Environmental Art

Wednesday 30th April

This week's session was on Environmental Art and we had a special guest attend our workshop from Lapland who had experience in creating environmental art from snow, willow and other materials found in nature.  I found it interesting to see the great sculptures and spaces that they were able to make from mould and snow using different coloured lights to illuminate certain aspects.  During the Winter months especially I feel that images like the one shown on the right could stimulate the children to use their own materials to create structures of the own either outdoor or indoors depending on the materials and scale that they choose.  This could also link to maths in the form of Shape, Position and Movement so would be cross-curricular.

Tim Pugh and Andy Goldsworthy are the two Environmental artists that we found the easiest to research so we began by discussing what we found.  Tim Pugh explains the work he does and what inspires his work on his website http://www.timpugh.co.uk/ as well as provide a photograph gallery of his work and information about workshops that he teaches for children (Pugh 2012). After discussing these artists we took a range of materials including, willow, twine, wire, hammers and knives outdoor to create our own piece of environmental art.  Splitting ourselves into three groups we each took a different type of environmental art: 3D sculpture, framing which is where you create a frame to capture a view and land art where you create a piece of artwork on the ground.

I was in the land art group and we decided to use leaves as our main media then chose a lush green stretch of grass that was enclosed by a wire archway that spanned down the length of it.  We saw it as an elegant pathway and this began us thinking of a journey.  Once we saw the mass of brown leaves nearby we decided to use them and we all thought they looked like they would represent death, old, bad or ugly so as we waved the brown leaves up the pathway we began to incorporate green leaves and pretty flowers which were a stark contrast from the brown.

When we completed the piece we were all happy with it and time seemed to fly by once we got stuck into the creating of the piece as I know a small group of children would.  However the task is time consuming so the usual hour slot that most schools and teacher provide for art would not be enough, instead an afternoon would be more realistic especially if it's the pupils first experience with Environmental Art.  Out of the three areas of Environmental Art I feel that Land Art would be the best to begin with as all the resources that pupils would need could be found outdoors.

Group 1 - 3D Structure

Group 2 - Framing

Environmental Artists Gilles Bruni and Marc Babarit said that: "Man is a cosmopolitan animal who occupies the largest part of the terrestrial ecosystem.  He has to share it with his fellow creatures and with a complex geophysical and living environment, which he finally dominates but only partially.  Thus, we think that we have to find the ways toward a renegotiation of our relationships to the world, and...this...can be done through art" (Grande 2004 p.32), so he strongly agrees that environmental art is a great way to connect with the world around us.

Overall I enjoyed this week's session and I feel that it would be a worthwhile area of art to explore with children of all ages and stages.


References
Grande, J.K. (2004).  Art Nature Dialogues:  Interviews With Environmental Artists.  SUNY Press.

Pugh, T. (2012).  Tim Pugh - Environmental Artist.  Available at: http://www.timpugh.co.uk/ [Accessed 1st May 2013]

Room 13 International

Wednesday 24th March
During this week's session we looked at Room 13 - at what it is and what it does.  Room 13 started off:  "Slowly and organically, Room 13 has gone on to establish a network of creative studios and a thriving community of young artists and entrepreneurial thinkers that stretches around the globe" (Room 13 International 2012). 
 in 1994 as a photography class in Caol Primary school near Fort William in Scotland, which the pupils called the Caol Camera Club which the artist in residence Rob Fairley taught reluctantly.  However when his residency came to an end the pupils did not want him to leave so began raising funds with their photography to pay him if he stayed.  Unable to accept the money he had them buy their own camera instead and the project grew from there into their own art room, room 13 of the school and into other areas of art.

Room 13 - South Africa

The four cornerstones of the project are:

1. Business Practice - which is the most important,
2. Philosophical Enquiry - to develop a culture of curiosity,
3. Recriprocal Learning - which is about exploring and learning together, and
4. Creative Freedom - which most people who are just discovering the project think is their key cornerstone, however without the above three the fourth would be impossible to put in place.

"The Room 13 network offers a forum through which artists and young people can engage with different sectors of society, gain experience that enhances their curriculum learning and benefit from international relationships and cultural exchange" (Room 13 International 2012).  Therefore it is a cross-curricular project that enables pupils to develop a wide range of skills and I believe that more schools should be incorporating Room 13 International's aims and methodologies in their art and enterprise programs.

