The Mural Project 2016

This term, I worked with the Grade 11 Media Arts class to paint another mural at the campus. The project involved covering up an older mural that was painted years ago in what is now the guidance office. The colours as well as the subject matter of the old mural were interesting but a bit unnerving for the calm atmosphere I try to create in the guidance space. 

Some Grade 9 and 10 students volunteered to sand down the old mural, a senior student did two coats of primer to cover up the black and primary colours of the old mural. Then, the Media Arts students took over covering the wall with a cool blue and green layer, using sponges to blend the two areas. They used variations of a sketch of mine to cover the wall with the line work for the paint. 

Many students who weren't in the Media Arts class wanted to help out and paint part of the mural, it was great to see the project bring so many people together!

We used eggshell house paint and finished the mural in two main stages: the mid-tone blue trees and the highlights of brighter colours in between the patterns in the branches. It was a fun project and it gave the students a chance to be creative and to work in an environment other than the typical classroom setting, listening to music and chatting as they worked. Looking forward to another mural next year!

- Patrick

Art History through Thor

THOR: A History of Media and Art from an ancient story to a contemporary film

We start with a story.

Thor comes from Norse mythology. Norse mythology represents the spiritual beliefs of the ancient Germanic and Viking peoples. These stories are made of important metaphors, lessons, and beliefs that were put into poetry, so they could be memorized and passed on.

For hundreds of years it was passed down orally, spoken from one generation to the next. Verbal storytelling was the dominant media of the time.

A brief overview of the story:

Thor is the God of thunder, lightning, storms, strength, healing, oak trees and the protector of humanity. He is the son of Odin, who is the God of Gods. Thor’s trickster brother, Loki, is evil and conflicted. They live in Asgard, one of the nine worlds that are connected by the World Tree.

These characters and this story still has an effect on all of us, it’s where we get the names for Wednesday and Thursday.

Before writing on paper became a dominant form of media, the Germanic and Norse people would carve on stones to tell their story.

Thor’s hammer was worn as a pendant for luck and to symbolize their beliefs. These were made of metal during the 9th and 10th centuries.

Then in the 11th century the stories were written down in a book, and illustrated. The book is called the Poetic Edda. Here is a version that was done in 1908:

When printing was developed, in the 15th century, writing and images became available across greater distances. Drawing and painting on paper and canvas became more popular.

This image was first published in 1555.

This painting, done in oil on canvas was made in 1872. Many other paintings, sculptures, poems and stories have been created about this story since.

In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, black and white illustration became one of the dominant forms of media, to accompany writing. Here is an illustration of Thor from 1902.

In 1962, Stan Lee created the character of Thor for Marvel comics, drawn by Jack Kirby, written by Larry Lieber. Comics have been a popular form of story-telling from the time these were made up to today.

Kirby’s Asgard

Kirby’s Thor

Before the film was made, many artists worked on transforming the story
into images that would work in a film.

One of these artists is storyboard artist Federico D’Alessandro (head storyboard artist, and animatic supervisor Marvel Studios for Thor, The Avengers, Iron Man 3 and others).

He started the process by creating storyboards based on the script.

Other artists would be working on character development and set design as well, such as Production Illustrator Craig Shoji. He helped develop the environments.

Another artist worked mostly on character design, Michael Kutsche.

After the filming is done, post-production will add special effects and animation.

After the film is complete, the marketing becomes the important media. A central part of the marketing campaign is the internet presence of the project. One of the most important parts of the internet presence is the film’s website: thor.marvel.com.

A fun intro to photography project

A fun intro to photography project for a grade 10 arts class:

1. Introduce some tips for taking good photographs
This video worked well with my class.

2. As a group, try to identify each of the tips in the work of a few professional photographers.

3. Individually choose a theme or place to take 9 photographs- each one demonstrating the application of one of the tips.

4. Individually, each student saves their best 9 photographs to a folder for submission and evaluation.

5. Group critique (2 or 3 students examples per tip).

Here are some examples of Steve McCurry's wonderful work (as well as the one above):

- Patrick

Back To The Future Project

I've always loved the first Back To The Future and this past spring I used it in my grade 10 Media Arts class for a few arts assignments.

The purpose of first Back To The Future assignment was to help students develop their ability to analyze works of media arts- starting with a format they are comfortable with- film.

Using the critical analysis process, the students watched Back To The Future and made notes and observations about some some of the dominant themes of the film. Such as: time, scientific invention, 50's culture, 80's culture, music and friendship.

The they made connections between the themes they identified and the way the film-makers presented their story- what was included in the shot? what music was used and when? how were the two different time periods portrayed? How is friendship represented?

One interesting observations that one student made was- the director included 88 clocks in shots throughout the film. Coincidence? - Probably, but interesting to note. What we can say for sure is that the film-makers went out of their way to include clocks, watches and time displays in every important scene in the film, constantly reminding the viewer that time is ticking.

The purpose of the second Back To The Future assignment was to have the students choose an idea from the film to create a product to commemorate the film- a kind of memorabilia for the 30th anniversary of the film.

Here is one example:

- Patrick

Advertising and Graphic Design Lessons

I am teaching a Grade 10 Media Arts class this term and we're in the middle of a fun unit focusing on advertising and graphic design.

I started out teaching them the four fundamental principles of graphic design (see previous post with handout). 

Next, the students were introduced to the program Adobe Illustrator. 

After exploring the design principles with some Illustrator exercises, the students were ready to try designing a logo for a future business or product. 

To give them some background in the history of advertising and design, we watched the film Art & Copy.  

The kids enjoyed it- it gave them a look into the industry and an understanding of the different jobs involved.

After using the creative process to design their own logos, it will be time for the culminating project of the unit: use the four principles of design to re-create a favourite film poster, featuring a new logo for the film or the production company. More unit and lesson ideas to come as we work through the course...

- Patrick