Artventures: Travel writing X Illustration Mentorship

A few months ago, I responded to an open call for a travel writing and mixed- media mentorship organised by my regional library. It has since concluded and I still feel a tinge of sadness that all good things have to come to an end. Never in my wildest imagination that travel writing is considered a genre or that there are classic essays by travel writers. There is a wide disparity between real travel and tourism.

Under the tutelage of writer Dr Boey Kim Cheng and illustrator Ms Neo Anngee whom we met on alternate weeks, I have unlearnt a lot of acquired knowledge and had a fun time interacting with other participants/ writers. We read and discussed numerous examples of travel writing and their stories are still etched in my mind. Some of my favourites are, Paul Theroux's Ghost Train to Eastern Star, Eric Hansen's A Stranger in the Forest, Annie Dillard's Teaching a Stone to Talk, Bruce Chatwin's The Songlines and William Dalrymple's City of Djinns.

There were also invited guest artists and travel writers such as Pixin, Jackie and Samantha who shared about themselves and their work. I'm looking forward to read the selected essays in an anthology next year!

Art Class: Our New School

In just a few more weeks, our last school term or rather the school year is closing. At the same time, our school is undergoing another year of renovation work. Scaffolding, mobile cranes, safety nets, construction workers, barricades and warning signs are a common sight. I'd like to believe I have grown accustomed (higher tolerance) to the shrill sounds and obstructed views.

Perhaps this lesson unit is inspired by the incessant dust settling in my art room... We read Roberto The Insect Architect by Nina Laden. This book is quite wordy for 7 years old but they should be good since I'm reading to them using my most animated voice. For children who are not ready to tackle such a book (Phew! I only have 1 in one of my classes), I have them stand beside me and using his/ her finger as a pointer as I read. This seems to cause them to be less fidgety and less likely being a disruption to the others. 

The children are working on designing their new school as an architect. They have wonderful ideas during class discussion such as water slides, train tracks, trampoline, tunnels, university etc. Windows that are neither squares nor rectangular. There is even a mobile school that moves like a vehicle. Some photos of their drawings with mixed media are below: 

Art Class: Class Videos

Among all the YouTube videos showing primary colours, this series is the most visually captivating. I didn't realise they were from a group named OK Go until a friend pointed that out. Their music videos have some reference to certain art concepts so sometimes I use them as a tuning-in activity. This page will show how the music videos are tied to art concepts.

Art Club: Game Makers

Electronics are all around us. Take this wireless food buzzer for example. I took a photo of this at a food court. Its interior was exposed revealing the circuit board. We had a discussion of the function of electronics and its impact on people's lives.

  

Then the children worked on their ArtScience Project. To put it simply, they have to create a game that incorporates at least one art theory and one science principle that they have learnt in their regular classes. In the beginning, they were just introduced to a variety of raw electronic components and without detailed instructions, they experimented with closed circuits to acquire tangible results (e.g. lighting LEDs, turn on a small fan, buzzer, vibrators). The homogeneous groupings ensure that children from cross level and classes have opportunities to interact and exchange ideas. Subsequently, they were introduced to a more advanced electronics package to concretise their ideas. The children also had a scribe to document, plan and reflect on their ideas so that I can visualise their plans (games).

Artventure: Green Educator Course

Green School has a mantra of Learning By Doing. Thus, their professional development for teachers hold the same belief. I enjoyed myself a lot as I learn at the same time. I wasn't made to feel like the presenters/ facilitators were just clocking hours. Each of them take pride in what they do and inspire us to do the same. From the food put on the table to the activities that we engaged in, there was attention to the details. As a visual learner, let me flood this post with photos:

We gather at our accommodation in a beautiful bamboo lodge upon arrival. It was easygoing on the first day as we were getting to know each other. The interns were in charge of the ice breakers and before we know it, it was lunch!

Our first stop after lunch was Kembali, a recycling centre where the community can bring in items for recycling and the proceeds goes to the scholarship for local students. Those who contribute 5kg worth of recyclables can attend free English classes after the curriculum hours in GS.

Instead of naming the Administration Block in a school as it is, here, it is known as The Heart of School. The high school art teacher, Jason, giving us our first classroom observation. 

It was full moon when we went to visit Puri Ngurah. We were told the King will meet us here. I was naturally excited and keeping a lookout for the King. To my surprise, he was standing there right in front of me! We were welcomed by Agung Alit and her grandfather, Gusti Ngurah Agung Watusila, the King of Sibang Kaja and we listened to his story about Puri Ngurah. We were also welcomed with the traditional and trash monster dance performed by Kul Kul Connection students. Canang was used as an offering before the Purnama Ceremony at the Puri Ngurah.

Throughout the course, we interacted with many speakers from the school. I think the most captivating speaker is Chris Thompson as he spoke from personal experience without using any slides. As a visual learner myself, if he can capture my attention and makes sense of what he says whenever he speaks, I guess he must be a really great speaker. Plus, he wasn't an animated speaker which helps because it would be a distraction. I observed that he usually start with a short story or an object that will gradually lead to his point.

On the second day, we had to frame a challenge, discuss with our group and pitch our idea a few times in different places. The difficult part is managing everyone's idea as our group is SO diverse and everyone had a really short time to get to know each other. Sometimes I was trying so hard just to understand what others were talking about. It would be a next level to convince others of my perspective.

Mud wrestling is a rite of passage for GEC participants. It was super fun because we got excuse to be very dirty (literally!) and it was multi sensory. The instructors told us not to think of mud as 'dirty' as it is a growing medium for rice which provide us nourishment.

That's all folks!