"I am looking for the join..."

I am an artist and art educator, currently living in Vancouver, BC. In this blog, I am collecting thoughts, experiences, and resources on the topics of art education, peace education, and environmental education. This is a means to motivate myself to develop my projects and ideas and to elicit feedback and responses from others. Please post comments, resources, links, etc.! I'd love to hear from you! To learn more about me and my artwork, visit my website: http://cargocollective.com/ameliaepp.

[ameliaepp-blog]

On Oct. 24 and 25 Bronwen Payerle and myself built and performed our installation work This land is my land, and I have a room with a view. We had created site specific components of the installation in advance, and on location rigged a series of ropes and wooden framed structures to support printed fabric panels. As audience members for the Interplay Project arrived at the Moberly Arts and Cultural Centre, we solicited their assistance in constructing the work. After it was completed, audience members sat and stood, enjoying the ambience of the outdoor space they had helped to create.

The following is our statement about the work: 

The artwork examines the physical, emotional and aesthetic materiality of enclosures, the perceived protective quality of fabrics, and environment-specific textures found within both built and natural spaces. The artists are found in the midst of trying to set up camp. However, the camp is also unrealized possibility: a blanket fort, a playhouse, a dream of escape and ownership that is part of the Canadian experience. A simple frame shed, canvas tarps, rope, blankets and couch cushions become literal building blocks. The significance of possession and use, as seen in architectural or altered natural space, form the basis of this investigation.

This was our first experience in undertaking a performative installation work that required audience participation. The Interplay Project provided us with an excellent laboratory setting, where we were able to experiment and play with different approaches and strategies in involving the public. 

[ameliaepp-blog]

I've been working on a series of new collages recently and, after many years of wanting to experiment with encaustics, finally took the plunge and gave it a try! It was exciting to try something completely new, and I was really pleased with the results. I hope to continue my encaustics experimentations soon!

[ameliaepp-blog]

Bark, twine, bamboo, leaves, tin cans, and sponges have served as makeshift tools, as Bronwen and I have been experimenting with printed surface design on panels to be used for our upcoming performative installation work, This land is my land, and I have a room with a view. We lucked out last weekend and had a clear afternoon, which allowed us to spread huge panels of fabric and tarp out on the grass to be printed, and to drape finished pieces on makeshift clotheslines.

Our new work will be presented as part of the Interplay Project on Oct. 24 and 25 in Vancouver.

[ameliaepp-blog]

I'm excited to announce that Bronwen Payerle and myself will be creating a collaborative and interactive installation work for The Interplay Project later this month! Our work will be installed in front of the centre prior to 8pm each night. Performative installation is an exciting new direction for our collaborative work and we've been having fun as we prepare and plan! 

[ameliaepp-blog]

Oh my, I've failed to post for almost exactly a year, and I received a notification from tumblr the other day that with or without my input, this dear old blog turned 5 years old! So I'm inspired to return to it and pick up where I left off. In my last posts, I was describing the process of creating a large-scale paper sculpture for the dance performance, The Long Indoors. As a long overdue follow-up, I'm posting a video of that exquisite performance. The piece was choreographed by Vanessa Goodman, performed by Jane Osborne and Ziyian Kwan, and lit by James Proudfood. I was very proud and excited to take part in this collaboration, and it's lovely to re-watch the performance a year later.

And with that, I promise that I will return soon (in less than a year from now, at least).

[ameliaepp-blog]

The first performance of the long indoors will take place this Friday! On Monday I was at the Dance Centre to see my large-scale paper sculpture, also titled the long indoors, hung and lit for the first time! It was very exciting to finally see the piece come to life in the performance space.

As promised in my last post, I've included some photos of my process of creating the sculpture. This project pushed me to worked much larger than I usually do, which was an exciting challenge. I completely took over our garage and worked many a day and night with the garage door open - drawing attention from curious neighbours.

Check out this article, published in the Georgia Straight this week, to learn more about the new works of choreography that are featured, along with the long indoors, in the mixed program We all know Jane.

[ameliaepp-blog]

I have been excited to take part in a collaboration over the last months with the contemporary dance collective, the Contingency Plan. The resulting work, the long indoors, will be performed June 21-22 at the Scotiabank Dance Centre in Vancouver, as part of an evening of new dance, entitled we all know Jane. The long indoors, choreographed by Vanessa Goodman and danced by Jane Osborne and Ziyian Kwan, features sculptural work by myself and lighting design by James Proudfoot. For more info, look here. Also, stay tuned for photos documenting my process in creating the sculpture for this collaboration!

[ameliaepp-blog]

This is a video about the Vancouver Biennale art education project that I was a part of, which just wrapped up on May 30th. It was such a wonderful process to be a part of - I learned so much from the students and the other teachers involved. As I've promised in previous posts, I will eventually write more, here, about some of the specific activities that I helped to develop and carry out for the project. But I'll jump ahead, now, and share this video which provides a really great summary of the entire process.

[ameliaepp-blog]

Paper Sculpture Lesson Idea #2

As I mentioned a while back, I have been collecting paper sculpture lesson ideas for my work with the Vancouver Biennale. I posted a collaborative paper sculpture lesson described on the color, collage, and much more blog, back in February. I came across a similar lesson idea on the Organized Chaos art education blog. The photos, above, are from this blog.