As a student teacher I feel that I could use the basic ideas and aims of the project and incorporate them into lessons not just art based but across the curriculum due to the business focus of the project: "maintaining accounts, ordering and organising materials, arranging and fulfilling commitments, negotiating, planning, problem solving, corresponding, sharing life experiences..." (Gibb 2012) as well as creative independence.  Thus allowing the pupils to experiment with materials to create their own artwork rather than a version of an artwork that already exists.  From previous experience with teaching a design lesson I feel that pupils would need to be eased into the creative freedom aspect and given ideas and lessons on how certain resources and materials could be used before they begin experimenting with new ways that works well for them.

Overall I believe that Room 13 International is highly inspirational project that more schools should be a part of.

Examples of Room 13 Artwork

Bengal - Room 13

Lochyside - Room 13

Lucy MacGillivray - Everything I have thought of in Eight Years

References
Gibb, C. (2012). Room 13: The Movement and International Network. International Journal of Art & Design Education 31.3 (2012): 237-244.

Room 13 International (2012).  Available at:  http://room13international.org/ [Accessed 25th April 2013]

Art Therapy

Wednesday 17th April 
This week's session was about animation.  The class was divided into groups and were to create an animation using the materials they were given.  One group created a flip book animation, another created a sand art animation and the last group created a charcoal drawing animation, all of which could be easily used with a class of children as the materials are all easy to use.

I however was absent from this session due to illness so instead of reflecting on my experience I will examine the view of using art as a form of therapy for ill children as it has been an aspect of art that I have been interested in learning more about.

"Art Therapy is usually a very effective way of working with children who may be going through a difficult time. This may be due to specific changes in the child’s life, for example, divorce, bereavement, trauma, bullying, arrival of a new sibling etc. What may be difficult to put into words, or even unknown in spoken language, can be expressed through the artwork or sandtray" (London Art Therapy Centre 2013).  It is usually carried out by outside agencies who have had specific training in art, child psychology and therapy, however teachers and other adults in the child's life can also use art therapy.  However Callaway and Kear (1999) states that: "If a child seems to display inappropriate behaviour...during an art-making session, the teacher's duty is to refer to an appropriate agency, not to try to provide classroom therapy."  

Art therapy is used to help children with not just emotional difficulties but with barriers to learning such as Dyslexia and Autism who struggle to express themselves, therefore I feel that it is something that more teachers/ schools should be including this in their support programs.  A client from the Mental Health Services had this to say about art therapy:  "Art therapy has been very good for me because I am Dyslexic.  I found it hard to write things down, doing art has helped me to explain things better.  It has given me more time to try and understand my feelings past, present and future" (British Association of Art Therapists 2011).  Teachers can begin to incorporate art therapy into their Heath and Wellbeing lessons through creative artwork and discussion to cover the outcomes:

• I am aware of and able to express my feelings and am developing the ability to talk about them.  HWB 1-01a
• I know that we all experience a variety of thoughts and emotions that affect how we feel and behave and I am learning ways of managing them.  HWB 1-02a
• I understand that there are people I can talk to and that there are a number of ways in which I can gain access to practical and emotional support to help me and others in a range of circumstances.  HWB 1-03a
• I understand that my feelings and reactions can change depending upon what is happening within and around me. This helps me to understand my own behaviour and the way others behave.  HWB 1-04a
• I understand the importance of mental wellbeing and that this can be fostered and strengthened through personal coping skills and positive relationships. I know that it is not always possible to enjoy good mental health and that if this happens there is support available.  HWB 1-06a
• I am learning skills and strategies which will support me in challenging times, particularly in relation to change and loss.  HWB 1-07a
• I understand that people can feel alone and can be misunderstood and left out by others. I am learning how to give appropriate support.  HWB 1-08a (Education Scotland 2010).

Therefore I believe that art therapy is an area of art that could benefit a range of children in a range of circumstances and that it is something that teachers can begin to include in their lessons which links the two curricular areas of art and Health and Wellbeing, as well as others.


