Summers-Knoll Art Class

Graduation

2011-06-09T05:04:00.000-07:00

June 8th the whole Summers-Knoll family- parents, students, teachers, staff- met at County Farm Park for graduation. What a lovely way to close out the year. Joanna wrote incredible poems for each child, Jan helped the kids prepare some singing and dancing, and we in the art room made the lovely red sashes you see in this photo. Earlier in the week, the kids made paper badges for the older kids who were graduating. It was sweet, and they looked great. Happy Summer time!

Trip to plant the seed bombs

2011-06-09T04:59:00.000-07:00

June 1st we packed some bags of seed bombs and walked to an undisclosed location to throw them. It was such a lovely day. We walked, talking about nothing and everything. Even though it was not the last day of art, it felt like really great closure for the year. Now we will have to watch and see if our plants will grow!

Seed Bomb Factory

2011-05-25T05:58:00.000-07:00

Seed Bomb Recipe

2011-05-25T05:51:00.000-07:00

Seed Bombs

The weapon of choice for guerrilla gardeners everywhere, seed bombs (or seed grenades) are compressed balls of soil and compost that have been impregnated with wildflower seeds. Jettisoned onto barren, abandoned, or otherwise inhospitable land, including construction sites and abandoned lots, seed bombs are a way of beautifying abandoned areas. "Kaboom" sounds optional.
source: planetgreen.com

Recipe:

5 cups red clay powder

1 cup worm castings

1 cup seeds

1 cup water

yield: about 40 seed bombs

Great Quote

2011-05-12T08:02:00.000-07:00

Oliver: I am surprised by what great artists we are!
Arvid: Do you know why we are such great artists?
Oliver: Why?
Arvid: Because it's what we were born to do!

Sunprints

2011-05-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

Today we walked over to County Farm Park with a mini photo art lab. The kids collected sticks, stones, and plants to make sun prints with pretreated light sensitive paper. We developed the paper with water, and now the sheets are spread out and drying all over my house. Soon you will see the finished work.

Weaving

2011-05-12T07:52:00.000-07:00

Spring time means weaving for the Kindergarten class. First with paper..... soon with yarn and ribbons!

Open Studio Part 2

2011-05-12T07:43:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pictures of the kids working during open studio time. If you were a fly on the wall, you would be able to see a room full of engaged children working on vastly different projects: painting, origami, drawing, and three dimensional construction. Happy times.

Open Studio Days

2011-04-28T13:19:00.000-07:00

The past couple of weeks we have been doing open studio style art lessons. Each day there are between five to seven different activities available in the room. The kids use trays and choose their supplies before settling down to work. This week we had sled kites, mandalas, origami, tempera paint, drawing from instructional books, soft wire/small beads. Next week we will be doing different kinds of weaving. The kids love this style of classroom set up the best. They love the freedom within the supported structure. The really amazing part of this style of teaching for me is the diversity of the outcomes, and the joy of the children. It makes our time together this amazing time of exploration and discovery.

Mosaic

2011-01-09T20:35:00.000-08:00

Mosaic

Susan Carpenter's 1/2 class, Elaine's K class

Day One: Mosaic pieces are glued to ceramic tile.

Day Two: Grout is spread over tile and washed off.

Arnav says "You are supposed to make a mess. That is what art is all about"

Terrariums

2010-12-08T19:15:00.000-08:00

Class: Elaine's Kindergarten
Day1: We put soil, moss, water, and accessories into mason jars. After they were done, we drew pictures of our terrariums and then a 'walking gallery tour' of the room.
Bonus round: We learned about aquariums, vivariums, terrariums. Andrew is drawing his terrarium with a live creature in it..... imagining it as a vivarium.

Blind Box Manufacturing Facility

2010-12-08T19:01:00.000-08:00

Class: Susan's 1/2, Renata's 3/4/5
Day 1: We chose the shapes we would use and made sketches for the toys.
Day 2: We decorated box templates.... and sent them out to get copied onto card stock.
Day 3: We started coloring the boxes and wooden toys.
Day 4: Finish toys/boxes, assemble. Make signs for sale.

