Making Peach Blossom Land

A
Cardboard, masking tape and shoe polish were used to make wood.

B
This is the boat pattern.

C
Oil based clay was used to make food. Here a student is making Mandarin oranges.

D
Wooden people were painted flesh colored. When the paint was dry a permanent marker was used to draw on hair and faces.

E

F
Tree trunks were made using trunk tape, rubber cement, and paper towel tubes.

G
Peach blossoms were made from paper dyed. Colored water was dripped onto watercolor paper with a dropper.

H
Flowers were punched out with a die cutter. Smaller petals were punched out with a mini-hole punch.

I
Trunks were attached to blossom clouds.

J
The blossom clouds were painted with dots to add depth.

K
Red beads were glued to the center of the punched blossoms.

L
Wooden blocks were glued together to make houses.

M

To inform the production research of clothing, houses, boats, flowers, and food was done on the Internet.
The only purchase made for the production was the flower die cutter. All other materials were laying around waiting to be used. Nearly all of the materials were donated.

Peach Blossom Land

This short film was produced to demonstrate Movie maker to students as a fun way to inform an audience about their interests and learning.

I began by selecting a story which I could easily visualize in my head. I determined the number of scenery and characters I would need. Then began sketching out a story board. I decided to use 3D and 2D illustration, along with video. I didn't use stop action animation, rather I incorporated multiple scenes which provided more visual body for telling the story. Stop action would have been more appropriate if I was doing a short 30 second film.
The activity is a lesson in discipline and creative thinking. Creating the scenery and props took many hours (very fun work though), but the actual film is only four and a half minutes long. The process reminded me of preparing Thanksgiving dinner.

How I look at TV commercials changed during the process. I paid more attention to the "tricks" used for improving visual and content impact.

The film could be used to discuss: making short films using Movie maker, the meaning of the story, ethics in film making and more. Maybe I'll be able to teach this process to some willing students. I do need better filming equipment, however even with a rudimentary camera a charming film can be made.

Art Camp

TISSUE PAPER COLLAGE

WATERCOLOR AND PEN SELF PORTRAIT

TISSUE PAPER MASK

CARDBOARD SCULPTURE



NYLON SCULPTURE

CERAMIC MEDALLION
Recently I helped out at the Boys & Girls Club Summer Art Camp. The theme was "Self Portraits." Students were encouraged to use color, and symbols to create portraits of themselves.
The variety in techniques and materials introduced the students to different ways to communicate a self-portrait.

Technology Enhanced Art Education

Flickr, is a popular image gallery available free on the web. Photos of students' work are uploaded and used for:
*creating a portfolio for each student
*conducting group critiques using the annotation feature
*providing a public gallery

I used Flickr, to upload photos of my 7th grade students' artist trading cards. The trading cards were part of a community art show exhibited at the Stair Public Library. I used the ATC lesson/event to introduce various methods and materials, and to promote storytelling/individuality through the use of written prompts. Working like an artist is a thoughtful process that involves planning and preparation. During this pre-construction time students might evaluate personal experiences and interests, acknowledging global concerns, sketch out compositions, and make plans with materials.

I find that students need persistent guidance to escape from the symbolic cliche's commonly found within the middle school community. Students are concerned with acceptance and are looking for friends that share their interests. Many students are fearful of appearing different. Others test the levels of acceptance with repellent behaviors or appearance. Compelling artistic expression requires effort. Students who lack confidence, imagination, or energy are prone to create art that includes stars, hearts, sports logos, trees, butterflies, and the like. Students need to be reminded that the above mention symbols are weak and unoriginal representations that evade the unique and original qualities of their lives.

Students need to be reminded that ultimately it is the fresh and original voice that warrants the most appreciation and attention.

Adult Students

I was a presenter at the 2009 Michigan Art Education Association's Annual Convention.
I demonstrated a lesson on creating Dale Chihuly style sculpture from pop bottles.
It was a joy to instruct other art educators. They are eager to learn, are generous with supplies, and they are ready to show originality in their work.
Here are some examples.

Advocating Art Education

No other subject taught in schools requires advocacy like Visual Art Education. While attending Eastern Michigan University I created a professional website to show a snapshot of the work I do as an Art Educator.

Chair-ity Auction

The Lenawee Council for the Visual Arts holds a Chair-ity Auction to raise funds for the Boys and girls Club of Adrian. The auction coincides with the Art-a-licious street festival. 2009 was my second year creating a chair for the auction. I wrote a photo-essay of the creative process I went through to design and construct the chair. I submitted this to the Adrian College Gallery on Writing a mini-writing gallery within the National Gallery of writing. My essay titled "The Chair of Possibility" is the featured piece of the gallery. Those that teach can also DO.