A point where two rivers converge

As I have mentioned before, last week my class had the fortune of visiting the Two-Rivers Art Gallery, and it was a wonderful experience. I visit the gallery often, usually with a friend, and I have always thoroughly enjoyed myself. But this time was different. This time I was there as a perspective teacher and my eyes were opened to the possibilities that were available there for me to share with my students. I knew that one could bring a class to the gallery, but I had never known that the gallery would come to my class. This is great news, for as much as I love art my talents in the area of creating it are somewhat limited. And I know that it is not about the finished result, but having a good sample for the students to model themselves off of and clear artistic feedback from a trained professional would be invaluable, especially for those students who are more artistically inclines. I plan on taking full advantage of these service when I become a teacher.

So next time you are in the area, visit the Two-Rivers Art Gallery. I guarantee you will not be dissapointed.

Excelsior!

I finished my last post with the exclamation "Excelsior" and I realized that many people may not know what that alludes to. Excelsior is the calling card that the immortal Stan Lee left at the end of all of his letters to fans when he was the Editor-in-Chief at Marvel Comics. And that brings me around to the topic that I want to talk about. Comic books.

To some, comics are children's books; books that have pictures for those who cannot read "adult" books. It is unfortunate that that mindset still exists, but I am grateful that the world has opened up to the idea that not only can comic books be great works of literature, but that they can also be great works of art. And such a variety of art. I came to the comic book world later in life than some, but there are artist names that even I recognize as being connected with great stories. Not just great art, but through that art great stories. Jim Lee, for example, who with writer Chris Claremont created the classic X-Men #1 (vol 2) that is still the best-selling comic book of all-time with sales of over 8.1 million copies. The number of people who have seen this man's artwork and have been inspired by it is mind boggling.

X-Men #1 (vol. 2)

A fellow Canadian, Todd McFarlane is a cartoonist, artist, writer, toy designer and entrepreneur, best known for his work in comic books, such as the fantasy series Spawn. McFarlane is the ultimate artist in the world of comics, with his imagery being turned into toys and movies. When he broke away from big business and created his own title, Spawn #1 sold 1.7 million copies, which is still a record for an independent comic book.

Spawn #1

So while artists like Picasso and Rembrandt may have their place in current history books as artists of great renown, I believe that future history books will have a place for comic book artists like Lee and McFarlane between their covers.

The art that time forgot...

Isn't it unfortunate how the wonderful world of art can sometimes take a backseat to other, more pressing matters. That is botht the nice and the unfortunate thing about art. It can wait. There is usually no pressure to draw that picture or play this song; it is something that fills up your in between time whenever you have a free moment. But then, sometimes you really want to enjoy it, talk about it, write about it but you just cannot find the time.

For example, last week I visited the Two-Rivers Gallery with my class and I had a very interesting time. There were two great shows going on and I was inspired to write about what I saw and felt. Yet life seemed determined to get in the way. I worked, and I had large assignments due for every other class. Every time I had the urge to post I had other more pressing matters. And that makes me feel that it is easy to undervalue art. Because you know that it is always going to be there, waiting for you, never judging the amount of time that you spent away, it is easy to take art for granted. But I don't want to take art for granted. I want to share my thoughts, my ideas and my opinions about the different artistic things that have struck my fancy. So prepare to be blown away as I unleash the posts that have building up in me but have only n ow had the opportunity to be released. Excelsior!

Showing off what we got

Art show fun! I was part of the welcoming committee for an art show at UNBC showcasing the work of students in my cohorts' practicum. It went smashingly, with a wide variety of artwork displayed awesomely around the foyer of the Teaching and Learning building. A violinist played while students and parents wandered about, looking at their own art work and as well as at others. I really canno0t say how great the artwork was, so I will let some pictures speak for me.

My students' artwork; a collection of mosaics that represented each student's own personal beliefs or feelings.

Some of my cohorts did full art with all of their students.

 While others did individual projects with each student.

A favorite among many, this art project was done in the in the style of Aboriginal dot paintings and crossed many different subjects.

