Arts Explorer #10: Community Arts Project

USE YOUR ECE VOICE, MAKE AN EDUCATED CHOICE!

WHO: Students (those who can vote) and all individuals who work in the field of Early Childhood Education

WHAT: Vote!

WHERE: At a station near you (Check out http://www.elections.ca/home.aspx)

WHEN: May 2nd, 2011 (With advanced dates as well)

WHY: This is definitely going to need more than one sentence to explain.

 Image from http://davetill.wordpress.com/

The big idea my group and I presented to our class was the importance of voting. Our inspiration came from Rick Mercer's Rant which aired in March 2011. It is so important for EVERYONE, not just students and individuals in the field of Early Childhood Education, to make an educated vote. It is your right to make this choice. Our big idea was to make a viral video to spread awareness of how many students may not know anything about voting and the government.

It is so important for students, ECEs and families to know what each platform is presenting and what promises they're making. We need to know how our tax dollars are going to be spent and why types of programs they are going to offer or changes they're going to make. It will affect the future!

I believe our presentation went well because I feel like we got our point across. Our big idea covers a true social issue. It is too easy to complain about what the government is doing and how they are spending our money. However, if we don`t vote and include our voice, do we really have a right to complain? Show the government you do care what they are doing and that you will hold them to the promises they're making. READ ABOUT IT. KNOW ABOUT IT. VOTE.

Balance is this week's art word, and I think it's perfect. In the art way, balance is when something gives off a feeling of harmony and symmetry (Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009). You can also apply balance to our big idea, but it a different way. You may read through the platforms and not agree with every point that is made by all the parties. You may not have time to read through all the platforms so you focus on issues that are important to you. It's about balance.

References

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

Some Links:

(1) Elections Canada - http://www.elections.ca/home.aspx

(2) Conservative Party of Canada

          Website - http://www.conservative.ca/

          Platform - http://www.conservative.ca/media/ConservativePlatform2011_ENs.pdf

(3) Green Party of Canada

          Website - http://greenparty.ca/

          Platform - http://greenparty.ca/platform2011

(4) Liberal Party of Canada

          Website - http://www.liberal.ca/

          Platform -  http://cdn.liberal.ca/files/2011/04/liberal_platform.pdf

(5) New Democratic Party of Canada

          Website - http://www.ndp.ca/#enter

          Platform - http://www.ndp.ca/platform

(6) http://www.apathyisboring.com/en/

Arts Explorer #9: Guerilla Art

          To begin I wanted to share one of my pet peeves. I absolutely hate when I get back to my car after shopping and there is some sort of flyer (trying to sell me something I do not need) tucked under my wind shield wiper. At least leave me a cool gift or a funny joke, I would appreciate that much more. So, I thought for my guerilla art I would leave short notes on people's wind shields. I only used about 4 different quotes that would hopefully put a smile on a random stranger's face. Each card also has spread the love written at the bottom. Who knows, maybe my act of niceness will inspire other to pass on the happiness. I have found that kindness is contagious. When I'm walking in the morning and someone says good morning, I am more likely to greet the next person I see with a smile and a good morning, it's a chain reaction!

          Here are someone photos of the cards I did. I tried to string it into a video. I didn't take pictures of the cars because of license plates and privacy and all that. I put it on about 5 cars in a parking lot of a plaza by my house. I saw one person go up to their car, look and it, and crumple it. Hurt my feelings, but that's okay. Maybe they did not like stuff on their wind shield. 

The song I used is by Thrice and it's called Music Box. The video says it's over 9 minutes long but it's really only 30 seconds (I just didn't know how to cut the song :)  ).

          Okay so you may not want to take your classroom out to spray paint some buildings or leave notes on people's cars, but how about just being spontaneous. Children are spontaneous when it comes to some of their activities, go with it.

          The art word of the week is space. To me, space is everything that has to do with a piece of art or a room being decorated. As Schirrmacher and Fox (2009) describe, the amount of space that an artist has all depends on the size of their canvas. For my cards the space was the size of the card. I also had to be smart about the space being used. If I wrote tiny and filled up the entire card with writing, no one would take the time to read it because it would look crazy. I made is just about 1/4 the size of a letter size paper and wrote pretty large on it.

          Spread the love.


