self portrait as animal

   We discussed animal totems in the Native American tradition, what each of us thought our totem(s) were or might be, and looked up qualities associated with those animal totems.
   Then the students looked at some reference images online and brainstormed on paper about what their compositions might look like before beginning their official totem piece, imaging themselves or their spirit in the animals they were depicting.
   Very interesting and lovely results!

museum as classroom - 'our universes'

First week in the 'Our Universes' exhibit we discussed some background, common questions, and some misconceptions about Native Americans before moving into the alcove dedicated to the Anishinaabe people.  Below are some of the exhibit signs and displays for those in the class to review and finish drawings.

  

 We also discussed the  traditional roles of male and female elders in the community, men, women, and children.  After class we went to the children's play area, and these are a couple of books for supplemental reading.  The Birchbark House is a story about an Ojibwa girl (another name for Anishinaabe).  Raven is not specific to the Anishinaabe, but looks like a fun trickster tale. 

 

How Raven Stole the Sun is also a book that is mentioned in the intro of the exhibit.  When I looked for it in Amazon, I noticed they also have How Raven Stole the Moon.

drawing to music at Art Works

I am totally psyched to say that as of last Thursday, I have joined the family of super awesome educators at Art Works Studio School in Mt. Rainier, MD (I have written before about how much I love this place!), and I jumped right in the same day, filling in for a drawing class.

The kids had a great time drawing to music while experimenting with mark-making, using charcoal, graphite, and chalk pastels.  We talked about all the different types of marks you can make on a paper - horizontal, vertical, diagonal, narrow, wide, very wide, dark, light, dots, 'flicks', circles, dots, dotted lines, broken lines, zigzags, squiggly lines, curly qs, smudges, marks with your fingers, letters, and so on.  The music alternated between two stations on Pandora - Thievery Corporation and Mozart - and the kids paid attention to where in their bodies they were feeling the music and how it made them want to move, how it made them want to draw, whether or not it influenced what they drew.

kids in process - black & white

  

a few finished pieces

 

working larger and in color, using their bodies more

 

really getting into drawing in rhythm with the music