Redneck Art made with BBQ Ribs

Ha! William sent me this great link for another food art blog entry.....BBQ sauce! The You Tube video is fun....I wasn't sure where they were going for a bit, but then it all started coming together. This would be a monochromatic painting, using tints and shades of the same hue, art students!

Student Work - AP 2D Studio Art

We have started a new year in Studio Art and I am starting a new feature...I will highlight student's artwork from my class so you can see what we are up to. This assignment was to create a composition using letters and numbers. Janeth chose to spin off Picasso's "The Old Guitarist" from his blue period. This period was between 1901 and 1904 and was characteristic of monochromatic color work. Janeth has created a very successful solution, using the tints and shades of blue in the letters to create the modeling of the figure. Great work! Oh, and check out this site to learn more about his blue period!

Artist of the Week: Jean-Luc Cornec

Jean-Luc Cornec created this exhibit for the Museum für Kommunikation Frankfurt in 2006. These images flew around the web and got to me through my affiliation with the Dallas Handweavers and Spinners Guild. That group loves sheep! In fact, many years ago I collected images of sheep...such docile and comforting animals they are. Making art out of recycled materials is great on so many levels; it's totally clever - you have to scrounge, but don't have to buy fancy, expensive art materials - it's fun making something wonderful out of cast-offs - it brings the public's awareness to "stuff" and the issues we have with disposing of our "stuff" - and it really shows the creative spirit in all of it's glory! The link in the title takes you to a post by Doug that is a fabulous treatise on this particular installation as well as the importance of recycled art. Be sure to read his post!

Artist of the Week - Mario Mariotti

The post title link will take you to several images of the fantastic ingenuity of the late Mario Mariotti, an artist from Florence, Italy. Knowledge is so important, but creative thinking is invaluable in all walks of life. His work is evidence that there is creative potential in things that are common, everyday and right under our noses!

08/09 Academic Decathlon Image #1

Metropolitan Cathedral (Art during the Colonial Era)

This cathedral in Mexico City (also known as Catedral de Mexico) was built by Claudio de Arciniega and others, 1573–1817. Hernán Cortés (the conqueror) destroyed Aztec temples that were on this land and ordered the construction of a Catholic church built on the same site. The cathederal was built to look like those in Spain. Watch this short YouTube video - be there now! You can get more detailed information from this Wikipedia page.

I LOVE MY BLOG! I got a communication from a teacher of art classes for grades 6-7-8 at Chester Academy in Chester NH that was interested in being epals with me!

Judy Krassowski sent me this question to respond to, "This week 8-1 Art is working on a 10-figure pattern/linear or radial collage that features their colored pencil drawings of wooden figure models that incorporate pattern to enhance shape and form (we'll be posting all classworks on Artsonia in the next few weeks). From this project, we utilize classroom students as live figure models for a watercolor experiment and then (AND THEN!) we begin our charcoal (with a bit of eye color) self portraits! What advice do your students have for creating artworks of people whom you know?"

I can't wait to see your projects! They sound really interesting. Soooooo....what advice do I have? It's so simple and so hard at the same time, and your teacher may have said this to you before, but it bears repeating. Develop the way you SEE things! Many art students draw what they THINK they see, not what they actually see! Example - when drawing a person, we usually draw what we think the head (or feet, or hands) looks like instead of looking at the actual lines that are formed by objects. Notice what kind of lines are created in objects - straight, wavy, angled, so many kinds of lines. So LOOK while you draw and don't take your eye off your subject. The more you draw what you see, the better your drawings will become. Oh, and let me know how my advice works out for you! Send me a comment when you work on your projects! Good luck!

Ms. Miller

Artist of the Week - Banksy

Graffiti can be a controversial subject. Before I went to Rome this summer, people told me how ugly it was because of all of the graffiti there is in the city - well, there were some sections of Rome that DID have a lot of graffiti. Certainly the largest issue is that of personal property...would YOU want someone painting stuff on something you paid for and owned? Probably not. But it can't be denied that it is an art form that lives on and is very dynamic.
Banksy is a British artist that takes graffiti to a new level...check out his website. What makes his art so interesting to me is the juxtaposition of imagery with political ideas. This image shows two young children with traditional beach toys, yet the trees seem to have been blown over by some terrible storm. The additional contrast of color with grey tones adds to the tension in his image. Fascinating guy.....oh, and he pulls some pretty funny art pranks you can see on his site....check out the video links!

