The Eye of the Beholder......

I sold a mixed media collage at the High Hand Gallery today!  I was excited that I had sold something but I feel especially good knowing it went to someone who really appreciated it.  The woman who it belongs to now is visually impaired and was very excited to find art that she could experience through touch.  She liked that the fan moves.

Although many of my art pieces are dimensional because I work with found objects I hadn't really thought much about the tactile aspect of my art.  I should have, especially after teaching a visual art residency to a visually impaired class.  At the time I was mostly concerned about the my student's experience making art while not being able to see and I didn't think about how they would enjoy and experience the artwork after it was made.  Even though I'm a "visual" artist I think I'll have to keep in mind that people "see" in different ways.

Kaseberg Art Residency: Exploring Color and Line

Kindergarten/First Grade
When I begin teaching at a new school I like to start with the Elements of Art to get a foundation established before working on a final project.  With the primary grades my focus is Color, Line and Shape and Pattern.  I usually begin with a lesson on color where the students mix the secondary colors from the primary colors and then create their own color wheels. 

After learning about Color we explored the element "Line".  In the kindergarten and first grade classes we discussed vertical, horizontal and diagonal and then the students explored patterning using colored popsicle sticks.  They were encouraged to work together to create an abstract line "collaboration".  The kindergarteners often have a hard time with the concept of working as a team.  It takes a little prodding sometimes but we eventually end up with the table or carpet covered with a giant abstract design.  When the time is up we take a moment to observe and talk about their work.

Kindergarten Abstract Line Collaborations

Kindergarten collaboration

First Grade Abstract Line Collaborations

After they've had practice making patterns with colored sticks each student made their own abstract line collage using paper "lines".  The kindergarteners used colored lines on black and the first graders had grey backgrounds with colored lines.  They could also add black lines for accents.

Kindergarten Abstract Line Collages

First Grade Abstract Line Collages

Taking a break from teaching due to a dearth of teaching opportunities.  I'm trying to put a positive spin on it by using the time to make my own art.  I'm taking a collage class to keep me motivated.  Nothing like a project deadline to create incentive.  I also have some submission deadlines coming up for some opportunities to show my work.  Here are some pieces I'm working on.

Deadlines......

The High Hand Gallery Artstock show is up and running and I have art on the wall. For awhile I really wasn't sure if I would finish in time.   I'm happy I finished but now that it's up where I can see it better I can tell which pieces I attached around 4:00 am. I don't know if anyone else notices but it bugs me. That's the problem with waiting until the last minute - there isn't any room for error.



In addition to the Artstock show I still needed to finish some new artwork to put in the gallery for this month's rehang. I finally finished two new pieces this morning at 4:00 and got them to the gallery on time. Whew, now I need to keep the up momentum and finish some more so I don't end up doing the same thing next time a deadline comes around. I'm taking a collage class at American River Collage so that should keep me motivated... especially when projects are due.   Here are my latest pieces.

Mixed media collage "Urban Jungle" series

Untitled mixed media collage

My Artwork for Artstock

Finally finished my art work for Artstock.  First time I've tried working large format.  It was a challenge after focusing on jewelry for so long.  Here is the final version on my kitchen floor after I finished it at 5:00 this morning.  I really need to stop working so close to my deadlines.

Each piece is 21"x49".  Almost all the elements are things I found and repurposed.  The images are from my Urban Jungle series.

Slideshow Overview of My Earl Warren Elementary Student's Artwork 2012

Here's a slideshow overview of the projects my Earl Warren Elementary School students just finished.  Each classroom received 4 lessons.  The classes ranged from Kindergarten to Sixth grade.  Take a few minutes and check it out.  They did some awesome work.  I am so proud of them!

K-6 Jim Dine Inspired Hearts

 

My K-6 students have been learning about different media and techniques.  They created a series of four hearts inspired by the artwork of Jim Dine.  The focus of the first heart was contrast and patterning using a black sharpie pen on white card stock.  For the second heart the students used water color pencils to create patterns and then activated the pencils with water.   For the third heart they used oil pastels on black paper to create dramatic designs.  The fourth and final heart of the series was created using paper collage techniques.

Watercolor pencil

Oil Pastel on Black

Oil Pastel On Black

Watercolor Pencil

Four Heart Series 1

Four Heart Series 2

Four Heart Series 3

Fourth Grade Geometric Collage

This project was a continuation of a unit on Geometry.  The students were given pre-cut circles, squares and rectangles.  The shapes were black, white and greys so we could focus on value and contrast.  The students were encouraged to use their imaginations to create works of art using only these shapes.

Red, White and Blue

 My  kindergarteners have a unit called "Red, White and Blue".  They've been learning about patriotism and the American flag.  I wanted to tie into what the students were learning in their classroom without literally recreating a flag.  I decided it would be fun to use the colors, lines and shapes found in the flag to make a paper collage.


After talking about the symbolism and art elements found in the flag the students painted "flag" paper to use to create a collage the following week.  In the next class the kids cut up the papers and then pasted them to a piece of black paper.  They were also given stars that could be used as accents.  The finished art work evoked the flag without being a literal representation.