@NipRockArt

Humour + Art = ??? Image via OSSTF OSSTF's annual Student Achievement Awards ' theme, "LOL," prompted a new assignment for grade 11 art students.  The idea of a writing and art competition seems fairly serious, but with this year's theme, we are encouraged to take a look at a brighter, lighter side of things... Image via Amazon It was difficult for our class to think of art that was based on humour or laughter, so we began to discuss some options.   How can jokes influence our art without our art becoming a joke? Bat flip. By Bruce McKinnon/ @ch_cartoon pic.twitter.com/tj4kfq12lB — Stuart A. Thompson (@stuartathompson) October 20, 2015 Bruce MacKinnon 's editorial cartoons are funny, sarcastic and insightful.  His work is shared on social media because the images help us understand and appreciate events as a Nation (consider the profound imagery, dedicated to Cpl. Nathan Cirillo ).   But how can our class create art th...

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Grade 11 & 12 art students have been busy since the beginning of September!  Even though we're only in the second week of October, we know that mid-term reports are just around the corner.  We need to be very organized if we are going to make sure that all of our assignments are complete. The entire class shared a few projects. Response to the grade 9 Refugee Crisis blog post Response to Lucas Blalock Grade 11 : You Are a Box Response to HitRecord Response to Dinner Date Grade 12 :   Response to JR Response to Salvidor Dali You Are a Book Series Ideas (as discussed in class) **Remember to consider the Critical Analysis process when responding to artworks.

Grade 9 students will be using the next few weeks to explore the theme of FEAR .  Today, we began to look at a variety of artists whose works can be connected with our theme in some way. We can enjoy watching  Thriller , but do we appreciate the work involved in making  the video?  Who produced the video?  Who designed the costumes?  Who created the special effects?  How did all of these people work together on one project? How does Tim Burton create films from sketches and designs?  Are his fears shown in the drawings and film, or have other people created the ideas first? Edward Gorey 's illustrations are quite detailed and beautiful, but can be considered disturbing as well.  How is his art connected with fear?  How does he use art to share his ideas with others?  Is his art successful? The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters,  by Francisco Goya , is a print that invites us to question its meanin...

Each month, the grade 11 art class will have one week completely devoted to learning about new materials and techniques.  Each “Week De Technique” will focus on providing students with the chance to become more familiar with media in order to develop their skills and to provide a wider range of options when they are responding to themes in class. Some of these materials and techniques might include: shading centering clay on the potter’s wheel linear perspective monoprinting animation (ex. stop motion) collage stitching contour line drawings silkscreen printing etc.... It is important to remember that artists don't always work with traditional techniques or materials. Depending on an artist's goal or message, he/she might work with unconventional media... such as rainbow loom elastics, moss text, or sound installations. In this class, effective communication is key.   Artists communicate through their use of materials. We simply have to fi...

Senior art students have been busy these past two weeks! It's been great to get back into the swing of things and to reconnect with this class of artists. Our first major project has begun.  Students began this project by responding to a quote by Keith Haring : I am me. I may look like you, but if you take a closer look you will realize that I am nothing like you at all. I am very different. I see things through a completely different perspective because in my life I had experiences that you didn’t have, and I had feelings you didn’t have, and I’ve lived places and seen places and experienced life from a completely different point of view than you have. I may be wearing the same shoes and the same haircut, but that gives you no right to have any preconceived notions about what I am or who I am. ~ Keith Haring (Source:   Engaging Learners Through Artmaking , 2009) These responses extended into a studio assignment that was meant to challenge both their technical skills as ...

Grade 9 art students learned about the #refugeecrisis today in class. We watched @ctvcanadaam's interview with Chris Alexander (Canada's Immigration Minister), and we listened to Thomas Mulcair, who talked about the image of Aylan Kurdi, who drowned because his family was trying to escape an awful situation in Syria. We discussed the power of images and how they have the ability to raise awareness and understanding of events and issues. After studying Picasso's "Guernica", and the photograph of a young Vietnamese girl who was burned by napalm (photographer was Nick Ut), our class began to think of possible responses to the #refugeecrisis. How can our artworks help to make a difference? Can we develop a better understanding of events that matter in our world? Can we share our opinions with others through art? Can these expressions raise more awareness about an issue that upsets us? #art #artsed #arted #syria #society #immigration #NipRockArt A photo...