The Return of the Texture Fauves

 I've been looking through my blog stats, and I want to, from time to time, bring back some stuff from a few old posts that never got many views on their first runs, because I think they deserve a 2nd chance!  So these images were originally posted here, in December 2010.

My 2nd grade students had been learning about Matisse and fauvism, had done a Matisse goldfish bowl painting project, and knew that the word 'fauve' means 'wild beast'. We also had previously done some work with textures, so they knew the meaning of the word.  So to use up some junk accumulating in the art room, the kids created these 'texture fauves' - wild beasts or creatures made out of various textural materials, mostly recyclable.  We had fabric scraps, pieces of foam, ribbon, lace, corrugated cardboard scraps, pompoms, feathers, doilies, toothpicks, wood shapes, and of course some wiggle eyes just for fun.

I purposely showed them NO examples, so they would use their own imaginations and creative thinking to solve the challenge.  They were given scissors, bottles of Elmer's Glue-All, and a piece of scrap mat board each for background, and I had all the assorted junk materials arranged on my counter-top. 

 

While most kids used lots of materials, I especially love the simplicity of this amazing shark (above) cut from just a few scraps of foam!  Bravo!

 Don't you love the written explanation on this one (above)?

 The kids were given the option of using construction paper crayons to alter the negative space, as you can see on the piece below in particular. 

  Straight from my prior post, these were the only rules/guidelines that were given:

1. Nothing sticking up off the board (the artwork should fit in the drying rack).
2. No blood or weapons.
3. You had to be able to tell it was a beast or creature.
4. Students could only take one thing from the selection at a time, and had to return stuff the same way it was found (ribbon rolled up, feather bucket closed, etc).
5. Everything had to be glued down by counting to at least 10.

Since the students had to get up from their seats numerous times to retrieve materials, I had them take their scissors with them (to cut off a piece of ribbon, for example, rather than taking all the ribbon to their tables).  So we practiced the 'scissor rap', complete with hand gestures and sassy attitudes:  "Points down, hands around, points down, hand around!" 

I hope you have enjoyed this repeat performance! 

Yaddo

A couple of days ago, my camera and I wandered through Yaddo, in my hometown of Saratoga Springs.  What is Yaddo?  Well, straight from the Yaddo website's history page:  "Founded in 1900 by the financier Spencer Trask and his wife Katrina, herself a poet, Yaddo is an artists' community located on a 400-acre estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment." 
Visual artists, writers, performance artists, filmmakers, and composers apply to spend a period of time at Yaddo, where they are provided a place to stay, a studio, meals, and a peaceful creative environment without distraction.  The list of people who have stayed there over the years include some well-known people like Sylvia Plath, Mario Puzo, Truman Capote, Leonard Bernstein, and so many more.  The history of Yaddo includes the tragic deaths of young children, and a fair share of ghost stories as well!  As kids growing up in Saratoga, it was fun to explore the grounds, which included climbing a fence to the private grounds and hoping to glimpse something awesome or spooky.  Usually we just got bitten by killer mosquitoes!  The mansion at the top of the post is only a small part of the grounds, and while it is private,the mansion from time to time is opened to the public for tours or chamber music concerts. 

The grounds include a public rose garden and rock garden, ponds, and statues, all lovely to look at and explore.  The roses and other flowers are not in bloom yet, of course, but these views were all from the public grounds.

Wouldn't these two photos below be great for teaching perspective? 

 

 As I toured the public grounds, a class of what appeared to be high school students sat nestled among the new growth near the rock garden area working on drawings. 

 

Looking down on the yet-to-bloom rose gardens:

When I was a young teacher, my mother took a job working as bookkeeper at Yaddo, working on the private grounds.  At the time, she befriended a young painter who took me on a tour of his studio.  His paintings were small fresh landscapes, really lovely.

Anyhow, I thought you'd perhaps a glimpse into this lovely place.  I'll try to get back to take more photos when it is  in full bloom.