Art Class: Abstract Art (Part I)

The P5 students are making their mark in the art room. You can click on this link to see what I collect all year round as art materials. Students observed the marks made with unconventional everyday materials. 

The children studied abstract artists' work such as Piet Mondrian, Wassily Kandinsky and Henri Matisse. We wanted to see how figurative and abstract work play a part in meaning making. And we analysed how the elements of art and principles of design are applicable in their work. 

I created a giant worksheet (A3-sized) using acrylic paper, by printing on the back of it. My initial idea was to use life experience to frame the idea of abstract art but decided against it. Using lines, shapes and colours, I use emotion as the backdrop to scaffold their learning.

Art Class: Colours (Part I)

The story, Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh is a wonderful book to introduce colours to the younger students. I gave each student a set of primary colours cellophane papers so they can walk around their class and see through new lens. It's quite amazing to see their reactions when the primary colours overlapped. Then, I had them sat down for a class discussion about what they have observed and they thought that besides secondary colours, we would have 'college colours'!

Within the same lesson, the children will blend the primary colours by using the cross-section of the oil pastels. Quite a feat to see three sticks of oil pastels churning out a variety of abstract art. Stay tuned to next week's lesson!

Art Class: Paper cutting and symmetry

This short unit allows me to introduce a local artist, Anthony Poon's work. Even though his art has no resemblance to what the students did, his style of abstract expressionism is very precise and calculated. I showed some images of his sketches and notes to emphasize the importance of thinking and planning in art. The artist once said that everything can be simplified in basic shapes of lines and angles so getting the students to do kirigami has similar objectives. They were very eager to reveal the patterns after folding and cutting. It's a task that's feasible for them to feel successful and putting the artwork together is visually captivating. 

Art Club: Ceramics

It's really difficult not to like ceramics. The process of manipulating the clay is so calming and holding onto a fired piece, weeks after visualising it in the mind's eye is so gratifying. It helps the children to practise delayed gratification as there's no fast forward button. Just waiting for the clay to dry before bisque firing takes at least a week. 

A few days before the class, I would add a small amount of water to the bag of 'fresh' clay to soften them and make ready to use. As beginners, the children started with making pinch pots. It's the foundation as it doesn't require any tools besides their hands. At this stage, they need to learn by feeling and knowing when the clay gets too dry/ wet. They need to constantly evaluate their pieces to prevent them from getting too thin or thick. For example, the rim of a cup has to be smooth otherwise a sharp edge can cut the lips. Sometimes, it's necessary to restart the whole process when the clay is beyond salvage. They need to know how to create a flat base so that it can be stable and perhaps functional. Art materials are finite so I told the children that any pieces that are deemed unsuitable would be recycled. 

Glazes are magical. The colours turned vibrant after firing. In its raw form, they are a mixture of powder and water. The children to apply three layers of glazes onto the bisque-fired clay in order to achieve an even coat. Before I send them to the kiln, there is a need to check that the base of each ceramics pieces is glaze free. 

There's always anticipation whenever I open the kiln. The children's hard work would have gone down the drain even if I have a have tiny air bubble lodged in one of the clay pieces while firing and an explosion would cause other pieces in close proximity to be damaged too. Thus, there needs to be a longer drying time when the clay pieces get bigger. 

Artventure: 3D-printed Tripod Mount

I've been looking for a tripod mount for the longest time. Browsing online catalogue and reading reviews about the various brands. I bought one that didn't really work too well and so I tried printing it at my regional library. I'm glad it turns out decent and workable too. The challenging part was looking for the ONE nut that's of the right size. All I needed to do now is to adjust the tripod mount and just slide my phone in when needed. So, now I could free my hands in my teaching demo videos!

Art Club: Ceramics Preparation

There! I've recycled some clay containers for the glazes. By labelling multiple containers of each colour, students will have an array of choices for their bisque-fired clay. Previously, I had a variety of colours in ice-cube trays for each group but I find them quite messy and due to the close proximity of the colours, they can cross-contaminate easily.

Upcycled Garden

Welcoming students into Term 3 with an art installation! The teachers reuse fruit cups to create a 'plastic garden'. It was good fun to experiment during our brainstorming session. All the children need to do is to provide an estimation of the number of cups used in this work and drop their answers in a provided box.

Photo: Mdm Aznani