Free tutorial: how to draw the human face and head

Here's an interesting resource to help with one of the more challenging drawing projects: how to draw the human face and head- Open Culture posted this free tutorial video here.

- Patrick

Cross-curricular Learning

Cross-curricular or interdisciplinary learning can offer so many rich educational experiences for students and teachers. Creating meaningful cross-curricular projects, field trips and learning opportunities is one of the priorities at my campus this year. Our teachers have already worked together to plan an interdisciplinary field trip to the Art Gallery of Ontario.

As an example and an inspirational starting point, I like to refer to the "Grail Diary" that Sean Connery's character Dr. Henry Jones Sr. kept in Indian Jones and The Last Crusade. You can find out more about this wonderful object at the wiki here. And here are a few pages from the diary:

What makes this diary so beautiful, and useful in the film, is how the author combines disciplines to study his subject. He works from different fields to achieve a deeper understanding and to discover new meaning, fields including: art, history, science, literature, architecture, religion, philosophy, chemistry, painting, sculpture, languages, iconography, geography, and geology. He also uses various methods to record his findings, including: drawing, writing, transferring images, collage, map-making, note-taking, quotation and references. The result is a cross-curricular masterpiece.

Another inspirational example of a cross-curricular product- Leonardo da Vinci's sketchbooks:

I saw some other great examples at the Aga Khan Museum this summer:

What I love about these artifacts (and what I think would be a fantastic classroom project) is how they are all handmade, in-depth studies of a subject drawing on multiple disciplines to achieve a more complete understanding and to create a beautiful and informative product. This is something that students can get excited about. It would also be more interesting for teachers to mark!

Class Project Idea: For a summative project, students create a object in the spirit of the "Grail Diary" or a "Da Vinci Sketchbook" - that spans 3 or more subjects. The students can research their chosen subject through the lens of each discipline, and then compile the information into a comprehensive mini-book that demonstrates their cross-curricular learning. The book can be marked by each of the three teachers based on subject-specific criteria for their class, while appreciating the diversity of products and the depth of knowledge that results through this kind of learning and where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

- Patrick

Yayoi Kusama Exhibition at the A.G.O.!

Some exciting news for Toronto: the A.G.O. will be the only Canadian stop for the upcoming show, find out more here: https://ago.net/ago-to-be-only-canadian-stop-for-highly-anticipated-yayoi-kusama-exhibition

Cardboard House Exhibition

I just saw this on the Ontario Art Education Association's Facebook page, it looks like so much fun, and definitely a good STEAM project idea:

http://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/article/amazing-carton-house-exhibition/

- Patrick

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

2016 Summer Institute for Art Educators - Day 4

For the final day of the 2016 Summer Institute for Art Educators (organized by the AGO and the CSEA), we got the chance to speak with the new Director and CEO of the AGO: Stephan Jost. He was funny and approachable and spoke of some fascinating new possibilities for the gallery. I love the overall philosophy he uses to approach such a complex and demanding job, he said: "if it's not about great art, education or access, I'm not interested."

We then heard from Jane Lott, the Coordinator of Family Programs at the AGO and explored the Hands On Centre, a play-based learning room for little ones. In discussing where and how she gets her material for such diverse programming, she explained that sometimes she has to get creative - an example, that I like and will be using, is to use LED lights in a simple plastic container to make a lightbox for under $20:

Our group of educators then heard from Melissa Smith, the lively Program Coordinator of the Gallery Guides, about the exhibit that opened on Canada Day: The Idea of North: The Paintings of Lawren Harris and then went up to explore the show.

This painting, In The Ward, 1920, is one of my favourites from the show. I was surprised by the amount of painting Lawren Harris did of the Ward in Toronto. This run down area used to be where city hall and the Eaton Centre stand today, and was a place for immigrants- mostly Eastern European, Chinese, Black and Irish. His paintings provide a primary source for a missing part of our history. He has a beautiful way of using bright colour and thick paint application to create these images, and for me it was a fascinating departure from the landscapes that I'm used to. Definitely a great show that I would like to visit again!

In the afternoon we went to the Gardiner Museum and had a brief tour of the ceramics followed by a thoroughly enjoyable clay studio session. After seeing and discussing art all week it felt great to sit down and make something!

Ewer with tulips and scholar, Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen period, c.1635-40

The Summer Institute was a fun and rewarding week of art and education in Toronto. I will miss spending time with such like-minded and friendly people, and I look forward to exploring more of the art and museums in our city.

For more, check out the twitter updates about the week's adventures here, #AGOCSEA and have a look at the A.G.O. Schools and Teachers Facebook page here.

- Patrick

2016 Summer Institute for Art Educators - Day 3

On Day 3 of the 2016 Summer Institute for Art Educators, organized by the AGO and the CSEA, we started off with a fascinating talk with the Chief Curator for the A.G.O., Stephanie Smith. Then we went up into the galleries to do a workshop with the wonderful Education Officer, Bob Phillips in the exhibition Communal Courtyard by Song Dong. 

This exhibit explores changes in society and changes in spaces and we looked at how students could engage with this show through the different concepts of space, and framing, and ideas of personal versus public.

Then we went on to discuss how we can work with our students with some other challenging and engaging pieces, first, a gallery favourite: Kent Monkman's The Academy.

Next was Bonnie Devine's Battle for the Woodlands. The artist used a massive old map of upper and lower Canada that was previously installed and painted on top of it to show an Anishinaabe understanding of the map and address issues of colonialism - specifically around the great lakes. The artist installed work in front of the mural as well as painting animals running away across the walls leading into the other spaces. It was great to see this work up close and be part of the space the work was created in.

In the afternoon, we made our way down to The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery. We had some fun interacting with work in one of their current exhibits, Franz Erhard Walther: Call to Action. As the title suggests, the works are activated by the viewer and we got a chance to approach works of art in a playful way. 

We also checked out the video-based work of another German artist currently showing at the Powerplant: Ulla von Brandenburg. For more, have a look at the twitter updates about the week's adventures here, #AGOCSEA and check out the A.G.O. Schools and Teachers Facebook page here.

- Patrick