Final Project and Final Thoughts

Harry Potter Puppet

When we were first asked to think of an idea for a puppet, I immediately thought of Harry Potter. I loved the story as I was growing up in my later years of elementary school. The body of Harry is made of paper mache with paint. The glasses and the wand are as well. The hair and clothing are made of felt. The cloak is black fabric. I really enjoyed this project even though it was time consuming. I have worked with paper mache before, but this character was especially fun for me to make.

Now, here is a short video clip for your enjoyment...

Final Thoughts

I am extremely happy that I took this class. I took it as an elective and had a lot of fun. It brought me back to the times when I was always doing crafts and drawing. I got the chance to try my skills once more. I learned new techniques for drawing to expend my earlier knowledge such as shifting my mode oft thinking. I have confidence that I will be able to use art in the future as a recreational activity. 

Even though I do not plan on teaching, I hope to pass on the love of art to kids around me and eventually, kids of my own. I have been inspired not to let the love for art die. It is a great teaching method and mode of relaxation. My favorite activities were the self-portrait, the Eric Carle inspired tissues, and the paper mache.

Matisse, Kadinsky, and Carle

Henri Matisse

For this assignment, we used Matisse cutouts for inspiration. Matisse's cutouts are also abstract. Using his work to inspire me, I made this. I painted the background starting with red and faded into yellow. I like the effect it made on the glossy surface. I then cut out pieces of construction paper in different shapes. I tried to make it abstract by layering the objects in unusual ways. I like how i used both curvy and straight lines throughout. I forgot the wings on the bees. :(

Wassily Kadinsky

This was an experiment with watercolors. I did squares of geometric shapes like Kadinsky does. I do not like watercolor as much as tempera paint, but it was fun painting with it.

Eric Carle

This bird was inspired by Eric Carle. I painted a lot of different pieces of tissue paper different colors. Then, I cut them out and clued them onto a sheet where I had the bird drawn. I covered it in modpodge, cut the entire bird out, and pasted it on a blue sheet of paper. I added the leaves with different shades of painted green tissue paper. I added them because it looked plain without them. I outlined the bird in black to complete it. I like how it worked out because it is colorful and pretty. :)

Emerging Problems in Younger Generations

Sexting and Cyberbullying

Sexting and Cyberbullying are obviously very quickly emerging problems in the younger society. Based on Dr. Worley's presentation and the comments of other students at the workshop, I can clearly see how wide-scale this problem is beginning to become. Something must be done to stop these incidents from happening so frequently. I agree with Dr. Worley that the answer relies not in punishment but in education and positive reinforcement.

SEXTING
After hearing that a group of third graders ( :o ) was involved in sexting, my mind was blown away. I do not believe a third grader should even have access to a phone, much worse texting too. Parents need to realize that a child at the age of eight is not mature enough to have that much free reign. While I believe I have always been somewhat mature for my age, I still agree that waiting until I was 13 to get a cell phone was a good choice on the part of my parents. Even 13 may be too young depending on the maturity of the child. Parents must learn to be able to judge the maturity of the child and monitor them if needed.

So what can the schools do?
In my opinion, the schools cannot much help with the sexting problem because sex is a sensitive topic that probably should not be talked about in elementary schools. This could be taught in a high school health class possibly. The consequences of sexting should be assertively mentioned to students, and they should be urged not to participate in such activities. Teachers could mention the legal consequences as well as the social/emotional consequences that may emerge if a picture is sent/shown to an unattended person.

If a child in elementary school is caught engaging in sexting, the phone should be confiscated. The parents should then be notified. A meeting should be set up with both an administration member and a counselor where the parent an child will both attend. All consequences will be discussed on a level the child can understand. In addition, phones should not be allowed to be used anytime at the school, especially at this age.

CYBERBULLYING
In my opinion, cyberbullying is a topic much easier to address at the younger ages. Parents can place the computer in a busier room in the house such as the living room where the child can easily be monitored. Depending on the age of the child, parents should set a certain limit of computer time per day or week. If any type of distress from the child is shown, a parent should address the issue immediately. Parents, having children at younger ages, should have online friends monitored closely. This could be more difficult as children reach the preteen and teen years. Again, depending on the child's maturity, monitoring can then be minimal.

So what can the schools do?
I think that the issue of cyberbullying can easily be addressed by the schools. At the beginning of each year, students and parents can be educated about cyberbullying. This can be incorporated in the computer lab classes. Internet etiquette can be stressed on how to treat others while online and how the child should not be treated. Teachers will give the students solutions on how to go to a parent, teacher, or administrator if they are being bullied or observe another child being bullied. Students will be encouraged to be friends with everyone and not to discriminate if another child is different than them. Parents will be invited to a free workshop on how to notice and monitor if their child is being cyberbullied or if their child is the one bullying. If bullying is observed at school, the parents of both students should be immediately notified. If parents observe cyberbullying, the school should be notified of the bully's name. Parents and students will then have to sign a form after the workshop saying there is zero-tolerance for bullying and cyberbullying.

Self-Portrait

BEFORE and AFTER

The picture on the right is much better than the one on the left, obviously. :) I included shading on the second one to show the depth of my face. The first picture has a face that is too wide and the features all seem to be too big. The second one is more in proportion to an actual human face. I like the way the hair came out because you can somewhat see the strands of hair. I wish I could have made the ends of the hair look more real and convincing. I like the eyes, nose, and lips because of the dimension. I hope to continue to improve in my drawing skills.

