Artaware's Blog

In Art Aware classes, by showing large reproductions of art from ancient to modern, I can immediately get the point across that there is no right or wrong in art. There are just plenty of different styles which lead to all sorts of opinions and pronouncements of something being good or bad.

Picasso was the greatest instigator of opinions in the twentieth century. He challenged the norm. By his abstractions, which many adults of a “fundamentalist persuasion” have no use for, he thrust people into the 21st century.

In art-appreciation and art-doing classes, it’s important to instill in the students a trust in themselves. The elementary school students must believe that they can put their mark on the page without being criticized for it by their teacher or anyone else.

A first grader liked Picasso’s “Hands and Flowers” and look what he came up with when he drew his own version! Some of the flower stems are drawn “behind” the hands and some are not. Fine! Such confidence he exhibited with the strong crayon strokes and colors.

A sixth grader did a take-off on Picasso’s “Enamel Saucepan.” A nice (in my opinion!) variation of a cubist pitcher, candle and pan.

Finally, eighth grader, Jen Vi, did a charcoal sketch of Picasso’s “Smoker,” which I personally like better than the Picasso painting.

All of this artwork is done within a 45 minute class. Reproductions are placed around the room and the students can take ideas from them or not, as they choose, for their own artwork.

By the end of the class I am always surprised and pleased with what they come up with!

“Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, I gotta love one (fill in the blank) ’til I die.” Magnificent opera, art, and people set the mood yesterday at the Hearts and Hands Festival in Waterfront South, Camden, NJ.

(this sign, if you can’t read it,  says “Dear Oil Company, Please stop killing our fish! Love, 5th Grade)

This is the best place on earth to live or so it seemed to me with the all the creative energy being produced by people of many ages, colors and backgrounds. This is the way the world should be.

I’ll try to post as many pictures as this blog will hold. The images speak for themselves.

Rejoice!

BP and the devil be damned!

In Shizuoka Prefecture, there is a school for the handicapped founded in 1968 by renowned Japanese entertainer and philanthropist, Mariko Miyagi.  Art education is of prime importance and next to the school the students’ work is shown in an museum designed just for their art.   Acclaimed exhibitions of  their creations travel around the world.

An artist friend saw the exhibition in Tokyo and sent me the catalog.  He cried when he saw the original artwork, it was so beautiful. I got teary when I saw the catalog.  I’d like to share some pictures with you done by Shimizu Hitoshi.

The first is called “Holland Houses”,  next is  “House with Tree and Leaves” and finally  “A New Day.”

I know nothing about the artist. The catalog is in Japanese. But it’s only necessary to look at the feeling within the pictures. Such strong colors and lines. The personality of the artist shines through as does the peace, stability and self worth that the school and art program encourages.

Students really are at peace doing art whether they can draw or not and regardless of their cultural or economic background. It is the creative spirit, inherent in all human beings (until it is taught out of them), that impels children to learn, to invent the world to fit their needs.

Here are samples from 24 elementary schools. It just so happens this is the same number of years Art Aware has been in existence: 24!

We’ve divided the 2010 Poster into quadrants. Look at the artwork inspired by art teachers from the 24 public, charter and faith-based schools! Do you see the bird’s eye view of a person with knock-out shoes and a composite of cubist faces Picasso never could have painted so prettily? Look at the end-of-year art show held outdoors.

In the 2nd quadrant you see a drawing of “Spring Break” with swings and dog bones, a landscape collage, a studious student, motorcycle hill and a hungry caterpillar.

In the 3rd quadrant a variation of Hokusai’s “Great Wave” is seen and a visualization of an image under a microscope.

Included in the 4th quadrant is a racing car, a remarkably true likeness in a collage (the picture of the person is attached at the bottom), a Navaho blanket and a Narnia scene.

If you would like a 8&1/2″ X 11″ color copy of the 2010 poster with a list of the schools and artists, let me know in the comment area below or in an e-mail (artaware@hotmail.com) and I’ll send you one.

