Photography Nametags: My Aesthetic

 This year our 7th and 8th graders can choose electives for the Integrated Arts. This year I'm offering Photography. We don't have a dark room, so we'll be using digital cameras and our cell phone cameras and there is still SO MUCH to learn just focusing on that!

Usually I start my art classes with a nametag project. It's a great way for me to get to know the kids and their names and chitchat with them. 

It didn't seem appropriate to have the students in Photo draw their names and tell me about themselves in a traditional way, so I decided to have them create a photo collage using Google Slides and the fair use photos Google's search feature in Slides uses.

Our school uses the Google Suite and has for 18 months or so, so the students are somewhat familiar with it. This would be a good opportunity for them to brush up on their skills. 

PART 1: See what Google Slides Can Do With Photos

Students were asked to create a Google Slide and use the Insert/Image/From the Web search feature to import an image of their choice. They then had to duplicate the image so that there were 9 total on the slide. 

Then they need to learn about the adjustments you can make within Google slides. They needed to do the following:

• Enlarge a photo
• Shrink a photo
• Crop a photo
• Invert or flip a photo
• Change the transparency
• Adjust the brightness
• Adjust the contrast
• Recolor the image

PART 2: Create your Aesthetic

Students were asked to create a Google Slide and use the Insert/Image/From the Web search feature to import multiple images. If students search this way, these images are fair use and we can use them in class for personal use. We looked at several aesthetic compositions and how the images, color and arrangement of images told us about the artist. Students were encouraged to search for "[their favorite color] aesthetic" in the image search. I then had them expand to include hobbies and activities such as "camping purple aesthetic" or "reading purple aesthetic." Searching this way helped them to find images that had a similar color scheme.

We looked at the finished aesthetic compositions by class and then my student teacher created this display in our hallway. It's nice to have such colorful art to look at right away. I've also had students say "I think I'd like this person" when they looked at the work. So interesting!

Lots of fun and a great low pressure refresher on Google Slides.

Enjoy!

Using Thinglink to Think about Social Studies and Art...

Here's another image I made using Thinglink.com (I'm a little obsessed with it!). I thought I'd make an example to show how it could be used for a flipped classroom situation or as a hook to get students thinking and writing about Social Studies. 

You could create a clickable image and keep it private on Thinglink--that means that only people who have the link can see it. You could have your students log in, check out the image (watch videos, visit websites you link to the image, etc.) and then leave comments below the image. What a great way to get them interested in a subject and breathe life into a stuffy textbook.

ENJOY!

Look at this image. BEFORE you click on the links, think about what you see. What is going on here? What are these people doing? How do they feel?

Now, click on the image and explore the links to find more information...

After exploring, write a comment below this blogpost about what YOU think this image is about (at least two sentences). Be prepared to discuss...

Spring is here in NH!

OK, I have to brag! That's what you get then you follow a blog of a mom of four! :-)

My oldest son, took a wonderful photo this weekend! He was retrieving a ball that had got stuck in a beauty bush in our yard and was surprised to find two robin's eggs in a nest we thought had long been forgotten!

He took the photo with the iPad and immediately posted it to Instagram for his "peeps" to see (couldn't resist). We were looking at the photo together and I told him how much I truly liked the composition and he said the most wonderful thing..."I love photography."

SIGH, I ain't gonna lie--this artsy momma was happy! Not just because it is nice to have a child who is interested in art, but because I always like to see people talk about things that they love to do: read, dirt bike ride, scrap book, cook, etc. I love to see people light up when they talk about their passions.

And the photo was even accepted on our local TV station's website:
http://ulocal.wmur.com/galleries?groupId=400855&type=1
So now he's famous! :-)

So, enjoy this bit of spring from NH care of my 12-year-old!

My own art? Say WHAT!?!

I've been a busy lady lately! But I have been really enjoying my observations of two local high schools. I mean a lot. But one thing I've noticed from hanging out with these awesomely creative students is that I've let my own artwork slip a little over these past couple of years. I've done a couple watercolors, done a few of paying design gigs, designed a few things for my personal use, and developed TONS of art projects for my students, but developing my personal artwork? Hmmmm....not so much! I mean, if someone asked me to actually prove I was an artist, I might be scrambling to prove it!

And I am in some serious need of some ME time...so, today, I got out a few printmaking supplies and actually did a project! yep, right in the middle of the day with all my kids swarming around me putting their fingers in the ink! So proud of myself!

So here it is...it's a self portrait that combines digital photography, Photoshop, and printmaking. It isn't groundbreaking and could actually be seen as a test for a project I plan to do in the future, but this may be a baby step towards figuring out where I want to go next.

