Beautiful Oops

A colleague of mine recommended A Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg  after we taught our Saturday art class. Her unit was about "play" where her students were to imagine a place that they would like to play and then they built it using shoeboxes and and other mixed media. It turned out really cool. This book helped her students free themselves from the constraints of "right" and "wrong." It shows young kids that it's ok to make mistakes, that a "mistake is an adventure in creativity, a portal of discovery."

Alphabeasties!

The end of the semester and and the holidays turns November and December into a blur. I'm super excited to finish up my last semester of classes before student teaching. They're really interesting and I really hope I can get everything done the way I want before the end of the semester.

While studying at the library, I found this clever book called Alphabeasties and other AmaZing Types by Sharon Werner and Sarah Foss.

 It's a flip book with an animal illustrated in one letter for each letter of the alphabet. The letters are then turned into a couple smaller illustrations using the different cases and different fonts to showcase something else about the letter. This is definitely geared toward lower elementary students if you're reinforcing the alphabet, however, one could easily show this to even high school age students and ask them to pick a letter and created a type-based illustration. The content and design of this book is very cool and worth taking a peek. I love it and the kids do too!

Art + Technology Integration

Oh my inner nerd is so excited today! I love technology. And I love art. Check out what Mercy High School in Farmington Hills is doing with technology. A little background first -- MHS is a private college-prep school, has a 1:1 computing program that requires students to purchase a tablet PC when they begin school. On this tablet, they read textbooks, take notes, share presentations, and now they create art too!

Susan Young, the art department head posted this youtube video showing how they integrated technology into art education. It's cool the way the compare/contrast working with real charcoal vs. tablet-simulated charcoal, sketch and plan 3-d projects, and get assessment/feedback online.


Larry Baker, an Apple Distinguished Educator Class of '09 and MHS teacher, has a blog that covers what he's doing with technology in education. Here's his description, "I blog from 'down in the trenches' of 35 years of high school teaching and have found my muse. Here I offer my perspectives on technology, free of dogma and seasoned with practicality. I chat about tech integration and use this space to archive my presentations."

How to Think Like a Child

Think like a child suggests that loosening up can benefit our lives and boost creativity.

Darya Zabelina and Michael Robinson, who carried out a US study into adult creativity have discovered that the more an adult acts and thinks like a child, the more imaginative he or she becomes. "Thinking like a child is entirely possible for adults," says Robinson. "And we found that doing so is beneficial for certain types of creative activities."

Here are some of the things the author suggests doing in order to lose those inhibitions that are holding you creativity back:

• Lose your cool
• Have a bad idea
• Learn to dawdle
• Be bored
• Break the rules
• Get yourself a babysitter
• Sit in the backseat of a car
• Get an imaginary friend

Try taking just one of those suggestions and doing something new today. Sometimes that's all it takes to break free from a rut.

Inspiration: Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse is one of my favorite artists. His work brings so much joy and happiness. It's refreshing to have such positivity in a sea of social commentary, troubled images, and darkly colored images. His work is bright, graphic, bold, and happy. 

Henri Matisse. The Dance.

 

Henri Matisse. The Joy of Life.

Though the imagery looks simple, the pared-down shapes, color choices, and composition are all very well thought out to convey his message. He once said, "What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter - a soothing, calming influence on the mind, rather like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue." I love this idea of his work being comforting and soothing "like a good arm chair." It's like a deep breath of fresh air.