Overall, there were many different art projects from many different grade levels, all beautifully displayed. It was definitely a night to remember.

The end of a practicum

Well, that was a long practicum. Not the long practicum, but three weeks is still a long time to be in a classroom teaching rather than listening to professors talk about teaching. I wish I could say that my art project went exactly as planned, but unfortunately time was stolen from me by Halloween and various other affairs and I was not going to have enough time to do the full glass mosaic project justice.

So instead we ended up doing paper mosaics on manila, which I laminated afterwards. And from the ones I have seen from my students, I think that it still turned out rather nicely. See, the type of mosaic was just the medium. The learning goal for this lesson remained the same, which was "I can create images that convey personal or social beliefs and values". And my students' artwork shows this in various ways, representing sports, entertainment, music, nature and even religion. I myself even made a poppy, using it as a talking point prior to Remembrance Day.

See below for a sampling of some of the images.

Tune in next blog for the full selection as seen at our art show. I will wait until I have pictures to talk about that in more detail.

Marching to the beat of my own drum

So there I was, sitting in the First Nation Centre. I had walked in with my nose in a book and didn't look until after I had sat down, so I didn't notice it. When I looked up, I couldn't believe that I had missed it. There, in the middle of the room, was a giant drum. It was easily the size of myself if I were to curl up into a ball.

Pow-Wow Drum

This drum, which I later learned to be a Pow-Wow drum due to its larger size and the ability for multiple people to sit around it and play, drew me into it. I sat down, tentatively picked up a drum stick, and after a furtive look around to see if I would offend anybody through my actions, I began to play. It was noting fancy; just a simple repeating beat. I don't know how long I sat there, playing the same beat over and over again. After what seemed like a long time someone sat down across from me, picked up a second drum stick and began to play the same beat with me, adding their power to my own. Then a third person sat down and did the same. After a few moments the tempo began to increase and the volume with it. I was hypnotized by the steady, throbbing pulses that were echoing around the room. Even in my distracted state I noticed someone close the door, as by this time the sonorousness tones emanating from the drum ceased to be the sound of three separate drummers; it was now as though there was a giant with one stick producing a sound that no mere mortal could ever hope to make. Then finally, after our speed had increased to a point that it was almost no longer manageable, and without a single word or glance to each other, we all struck the drum will one final blow that reverberated throughout the room.

It was quite the intense experience, and I can understand how drums are often used in many cultures' spiritual practices. I wonder if there is a way that I can incorporate this into the classroom and have the students feel the same oneness that I felt with my other drummers. I can imagine having the students connecting with each other through this raw and primal style of music; nothing but a basic beat.

As a final note, merging into visual arts, here is a picture of a drum that I made last year. I cut and stretched the hide, created the strips to tie it down, sanded the frame and sewed the leather drum head. And of course I painted it. Tradition dictates that one gives their first drum away, so I gifted it to my step-father.

My first drum

A little art in my day

I had an enjoyable time this morning participating in an event that my board game club arranged entitled Paintstravaganza. You see, my club acquired a board game entitled 'Super Dungeon Explore', a fun if slightly eccentric experience. Unlike your average game, the pieces in this game don't come assembled or painted. For that is part of the fun for the owners of the game.

So that is how I spent my Saturday morning. Sitting with a small group of like-minded individuals in a haven for the nerdy while we learned different painting techniques from an experienced painter of miniatures. It was a fun, precise and relaxing way to pass the time. And it has a practical usage beyond painting pieces just for this game. If one was to really get into it, one could paint miniatures for many different activities. Of course, its really easy to get sucked into this if you're not careful. It can become an expensive, time consuming passion that can fill shelves and shelves.

I am not an experienced painter, but I do truly enjoy it. It is always nice to find artistic activities that align with other interests, in this case my penchant for nerdy games. This also gives me hope for finding art connections with my future students. Maybe they'll be interested in the painting of miniatures that appeals to me, or maybe together we'll find some other form of art that they'll enjoy just as much.