References
British Association of Art Therapists (2011).  Available at: http://www.baat.org/media.html.  [Accessed 18th April 2013]

Callaway, G. and Kear, M. (1999).  Teaching Art and Design in the Primary School.  Oxon: David Fulton Publishers.

Education Scotland (2010).  My Experiences and Outcomes.  Available at: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/myexperiencesandoutcomes/healthandwellbeing/mentalemotionalsocialphysical/index.asp.  [Accessed 18th April 2013]

London Art Therapy Centre (2013).  Art Therapy With Children.  Available at:
http://arttherapycentre.com/what-is-art-therapy/art-therapy-with-children/. [Accessed 18th April 2013]

Seth Castell - Underwater Dog Photography

"Award-winning photographer Seth Casteel, also known as "The Underwater Dog Guy", has been featured in NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, The New York Times, TIME Magazine and on GOOD MORNING AMERICA, EXTRA, CNN WORLD REPORT, THE TODAY SHOW and JEOPARDY! As one of the most published pet photographers in the world, his work can be seen in hundreds of magazines, calendars, posters, books and TV shows.

Casteel’s business, Little Friends Photo, based in Los Angeles and Chicago, specializes in lifestyle pet photography, embracing the at-ease mentality of pets on-location in their natural surroundings. The results are spontaneous, priceless moments of your pet's unique personality captured in photographs that will last forever.

Seth is super duper excited about the release of his first book, "Underwater Dogs", to be released October 23, 2012 through Little, Brown." [decaturarts.org]

He was inspired by seeing a dog that loved jumping into a pool to retrieve a ball. “As I watched him, I wondered, ‘What does he look like under there?’” he says.

“I love the connection that dogs have with water,” says Seth. “It gives me the opportunity to explore their wild instincts and allows their amazing range of expressions to shine through.”

I was drawn to these images not just because of my love of dogs but also because of the humour of them in the form of the dogs facial expressions.  I feel that children of all ages could engage with them and develop an interesting discussion on their thoughts and opinions of them and that it would spark their creativity to capture their own images.  The images could also be part of a topic such as emotions as each captures a facial expression that we recognise.  Therefore overall I feel that Seth Casteel's would be a great photographer to study with children.


References
 Available at: http://www.decaturarts.org/components/biography/527/.  [Accessed 15th April 2013]

Drawing Vs Photography

Wednesday 10th April
This week's focus was on drawing and how it is a form of looking.  So we made the most of the nice day outside to draw one of the trees on campus.  I began by drawing the base of the tree focusing on the different lines I could see and the spaces between the lines.  During our sketching time we were posed the question of the difference between drawing and photography.

The dictionary definition of drawing is "the act of making pictures or designs with a pen, pencil, or other writing tool" and the definition for photography is "the art or practice of taking and making photographs"  (Wordsmyth 2013).

According to Sedgwick and Sedgwick (1993) cited in Callaway and Kear (1999): "Drawing is an attitude of mind, a form of enquiry; not
an end in itself so much as a way of understanding, of seeing potential, or of using.  Drawing deepens understanding through involvement, by utilising an intensity of looking, selecting, organising...".  Cox and Watts (2007) agrees with this idea that drawing is a type of thinking process which enable children to observe, analyse and respond to the world around them.  Children need to "learn how to hold drawing tools correctly, to explore the range of marks that can be made with them, to experience working on a variety of scales and to develop an awareness of the potential of different materials for future use" (Cox and Watts 2007 p.34).  Therefore drawing is a skill that can be partly taught and should be taught by all Primary school teachers as it develops skills in:

• "looking, responding, analysing and coordination of mind, hand and eye;
• gathering of essential data and information and the processes of researching, working out and thinking through ideas;
• solving problems in response to design briefs in relation to meeting a whole range of human needs;
• communicating ideas to others through use of sketches, plans, designs, diagrams, scribbles, doodles and so on" (Callaway and Kear 1999 p.18).

I believe that photography can also develop children's skills in some of the above aspects such as looking and responding as in order to take a photograph you need to look and choose what you want to photograph.  "It is well known that children recognise photographs before they can understand the written word" (Jayhem and Walton 1987 cited in Callaway and Kear 1999 p.84).  Therefore photography can be used with Primary pupils of all ages.  "Photography may be a process of learning with the new experiences and mistakes from the past events. I strongly believe Photography is an medium for staging of the truth and for communication that expresses and to explain without any linguistic hurdle...Photography creates a connection between people through interests, cultures, locations" [whatisphotography.net].

