Art Spirit

#229 February 28, 2009

The thing with feathers found the lion-like thing laying there breathing and looking and looking and breathing with the bird the was blue  still held up in the air.

So the thing with feathers helped the lion-like thing sit up and tried to put It's arm down in a more comfortable position.

BLEEECKKK! Coughing the leaves out the lion-like thing in an uncharacteristic moment of manners, turned It's head.

February 27, 2009

The Jefferson County Elementary Arts Show is now on display at Red Rocks Community College. Jefferson County is the largest county in the state--- home  to approximately 180 elementary  schools. The exhibit is a representation of each school --- with about 15 students from these schools entered in the show. Its  quite a deal!  And as it should be . For the children  that are in the show it is a huge honor to be chosen to represent their grade level at for their school. the exhibit opens on March 6th with an evening event from 5-8pm. Parents , grandparents, children .... aunts, uncles  all come out to see their artist's work on display . And what a display !  Its really tremendous to  walk through the exhibit and see all of the truly inventive and challenging approaches to teaching color , form and all the rest.  How do we art teachers choose what children  earn the honor of being in this show . Everyone has their own criteria... but there is also the unspoken nod of  how some children simply benefit from having the exposure --- for whatever reason they are the child that 'needs' this moment . And really--- yes all children need many moments however some-- yes ---some -- more than others can earn their place in th spotlight for many and I emphasize many different reasons . What culminates is a great collage of imagery and idea that  is a snapshot of where art education is and where it is going .... without  bias --- this is a must see show  :)

#228 February 27, 2009

Arm still in the air ---with that light feeling when holding a limb in place for too long ... with the bird that was blue still in hand , still looking back at It --- the lion-like thing laid there able to see and able to breathe even with the leaves still in its mouth.

February 26,2009

Its funny how easy it is to forget what we tell the children ... I have this whole string of 5th graders coming  in a picking up their sculptures and for a second I thought --- why is everyone coming in here --- and then ... OH!  Right! I told them to come in . 

All rotations completed their work today which is always impressive to  when I see it in action . The children  get it --- when something needs to be completed -- like clay ---they are focused and complete the task. 2nd grade has made these wonderfully lyrical cakes from clay . They wanted to write things on them like Happy Birthday and that sort of thing -- which is great --- then it blossomed into Happy soccer ball day and Happy frog day  --- a riot !   The cakes are complex sculptures with 'frosting' and 'decorations'. They have really done a beautiful job with their culinary clay :)

#227 February 26, 2009

Something --- this thing with feathers--- stood there , with the scissors and the trimmings and all the birds that were blue  flying around ---- with no place to put the scissors because this thing with feathers had no pockets.

February 25, 2009

My desk is a fort of artwork. The elementary art show installation is tomorrow . The students represented in the show range in ages from 2nd -6th grade. I would have put 1st grader's   work in the show but its just been one of those artwork shuffling tap dances for me. Managing the volume of materials and art work is a moving target around here---- I sent home all of the 1st graders work because --- I thought well they can take home --- have the refrigerator  exhibit and there you go --- I also exhibit all students at some point during the school year in the hallways --- everyone get an opportunity to see how it feels to display your work .

In third grade we are circling around learning about analogous colors. I have been trying different variations on the same theme  with these past two  rotations. The students learn about tint , tone , and shade with the primary and secondary colors the first day . Then the second day the students explore analogous colors  in their journals by mixing the primaries with secondaries as well as with tint, tone and shade of the colors . The whole goal is to create a situation where the students are mixing mixing, mixing and discovering, discovering, discovering.

#226 February 25, 2009

Then the trimming stopped.All of the branches were cut -- even the old gray dried out ones. The trimming was a short time but it seemed long , and everything still ached a little---was sore--- even the old gray dried out ones.

February 24, 2009

We did this great activity this morning in 6th grade around informal critique processes--- The students have completed their Self Portrait Paintings  using the Principles of Design --- balance , emphasis , contrast , unity , movement, pattern/ rhythm. The portraits are acrylic  --- really lovely and will post some images soon. For the informal critique --- each student wrote down each vocabulary word on a  separate post it note-- we then set the words aside and walked around without talking to our pals and looked at each painting --- as the students looked they were asked to write out 3 separate comments  about  three separate paintings --- we talked about what would be appropriate  comments " I think the way you used color and movement in this painting is really successful ' or ' The pattern in your background is very well painted' --- we also talked about the " you'll  be invited to do over comments"  like --- 'cool dude' and ' you  rock '   or (a personal cringe comment )' awesome !' .

The students were asked to be specific and thoughtful about their comments  for their peers. It was  very  exciting to see how seriously the students took this task. They walked around ---looking very closely at the art work of their classmates  --- thoughtfully recording their comments. We all then took a final 'gallery walk' and the students   placed the post its on the  open journals  of their classmates -- oh ... the other  guideline was that ' one could not lay  all their cards  down in one place '  the students were required to walk around a give out  nine different comments/words ---  We then discussed what the  response was to their work  for example  "Did they think they had done that much -- movement ? "  sort of thing to engender the idea of  perception of the art work sometimes doesn't and sometimes does meet the intent. 

There are times of course that encouragement is  just the thing --- this afternoon with 1st grade while drawing a chicken on the board for the students one child yelled out in excitement  just above the low clucking( really)  --- GOOD JOB MS. BUHR!!!!

#225 February 24, 2009

As the filigree continued to grow over , becoming  thick and dense-- the lion like thing thought about how the leaves were crushing inside of Its mouth , how it couldn't breathe  and then  how the bird that was blue must not be able to breathe either--- so the lion-like thing pushed  the bird ---that was still just looking back at It --- out of the filigree.

The lion-like thing  heard something. Something cutting, trimming  there was a snapping sound as  something started to cut back the branches --- and the lion-like thing noticed that it smarted a bit.

February 23, 2009

Just completed all  the grades for my students and am going to sit with them  over night ---input in the morning. Also completed the framing for the elementary art show. It is really so great how excited the students are for their work to be exhibited .

Today was sort of a wildly normal day --- always the last day of the rotation is filled with completing of the assignments--- especially with clay there is no'come back and work on it 'time --- the 2nd graders completed their cakes beautifully, the shoes the 4th graders made are a riot !  The sixth grade completed their sarcophagi boxes   in such a focused  and lovely way I had to just step back  and allow them their pace .... wonderful :)