FINE ART CRITIQUE

My art word of the week is, SPACE
According to Schirrmacher and Fox (2009), there are two types of space:

1. positive space - the space taken up with lines, colours, shapes, and forms. (subject matter, content, and design occupy positive space)
2. negative space - the space left between or surrounding subject matter, symbols, or shapes.

This week, we headed over to the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) to take a look at the artwork, and ultimately choose one to critique here! I chose an oil on canvas painting done by Paul Peel (a Canadian painter) and his piece was named "The Young Biologist".

This painting highlights a boy standing upright, observing a frog on the ground (the positive space in the painting). We can tell that the boy is looking in the direction of the frog as his whole head is on a slight downward angle towards it. The negative space would therefore be the background of the pathway and the green bushes.

When I look at this photo, I see a young child pondering what to do in a new situation. It felt like a photo that all of us in our program can relate to. If you take a closer look, you will see that the boy is holding what appears to be a small watering can behind his back. Is he purposely hiding it to so he can use it to catch the frog with it later? You can also notice the boy's stance with his feet wide apart. It does not look as if he is willing to move anytime soon. It makes me wonder, is he afraid to take a closer look at the frog? Why is he standing so far away? Also, the boy is standing alone. Why is that? Where were his parents at the time? As educators, we can be ready for these spontaneous moments of learning and help facilitate their learning!

I remember back in grade two, our class had done a project on frogs. We had kept a frog in our classroom for a week to observe and then we took a field trip outdoors to try and find frogs. Speaking of finding frogs, I found this clip of an Australian frog quite fascinating. This one would definitely be a tricky one to spot, check it out!

References

Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J.E. (2009). Art and creative development for young children (6^th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar.

INSTANT SCULPTURE

My instant sculpture was made out of...

jewellery!

included are:

4 necklaces, 2 bracelets, 1 ring, and 1 keychain charm

Art word of the week... DESIGN (or COMPOSITION)

According to Schirrmacher and Fox (2009), it is the overall mark of success that attempts to address the artistic criteria of the following questions:

• Did the artist accomplish what they originally set out to do? Where they successful?
• Do line, shape, colour, texture, and form blend and work together as a unified whole? Is the arrangment of these artistic elements pleasing and satisfying?
• Does the finished work impart a sense of overall order, coherence, equilibrium and organization?
• Did the artist strike a balance between monotony and choas or unity and variety?
• Is there a focal point, emphasis, center of interest, or dominant sport that attracts and holds attention? Does it make the viewer want to return and admire again and again?

At first I had no idea what to make my sculpture with, as the only criteria was to use every day items. So I thought about what I came into contact with daily... At the same time I was also thinking "Which necklace would match my shirt today?"

*click*

I made this to put a few of my favourite things together; my passion for music, my fascination with shiny jewellery and my obsession with hearts. I happened to establish a nice neutral colour theme using only jewellery that has silver. Neutral refers to pigments that do not have a particular colour, like black, white, gray etc. All the accessories are intertwined to one another to give the illusion of unity. If you take a look at the jewellery on the right-hand side, it creates the shape of a circle symbolizing continuity whereas the left-hand side kind of separates itself as a contrast. Also, if the hearts were not a big enough symbol for love, the literal word "love" is included too. The focal point of this piece is where the light strikes, on the ring with the letter "C" refelecting upon myself since my name begins with that letter. Most importantly,  I'd say I was pretty successful in creating an aesthetically pleasing product.

As educators working with young children, literally anything can be made into a sculpture. (Although children shouldn't be playing with their food, this McDonald's sculpture really caught my eye.) I remember making masking tape structures with toddlers, structures with leaves and grass with school-aged children, and the list goes on! Stuck on ideas? Take a look at this article: http://www.incrediblethings.com/art-design/incredible-sculptures-made-using-everyday-items/ with some more extravagant sculptures!

References

Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J.E. (2009). Art and creative development for young children (6^th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar.

CREATIVITY

Where do I even begin to find the suitable words to define this broad term? It's one of those words that are used so often but is not "clearly defined".

Probably the most common thing I associate it with, are the arts. In my perspective, creativity is a trait that we all possess. It is a way of expressing ourselves at whatever task we do, in our own individual styles.

My personal creativity comes from music. I started piano lessons and joined a choir at a young age. During middle school, I participated in various school plays and got minor roles/a few solos here and there. In my last year of middle school, I was part of the worship team and lead the school in song (along with three others) every week during chapel time. In high school, I auditioned for the school musical for the first time in grade eleven. It was a such a fun experience, that I did it again in my senior year.

In a sense, the experience of putting on a musical and enduring countless hours of hard work in the theatre, is comparable to the process of exploring creativity. The ultimate goal is to successfully put on fantastic performances that are enjoyable for both the cast and viewer (the completion of a product). However, the most crucial moments were all the rehearsals where we discovered what worked and what did not over the course of endless practices (or the proccess).

But I must say, joining a professional choir was the most memorable experience of my life. It opened my doors for travelling, to places like Newfoundland for national choral festivals, California for Disney's Magic Music Days, Cuba to explore international music differences etc. It also led me to once-in-a-lifetime experiences such as performing live on the Treehouse Kids television show "Judy and David's Boombox" and meeting/participating in a workshop with Bobby McFerrin! Throughout all the various performances, I developed confidence for singing anywhere and anytime to express myself. 

Now why did I choose this photo?
I love the random splatters of colourful paint and the concept of not having limits as to where things should be. If you take a look, the manner in which the person placed their hands creates a box shape, however, it is not fully closed. Although this may be a little cliché, I take it as a reminder to "think outside the box". Also, painting is one of the most favourite sensory activities at the child care centre where I presently volunteer. During my placement period there last semester, I constantly thought of various materials that they could use to manipulate, and also different textures they could paint on. In addition to that, they had a different daily living theme each week that activities should relate to, making it even more difficult to create sensory activities!

Here I Am!

Just a little blurb about me, I'm currently a second year student at Ryerson Univeristy in the Early Childhood Education program. This blog was created specifically for my CLD 215 - Creative Arts I class, so watch out... things may be a little unique!

I discovered my passion for working with children in grade six when we had a buddy program at our school. All the "older" children were paired with a "younger" child for weekly activities. The one activity I remember the most, was teaching my buddy how to tie her shoelaces for the first time. After a few weeks of struggling and many attempts later, I felt extremely accomplished that I was able to help teach somebody this practical skill.

P.S - The inspiration for my blog title? Well, creativity is kind of like a spark. When you are able to catch a spark, it grows and keeps going if you feed it, until it become a fire! It's a such a joyous moment, just like the following "feel-good" song (where I borrowed the lyrics from):