Mobile 1

Lobster Trap and Fish Tail, 1939 Alexander Clader

As a class you are going to be exploring the world of kinetic energy and making your own Calder-like mobile. Alexander Calder (1898 - 1976) was an American sculptor and artist who is credited with inventing the mobile. He discovered a way to create a sculpture that was in constant movement and therefore always changing, making it a dynamic and exciting art form.

A mobile is a type of sculpture that is made up of carefully balanced parts that move. They move, are kinetic, because they respond to the energy in air currents. When your mobiles are completed you will be able to watch them shift from one form to another.

In class we also discussed and compared how Calder and Joan Miró's work share some similarities. You made comments about the geometric shapes found in Cat Encircled by The Flight of a Bird and how even though Miró's work is a painting it has a lot of movement in it. It looks like it could be one of Calder's mobiles in painting form.

Cat Encircled by the Flight of a Bird, 1941, Joan Miró

Announcements Week 20 (02-08 Feb. 2009)

It is the beginning of 2nd Semester and this is what your week looks like:

Grade 6
All new projects are starting in each of the Grade 6 classes:

• 601 - String Art, please bring a needle to class
• 602 - Mobiles inspired by Calder
• 603 - Still deciding on this one, I'll get back to you soon.
  

Grade 7
Each section of the Grade 7 is working on a different project:

• 701 - Space Collage, should be able to finish this Friday
  
• 702 - Friendship Circle, all photos should be in and you will be starting your Collage Portrait
  
• 703 - Sumerian Inspired Cuneiform

Grade 8
This week you will complete and deliver a finalized Periodic Table (oh yes, that SAME one from last year!)

Collage 701 - Deep Sea

701's Underwater Collage is finished and looks amazing.

String Art 1

Last week I introduced 601 to String Art. You have just started exploring the very basics, so while you do that check out some of these links. They will give you ideas...

• Art Gallery of 6th Grade String Art
• String Art Basics
• Scratch Project: Son of String

Announcements Week 19 (26 Jan.-01 Feb. 2009)

Grade 6
This is the last, last week for Fingerpints.

Grade 7
You will be making sure that your Development Sketchbooks are in complete order and that all art work done so far is mounted.

Grade 8
The Cells Project is finished. This week you will be completing a self assessment of your painting. The Rubric can be found in Grade 8 Rubrics under the title Cells 6.

Friendship Wheel - 702

As you know, a new task has been set for us due to the Ministry coming for a visit next month. Your challenge is to create a piece as large as the Ceiling Fresco that is somewhat portable and able to be used as a stand-alone piece of work.

After a great brainstorming session you decided upon a Friendship wheel alà Facebook. What you have to decided this week is exactly what the wheel is going to look like and set up parameters for what the connecting lines will signify...

Collage - 701

A pochoir print of Matisse’s “Polynesia”

Inspired by the need to create something positive in our class, you are now working on two large Collage pieces for the bulletin boards outside the Art Room. In your last lesson I set you a challenge to create a Collage of cut-paper shapes inspired by the work of Henri Matisse in the length of one period, which you did. Your first collage is based on the themes of the Sea, Underwater, Creatures. This week you will continue to mount the Underwater Collage and then move onto deciding a theme for the second board working under the same tight time constraints. Good Luck!

Pigeon Portraits - 703

After making your Paper Pigeons the class shifted gears and started on another tangent of Pigeon Art: Pigeon Portraits in water colour. Each one of you has been working on and completing portraits inspired by your original Paper Pigeons. This week you will be making sure that your Portraits are complete and in class discussing how to display all of the paintings as one large piece. You will also be recording your progress in your Development Sketchbooks.

Announcements Week 18 (19-25 Jan. 2009)

Continuing with what we were doing last week:

Grade 6 Fingerprint Paintings and Loose Ends
You will be completing your Fingerprint Paintings and wrapping up any loose ends in your Development Sketchbooks.

Grade 7 Development Sketchbooks, Mounted Work & New Projects
Making sure that your Development Sketchbooks are in complete order and that all art work done so far is mounted, as well as:

• 701 - Complete the Bulletin Board Collages
  
• 702 - Plan the Friendship Circle
  
• 703 - Complete and Mount Pigeon Portraits
  

Grade 8 Cell Paintings
Deadline dates are passed. This week you will be writing an in-depth reflection of the Cells Project. See the Cells 5 posting.

Kapadokya Projects 3 - 702

As you know - we have completed our Ceiling Painting (I am still waiting for photos to be emailed to me). This project has gone extremely well despite numerous interruptions in our schedule. What I am posting for you today is reminder of the reflections you have been doing in your Development Sketchbooks.

You should have the following documented:

Ceiling Fresco 4

1. Explain what went wrong in the last lesson
2. Write down the solutions you came up with for those problems:

• One Person mixes the Paint
• People are lined up 3 to a table in order of the Grid
• Tape the side of the tile with Name + Tile #
• Each Student will have a reference photo to work from.
  

Ceiling Fresco 5

1. Describe everybody’s role in the project, eg. Murat in charge of the grid, Ege in charge of the reference photos, clean up and also working in the smaller groups at each table of 3 tiles.
2. Progress. Describe how we put the fresco together on the floor and made some artistic decisions about colour, unity and texture.

Ceiling Fresco 6

1. The completed project, describe what it looks like and how we put it up.
2. Reflect on your thoughts about this project.