We are making great progress on the mural. This week the participants finished drawing shapes on the back of the paste paper paintings to be cut out. (Next session the participants get to arrange the cut outs together to make the flowers and plants!) We also did something fun and different this week. We got to play "Warm and Cool Color BINGO". Mary, our lead teacher, designed BINGO cards with various shapes with warm (red, yellow, orange) and cool (blue, green, purple) colors that the participants got to cover up as they were called out. This was a great way to introduce the participants to the various hues that they will used to make the flowers and plants.
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This week the sun was shining outside and the group seemed to be in a very good mood! This was our last week to make paste paper so we spent the first half working on our final masterpieces and spend the second part of the session having participants draw more designs on the back to be cut out. Next week we will have the participants piece together the cut outs to make the flowers, plants, etc for the garden! I can't wait to see what wonderful creations they come up with!
Today we added wall paper paste to the paint to make it thicker to give a variety of texture for the mural. As usual, some participants were very prolific while others liked to watch more than create. We also had a very talkative group this week which shows that the participants are getting more comfortable with the project. Towards the end of the day the participants drew shapes on the back of the paper to cut out for various parts of the mural. While the participants drew, the campers diligently cut out the shapes. By the end of the session we had a nice stack of beautiful colors and shapes to add to the garden! I can't wait to see the finished product!
Since AVITA had another event scheduled for last week, Thursday, February 22 was officially "week three". Both the participants and campers were busy making more paste paper paintings to use later to cut out the various shapes for the garden. Some of the participants drew designs on the back of the paintings as well. The participants are quite eager to continue painting and designing what will be used to make the mural. While painting, one of the participants even broke out in song with "You've Made Me So Very Happy", by Blood Sweat and Tears, expressing how much he enjoys being a part of the Arstream Harmony Garden project!
This week we began the process for the mural. We had the participants apply thick layers of paint designs on their paper. While the paint was still wet, they carved textures on top of their designs using various tools. The results were amazing! (Check out the picture gallery for Spring 2012!) The participants eagerly accepted the challenge and produced a good number of pieces, which we will accumulate over the next few weeks and use to cut out the shapes to make up the garden plants and flowers. I don't think we will have any problem getting enough material to use for the mural, as our participants are quite prolific painters!
Today was amazing as our new Spring Arstream project got underway at AVITA! While the goal of this ten-week session will be to provide a mural for the facility based on AVITA's last session theme "Harmony Garden", today we focused on getting to know the participants and watching them work their magic with colored pencils and markers on paper. We have a quite talented group to work with! Several of the participants caught on quickly as we taught them how to make different types of flowers and other objects. Others were already drawing birds and people quite well. Even those with a more "abstract" style, made works that showed amazing use of color!
Over the next several weeks, you will see the mural unfold piece by piece as the campers teach the participants how to make paste paper and cut out colorful, textured flowers, leaves and whatever other whimsical objects we can imagine. And I suspect the participants will teach us quite a bit about seeing the lighter side of life! Check back with us each week to see how our garden grows! This Fall semester is coming to an end, and our ten-week project is complete. The students were able to manifest creative designs and cheerful attitudes, and we couldn't be more proud of their efforts.
Over these past ten weeks, the students completed three different art projects. They began with paste paper journals, moved on to artist trading cards, and ended with shadow puppets. Three weeks were set aside for each project with the tenth and final day allotted for the shadow puppet show. These projects were unique and engaging. This was a great opportunity for the after school students to think "outside the box." The artistic materials available to them was varied. They used paints, markers, crayons, collage, glue, glitter, and more. With only one hour provided each day, the children really needed to think on their feet, and they were able to come up with a wonderful variety of solutions. Great job, LCMS! Thank you for your support and interest. Please take some time to look at the collection of images displaying their fantastic efforts. This Fall, the Artstream Project has coordinated with Lumpkin County Middle School's After School Program. We have organized three separate art projects for the students to explore over the course of our ten-week program this Fall. We will be engaging the students in paper paste journals, artist trading cards, and shadow puppetry!
As of the creation of this blog, we are just over halfway through our program. We have completed the first two projects and are enthusiastic about our final project! All of the Artstream campers this semester are in agreement that the children's creativity is nothing short of amazing! Please stay tuned for further developments and pictures. Today was the second and final day of the workshop weekend and the entire Summer Camp program. The kids were so excited to be back and get started working on the next lesson. Kelly introduced the next lesson on creating alien freak flags. Once again construction paper was passed out and the kids got to sketch out their ideas using colored pencils, markers and oil pastels. It wasn't long before they began picking out cardboard for their flags covering them in paint and/or fabric. Everyone was working diligently for a while, and then it was time for the kids to take their snack break.
After the break, the kids took their flags around from station to station, adding things like yarn, glitter, more paint and fabric, and beads. Mary gave a stenciling demonstration to everyone which the kids really enjoyed. The rest of the work-time was spent working on their freak flags & finishing up their wearable sculptures if needed. About 30 minutes before parents came to pick up their kids, everyone participated in the Alien Fashion Show/Parade, first showing off their wearable sculptures then their freak flags. The kids were having such a fun time!! It was a bittersweet time for the Artstream Campers due to it being the last workshop of the summer. Throughout our time this summer, we met some incredibly talented and creative kids who will no doubt grow up to accomplish some amazing things!! It was a learning experience, not just for the kids, but for us as well. As pre-service art educators, we were given the opportunity to work with children ages ranging from 6 to 13 years old, helping them with their art and teaching them techniques they could use in the future. It was a wonderful experience that we will carry with us into our futures as art educators. A BIG thank you to everyone who helped make this program a success!!! And many thanks to the parents and kids who made Alien Art Camp possible! The final workshop weekend for Artstream Summer Camp!! Today we were greeted with the most participants we ever had during the entire program. There were several kids who were returning from the previous weekend, eager to create more alien art! Today we started out with Kelly introducing the lesson to the kids while Artstream Campers modeled their wearable sculpture examples they had made. For the kids who were returning from the previous weekend, Kelly encouraged them to think of making an alien spaceship with the materials, instead of thinking of another wearable sculpture. As soon as construction paper was passed out for the kids to plan out their project, they got right to work sketching out their designs. It was interesting to see the diversity in each child's drawings. Due to the range of ages, sketches varied from symbols and shapes to intricate and detailed drawings.
After sketching out their ideas, the kids began assembling their wearable sculptures with the assistance of Artstream Campers if needed. This workshop, there were some kiddos who focused more on wearable fabric pieces, adding cardboard accessories in order to tie the entire costume together. Each child had a game-plan of how they wanted their costume to turn out, and the Campers were there to help out to make those plans happen. After about a 10 minute snack break, the kids got back to work, this time visiting specific stations that were set up. This worked out perfectly because there were Campers at each station to supervise and assist the kids if they needed help, and there were usually no more than 2 or 3 kids at a station at one time so it wasn't too crowded. Toward the end of the workshop, the kids were putting on the finishing touches on their wearable sculptures and eventually came to a stopping point. They had a blast today and couldn't stop talking about their plans for the next day! |