Winslow Japanese art review

Reviewing year 6 Japanese woodcut paper designs using the web cam, making use of the project guidelines:

In order to be a successful Japanese Woodblock, your design should have the following features:

A clear design which uses most of the space in your rectangle.
A simple design which will be manageable to cut.
Some detail to show what the design is but not too complicated.
A design which links to the overall Japanese art theme.



Last month I met Winslow students online via the web cam, one at a time to talk about their initial pencil designs for their woodblock project. Photographs were taken of their work and uploaded on Breeze for viewing during the meeting. Students introduced their work and explained their design choices. I offered my thoughts about each design, making suggestions about technical and aesthetic points to consider; potential problems with small and intricate designs, making space within the work, building up texture, adding a variety of marks within the design.



This design and making of the woodblock is one part of the year 6 Japanese art project this term. It's been a real insight to be involved in this project because its been set and managed using Winslow's VLE (Virtual Learning Environment). This makes it an ideal project to incorporate a web cam meeting such as this one. Student's had already begun to review each other's work online, creating forums and offering advice. My input was a clear, appropriate step to include, acting as another resource and voice for the project, opening up the project beyond the classroom and school itself. Wikipedia on VLE



Here are a few comments posted by students in their VLE forum, about each other's work-referring to uploaded images of the pencil designs which I had also reviewed with them.

''I like the tree in the middle of the picture as it makes you think about it more and the flowers in the background are pretty to.''
''I like the big tree and the flowers and how the tree is seen as the main thing. It may be a quite difficult to cut out though.''
''I like the way the tree is the only thing in the picture (apart from the flowers which are very pretty) so it makes that the focus. i like the way the shape is abstract and the wavy lines which make it look more real''

And some thoughts from them about working on a project which makes use of the VLE.
''I think the vle has worked really well along side the written work we have done, it also makes it a lot more funner for us to do.It also makes a difference from doing written work all time.In my opinion i would like to use the vle along side the classroom work more often.''

For more information about VLEs, have a look at Ian Usher's blog:
Changing the game?

Winslow 3rd Visit

Work by Will

My final visit to Picasso's Ipod group at Winslow Primary school this week, concluded the ongoing work created with students throughout the Virtual Residency Project.

In follow up to the digital photography workshop in December, this session focused on developing the imagery within Adobe Photoshop (Elements). I met with the whole group of 12 students in the IT room and using the Smart Board, worked through a few images trying out various steps within the software. We stopped to discuss what was happening to the image as each step took place. Realised defining words like Hue, Saturation, Lightness vs Brightness, Contrast, Opacity, Layers are all quite meaty and needed time to explore carefully. But these words can be related well to physical objects. Layers described as a stack of individual papers, each paper representing a different layer, each layer a different image.

Students directed me on the Smartboard, deciding what direction the image should take, colour, rotation, contrast. After looking at individual images, we talked through how to fuse two images together within one file. Familiar terms like Copy, Paste, were combined with changing opacity of individual layers, revealing the image of the bottom layer.

We created a new blank layer, added 100%colour to it and then used the rubber tool to reveal sections of layers underneath. Students experimented with the opacity of the rubber tool and the rubber diameter.

After this group demonstration, students were able to access the group's original imagery and select a range of images to develop on their own computer terminal. Students saved their own work as an image developed.

Origami angel construction in previous workshop



Photographing the origami angels using lights and filters



Example of original photograph


Adobe Photoshop photography development:

Sam

James

Will

Zoe

Winslow School 2nd Visit

This visit enabled us to develop the ongoing experimental image making project with Piscasso's Ipod group. We looked at other low tech constructions that could be made and then photographed. In this part of the project, we had been looking at origami. Between my visits I had recorded a demonstration of print and origami process to build a box shape using Adobe Breeze software to record my own 'meeting'.

Origami demonstration

This resource was then viewed by the students at the school and used to build their own printed box shapes, which were very successful. Students had made several attempts with different sized paper and printed textures.

On this second visit, I was able to see their origami work and find out how easy the demo was to follow. Feedback seems to be, the format of videoed origami instructions are easier to follow as a group, being able to pause and catch up was helpful.

Building on these origami skills, we made paper angels in this session, linking the artwork with possible seasonal outcomes. Every student made their own angel, helping each other with each stage of the process. Using the same methods as in my last visit, students then experimented with ways to photograph these angels and also their origami original boxes.

What became apparent was the ease in which students combined both these shapes and developed their own narrative for the image making, helping creative decisions of colour and composition. I think the choice of a familiar, non-abstract origami shape influenced this response. Students happily invented the angel as a character, placing him in the origami box (now boat), on the water (white fabric), near a waterfall (bubble wrap), suggesting water current (printed textures on box/boat) and back lighting all these layers.