How I did this:
It's pretty simple, actually. I took a picture of myself, brought it into Photoshop, changed it to grayscale and then posterized the image to be three colors.

Then I printed the photo out to the size of a piece of foam I had from the grocery store. I transferred the white areas of the image to the foam and used a pencil to "carve" them away. I then used a medium blue to print the image on white paper.

I rinsed off the plate and used the printout and pencil to carve the gray areas of the foam tray away. I printed what was left with black ink.

On the left os my final printing plate after MANY prints.
This one shows the black portions left.
I also got a tiny bit overzealous with the black ink and got
some ink on the face area. Oh well, learning curve!

I think it actually looks like me! I like the designerly quality the printmaking has (that speaks to my design and illustration background). I'm thinking of starting off doing a series of my family with this technique. I also want to experiment with linocuts. We'll see where it goes from there.

Some of the prints I made--I thought the more the merrier!
Who knows what I'll do with all of the images of me!
(Send them to my friends for Valentine's Day?) ;-)

So what art have you done for YOU lately?

Neat photo my 3-year-old took

All of my children have digital cameras--my mother bought them cameras for Christmas one year. They love them and, over the years, have documented important events such as their Grandma's 70th birthday and a little sibling's arrival into the world.

I remember my own 110 camera and Disc camera! Man, I loved those cameras!

When children are allowed access to their own cameras they also will document other things that mean something to them: my children have taken lots of pictures of Lego creations, favorites toys, and me in my nightgown (argh!). They also took pictures of our cat, Marty, before he died (he had cancer and kidney failure). It really helped them with the grieving process, I think, to cuddle with Marty and they often look at the pictures of themselves with Marty when they miss him.

Of course, I've deleted many a digital photo--like the series of close-ups of the couch or the rug taken without knowing! But here's a neat photo my 3-year-old recently took of our German Shepherd, Ruby. I really like it.

So, if you are looking for a Christmas gift for a child in your life--consider a digital camera (and possibly, a camera case). Prices for digital cameras are much more reasonable now and you can get one for under $50. We have a couple of the Fisher-Price ones that can be dropped (and they have), but a child over 7 or so may want a camera that looks more like a grown-up one. Either, way, it is a wonderful way for your child to experience the world!

"Drawing With Light" at the NHAEA Fall Conference 2013

It's that time of the year again! Fall colors and the NH Art Educator's Assoc. Fall Conference!

I love going to the conference and connecting with art teachers from all over the state! It's truly inspiring! And this year was no exception!

My morning session was "Using Photography in the Elementary Classroom." This session was led by Katie Poor, a teaching artist currently working at the Providence Children's Museum. She began by describing a lesson on cyanotypes that she teaches. Then she walked us through a very interesting lesson where she teaches children to "Draw With Light" using flashlights and digital cameras. She brought in some digital cameras of her own and we spent the remainder of the session experimenting with the technique.

She showed us a few examples--the most famous, I guess, would be Picasso from LIFE magazine in 1949. Check out the link to see all of the inspiring images...

We experimented by making shapes, squiggles, letters, drawing images (which are actually harder than it looks), and entire words...while we played, I think we all started thinking of ways this could be used across the curriculum.

My session partner and I experimented with using the white board and a dry erase marker to draw the idea first (either an image or a word) and then use the flashlight in our hand to "trace" the dry erase marker lines we had made on the board. You can see an example of this further in this post (the "art rocks" image) and a few more of our experiments on Katie's blog (link below). We were MUCH more successful doing our "drawings" this way versus trying to imagine an image and draw it freehand in front of us like Picasso did. After trying to draw freehand, I REALLY appreciated Picasso's drawing with light images!

To check out the photos from the session and see what we did, click on Katie's link:
http://photographerintheclassroom.tumblr.com
And just look for the most recent posts (there are two that contain our examples).

I was fortunate to bring my camera from home to the session (it was in my mobile art closet/minivan so I was able to grab it). I had Katie advise me on setting my aperture and shutter speed and, although my camera isn't as fancy as the ones she brought (her cameras allow for 30 seconds of exposure, but mine allows only 16 seconds), I was able to go home and have my children "Draw With Light" a bit.

This is such a fun lesson, I really think I'll need to get into a classroom and teach this soon!

Thanks, Katie, for the great idea!

This should say "art rocks" but my my camera only allows for
a shutter speed of 16 seconds--I bet I could have traced the whole
word if I had tried again (the more successful attempt is on Katie's blog).

3-year-old draws a circle

6-year-old tries for a square
(it's harder than it looks!)

6-year-old tries for a star