we are - almost finished.

Once again, export the image to the photo library

 and extend the image by employing filter apps to manipulate the image. 

When teaching this is a great opportunity to have discussions

 about what is successful and why?

In the classroom- some points:

• Get the students to 'save a copy' regularly during the process as Sketch Book doesn't have this feature in built. 
• For younger classes and classes lacking confidence begin with a screen shot of an image and trace over the image on a second layer. One class I am working with began with screen shots and photos of a still life. Then they traced over these images - this engages all students extremely well, they don't fail and their confidence improves- BAM!

This is all pretty new to me and I am learning still.

What I do know is that ipads and tablets are now part of education

and the way I see it they are extremely applicable in Art.

 I love the potential, it is exciting don't you think?

It is also an addictive introduction for students into the power of digital apps and the further potential of more powerful software such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

I am so interested to hear what anyone else is doing in this area.

Do you have a favourite drawing app?

What is your favourite filter app?

My user name on Instagram is elleandlou.