James Rizzi 2014 style

Well, the bowls didn't work out, remember? So look at the work in progress.

One girl just couldn't stop giggling at her work! Love it!

 

 

40th Birthday Project #6 and 7

Number 6

Pops' team won on a rare occasion at the weekend by a good score. The other team had a little goalie in play and he was just diddy. I don't think he wanted to be there but there he was. I noticed that there was no grown up near the goal with him supporting him and just being there...maybe he needed it.  Then again maybe it was a conscious decision not to...it's not my place to speculate.

 

Anyway, near the end of the match the other team changed goalkeepers and I decided that apart from me giving him the odd comment getting him ready for the ball coming back to his half, I had missed my chance with the little one so I'd try and make up for it...I asked the replacement if he'd like me to stand with him and help him. He said he was fine but I stood near anyway.

 

Then in the shake-hands line (sportsmanship issues aside) I found the first goalie and gave him a big hug and told him I thought he was a brave boy and did a great job. He thought I was mad I expect but I hope it gave a him a little boost.

Number 7

I gave some flowers to the ladies I know on the complex. Just because they're yummy mummies and lovely ladies.

New Art Blog Discoveries

New blog discoveries. Via Pinterest, of course...

 

Princess Artypants

 

 She's based in Saudi Arabia so some of her ideas are Arabic inspired and feel familiar! Like her monochromatic landscapes.

 

What I particular like about Princess Artypants is her inclusion of her self-assessment rubric after each lesson.

 I am working on fine-tuning the assessment and this is something I would like to try as and when the new art room is built (2015/16...?!) Forget the rest of the school, it's the art room I want!!

Mrs. Knight's Smartest Artists

 

I found Mrs. Knight when trying to look for ideas on more 3D art and sculpture for the kids. We're running out of clay quickly and actually it'd be refreshing to do something a bit different (these are her photos, remember).

 

 

 

 

 This would be good for year 5 to combine with Science as they are doing Earth, Sun and Space at the moment. It's always interesting to see how they still can misconceive recording shadows...

 

Need to update my side-bar of fave blogs now!

A weekend for the girls...plus 40th BP#5

Ok, this is a belated post...

really, when will someone invent an extra day in the weekend already?

 

The last weekend in January saw me head off to Abu Dhabi for my Gaelic Football tournament...it was the kids the weekend before and hubby's next weekend...I flew up and was like a little girl, so excited at travelling on my own, not having to fret or worry about keeping my own children in check.

 

By the end of the weekend I had left my hat in the airport. Before I had even left Muscat. And left my lovely lime green Haivianas at the stadium. I am truly incapable of looking after myself! 

MISSING IN ACTION: not exactly high end style but certainly

the hippy comfort I know and love :-(

Long story short, fabulous and feisty weekend. I think I found my place in this game but more importantly a role as a team member. And obviously super celebrations carried onto in the early hours at the hotel. I am starting to get to know some of the girls from other teams around the region and I caught up with my girl Fiona from the

Sharjah Wanderers.

 

Bear went on an outward bound course in the mountains. She's a proper little Bear Grylls. She loved setting up camp with four sticks and a sheeting. Not everyone did apparently! Next one booked in May!

 

 

Birthday Project Update #5

 

I gave the taxi driver to my hotel a hefty tip. He was new. Hadn't been in the country 5 days. He seemed to be struggling how to use the GPS so I offered but he politely said he was ok and knew where he was going. I doubted a little if I'm honest.

I arrived no problem.

He deserved the tip and my gratefulness and wishes of safe driving. I hope he is doing well. I hope HE gets the tip.

Artist of the moment

Thanks to a neighbour/Facebook friend/fellow art lover, we got into a 'past the art on' thang on Facebook. (I'm ready to sign out of fb tbh...if it wasn't for this blog and the fact I live abroad).

 

So, she posted an artist and a piece of work...whomever liked it would then be sent another artist...they would then find and post a piece of work and so on. It appears I have 2, maybe 3 art appreciators on fb. So its bouncing between a few of us at the moment!

 

I found Peter Doig for my neighbour, thinking of the Scottish connection.

 

And he's now my favourite artist of the moment. Dreamlike landscapes and magical scenes.

Milky Way. 1989/90. Oil on canvas.

