Life Size

Finally we are in our new space! But our classroom and studio are not yet ready for our class. In the meantime we share space with the preschool children. Not being set up in our studio and having limited space makes things challenging for this art teacher. But we sally forth.

Here we are expanding on the idea of the self portrait. One of our focuses or "Big Ideas" has been our anatomy. Oftentimes self portraits are done of the top portion of the body only, the head, shoulders...I wanted to incorporate the rest of our body, which is quite important, in our self image.



A large roll of paper was purchased at SCRAP whose size made it possible for us to trace ourselves. We used Sharpies to make the outline and it was visible on both sides of the paper. Then I encouraged them to draw their "guts" on one side of the paper and then their clothing on the other side.



Alot of attention and time was put into these. Some put themselves in costumes, some focused more on the insides, others on the outsides. The girls really enjoyed having their hair traced, some wanting Pippi Longstocking braids. What I particularly appreciated was that they were working larger and more physically- putting their bodies into drawing their bodies.

Field trip to SCRAP

We took our class on a field trip to SCRAP, all fifteen kids and four adults on the city bus. Keri Piehl, their wonderful Education Director was our host, and had & rich a varied bevy of projects for us. We built structures, discussed the exhibit of masks made from found materials,



and made journals from recycled paper, a rubber band and a dead pen. We decorated the paper by rubbing it with crayons over objects we found in the store that had an interesting texture. Then, folded the paper & punched two holes in it. Then we fed one end of a rubber band through the hole, put it around one end of our pen and then did the same to the other end of the pen. Presto! A beautful journal made from nothing.



My personal favorite activity was the scavenger hunt. Each child was sent into the store to find an object described on a card: a cat toy, something a clown would use, something to help you get organized, something to make you taller, something to help you cook, etc...It was really fun to see how the kids interpreted these things and the creative solutions they found.



I wonder what card this child got?

September Self Portraits

This year is the year that we move into a new, more permanent space in Southeast Portland. We started out our year in a temporary spot on Killingsworth in an old church, owned by the Ethos Music Center (http://ethos.org/) and we are so grateful for their hospitality. They also provide after school music lessons to our kids: ukelele, guitar and choir.





Here we are in that space, where we resided until early October. Being the flexible bunch that we are we were able to carve out a very fun and functional space there. Our art studio consisted of a couple of shelves with a few bare essentials. Our first few projects were based on self portraits. We always start and end the year with a self portrait in order to chronicle the child's growth, in how they see themselves and in their skill.



This self portrait project was to illustrate a depiction of ourselves while exploring the technique of reverse painting. This is a technique that has been around since the Middle Ages and is usually done on glass. I found several plexiglass sheets at SCRAP (http://scrapaction.org/), my favorite place to find materials, which is much safer for the children to paint on.

I explained that essentially, we paint backwards. Things that we would usually add last to a painting we needed to add first. Elements such as black outlines, lips or the whites of the eyes had to be considered with this in mind. They totally got the concept and here are a few examples. ( the one above is hanging in a window). For some reason that I am trying to pinpoint, painting on a clear surface and then showing us the "back" gives a very pleasing, "finished" look.

Introduction

The Living School is a grade school located in Portland, OR that serves grades K through 5. We are currently growing and plan to include grades up to 8. We use the Reggio Emilia and Education for Life philosophies for learning. These philosophies focus on allowing us to create curriculum that is based on the interests and needs of the children. Here, they are encouraged to pursue their personal interests when approaching projects and activities. Through methods of research, experimentation and exploration is how they attain answers to the questions brought on by their voracious curiosity.

Art is a cornerstone to this type of learning as the process of making things is how we exercise creativity, logic, math, appreciation for nature, knowledge of chemistry, culture, critical thinking, problem solving and so much more. So, in this art class I try and stay less product-focused and put more emphasis on what we learn along the way. Reggio Emilia has a strong tradition in re-use materials and the bulk of what we use are found, re-use or donated materials. I find that using found materials lends itself to more creativity because the artist is forced to repurpose the object and leads us to think outside of the box.

In this class we do not plan the curriculum at the beginning of the year. It is a dynamic process that changes with the guidance of the children. While we have benchmarks and goals for the year, the projects themselves are led by their interests. As they discover new things we stay flexible and "plug in' projects that keep up with their interests while facilitating that which we want them to learn. So, you can watch along with us, as our year in art unfolds and see how the organic process of making art with The Living School works.

My name is Kjirsten Winters and I am a mother of two who attend The Living School as well as the school's art teacher. This is my second year teaching art to the elementary school children. My favorite part of teaching these children, besides the fact that they are curious and enthusiastic about learning and art in general, is the process of how we teach and watching "magic" happen when we do not try and control the curriculum. When we stand back and trust the process then the pieces fall into place and the childrens' natural desire to learn flourishes.