Cute Idea:
http://www.somethingnice.ca/

References

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

Arts Explorer #8: Pretend Play and Magical Thinking

THE STORY OF GLORIA

            A DAY IN MILDRED'S LIFE CAN BE, OH, SO, TIRING. WHAT SHE WANTS TO DO THE MOST IS SIT IN A COOL PLACE AND HANG OUT WITH HER FRIENDS. THIS PROVES TO BE VERY DIFFICULT FOR HER MOST OF THE TIME. THE HUMANS AROUND HER ARE ALWAYS USING HER TO STAB FOOD AND EVEN, AS GROSS AS IT SOUNDS, PUT HER IN THEIR MOUTH (YUCK, I KNOW). GLORIA JUST WANTS TO PUT HER LEG UP, TIE A CUTE BOW IN HER...UHH..HAIR, AND RELAX!

            THE PEOPLE AROUND HER EVEN GO AS FAR AS TO PUT HER INTO A DISHWASHER FOR HER BATH. THIS MAY SOUND NICE, LIKE A DAY AT THE SPA, BUT THE WATER IS BEYOND HOT! MILDRED WANTS TO LISTEN TO HER FAVOURITE BAND, THE BEATLES, AND ENJOY SOME QUALITY TIME WITH HER FRIENDS.

            ALONG WITH STABBING FOOD, BEING PUT INTO SOMEONE'S MOUTH AND BEING FORCED INTO A DISHWASHER, MILDRED DISLIKES WARM PLACES, THE COLOUR YELLOW AND GETTING OLD. FROM HER FAMILY, MILDRED HAS HEARD THAT THERE ARE MANY OF HER KIND SCATTERED ALL OVER THE WORLD. SOME SPEAK ENGLISH, LIKE GLORIA, WHILE OTHER SPEAK CROATIAN, MANDARIN AND SPANISH. MILDRED JUST WANTS TO BE FREE SO SHE CAN TRAVELTHE WORLD AND MEET OTHER LIKE HER.

*TO HEAR MORE ABOUT A STORY SIMILAR TO MILDRED'S, PLEASE OPEN UP THE DRAWER IN YOUR KITCHEN THAT HAS CUTLERY AND START TALKING TO YOUR FORK.

            While thinking about what object I should bring to life, I was having supper and Gloria was right in front of me. This can be done with children at a variety of ages and I feel they would really enjoy it. The imagination takes over, and a child can crate whatever they want. As some people say, the sky's the limit. Children can create a story that is meaningful to them.

            The art word of the week is line. A line can suggest direction, is created by artists and can also be seen as a "continuation of a dot" (Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009, p. 135). Lines can take many forms; thick or thin, long or short, and dark or light. You may be wondering, "what on earth does a line have to do with Gloria?" Hello! Gloria looks like a big line, with three line branches coming from her top, I mean her hair.

References

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

Grocery Shopping with a Twist [Arts Explorer #7]

The food item I have decided to focus on is ORANGES. I eat an orange almost every day, so it's something I encounter often and see in a grocery store whenever I am there.

     There are many types of oranges, they can be white round or blond (according to Sauls (1998) these are the types of oranges that are used in juice production). Other orange types are bitter, bergamot, mandarin, trifoliate, marmalade, Hamlin, Valencia, navel and blood oranges.

     Things made from different types of oranges and uses for different parts of oranges (or the tree and parts of where an orange comes from):

·         frozen orange juice

·         fresh orange juice

·         earl grey tea

·         marmalade

·         flavour added to beverage

·         flavouring garnish

·         orange zest

·         orange oil

o   food/drink

o   fragrance

·         chemicals from oranges

o   wooden furniture cleaner

o   cleansing agents

·         orange blossom flowers are used in bouquets

·         orange blossom honey

·         orange peel can be used for a slug repellent in gardens

·         orange leaves for tea

·         cuticle pushers can be made from orange wood sticks

·         flavouring wood in meat grilling can also be made from orange wood

     When I was first putting the list together I was focusing on edible items that oranges are used in. Although my sketches are all items that are eaten/drank, I learned about many other uses. I never thought about ways in which they use the peels, the wood or the flowers from oranges. When I eat my orange or drink my orange juice it is not one of the things I think about.

