Rainbow Parrot Fish

I teach two classes of Grade 4. Together we have been creating a giant Rainbow Parrot Fish with willow, tissue paper and paper plates. Each group of students have had a chance to work on the willow frame using masking tape as a binding tool to create the skeleton of the fish. We had great fun painting watered down PVA on sheets of tissue paper and draping them over the frame (very messy). The scales are painted paper plates with designs inspired by the beautiful tropical fish.

The Fish is coming along well, we are nearly finished but have run out of paper plate scales. Back to work.

Making My Mark on the Market Scene

I love markets and have been enjoying being a seller instead of a buyer. I love swapping my wares with fellow stall holders and meeting all the people throughout the day.


Camberwell Market Easter Sunday


Xmas Northcote Town Hall 2008



Nifty Market Northcote Town Hall April 2009

Look out for my upcoming markets in June and July.... I'll keep you posted.

Resin Workshop March 2009 - Back in the Saddle!

It has only taken me 2 years to get my act into gear and run a workshop, but as far as workshops go I could not have had a better start. Great students and a fantastic facility. Phoenix Park Neighborhood House near Chadstone in Melbourne's inner east is an exceptional facility and has always supported art classes. I ran two classes in Resin Jewellery Making, Casting and Molding.

Students left with at least 5-6 pieces consisting of earrings, pendants and bangles. Small vessels and little spoons were a popular choice made in bright colours and swirls. I loved the pieces and wanted to steal some of the work away for myself.

I will be running more of these workshops in the future so keep an eye out for up coming workshops.

Thanks to Karin, Carmel and Noralisa for all their help and to the students who made it a great workshop.

Van Gogh and Chagall Paint by Number..... sort of

You can find books that have paintings by the Masters in outline for coloring in purposes. I scanned these in and printed them to A2, mounted them to board and cut them up into pieces. On the backs of the pieces I allocated a color scheme, warm and cool colors worked well. The pieces were all mixed up and then divided out to the students who had know idea what they made. All the students had to do was color with the outlined scheme and add as much detail and texture as they like. When all are colored ask the students to work together to piece the two painting back into shape. It is best to use two paintings at a time so the students can't figure it out; my students thought it was an underwater farm scene at the beginning! I used this lesson as an induction to art for year 6 students moving into year 7. The finished images were hung in their new form rooms.

Life Stack

Year 3 is looking at 'Who They Are'. Today in art students were asked to think of their favorite sport, activity, food, animal, class and also look at what makes up different parts of their life. We then started by drawing a picture of them in action. Many students drew themselves kicking a ball, swimming or running. The image was then built up by balancing the next drawing on top of the last. Scale was ignored and objects were often warped in size. This stack, balancing precariously on top of the student’s body was then painted. In the next few weeks I will ask my students to sculpt individual pieces of the drawing and we will create a personal ceramic totem.

Blind Contour Cut Paper Portrait

Blind Contour drawing is my favorite way to draw. It’s quick and free and allows you and students to let go and just express their creativity without all the pressure being placed on the final outcome.

In this class students drew each other in 30 seconds. The process is to draw without looking at the paper (I often get students to place drawing boards and hands under their smock) and to start from a point and keep a continuous line. This often means that facial features are out of place and lines a drawn across the face from ear to ear and so forth.

To create the cut paper portrait students photocopy the face onto 4-5 pieces of color cartridge paper and then cut and layer the face starting from the base which is the total face shape and then build up in layers of different color. The only rule is that the colors should not touch, so always separate a layer with a different color.

Papel Picado - How to....

I have decorated the studio with the paper cutting art of Papal Picado. These colorful and cheap banners add a festive feel to an otherwise empty studio. As the students make art I will replace the decorations with their own work. The Papel Picado were hard to find in Melbourne, I sourced them from a shop called Market Imports in Armadale.
http://www.marketimport.com/catalog/
This is a fantastic shop with beautiful Mexican imports from clay to tin and fabric. I have also looked into making them and found some great you tube feeds. Jose A Chavez has the best I have come across
http://au.youtube.com/user/jachapez
.

Art Room Rules - 4 R's of Respect

These 4 rules of Respect help me to keep my art studio at peace. As a class we discuss the four R's, deciding what they mean and what areas they cover. Students understand the Materials are the tools and medium we use to make art and the studio covers the furniture and all the fixtures of the studio. When a student breaks an 'R' I ask them to show me which 'R' was broken. We then have a small discussion about how it was broken and move on. I feel that these 4 R's of Respect cover all areas of the art studio. I keep this poster framed in my studio so it is always present.

Art Teacher Blog - Slideshow

The Ties That Bind

Before Teaching