Apple Logo Fosters Creativity

I saw reference to this article on another blog - visual exposure to the Apple logo can cause more creative thought as stated in ScienceDaily (Mar. 30, 2008). In a Duke University study, students were briefly flashed with the Apple and IBM logos - subliminally. Each group was asked to list uses for a brick outside of building a wall, and the group that had exposure to the Apple logo had more creative and unusual uses listed. A great example of visual culture and how branding affects us on a subconscious level. Fascinating stuff; I have been talking to my students about the impact of visual culture in their everyday lives for some time now. I am a recent convert to the Mac, iLife and all that that entails. Just yesterday, I put my own Apple logo decal on the back window of my Beetle (how cosmic that I just saw this article!) and I have my own testimonial...I am definitely thinking more creatively since I got my MacBook!

Where have I gone?

Months have passed.....sometimes I say that it feels like I am hurtling through the space/time continuum. Teaching, a heart surgery and a conference would be the explanation for the absence. I love my blog and hope you, the viewer find enjoyment! Let me know what you think!

The Art of the Rubik's Cube

There is a quiet craze in our school over the Rubik's Cube - students shuffle through the permutations looking for the "solution". Brian Chorr is the driving force behind the popularity. He recently sent me this link "Ms Miller, here's some of that stuff I was telling you about." with this link in the post title. Okay, Brian - it is blog worthy! I had no idea you could create patterns using this puzzle machine! I thought it had one desired solution (matching one color on each plane) - au contrair! Now I see the pure potentiality of artistic creation in rubik's dimensionality. Oh, and dear reader, as my students already know - multi is my favorite color! Viva Rubik!

Artist of the Week - Kim Nguyen

Oh, the holidays! What a sweet time -for teachers and students a much needed break. But what also comes along are gifts - food, sweets, gift cards, all greatly appreciated. But when a student gives a gift from the heart, a tear comes to the teacher's eye! Kim is a student in my AP Art History class. One day while lecturing, I noticed she was folding paper during class. Having had busy hands during my life, I was not angry, but curious about what she was doing. She told me about a bird she was making from her folded paper, and I asked that she let me see her creation before she gave it away. This is the photo of the bird she gave away - beautiful. And, to my surprise, before leaving for our holiday break, she gave me my own bird in white with pink and yellow accents! Kim, I will treasure your gift always. Here is what she wrote about the process.
"Origami is a type of art that began in Japan many centuries ago. This creative art of paper folding requires lot of patience and time. I was 9 years old when I was inspired by this model of a bird that my dad brought home from work one day. For 2 consecutive years I've wasted a lot of time and papers in order to try and copy that model, but for some reason the body of the bird never quiet came out right. It bothered me to the point where I just decided to give up. However, one day a thought just came to my mind that reversed my decision...I simply changed up the way that I was putting the pieces together and BAM the body came out as I wanted it be, and from there I continued to build up the neck, wings, and tails. It was a confusing process at first, but the final product paid off. Since then I've been cutting and folding alot of papers during my spare time so that I can have it ready for assembling whenever it is called for. :D
The process for making this bird is quiet confusing and complicated for the beginner, but once you get the hang of it then it's not so bad. The part that I hate doing most is cutting and folding of those tiny pieces of paper. It can take me days up to weeks, depending on how many pieces I need and how much spare time I have, which is not much lately. Once ALL the pieces have been folded then I could begin to glue all the pieces together. The first part is the body, the part where I had the most trouble with. Then I built up the 2 wings. After that I would assemble the tails (there are 3 in my model). The neck and "feet" would be last because they are the easiest parts to make. This might sound easy but it's not!"
Thank you Kim! You are an artist after my own heart - creative, diligent and generous!

Driftwood Horses

I'm thinking about 3 dimensional art today and remembered this email I got from a friend a while back with pictures of horses made of driftwood. Really beautiful! One of the biggest problems for these works is balancing the sculpture since horse's legs are really thin compared to their body mass. I've linked the artist's website to the title for more viewing of the process as well as her work.