 

     The art word for this arts explorer is texture. It was the first thing I thought of while trying to sketch the orange because just drawing a circle did not represent the texture of the orange. Texture refers to the surface of a piece of art in terms of its feeling, whether it is actually there or just implied (Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009). Some terms outlined by Schirrmacher and Fox (2009) that relate to texture that I thought communicate the texture of an orange (and orange related products) are: bumpy, smooth, hard, soft, wet, shiny, dry and slippery (p144).

     Whichever food item or food category that you look at, there is so much more to them than what you see in your kitchen or the grocery store. This exact example can be done with children. It can help them make connections between different things they experience. As an educator, you can bring up a food, and ask the children what can be done with that certain food. It can be a discussion, or an activity in the creative arts centre. Children can show examples of what is done with apples, for example, however they are comfortable with. This can be a playdough sculpture, a drawing, or a poem. Let them be CREATIVE!

References:

Sauls, J. (1998, December). Home fruit production - Oranges. Texas Citrus and Subtropical Fruits. Retrieved on February 25, 2011 from http://www.aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/citrus/oranges.htm.

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

Gluing with Scissors [Arts Explorer #6]

            That's right, you read it, we're gluing with scissors. Just to clarify, we are not using scissors as a gluing instrument, because that seems as though it would be difficult and quite dangerous (even though there are safe scissors for children, you take away dangerous and you're still left with difficult). This Arts Explorer is inspired by Honigman and Bhavnagri's (1998) article Painting with Scissors: Art Education Beyond Production. What stood out to me the most in the article was how combining personal experiences to art education was very meaningful to children, and through this they gathered lots of information, were able to construct knowledge and even grow their language (Honigman & Bhavnagri, 1998).

(Image from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dphock/465220299/)

My Gluing with Scissors activity:

            I think I will waste lots of space if I list every supply that can be used for the activity, so to keep it simple, anything that can be glued that a child would want to use for their art. To start, a child has a piece of paper, whether it's a small circle, the size of a bristol board, or an outline of themselves. On this paper they can glue whatever is it that they link in any form of pattern they feel is appropriate. They can glue fabrics they like, colours that appeal to them, pictures of family, pictures of their community, tissue paper, or even pom-poms (which are just fantastic as paint brushes by the way). During the process of creating their art, and when they feel that they have completed it they can talk about it amongst their peers and with their teachers. Just like in Honigman and Bhavnagri's (1998) article, the children can talk about colours and meanings behind different things they have incorporated.

            The art word of the week is Shape. I like shape because the activity that I was explaining above I had imagined as a two-dimensional art piece, not to limit a child and only allow them to do it that way, but it is how I saw it. Schirrmacher and Fox (2009) identify shape as a measure for critiquing two-dimensional art because it has length and width. "Some characteristics of shape are:

·         simple or complex

·         clearly defined or vaguely defined

·         tall or short

·         big and large, or small and little

·         solid, heavy massive; or open, light

·         hard or soft

·         symmetrical or asymmetrical" (Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009, p140)

References:

Honigman, J. J., & Bhavnagri, N. P. (1998). Painting with scissors: Art education beyond production. Childhood Education, 74(4), 205-212.

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

Art Movie [Arts Explorer #5]

Art Movie [Arts Explorer #5]

So the art movie that a group of friends and I decided to watch for this Arts Explorer was Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) directed by Michel Gondry. I saw this movie once a long time ago but did not remember anything about it. It was a fantastic movie and I recommend it! We had our movie discussion via facebook, so here it is:

Image from: http://jfaccento.quicm.net/blog/tag/icm502-assignment/

Diana: What caught my attention in the movie was the fact that they were erasing people's memories. Even if something bad happened, don't you want to remember it and learn from it? Even though they end up with a "Spotless Mind", it doesn't seem like the most pleasant thing to go through. Nothing can be perfect, and stuff happens so you just have to go with it. Mary had her mind erased and she just went down the same path with Howard not knowing that it all happened before. To me that's just inconvenient (and embarrassing).

Michelle: I agree with Diana. I don't think I could go through erasing my memories (even the bad ones), because I think that they are part of who you are. Also, I don't think you can escape fate, which would make erasing your memory pointless because the same things would end up happening (a point in case with Mary). I also cannot imagine what the world would be like if you were actually able to erase your memory. I think it would be interesting to see who would do it and for what reasons. Just like to point out there's a new movie coming out that reminds me of this....the adjustment bureau and for some reason inception.