Student Photography from session

A possible next stage to the work will be to develop these origami images in Adobe Photoshop. Discussions with teacher Mrs Epps has brought up the usefulness of the previous recorded demonstrations. As a lead into my third and final visit of the term, I will produce a Photoshop demo, dedicated towards Picasso's Ipod, which can be viewed in the school's own time, but in preparation for further practical and digital work in the next visit.

Winslow Primary School 1st Visit

The first round of my school visits takes me to Winslow Combined Primary School on 28th September. Winslow is a quiet, gentle village, just south of Buckingham. Here I am working with Mrs Epps, the Deputy Head and AST in art. I meet the Year 5 and 6 digital art group called 'Picasso's Ipod'. This is an extension project for these students, showing a particular interest and strength in art and design and digital media.

I have brought my bag of tricks, sketchbooks, fabric samples and slide show to introduce myself and my work to this enthusiastic, bright group. My plan was to present examples of finished work and also the beginnings of a new body of work, in which these students might be contributing. The session would aid the students in creating their own unique and exciting imagery using digital cameras.

To do this, I set up lights and filters in the darkened IT room. Lamps were placed under desks to create a mini studio and translucent fabric attached to door frames and lit one side, acting a s a large light canvas. I pinned into the fabric (our light canvas) a range of objects and materials, which became illuminated and diffused by the use of lamps and filters. The resulting affect can be captured with photography. An atmospheric and never ending exercise I wanted the students experiment with.

The first steps were to create subject matter with which to photograph. As an ice breaker, I handed out sandwich bags to each of the 12 students in the group. Clear, disposable sandwich bags, easy to manipulate and sculpt with. I use the word sculpt to encourage a sense of value and reverence to the material. The students took to this really well, first manipulating the plastic with fingers, tying knots, stretching and poking. Some blew air into the bag, some trapped plastic and fabric scraps inside, used string to tie in different ways and suspend their new object, lots of action words, investigating the material by touch in the way one might explore by sight in the form of drawing.

These new objects were pinned and hung around the temporary dark room using the classroom furniture, movable lamps and a range of translucent fabrics and papers. Students were very calm and considerate of each other's space, sharing cameras, helping each other out to hold things in place. There was a very particular scientific air about the room. Low voices and an urgency to see something work.

I really enjoy creating imagery this way and have developed habits, styles and definite understanding about fusing light and object together. Its always interesting to observe somebody new interpreting the exercise differently. With limited resources ( an important creative restriction) an infinite range of imagery can be created. For example, photographing an object placed behind fabric and back lit will create a very different effect from an object placed in front of fabric and front lit. The results are surely objective to what's most successful. I had to consciously hold back from stepping into a students experiment, suggesting alternatives. I did try to encourage as much experimentation as possible, so students would observe for themselves what methods they deemed successful.

As an extension to the exercise, students delved into the resources and began selecting their own materials and constructed new objects to continue photographing.

I have been fortunate enough to work with Mrs Epps on a number of occasions on sessions like this. Its great to see how the Winslow digital photography kit has grown. We used about 6 or 7 digital cameras, easy to use and with a large storage capacity on the memory cards. The students had used these cameras before and were confident. The sort of imagery being captured really gained from getting close to the subject matter, zooming in and cropping the picture by eye. This was quite demanding of the students and again a tricky one not to over influence a student's own judgment.

To end the session, all imagery was uploaded onto a computer and using the smart board, the group reviewed their imagery as a slide show on Windows. This encouraged a sharing of ideas from the activity and a chance to view their own work in a completley different scale from the camera's display. We discussed what was successful and what other options there might be to try for next time. I think the group left feeling slightly surprised and I hope encouraged by what they were able to accomplish.

Student Photography from session

Experimental Photography Kit:

- a range of translucent fabrics, cottons, netting, packaging material, bubble wrap, tracing paper, acetate sheets, greaseproof paper, net curtains! Any material which light can shine through and be used as a layer to photograph (once suspended)

-apparatus to hang fabric from, eg door frames, desks, chairs, easels, door handles (use a washing line to cross the room)

- pins, saftey pins, masking tape, string, blu tak

- a selection of lamps and torches, overhead projectors (offer a great light source and acetates placed on top can vary imagery further.)

- extension leads

-computer access to upload images from cameras. Good size storage space allocated on school computer.

-optional, for students to have their own memory sticks to save and access their own work.

Winslow Combined School Website