 

The Architect's Home in the Ravine. 1991. Oil on canvas.

Orange Sunshine. 1995. Oil on canvas.

The Hitch-Hiker. 1989/90. Oil on sack cloth.

I tell you what, it has really got me fired up to take my Art History Diploma when football season is over in April!

To the Parents

I had a revelation last week. It might not seem a great one to many but personally it has added to my development as a teacher, my awareness of the child's learning as a whole and not just in the class...the Whole Child - what I was fundamentally interested in back in my PGCE days. 

It has occurred to me that that these inspired, imaginative, wonderfully wacky, mostly so un-selfconscious little artists that are in my classroom might not feel so inspired and imaginative and wacky and un-selfconscious when they leave the 'art room'. I have just assumed they carry this with them to the home and if the inspiration grabs them, they'll get their crayons and paints and glue and deal with what's in their mind. 

However.

We attempted to make papier mâché bowls last week in year 4. It worked last year, somehow we all struggled a bit this year. Not a problem. We made it an evaluation lesson. This was invaluable actually and I'm glad it happened. Especially for our little perfectionists (including yours truly).

 

I did make (a mistake in hindsight I wonder) the decision to let the kids take their newspaper bowl home and try and do something with it, resurrect it, build on it, start again....basically see this through. The parents' reactions didn't even occur to me. Until one texted me a photo of the thin newspaper rough bowl-shape his daughter had made, 'jokingly' saying that the new art room [with the new school build] couldn't come soon enough.

And that's when it hit me. Any inspiration or motivation for some children stops at the school gates when the parents ask what on earth is that and the child's self-consciousness flames up and they are unable to express what they want to do with their art, their creation. In class most of them were excited about doing something with it at home and I bet none of them have. I'd sent most of these kids home with some scrappy papier mâché with the incentive that they could fix it and be inspired to do something. I forgot someone could be in the car or at the door going wtf is THAT? And this poor child trying to explain. She's just going to put it in the bin. Which child is strong enough to tell them to keep hold of it, they have plans for it.  Maybe one, possible two in that class. And so begins the downward spiral of forever squished creativity and unconsidered self esteem levels.

No wonder adults don't get out their crayons anymore. I have actually seen it in process now. And once it leaves my art room, what can I do? I have no other help to continually boost these kids' creativity and imaginative processes once they put down my paintbrushes. Maybe the grown-ups have little confidence. As Picasso said:

Please, parents, art is just as important to your child's development, not only academic but spiritual and creatively. She may not need it in the career you're seeing her in but she will need mental release and self expression and the space and confidence in which to do this. So what if she brings home a crunchy indescript piece of paper, to you that's what it is. To her she sees colours and shapes and connections, it's art, ideas and thoughts...it's HERS. Bite your tongue. Watch her do something with it, watch her plan, watch her work, watch her think, inspire her yourself if she's stuck, let her reach an outcome of her own, take a photograph before and of the finished article and then you can be done with it, content in the knowledge you have let your child see a plan through to the end. The journey is just as important as the destination. Give them the time and space and above all belief and encouragement to show you what their vision is. Maybe this is all you need to get your crayons back out after all this time...

Pablo and Paloma Picasso: Why not get arty WITH your child?

It's not what they've brought home, that is the final product. Art should never end in my class, let them continue it in their home space. Let them get messy. Let them invent and create. These are the industrial designers, inventors and thinkers of our future society, remember...they need their brains expanded!

I know he's not an artist. Or in primary school. But as a parent I always try and think like Michio Kaku's Mum:

Year 6 sketching

I love getting the children out of the class for art. This time we're sketching the school in preparation for a watercolour project. And with the prospect of a new school building it might be nice to have some old pictures to look back on.

Not much typing for a few days. I injured my hand training this week. Staved my fingers big time, nice palm bruise. So typing on a keyboard is nigh on impossible and on my iphone is just painfully slow. 

Wanna see???

40th Birthday Project #4

   

A little anonymous note to one of my pupils admiring her art work. She is talented for her age and I wanted to let her know. She has a gift. I needed to do it in such a way that it didn't come from me as a teacher and therefore risk her bragging (I don't think it's in her nature). But if I thought too much about everything, I would do nothing on my list :-)

 

(I checked with my Head before I did this, so don't worry!)