Photographer David Hum said: "Photography is just a tool, a vehicle, for expressing or transmittal a passion in one thing else" [whatisphotography.net].  So photography is a form of communication and expression that can enable children to share their interests and discover aspects of the environment they live in.

Overall I believe drawing and photography are similar in the skills they enable children to develop and what they can express however they are also different.  Both of which I believe should be taught in Primary schools.


References
Cox, S., Watts, R. and Contributors (2007).  Teaching Art and Design 3-11: Reaching the Standard Series.  New York: Continuum International Publishing Group.

Callaway, G. and Kear, M. (1999).  Teaching Art and Design in the Primary School.  Oxon: David Fulton Publishers.

Wordsmyth (2013).  Available at: http://www.wordsmyth.net/ [Accessed 11th April 2013]

Available at: http://www.whatisphotography.net/ [Accessed 11th April 2013]

Finding Nemo 3D - Independent Study

Wednesday 3rd April
This week's session was an independent study day where I took part in self-directed activities that contributed to the learning outcomes of this module.  Those learning outcomes are:

• Demonstrate a critical understanding of how art and visual culture through creativity, aesthetics and value judgement develops cognitive ability.
• Understand the complex relationship between art, design and visual culture and the wider school curriculum.
• Demonstrate an ability to plan for learning based on understanding of pedagogy and policy.
• Engage at an advanced level with art and design materials.

The activity I took part in was watching Finding Nemo in 3D at the cinema and this links to the first and second learning outcomes due to the animation aspect of the film and also the dynamic visuals that are incorporated throughout.

Many schools are now taking part in Moving Image Education which aims to help "young people to question, analyse, explore and understand the meaning of what they’re watching and hearing" (Creative Scotland & D Fie Foe 2009).  Their website is full of ideas and resources for teachers to use with their class to create their own moving images or films [http://www.movingimageeducation.org/] all of which are highly useful.

I feel that films like Finding Nemo that has a simple storyline could be used as an inspiration for a class to make their own films.  So pupils could make a film about someone trying to find their lost loved one but with their own characters, settings and styles of animation.  I believe that it would be a worthwhile project for any class at any stage because it can be easily differentiated through the type of animation, the length of the film, the materials they use, etc.

Finding Nemo can be used not just as an inspiration for animation but also for other types of artwork due to the breathtaking visuals and the setting of the ocean.  Children could recreate their own ocean pictures using a range of media and also use the ocean as design inspiration to create a piece of jewellery, clothing, etc.  From this particular film there are so many avenues to develop learning not just in the Art and Design curricular area as it could inspire writing, P.E activities, music, drama.

Therefore from this self-directed activity I have gained the understanding of how films that the children know and enjoy watching can inspire so many areas of skill and knowledge development.

Moss (2006) states: "Film can provide a visual image and a sensory experience that cannot be generated with the same magnitude elsewhere. Film can give life and dramatize a specific idea or activity that otherwise might go unnoticed... Film can be a catalyst for class discussions and debate. Film links disciplinary perspectives and can serve specific courses or units in conjunction with other media... Teachers who use film to supplement their teaching can reach students who may find other media inaccessible or difficult. With preparation and careful attention, film can be an intellectually stimulating and emotionally meaningful tool in an educator’s belt."


References
Creative Scotland & D Fie Foe (2009).  Moving Image Education.  Available at:
http://www.movingimageeducation.org/ [Accessed 3rd April 2013]

Moss, S. (2006).  Effectively Using Film in the Classroom.  Available at:
http://cmi.byu.edu/Articles/FilmClassroom.html. [Accessed 3rd April 2013]

GoMA Sketchbook

Here are a few images of the sketchbook I created during my visit to the Gallery of Modern Art:

GoMA Visit

Wednesday 27th March
This week's session was about Gallery education and how beneficial a class trip to an Art Gallery can be for a child.