Look at this 4th grader’s artwork initiated by Faize Watkins! Would you be proud if you had done it? For years Ms. Watkins’ students’ intricate line drawings have been chosen for Art Aware posters of Camden Students at Peace Doing Art.  You can see her below standing in front of the posters displayed in her classroom.

Look at this dancing figure on a background of circles. Can you imagine doing such a piece of artwork? When this student grows up and has children and grandchildren of her own, I hope this image will have been saved and be displayed in her house commemorating her 4th grade year with Ms. Watkins and giving inspiration to all who view it!

In the next image we see a girl lounging within another background of intricate designs. I think Ms. Watkins imbued her fourth graders with the spirit of Henri Matisse!

When children in 4th grade can produce artwork like this, and ALL the members of the class do so each in their own way, they are destined for a life of success. I believe they will always hold in their hearts the experience of being in Ms. Watkins art class at Cramer School in Camden!

The wonderful Ms. Faize Watkins!

The elementary schools in Camden are blooming with art shows. The walls are covered with student work initiated by art teachers. Every year at this time Art Aware volunteers scout the corridors for pieces to exhibit in the following year’s poster of Camden Students at Peace Doing Art.

A successful closure for The Lion King activities that consumed the eighth grade art classes for the past month: everyone discussing it in class.

Students at Camden Forward School, under the direction of art teacher, Julie Kring-Schreifels, completed the masks that were influenced by the production they saw of Julie Taymor’s Lion King at the Philadelphia Academy of Music on April 15th. Art Aware sponsored the theatrical outing.

The proof is in the pudding. Look at the results!

These students will be graduating in June. The years of creating art and having it displayed throughout their classrooms and at home will be an important memory of their elementary school experience. It will remain with them for a lifetime.

With luck, when they have their own children, they will find an elementary school with a extraordinary art program similar to the one at Camden Forward and pass down the creative tradition.

Art teacher, Julie Kring-Schriefels had briefed them about Julie Taymour’s artistry and had them start to create their own masks. We will post the results as soon as they’re completed.

Two younger students who had sung songs from the show at a recent school recital accompanied the eighth graders. Everyone had seen the Disney film. They knew the story backwards and forwards and yet it was new to them. That is what live theatre does for people:  it speaks to the immediacy of the moment and their involvement in it.

When the huge elephant, shown in the above picture, lumbered through the orchestra seating, gasps could be heard throughout the theatre. Up in the ampitheatre it took a while for us to see it. What a thrill!

Four years ago, Art Aware took students from Molina School to a production of “The Lion King.”

We hope to do it again for yet more students when it comes to Philadelphia again! It never gets old and it’s an experience of a lifetime!

Yesterday I went to watch a “horse whisperer,” Diane, work with her horses. Being a “dog and cat” person myself, she demonstrated to me how horses, even more than dogs, need an authority figure.
(Of course cats are their own authority figures.)

My experience with horses has not been intimate. I have ridden horses all my life but have never owned one. My cousin, Catherine, bought her first and only horse, Scarlett Moon, fifteen years ago, when she was forty-four years old. Here’s a photo of me introducing Catherine to her first ride at age three and yesterday, fifty years later, – a photo of me with her beautiful horse, Scarlett.

I learned that it’s not cute when horses “nudge” – it means they don’t respect your “space.” I love it when I get nudged by my dogs or cats and haven’t minded a gentle horse nudge, but strong horse nudges are dangerous. Horses are a lot bigger than people – and certainly than children. In addition to regular classes, Diane teaches autistic children. She must teach her horses a respect for “the spaces” of all of her students.

All animals, four- and two-legged, need their space to be respected. With great authority and kindness, Diane teaches the horse who is boss. And the horse teaches Diane about its stellar ability to perform with the right telepathy – to the point of blurring the equine/human distinction.

A talented elementary school instructor enables his or her students to perform in extraordinary ways. Look at what Lydia, a kindergartener, produced under the step-by-step direction of her art teacher, Sandra!