Where to find inspiration for artwork online

We are bombarded with images all day from every direction. Especially through our devices: phones, tablets, and computers. The students rarely tear themselves away, (except in my class, when I will confiscate the phones if they are not actually part of the lesson- but that's a classroom management issue that we don't have to get into here).

Many teachers try to take advantage of this electronic compulsion, to harness the power of this addiction for good instead of evil. Sure, phones and laptops can be great research tools, and as long as the students are engaged in the project that they are researching, it can work.

To support this initiative, teachers of all disciplines must build lists of good sites for students to visit. For artwork, there are plenty, the trick is to find ones with classroom-appropirate content. Many online sites are great but veer away from PG content too easily. So teachers have to preview the sites regularly. Here are a few for art classes that are amazing for research and inspiration:

http://soulpancake.com/

http://www.canadiandesignresource.ca/

https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/project/art-project

http://romkids.tumblr.com/

www.ago.net

http://www.rom.on.ca/en
http://miamuseum.ca/

This next one has the best currently-created work from creatives around the world, but unfortunately is only suitable for senior level classes as the content can easily become questionable. Definitely one for teacher preview, however, worth the effort for the wonderful variety of artwork:

https://www.behance.net/

A few more with a similar situation:

http://www.juxtapoz.com/
http://www.booooooom.com/
http://www.woostercollective.com/

Enjoy!

- Patrick

How to deal with boredom

This fascinating article from the Behance blog "99%" tackles the subject: why boredom is good for the creative process.  Many creatives, teachers and students face boredom on a regular basis and this article provides some helpful insight on why it happens, and how to deal with it.

The name of the blog "99%" comes from a great quote by Thomas Edison: "Genius is 1% inspiration, and 99% perspiration." It's easy to relate to and reminds me of an earlier post, featuring a great video of Milton Glaser : "Art is work."

Terry Gilliam, 99% Blog Interview

The Behance blog 99% recently featured this interview with filmmaker Terry Gilliam about where he gets his ideas and how he works. This is a solid interview of a fascinating artist, definitely worth a read.

In it he states:
"You just carry on. You do things. I'm always doing something. I can't stand sitting around."

For excellence, "true grit" may be more important than talent.

   In a recent post on the Behance network blog 99%, the idea that true grit is more important than talent to achieve excellence, is explored based on the theory of a Harvard researcher. The post contains the arguments and some great links to a supporting TEDtalk and the "true grit" test. See how you rate.

Thor Concept Art: Michael Kutsche

Here is a look at some of the concept art that went into the making of the film Thor. I enjoyed the film a lot, largely because of the visual beauty. It's fascinating to see how some of the characters and visuals come about. Here is some of Michael Kutsche's concept art for the film, and his website.

Developing Your Creative Practice: Tips from Brian Eno

What do you do when you're stuck on a problem that you need to solve?
Where do great ideas come from?

This article, written by Scott McDowell, provides some answers from musician/composer/producer Brian Eno. Very insightful!

In it, Eno recalls:
 "There’s a proverb that says that the fruit takes a long time to ripen, but it falls suddenly ... And that seems to be the process."

5 Manifestos for Art, Life & Business

The Behance network featured this article a little while ago and I think it's worth a read. It presents the manifestos of five interesting and influential people.

Manifestos are essential foundations for many fields including politics, business and art. At the end the author asks: "what's your manifesto?" This is a good question to think about as a teacher or a student and can be useful in any subject.