Wild Things

2010-12-08T17:35:00.000-08:00

Class: Elaine's Kindergarten
Day 1: We read Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, and then made some monsters with watercolor on white paper. We also took pictures of ourselves making wicked faces.
Day 2: We cut out the print outs of our faces and glued them on white paper. We drew wolf suits. With tempera we made a huge forest on butcher paper and glued the monsters and wolf suit kids in. Magic.

Is it too soon to plan for spring?

2010-11-27T21:08:00.000-08:00

Guerilla moss graffiti artist Anna Garforth makes these beautiful installations in England. I found the moss milkshake recipe online, and I am ready to unleash the kids on the city...... but wait, whats that you say? I have to wait for spring? Bah. Well, in the meantime we can dream of mossy walls, and of other green graffiti projects... like the Operation:Ivy League or seed bombing.

p.s. did I mention Anna calls herself a mossenger?

Author Studies: Molly Bang

2010-11-27T20:12:00.000-08:00

One of the best author/illustrators of all time is Molly Bang (says me). While the older kids are working on their blind box project, Elaine's class will be reading Molly Bang books in the art room. We will be reading Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher, Paper Crane and Dawn.

Molly also wrote and illustrated this amazing book on design, Picture This. She explains how shapes and lines can be used to create a mood. The book is written for children, but many college professors and designers use it as well. Watch out for the collage projects we will make inspired from her work!

Blind Box Project (an introduction)

2010-11-23T20:03:00.000-08:00

Blind box toys are an interest of mine, and when I showed some to the SK students, they were intrigued- so we decided to make a blind box toy company. Well, maybe a few companies. I am sure you will be hearing more about it as we go along. In case you are unaware of the wonder and beauty of the blind box toy, let me share.

This is what you would see inside a comic book store like Vault of Midnight in Ann Arbor or similar. Each of these six displays contains 24-36 little boxes costing $7-$10. Inside each of these boxes is a toy, but you can't see it until you open it. It is kind of like a Cracker Jack toy without the Cracker Jacks (and when they still had toys). It is also kind of like a Kinder Egg without the chocolate, and with no assembly required. The label on the box gives you a hint... but you don't know for sure.

These toys are called Jibibuts. They are made of wood, which is a new trend in these toys. They are usually made from cast vinyl. Which one would you like? How many boxes would you be willing to buy before you got it?

This set is from one of my favorite companies called Friend With You. The special thing about them is that each one has a little tiny fairy like bell inside it. They are amazing.

These are called Dunnys. They are from one of the biggest blind box toy companies called Kid Robot. Each toy is the same shape and artists are commissioned to decorate them for a limited edition release.

These are the wooden shapes that we will use for our project. The students will be designing the boxes and the toys. Lucky for you their pricing will be a bit more reasonable than the more established companies- probably $1. Anyways I just wanted to give you a heads-up so you are ready for our sale..... assuming we are willing to part with any of them!

What would you make with four feet of foil?

2010-11-17T19:14:00.000-08:00

This afternoon we worked diligently on some paper lanterns to decorate the lunch room, but when we were done, I got out a few rolls of aluminum foil. Everyone happily adorned themselves in the stuff and much fun was had by all. Thankfully Susan took pictures and sent them to me so you can see the fun too. Susan saves the day again!

Still Life

2010-09-27T14:33:00.000-07:00

So we looked at some examples of still life from the Renaissance, and then made some of our own in the Art room. Take a look at these shots of some of the kids in situ....

Clay Day!

2010-09-20T14:29:00.000-07:00

The lovely, talented and generous Susan took pictures of us in the art room today. We have been further exploring the proportions of the face by making small clay portraits. Soon I will post pictures of the finished work. Once they have been fired and once we paint them GOLD.

Some thoughts about planning

2010-09-17T06:32:00.000-07:00

Before we begin a new theme at Summers-Knoll, all of the teachers research that theme, and begin to form lessons and project plans that we want to do with the kids. We also have meetings to share our plans with each other and sometimes combine classes or take whole school outings together. The really fun part for me is when the kids become involved and then the plans take a new turn. For instance, when studying Renaissance art, I really became attached to the idea of studying and talking about perspective in realistic depictions of scenes. I was also interested in the narrative and symbolic nature of Renaissance art. For a warm up, we began by learning to draw human proportion and talk a little bit about chiaroscuro, or intense shading. The kids got really excited about this. Which means my lessons on perspective will have to wait, while we take this lovely turn in the road and study drawing more deeply. Having the flexibility to follow where the student's interest takes us is a gift. By going to the subjects that interest them, we all have a more meaningful experience. But also, this is a little bit of an explanation for why the calendar that I have posted will not always match what you see happening in the room. I think it is important to have a kind of a road map for the theme, all the time recognizing that we will be stopping along the way and changing the course a bit.

