April Vacation Part I

I haven't stopped blogging...
my schedule is just so different from last year!
I had a larger grade span, seeing classes twice a week, therefore with more opportunities to complete art works. not to say that we haven't finished work this year, but instead of teaching seven different lessons for a week or two, I now teach three lessons for two to four, sometimes six, weeks at a time. With the up coming art show, I've only realized how long it has been taking us to get work done. However, each student does have a handful of works to choose from and I look forward to showing off their hard work. I'm pretty excited because last week I found out that we get to use wire panels with black felt slip covers. Which means that art work doesn't have to be matted and can easily be hung with straight pins!

I'll try to post this year's Visual Music paintings, with the addition of printed instruments, later in the week. For now, enjoy some photos from my vacation!

I started with a long weekend in Woodstock, VT with my best friend. Aside from walking around the town and poking in the shops and markets, I took naps in between snacking, watching the news, hockey and movies. So relaxing!

Museum of Fine Arts

I spent today roaming around Boston and navigating the subway system on my own. I usually head in town with my boyfriend or friends who grew up near the city, so this was definitely an adventure. The weather was beautiful and I wound up walking from Fenway to the Back Bay by the end of the day. I don't know how far that is, but my feet are tired!

I decided to take advantage of a free tour at the Museum of Fine Arts and was very glad I did! As the very knowledgeable staff member said numerous times, its a whirl wind of a tour, designed to give you just an overview of what the museum has to offer. In a little over an hour, we criss-crossed the museum and traveled through art history.

 

We started with ancient art which I have been pretty fascinated with this year between my new curriculum and my graduate class. I really want to continue to learn more about deities and sculpture, symbolism and stories that are passed down from generation to generation in different cultures. 

 

Its hard to tell how massive this sculpture is from this picture, but believe me, its HUGE! In fact, the head is not attached because the engineers knew that it wouldn't survive the journey to the museum in one piece. I can't get over the fact that this ancient Roman statue was in someone's backyard! Seriously, just hanging out in their garden a few towns over from the museum. Cool!

Also really cool, getting to see art conservation in progress! 

We touched upon a few Renaissance works and squeezed in a Rembrandt before ending the tour with a Copley painting, fittingly tying in Paul Revere and the new Art of the America's wing.

There was also a new contemporary exhibit:

I remember seeing a sculpture by Kiki Smith, like the figure above, when I was on a field trip to the MET in high school. Its when I fell in love with figure drawing. 

Louise Nevelson

And while I love ancient art and find it incredible how people created to record history, I've realized that I have a great appreciation and love of contemporary art. I don't really know why. Maybe because I can relate to the desire to create. Or maybe I really appreciate how, as the viewer, you are invited into the artist's thought process. Or, because of the art, are asked to think for yourself. Whatever it is, I love it!

Finally, there was a Bridget Riley hanging in a narrow hallway. Being able to see the movement of the colors up close was unbelievable especially after recently teaching about her. In my photo you can see my reflection and I find it interesting how my figure mimics the curves in the painting.

Bridget Riley and Op-Art

Grade 8 students recently learned about Bridget Riley and Op-Art. After reading an Art & Man article, students worked in groups of four to answer a few questions about where Riley gets her ideas and how she puts them on paper, then brainstormed a few ideas of their own. Above is our Facebook wall with examples of Op-Art, some background information and Riley's friend Viktor Vasserly. We also viewed a power point of other op- art works, pointing out what lines, shapes or spaces were repeated and how they were transformed.

 

We primarily focused on repeating and transforming a line, shape or space to show the illusion of depth, movement or visual confusion. I also placed great emphasis on craftsmanship. Students could decide what materials they wanted to use to add color: black or blue sharpie, markers or color pencil. Protractors, rules, compasses, triangles and tracers were also made available. It was difficult at first for some students as the possibilities were endless, but once they thought of a specific element and doodled on graph paper, things started moving.

I had multiple students ask me if I was related to Bridget Riley. Another even commented when he saw the photo on the board that he didn't know that I had dark hair before. 

What do you think?

For the record, I do think Riley looks like my mom!