During the December break, many or our artworks were culled in a deep cleaning that occurs over long breaks. This was heartbreaking for the students and has impacted our community of artists. I cannot begin to express the feeling one has from telling the news to 12 classes of students, seeing their shock, and being a witness to how resilient young people can be in difficult situations. I am happy to report that we have recovered and are creating again. Check out the Gallery to see the variety of expression that exists from choice! 

Dear, lovely, creative innovators,
 
This is a shared letter to all of you. It is shared because each one of you is so very unique in your process. Weird, right? Before, we co-created projects for the grade level based on a central or big idea. Now your interests drive your expression. I have challenged and changed my philosophy (the believing) and practice (the doing) over the four and growing years as your Visual Arts teacher. My new understanding allows me to give you full ownership. Together we face the challenge of documenting your process, making sure we celebrate, capture, and acknowledge your story. Due to the specialized nature of each project, your grade level’s gallery will be added to on a regular basis. So far we have finished a few projects with many more on the way. In addition to this and process posts on your Seesaw accounts, pop-up galleries throughout the year will be another way for you to share your learning with our community.
 
Let’s see how this new plan goes!
 
Your Visual Arts Teacher,
Ms Angie

Hiya, Grade 3!

You are nearly Grade 4s now! Your final projects for the year were quite diverse. You chose to work solo, in pairs, and in small groups. One group even made a costume that they all shared. You can check out the pictures in the gallery.

I was particularly impressed with your efforts to listen to your classmates and improve your work through a reflective critique. Being able to examine how effectively your visual communicates a message to your intended audience is a powerful tool that can transferred into many other areas of your learning! 

Way to go and see you next year!!
:0)Ms Angie

Hey, Grade 3! 

The studio is yours! When you hear Open studiO, your eyes go as wide as those 'O......O's. The excitement is palpable. We are working together to develop practice, protocol, and technique. The systems we are using are created by our learning community. How do we respect our environment and the materials and tools within it? How do we know where to find what we need? How does self-management increase personal and group productivity? What is lost when we do not feel strongly about what we are creating?

​Seeing the variety of your artworks and vastness of your interests are inspiring and compelling. Inspiring because those around you can see your spark and compelling because your dedication to your developing craft tells us you can be trusted with the responsibilities of an artist. 

Looking forward to what comes next!!
:0)Ms Angie

Well hello, Grade 3!

After creating our school-wide tapestry, we moved on to explore textiles as artifacts in Lao and around the world. The messages that are transmitted through the ages were interesting and varied. After that, you inquired into internationals artifacts made of a variety of materials that communicated information about their respective cultures. Some of you replicated coins, swords, shields, helmets, statues, sculptures, or other meaningful artifacts and questioned what these items meant to the cultures from where they came.

It was very informative to have a critique. When you evaluated your artifacts, many of your changed or altered your work. Your artifacts will be finished up soon and we will share them in your gallery.

For now, here are some pictures of your process...

​:0)Ms Angie

Hiya, Grade 3!!

Not surprisingly, you went all out in your continuing study of materials, in particular, fibers. While you were expressing your creativity, you were also building small-motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Some of you chose to turn your weavings into other useful items, like bookmarks, wallets, bracelets, critters, and purses. 

When it came time to show, through a tapestry, who we are as a community and what we value with in our community. You were all up to the task. I was so impressed with your creativity. You were presented with three questions: How can we represent our host/home country, how can we share our goals, hopes and dreams, and how can we show what our school is all about???

The designs you created can be seen in some of the pictures below. You will also see some of you actually working on the tapestry. Without your efforts, we would not have been able to make this meaningful artwork! You can see the final tapestry in your gallery. 

In appreciation,
​Ms Angie

Hey there, Grade 3! 

Can you believe this is our 4th year creating together??? I absolutely love seeing your artwork over time. I went to your gallery and it brought back so many amazing memories. 

Right now we have been developing skills and planning for future projects. Your fibers work from last year gave you a strong foundation for learning more about weaving. Many of you played around with ideas about how to use your artwork in a unique way. Some made pouches, some made bookmarks and other made bracelets. All the projects can be seen on your gallery page.

We took a quick break from weaving and did some designing as well. I am so excited to see what our final image will be. Your artwork inspired heaps of fantastic conversations with the teachers and older students.

​Well done communicating to others visually!
:0)Ms Angie

Dear Grade 2,

Well, I have to say, I have really enjoyed this last unit of inquiry on materials. I think we all have learned heaps! The way different materials are connected is quite an interesting idea. To better understand the properties of materials, you all made projects using clay, modeling clay, and a fibrous material such as wool, cotton, fabric, or natural fibers. Being able to compare, contrast and problem-solve with these materials gave you all plenty of opportunities to be creative. At each turn in the project, you developed your independence and grew your ability to find solutions. These transferable skills will help you in all the learning areas. Check out the gallery to see the amazing variety within this unit. 

Love what you do, Grade 2!
:0)Ms Angie