Student Drawings using Face Proportions

2010-09-14T10:48:00.000-07:00

After looking at a digital slide show of some of Leonardo DaVinci's sketches, we began to make our own. Each student worked diligently to make accurate compositions. The lines you see mark the face into thirds and quarters, using principles that DaVinci used.

Face Proportion

2010-09-13T05:52:00.000-07:00

Today we will be studying proportion, specifically proportion of the human face. During the Renaissance, many artists became interested in science, and in understanding the human form. We will be looking at the sketches of Leonardo DaVinci and preparing some sketches of our own.

Painting Flower Pots for Mother's Day

2010-05-09T16:26:00.000-07:00

All the kids in school transplanted flowers into terra cotta pots and then decorated them for their mothers, grandmothers, and mother-type people in their lives. These pictures show Mrs. Adhikary's class hard at work, but every Summers-Knoll mother will have a flowers to enjoy the whole summer long, as long as those little pots get water every day!

Another great picture of Festifools

2010-04-15T06:57:00.000-07:00

Elaine took this great shot of the end of the parade. Even the puppets look tired!

Festifools!

2010-04-13T05:36:00.000-07:00

My son Josh came and took pictures of all the fun. We posted a few of them on the flikr set. Sweet Elaine also shared some of hers with me. Thank you! Talking with the kids on the following day they made the following observations: Next year we should make lighter puppets! Next year we should all wear costumes! Next year we should all stay together! Next year we should bring water bottles! Next year we should make a big puppet on wheels! For more of their ideas on planning for next year, visit the common room and look on the wall by the sinks.

Teaser picture of Festifools

2010-04-11T19:22:00.000-07:00

This is a teaser picture for the rest of the images that will be up on our flikr page later this week. Elaine took this lovely picture of the Medusa puppet and kindly sent it to me. We have about 300 images taken at the parade to sort through and make available to you, in addition to video. We had such a great time! In attendance was the Skeletal Devil, Medusa, Salmon of the Sun, Cyclops, and a Dragon. Renata showed up early to help out with the face paint, which was great! The kids were wearing costumes, or made them when they arrived with fabric donated by Robin, Trent's mom. SO many moms and dads helped out during the parade and some of them even wore costumes (Christine! Miina!) We had such a great first year at Festifools, and are excitedly anticipating next year already. Thank you for all the help and support, Summers-Knoll families! The prize goes to Joanna who got off the plane from a trans-Atlantic flight and drove straight to the parade. That's what I am talking about.

Festifools

2010-03-26T05:07:00.000-07:00

We have been busy busy busy making puppets for Festifools. I don't have any images to share with you of our work, you will have to check in the common room to see what we have made so far. You should be able to see: a dragon head, a bald medusa head, a salmon head, a skeletal devil head, and a cyclops head. The kids have been working very hard on them, and April 11 is sure to be a very fun time. We will be meeting at 3:00 with the rest of the parade, and it officially starts at 4:00.
Check out the official Festifools website:
http://festifools.org/

Mobiles

2010-01-27T08:46:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the mobiles made in art class. Of course, the lovely snowflakes are made by the aftercare class with Shan. The common room is becoming quite festive with mobiles, lanterns, and giant snowflakes... Just wait until the FestiFools puppets are added to the mix. Oh? Didn't I tell you? Summers-Knoll is collaborating with FestiFools in March to make beautiful huge puppets for the parade on April 11. We are so proud and excited.

Diorama Scenes

2010-01-27T06:39:00.001-08:00

Here are some of the dioramas that the K-1 classes have made. Please check them out in the common room!

Self Documentation (or fun with a camera in class)

2010-01-27T06:22:00.001-08:00

The students in Susan's class and Renata's class took pictures of the art room and its inhabitants during art class. You can see the rest of the images on our flikr page.