Valentine's Day in Finland Activity

This is a plan to teach a class about Valentine's Day in Finland. Refer to the previous post.


The classroom could be split into different stations.


Stations:
1. Students will learn the background history for Valentine's Day in Finland. There could be a simple crossword activity with keywords of the history.


2. Students could be paired with another student that they do not normally talk to much. They would ask each other questions and learn about each other. They could then share this with the group. This will promote friendships and ties in with the Finnish holiday.


3. Students could draw another student's name out of a jar and make a car for them. The card would include a special note with compliments of the other student.
They can then make a small craft for that person. This could be a picture they draw, a colored picture, a bracelet, or any other simple craft.


After the stations are complete, students will exchange gifts. The whole class will join to together for a couple games, music, and treats to celebrate the holiday.

Continuation of Drawing

Perspective and Angles

This is drawing turned out pretty well. I was not able to complete it with viewfinder so I decided to freehand it. I noticed new things about angles while doing this drawing that varied from what I normally think.

Shading

I am not very happy with the way this turned out. I like the cup that is laying down and the part of the egg carton that I drew. The cup that is standing up needs more blending or something. It is a little off. The bag was hard to do because of the angle I was looking at it. The wrinkles were hard to show.

Exploration Into Drawing

My Hand

This is my pre-instruction drawing of my hand. I was kind of happy with the way it turned out except that it is partially not proportional. I like the bottom part of the hand but not the two top fingers. The palm should have started further down underneath them, and then they should have been longer. I decided to do a simple sketch without shading.

I did this hand after instruction. I am much happier with the way this turned out. I think it looks extremely proportional, and i love the shading. I have drawn hands pretty well before but was particularly happy with the way the foreshortening worked out in this picture.

BEFORE and AFTER

Negative and Positive Spaces

Although this took FOREVER to complete, I ended up being pretty happy with the result. It was interesting playing around with the angles of the chair and the negative space. The parts shaded darker are the negative space behind the chair.

-Kelly

Valentine's Day in Finland

In comparison to how other cultures celebrate Valentine's Day, Finland takes a very different take on the holiday. Finland has only been celebrating the holiday since the 1980s and formally since 1987. In Finland, Valentine's Day can be translated into "Friendship Day." Instead of being a day solely dedicated to romance, the Finnish people use the day to celebrate close friends and loved ones.

They do this in much the same way as Americans: by sending cards, personalized letters, small gifts, chocolate, and flowers. Valentine's Day is still celebrated between couples but is recognized as more of a day for friends and loved ones in general.

Groups of friends often go out to private parties and clubs. This is different because the evening in America is generally spent with a significant other.

Children could learn this culture by being asked to make a small craft for a close friend and include a note saying how much he or she cares about that friend. Instead of using the traditional colors and distributing generic valentines, children would be asked to explore friendships at a more intimate level. Kids could draw a picture, make a bracelet, craft, etc. for a special friend or family member.

-Kelly

Information received from http://www.finnguide.com/calendar/calendarevents.asp?month=2&p=9

Three Approaches to Art

I have experienced all three approaches to art: the contextualist approach, the media approach, and the formalist approach. Of the three, I probably was exposed mainly to the media approach.

I have always been encouraged to use different media. The way my teachers taught this was to spend separate units on different media. Some of the media I used was colored pencil, crayon, marker, oil pastel, charcoal, tempera paint, watercolor, clay, yarn, glue, and glitter. I was challenged to make projects with various media.

During my middle school years in art, we took on the formalist approach. This was taught in a similar way as the media approach. Different projects were spent on various elements and principles of design such as perspective, complementary colors, and line.

The contextualist approach was rarely used in my art classes. This was focused on more in my Art Appreciation class as we explored the cultures during the time period of different paintings and pieces of art. We were asked to explain the meaning of artwork taking the culture and events of the time into account.

-Kelly

Rationales for Having Art in the Schools

There are many rationales for having art in the schools. Here I expand on a couple of these.

I believe that cultural understanding is important for students to encounter in schools. I remember exploring other cultures while in elementary and middle school. It helped me to understand how cultures of the past such as the Romans must have lived and interpreted the world. Personally, I never really learned to use art to express my culture. This may be more important for people closer to their cultures.

I have always used art to express important events in my life and been pushed to do so. In elementary school, I drew pictures that illustrated events in my life. In my later years of school, I used writing as a form of art to share personal experiences. I made creative timelines of my life several times during my high school years using pictures, collage, and color. This ties in to Personal Communication and Expression. It is important that students learn to express themselves in various ways including the arts.

During middle school, I was encouraged to experiment with artwork to express my self in a bolder way. It is important to nurture different views in artwork. It helps to share feelings in a personal way. Vocations are important to mention to students. The world needs more people involved in artistic careers. For a long while, I wanted to be an interior designer and then a fashion designer.

Teachers should spend time letting students explore the beauty in nature. Students could observe nature and draw from it. I did this in school using photographs I had taken. Doing this makes children examine the world around them and escape from the fast pace of life for a short while.

It is important throughout a child's young life to incorporate artwork in the school's curriculum. I believe this should be done all the way through high school so students do not lose their sense of creative and imagination. I had many creative projects mixed in with all of my core classes through high school. English classes always challenged me to analyze books and convey my message in some sort of art such as videos and posters. I made many scrapbooks as well.

-Kelly