The Gallery education workshop was run by Martin Craig who led us to the offices in the Gallery where we were introduced to what we were going to be doing through images on a Powerpoint and an explanation on the GoMA's aims for Gallery education and which age groups have attended.  He told us that it was mostly classes of Primary 4s or 5s that attended the educational workshops and that last year they had not had a single Secondary school class through the doors.

After the introduction he showed us all an example of a sketchbook that a child would complete if they were taking part in the Gallery workshop and explained that we would be creating something similar throughout the morning session.  So were given paper, a pencil and a clipboard and given three questions to begin our sketchbooks:

• What different materials could you use to create a piece of art?
• What words could you use to describe a piece of art?
• What artists can you name?

Since it has been a while since I've had to think about these aspects of art I really struggled with these questions especially the last one, only being able to think of four artists then and there.  However as soon as we were led to one of the Gallery rooms I was able to think of others.

In the Gallery our first task was to look around and choose at least three artworks that we either liked or disliked, artworks that made an impression on us then make notes on them looking at the four key areas of form, mood, process and content.  We were given fifteen minutes to complete the task which for a class of Primary 4/5s is enough but for our class I felt that we could have benefited from more time so that we could have analysed the artwork and reflect on it more.  The three artworks that I chose were:

• The Way Things Go - Peter Fischli

• Hamlet in a Japanese Manner - Eduardo Paolozzi

• Dank Anvil - Rob Churm

I chose all three of these pieces because they made me stop and look and appealed to me whether it was because they were cleverly constructed, bold and colourful or visually striking.  (See next post for sketchbook pages with notes on all three of these artworks).

After the fifteen minutes we were all brought together and a few people volunteered to speak about what artworks they had chosen and why.  I feel that it was valuable to hear other people's views especially when they contrasted heavily with my own thoughts.  I also feel that this would be good for a class of children as the less confident or those that have not grasped fully what is expected of them can hear what other people in their class have thought and then can use these ideas to develop their own thoughts on the artworks.  Afterwards we were split into groups of three and our task was to choose one of the three artworks we had looked at in the previous task and tell the other people in our group our thoughts on it and were to be filmed so that it could be documented.  This is what the pupils are expected to do when they attend a Gallery workshop at the GoMA so that the class teacher has a sketchbook for each child and a video clip which can both be used as evidence of their learning.  This collaborative learning that was incorporated throughout the workshop is an effective learning tool and is mentioned throughout the Scottish curriculum, (CfE). Scottish Government (2011) states that: “learning is frequently most effective when learners have the opportunity to think and talk together, to discuss ideas, question, analyse and solve problems” therefore this form of learning is highly effective and enables pupils to gain knowledge and skills from the workshop that they may not have been able to gain by themselves.

Jennifer chose a Peter Fischli artwork called 'Masterbine' which was a photograph of high heel shoes used to construct a 3D circular shape.

Bill chose a Scott Myles piece called 'The Past From Above' which was three oversized manilla document folders in the colours pink, purple and red.

I chose the Eduardo Paolozzi sculpture called 'Hamlet in a Japanese Manner' as that was the piece that I felt I had the most to talk about.

For the conclusion of the workshop we gather in the office room again and Martin Craig showed us a few pictures and video clips of the Primary classes taking part in a similar workshop to what we had just completed.  He explained that the pupils are given resources at the end of the workshop to expand their sketchbooks such as photographs of the artworks in the Gallery and information on the artworks or artists therefore developing the sketchbooks as evidence of learning.

Overall I found the GoMA visit to be highly useful as it would be a great resource for a class of pupils and the evidence gathered during the workshop would be great when it comes to assessing the pupils on the Art and Design Curriculum for Excellence experiences:

http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/myexperiencesandoutcomes/expressivearts/artanddesign/index.asp  [Education Scotland 2011].  The workshop also met some of the aspects of CfE such as active learning, working collaboratively and learning outside the classroom so it is a rich resource for learning and developing skills in these aspects.


References
Education Scotland (2011).  My Experiences and Outcomes.  Available at: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/myexperiencesandoutcomes/expressivearts/artanddesign/index.asp. [Accessed 28th April 2013]

Scottish Government (2011).  Available at: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/learningteachingandassessment/approaches/activelearning/index.asp.  [Accessed 28th April 2013]

My Wandering Journey

These are the photographs I took to document my Wandering journey.