This is Mrs. Adhikary working quietly while we make art.

Starting our Mobiles

2010-01-27T06:15:00.000-08:00

Elaine's class is commencing their mobiles. Pictures of the completed work coming soon...

A lovely gesture

2010-01-27T06:11:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Adhikary's door opened while I was working this morning, and out came seven angels with seven little vases of roses (all being held with TWO hands). My work space is now a bit lovelier. Thank you for sharing your birthday roses, Anita!

Little birds and nests fresh from the kiln

2010-01-27T06:05:00.000-08:00

Elaine's class is proud to show you their little nests and birds just out of the kiln.

Elaine's Class grows borax crystals

2010-01-20T16:24:00.000-08:00

This grew in only eight hours! We used hot water and borax powder to make these magical beauties.

Salt Gardens in Susan's class

2010-01-20T16:17:00.000-08:00

Susan's class has been patiently growing salt gardens. Today we added some color to the mix to see how they would grow. Ammonia is a key ingredient in our recipe, and today Erin made sure to avoid the fumes.

Mrs. Adhikary's Class takes their own pictures!

2010-01-20T16:11:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Adhikary's class shared my camera and took pictures in the Art Room. It is so fun to see things from their perspective.

Elaine's Class paints collaboratively

2010-01-20T16:08:00.000-08:00

Renata's Class has fun with clay

2010-01-20T16:00:00.001-08:00

Thinking about Caves

2010-01-05T12:08:00.000-08:00

Our theme this month is caves, and so I have been thinking about cave art, cave dwellings, and what that means for our lessons this month. Of course I think immediately of transforming the hallway and art room into a be-jeweled wonderland full of stalagtites, minerals, bats and phosphorescent creatures. But I am also interested in researching more modern treatments of cave art.

A little challenge:

Is this what you think about when you think of cave art?

Or this?
Is this the first thing you think of as a cave dwelling?
Or this?

Hopefully we will find more examples of both to share with you this month.

Free Draw time

2010-01-05T11:45:00.000-08:00

Glazing our clay only took a few moments, and so with the extra class time, we had free-draw, a very popular choice. The ladies made outdoor scenes and Henna designs, while the boys made football fields. Everyone was happy.

Glazing our Clay Pieces

2010-01-05T11:37:00.000-08:00

Our clay pieces finally made it out of the kiln, and we have begun the glazing process. We learned that glaze starts dull and lusterless, but that after it is fired int the kiln, it becomes colorful and shiny. Stay tuned for our finished work!

Collaborative Painting

2009-12-28T10:42:00.001-08:00

Susan's class made some collaborative paintings earlier in the year. Here are some photos of them working sweetly together.

Figurative Art in the Common Room

2009-12-28T10:32:00.000-08:00

Renata's class has been working diligently on the beautiful figurative art you see in the common room. Each figure is an individualized expression of these six artists. My favorite part was watching each student formulate an idea and work towards manifesting these creatures over a period of about four weeks. The levels of focus and effort were so inspiring to see. Be sure to read their stories when you get a chance.

Sewing with Elaine's Class

2009-12-28T10:24:00.000-08:00

This month we have been sewing, and sadly I scarcely documented our amazing work. Much time was spent threading needles, tying knots and solutioneering. Perhaps there is a lesson here about having the kids help document each others work..... The sock creatures we made were truly lovable and adorable.

Printmaking with Susan's Class

2009-12-28T10:11:00.000-08:00

We made some limited edition prints in Art last month. The first day, we made initial sketches and then we made impressions on foam printing plates. On the second day, we used ink and brayers to replicate our images. Luckily we remembered ahead of time to reverse our writing!

Painting En Plein Air (outside)

2009-11-05T17:13:00.000-08:00

The K-1 classes took a walk to County Farm Park around the corner and paintes some beautiful tree paintings. We took all our own supplies, walked in the woods for inspirations, painted in the covered picnic ares, and then carted it all back to the art room. Each artist had a different interpretation of the woodsy scene. Refreshing and inspirational!

Lights for the Curious Epicures Dinner

2009-11-05T16:59:00.000-08:00

All of the students made these foil lanterns inspired by moorish pierced metal art. They were fun to make and very charming to look at.