Sam: Ha ha, yeah. The whole thing ends up with them realizing what they had in the beginning. Any relationship, no matter how crappy it may have/did/could (I don't know how to phrase this, ha) become, had to have some good points or it wouldn't have manifested into a relationship at all. Those memories are certainly worth having, in my opinion. I love memories and nostalgia.

This movie won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. I love when little indie-ish (I hate using the word indie) movies win Academy Awards. The Oscars is by no way a means of judging whether a film is good or not since it's run by old people, but when a film like this wins, it's cool. Especially when it's screenplay awards. It demonstrates that many people appreciate the film for its uniqueness. To me, the story is most important in a film. Visual effects? No thanks. The story is the foundation, and then you build on top of that. Big time blockbusters are so cheesy these days, and I feel half of the movies nominated for awards were produced solely to win awards. Which is why The Social Network won't win anything at the Oscars this year and it'll be The Kings Speech and stuff like that. Sorry, I am getting personal now (NOT DIMINISHING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STORY BEHIND THE KING'S SPEECH, because I like it).

POINT IS, the team behind it makes this story interesting. Charlie Kaufman was a writer for the story and adapted it into a screenplay, and he did Being John Malkovich which is AWESOME (among other good films). Michel Gondry was a writer, and does awesome stuff on his own, especially music videos. I see a lot of his influence in the visual style of the film. There is a third writer dude, but I don't know much about him. I am pretty passionate about film, writing and directing. Not only did they write an interesting story, they made it visually appealing as well. Anyway, I love the idea of them working together, it's like a collaboration piece. Writing is art, film is art. Yay art.

A world where we could erase our memory would be...

horrible
pointless
unemotional
vapid
boring
heartless.

I like feeling feelings, which goes hand in hand with thinking thoughts and remembering memories.

Diana: I can't really touch upon the awards and people behind the making of the film because I don't know anything about anything when it comes to that. But EXACTLY. You can't run away from what is going to happen, change what has, or make yourself permanently forget it all. The words you have for a world where people could erase their memories are PERFECT!! If someone passes away and you can't take the pain anymore, or if you break up with someone and you just want to forget it, you're not only erasing all the bad, but you're erasing all the good. All the wonderful memories and emotions would be gone. It would be such a waste of your life to have memories and then erase them. You look back on it, you laugh about it, cry about it or regret it, whatever. It makes you who you are.

Michelle: I think that although you can't (and I wouldn't want to) erase memories, I'm sure there are definitely some people who would disagree (there always are). I think that doing this would make the world as sam described it, and these people would rethink their stance on the issue. I think though this is one of these issues where if people did want to erase their memories, the only way of making them see the effects of their actions would be for it to actually happen, because we will truly never know...

Natalie: Well, since all the good comments have been made, I will try to reiterate my similar thoughts. Erasing your memory no matter how painful some are, is a terrible thing. Those memories are a part of who you are! They make/break/ define parts of your life that shape who you become and how you got to that. The movie in itself shows a fair representation of a world where that is possible but I don't agree with the concept whatsoever. It's a disturbing idea. But I actually did enjoy the movie... AND just for you Gustav, Kirsten Dunst was excellent comic relief! :P

Image from: http://erase-me.org/

Gustav: I think that it is interesting how Patrick(Elijah Wood) wants to take over Joel pretty mundane life. As an observer, Joel´s life is not really that desriable, maybe with the exception of his girlfriend. But he could try to start dating her without trying to be Joel. Because since Clementine wanted her memory earesed, Joel is clearly not the optimum fit for her. So is it an expression for "that the pasture is always greener on the other side" and he cannot get rid of the thought of being Joel before he tried? Or is he only a very weak individual unable to create a life for himself that he feels that he needs to take over someone elses? From what we can see in the movie he constantly seeks validation from other people to give him a right to exsist.
So I think its fair to say that there is a general agreement about not erasing your memories. But what if you where abused as a child? Raped? Bullied, like really bad, in school and it limited you as a person? And if the technology was available wouldnt it be fair to let adults choose for themselves what to do with their lives? I dont believe in fate as in that things a pre-determined, things happen far to much by chance. So to explain how Mary fell in love with the doctor all over again is because as she grew up she aquired a taste for certain things and therefore she will make choices that would nudge chance at the direction she would want, so I think he could be exchanged for someone fairly similar and she would fall in love with him, because she likes those qualities that he poesses like being kind, patient and secure.