DMA Visit & AP Art History Extra Credit!

LOVE the Dallas Museum of Art Late Night events! In AP Art History last Thursday, we took a glance at Indian miniature paintings, I donned a sari and we had an Indian Feast! Just the thing we all needed at the end of the six weeks. Domains of Wonder: Selected Masterworks of Indian Painting is opening at the DMA Nov. 18 runs until Jan. 27. Any of my students who visited the DMA Late Night Fri., Nov. 16 or who visit the exhibit can respond to this post (make it juicy!) and you will get extra credit!

Phil Hansen - Multi Media Artist

Thank you Sofia! I love it when my students turn me on to art out in the world!

This title links to Phil Hansen's website which shows an incredible array of work!! There are many kinds of artists working in today's world, but he is really unusual in that he works in MANY kinds of media. His art skills are so strong, he moves from one material and technique to another, playing with new ways to make art. Work on his site is made from matches, Starbucks coffee cups, chalk, text that is cut and pasted, and bibles that are cut up, resized and pasted. The self portrait shown here is made of wood, using a router and skill saw to remove material, then stained to create the image. He also gives himself a monthly challenge, or theme and creates art for the month using that idea. Check out his work - it is interesting and powerful!

TAG Art Club goes crazy!

Fun! Fun! Fun! The TAG Art Club is making Artist Trading Cards this year! This is a hot new art craze that is spreading around the country and I can see why. The cards are the same size as sports trading cards we've collected as kids - 2 1/2 X 3 1/2" each. On the back, you can put your name, email, school, date, or whatever to "tag" it as your own work. Then, you create away! The sky is the limit - you can use any material or technique to make your card. They are tiny works of art, and though the space is small, the impact is large! Even if you think you "can't do art" - (and you know what I think about that!!!) - you can absolutely do this! Cut, paste, doodle, dribble, color, invent, PLAY, embellish, compose, express, paint, draw, stamp, sew, emboss, stick, did I say PLAY?!

07/08 Academic Decathlon Art Selection #18

Hey, if you want to be remembered, have yourself carved into a mountain! This "Memorial to the Confederacy" was carved into Stone Mountain in George by Gutzon Borglum in 1916. Now, that does not sound like an American name to me! Who was the artist and how did he come about getting this commission to carve this Memorial?

07/08 Academic Decathlon Art Selection #17

Portraiture is a wonderful genre in that it not only captures the people, but also their times. "The Westwood Children" is painted by Joshua Johnson in 1807. His style is primitive - it is obvious looking at the painting that he is self taught and working out the issues as he can. Though primitive, it still captures the children, though they seem stiff and doll like in the portrait. Perhaps during a long sitting, he can only capture a "non-emotional" expression OR perhaps they were bored out of their minds!

07/08 Academic Decathlon Art Selection #16

Soooo, continuing our discussion about European art tradition! The Seine is an oft painted river, but Henry Ossawa Tanner was not your regular artist! As an African American artist, he found more opportunities to paint (and be accepted) in Europe than back home. He was an important artist that flourished during the Harlem Renaissance (this piece was painted in 1902). The American art critics did not appreciate African American artist's painting in the style of Europeans, though. They felt they should paint in the style of their "native country" - Africa. Thank goodness the African American artists of the early 20th century had the pluck to blaze their own trail. If you study the Harlem Renaissance, you will find a plethora of artistic growth - jazz for one!

07/08 Academic Decathlon Art Selection #15

Early American art was not as valued or sophisticated as the art tradition from Europe. This did not stop aspiring artists to blaze a new trail in this new country! "The Lackawanna Valley" by George Inness in 1856 is an example of working in the respected genre of landscapes. Notice how nicely he captures the quality of light be it dawn or dusk. We may not have had a great art tradition when this country was founded, but we had vistas that compared with the greatest in the world!

07/08 Academic Decathlon Art Selection #14

This is an illustration by Alexander Davis from 1865. It documents the architectural home called Lyndhurst built for George Merritt in Tarrytown, NY. What a grand residence! Any architecture buffs out there? What kinds of architectural styles are used in this work?