Goggles

2009-11-05T16:55:00.000-08:00

We worked with pipe cleaners and beads to make jewelry, but of course the pipe cleaners were so inviting, that Arvid crafted a pair of fuzzy goggles, soon to be emulated by a few of his friends.

Hats!

2009-11-05T16:52:00.000-08:00

This lesson is consistently one of my favorite lessons to do. Kids love to adorn themselves and envision themselves, with just a few scraps of paper as a completely different character.

Sequential Image Based Narratives (comics)

2009-11-05T16:44:00.001-08:00

We worked on comics in Elaine's, Susan's, and Mrs. Adhikary's classes. Susan's class made bound comic books with board covers, while the K-1 crowd worked on a single sheet of narratives. Placing ideas in a logical, sequential order reaffirms math principles, logical reasoning, and creative thinking.

Paper clay exploration

2009-11-05T16:38:00.000-08:00

The first and second graders experimented with paper clay. They made such things as flying cars, flowers, bird nests, funny men, lollipops, and giraffes.

A workshop with Eloisa Cartonera

2009-10-12T04:58:00.000-07:00

The artist collective Eloisa Cartonera from Argentina offered a workshop at the University of Michigan, so Maria and Mike and I went to check it out. They are an independent publishing company who supports their community by buying cardboard from the unemployed people who collect it, and use this cardboard to bind their books. We joined the collective for an afternoon and made covers for some latino texts.

Love Plane finger puppet

2009-10-11T19:46:00.000-07:00

Need I say more?

Stained Glass Windows

2009-10-11T19:41:00.000-07:00

The 2,3,4,5 graders made beautiful stained glass windows with tissue paper, gel medium and waxed paper. My favorite thing is to see the way each artist tackles the challenge in a different way. Lovely.

All together now!

2009-09-29T05:01:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Carpenter's class works together on different projects on a rainy Monday afternoon.Erin and Lea finish their geometric tessellation project.
Trent, Stanley, Selden, and Noah invent a game with complicated rules and revisions.
Ian and Lukas make lanterns for the Alex Dinner.

Cut Paper Carousel Animals

2009-09-24T16:18:00.001-07:00

The k/1 classes have been getting familiar with art art tools. We have been especially practicing scissor skills. This week we imagined and then cut out animals for a carousel. We had some horses, jaguars, kittens, ducks, giraffes, and dragons.

Using math in the art room to make a North African pattern

2009-09-24T16:05:00.000-07:00

For this project, we made a single motif in pencil and then copied with a xerox. Each of the 6 tiles were hand colored, cut out, and grouped on colored paper. The students really applied themselves making complicated designs and coloring them carefully. Check out the real thing in the lunchroom on the wall by Mrs. Adhikary's room.

A modest beginning

2009-09-08T14:27:00.001-07:00

Today I had the first k/1 class. We looked at sunflowers and made a collage. It is a simple way to start the year and become comfortable with art making tools. Very sweet.

An artist brings wildlife to the city

2009-09-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

In this video by artist Karolina Sobecka, you will see a tiger running through the street. The artist made an animation, and then put a projector in her car and drove round with a friend pointing the projector at city buildings and trees. You will notice that the tiger stops to rest when the car stops and then runs when the car is driving. People in the street that night must have been so surprised!

Sometimes beautiful art is in a surprising place....

2009-09-01T19:26:00.001-07:00

Children's Art at the LACMA

2009-09-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

On a visit to Los Angeles, we saw this funky town made by children visiting the LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Modern Art) They have a marvelous children's art center there full of fun things to make and do. I fell in love with the whole place and especially this installation.

Welcome to the Summers-Knoll Art Class Blog

2009-09-01T18:54:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the Summer-Knoll Art class blog! My name is Ruth Marks and I will be your guide this year. I hope you have all had an amazing summer and seen some fabulous things!

This summer I saw this very fun installation piece in Chicago made all of balloons. It is exciting to see an everyday thing transformed into something crazy! This is an invented form which mimics plant life. It is quite large, going all the way from the floor to the ceiling, probably 12 feet.

Soon I will be blogging about the crazy creations our very own Summers-Knoll students, so stay posted.