Karishma: Well to start off... I see this movie as a realization that you never really know what you have until you begin to lose it and it’s gone. As much as I did enjoy this movie, I also found it to be terribly cliché. It begins with the message that you can’t fight fate; it is something beyond our control, and even in a world where we can erase memories and alter our minds in ways we feel might benefit us, destiny will only cause these events to re-occur all over again. Which brings me to my next point, and the second cliché; everything happens for a reason. Every conversation, thought, action, etc. in our life is for a reason, it is the result of one thing, and the cause of another. Every moment is connected and for us to simply erase one or more of these occurrences, it kind of breaks the chain. So in the movie it kind of makes sense that fate would intervene and make Joel and Clementine meet again. Then comes the third and final moral of the movie; if we don’t learn from our mistakes, we’ll only repeat them. Or as many would say, those who don’t know their history are bound to repeat it. In the movie, Joel and Clementine hesitate before deciding to re-attempt their relationship, we don’t know if they are meant for each other or if they really will end up the same way as the first time around. However, the point is even if it is a mistake, it’s one that they were supposed to make. By forgetting the relationship, they forget the experience and everything that came with it, including knowledge, emotion, and development. Personally, I feel like it is our mistakes that make us who we are. Our memories are what help us advance and grow as individuals; we use them as precedent in our everyday life. That might be why I’m completely against the idea of memory erasure. I kind of see it as a form of regret; which it actually is...and I think that’s the worst thing for someone to have. Either you do something and you live and learn from the outcome, or you refrain from doing it at all in the first place...but otherwise, what Clementine did—erasing Joel from her memory, I think it was just plain stupid and cowardly. He did it, too, but not as a form of regret, but kind of a rebuttal. He was hurt and this was his response. Nevertheless, in one sentence, I disagree with the concept of “lacuna implementation.”

The art word of the week is Design or Composition. When I was thinking about which art word would be fit this movie, I read the questions outlined by Schirrmacher and Fox (2009) for design and composition which should be answered with a `yes' if a piece of work has good design and composition. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind definitely answered a yes to these questions. "Design or composition is the overall mark of success, the standard of achievement, and the frosting on the cake" (Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009, p142). Children are always designing and composing creations. They may not be able to have a lengthy discussion about Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but they can discuss a book they are reading or a video they have watched. Discussions can get children thinking about what they have seen and making connections with their everyday experiences. We want children to think outside the box. We are preparing children for a future we know nothing about, so we must make sure they can be creative and imaginative. 

If you want to read about Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind I recommend checking out these links that can give you some information:

IMDB's page for the movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338013/

Wikipedia's Page for the movie: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_Sunshine_of_the_Spotless_Mind

References:

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

Patterns in Urban Settings and Nature [Arts Explorer #4]

                When I first tried to think where I have seen patterns in my neighbourhood I had a hard time. After a couple of commutes to and from school where I actually paid attention to what was around me, I saw patterns everywhere. I noticed the patterns on buildings the most. I love beautiful buildings and architecture so it was easy to spot them after that. When thinking about patterns I also remember I pattern in London, Ontario where the main road had a median in the middle with a pattern of trees and flowers. It just made your eyes follow the road.

                It seemed to easy to just snap a bunch of pictures of buildings so I gave myself a task of trying to find more than one pattern that wasn't something large. Most of the patterns I found were on the Ryerson campus, so some may look familiar.

                This leads me to the art word of the week. Wait for it...wait for it...PATTERN! Were you surprised? I thought it was the most appropriate for the given topic.

Schirrmacher and Fox (2009) have a very good explanation of what pattern is.

"Pattern

·        refers to the treatment given to a surface.

·        suggests flow, rhythm, motion and movement.

·        suggests regularity and repetition.

·        can be made with form, shapes, likes, colors, textures, or symbols that move across a surface in a recurring sequence." (p142)

In one of my first placements the children really loved to string beads. They had a variety of beads in different shapes and colours (red, green, blue, yellow) which they would string onto the yarn. Some of the younger children would just string the beads in whichever way. Other children would do a pattern with the colours. Having children identify patterns and create patterns does not have to be with beads or with blocks. Go on a nature walk and ask the children to identify patterns they see. There can be patterns with the trees, on the sidewalk and on the street. 

References

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