To create the sculptures pictured above, the students created patterns using hot colours on one side of a sheet of paper, and cool colours on the other side. The teacher then created a continuous line drawing over top of these colours (like the black and white drawing pictured above), and the student then cut along these lines. The students then twisted and folded their long strip of irregularly-shaped paper into a sculpture, which was glued into place. It appears as if these sculptures were then mounted on a cardboard base.

I like the simplicity of this lesson. It could potentially start off a longer sculpture unit. The author of the color, collage, and much more blog provides some examples of artists that would tie in nicely to this lesson in another post on paper sculptures. These artists include David Black, Dale Chihuly, Liz Miller, and Ryan McGinness. 

I wish that I had come across these paper sculpture lesson ideas while teaching a mobile and sculpture class at a local elementary school, back in November and December. The activities that I led got way too complicated, and these simple sculpture lesson ideas would have worked perfectly for mobiles, and would have enabled students to complete a simple, but interesting, sculpture in just one class session. Oh well, I'll know for next time!

[ameliaepp-blog]

An inspiring art education advocacy video!

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Vancouver Biennale Transitions Project: Field Trip to 217.5 Arc x 3

Well, I'm back again after another long blogging hiatus. The last couple months have been a bit of a blur, but things are calming down a bit now. Last week I finally finished an online course in educational psychology that I've been working on since January. It feels like a weight has been lifted - and hopefully some time and mental space will be freed up for blogging and other fun activities!

The project with the Vancouver Biennale has been moving along, all the while, and I'm excited about how it has been progressing. Even though this seems like ages ago now, I thought that I would share some images from the field trip that all three classes went on to see Venet's 217.5 Arc x 3 back in February.

As I mentioned in my post back in February, I am working with a grade 10/11/12 sculpture and ceramics class, a grade 5/6 class, and a grade 3 class - each from different schools in West Vancouver that feed into one another. At the field trip, students from the three classes were broken into smaller groups. We played ice breaker games, to help them get to know each other. Each group was then given the task of taking photographs of the sculpture and making sketches of it, capturing at least three different angles. In doing this, they were meant to consider how the sculpture can appear completely different when viewed from various vantage points, and how these perspectives could represent changes and transitions in life.

The students then used ipads to film interviews, in which they asked each other about their experiences with changes and transitioning between schools. It was really wonderful to see the different age groups interacting and engaging in such a meaningful way. The students also made some fantastic and insightful observations about 217.5 Arc x 3 and how it represents change and transition to them.

The field trip was a great way to launch the art making projects that I have helped to facilitate with each class. Since then, we've frequently referred back to the students' experiences with the sculpture, and with the other classes. I'll write again, to explain how the art making processes have evolved!

[ameliaepp-blog]

Collaborative Paper Sculpture Lesson Idea #1

  For my work with the Vancouver Biennale, I've been collecting lesson ideas for creating collaborative paper sculptures. I've come across a couple interesting possibilities, one of which is pictured above. I found this lesson idea on a blog called color, collage, and much more. The teacher who developed this lesson was inspired by a mural and installation by street artist, Swoon, that she went to see with her students at the Institute for Contemporary Art in Boston. Swoon's work was created using intricately cut paper. It covered a wall and incorporated 3D sculptural elements (look here for images).

For the lesson, fifth grade students cut out paper shapes using stencils that they had created. They were grouped at tables with either warm or cool coloured materials. The only criteria that they had was that the pieces that they individually created had to be joined together, in the end, to create one collaborative sculpture. I think that the results were quite interesting! Look here for a full description of the lesson, and for more images. 

[ameliaepp-blog]

I'm back again, after another rather long pause! One of the activities that has been distracting me from this blog these days, is a part-time teaching job that I started in January. I'm working with the Vancouver Biennale, a biennial public art exhibition that brings sculptures, new media and performance works by celebrated and emerging international artists to Vancouver. The entire Biennale takes place outdoors and lasts for 18 months at a time.

I'm excited to be working with the Vancouver Biennale as a teaching artist, as part of their extensive education program. As a teaching artist, I've been paired with 3 different schools in West Vancouver. I'm working with one class at each school to address the "big idea" of transitions. I'm working with a grade 3 class, a grades 5/6 class, and a grades 10/11/12 sculpture and ceramics class. The three schools feed into each other, and the participating teachers wanted to guide the students through a creative process of addressing the hopes and worries that they have about transitioning between schools, and then out of high school when they graduate. Each class will work on a section of a sculpture addressing the theme of transitions, and at the conclusion of the project all three sections will be linked together and publicly displayed.

The artwork that will inspire our creative process is the sculpture pictured above, entitled 217.5 Arc x 3, by French artist Bernar Venet. Next week students from all three classes will be meeting each other for the first time on a field trip to visit the sculpture. 

I'm excited to be taking part in this very unique and collaborative learning and teaching process. I'll be sure to write more posts, as the project progresses!

[ameliaepp-blog]

An Enthusiastic Introduction to the Work of Ida Kohlmeyer

Wow, I've abandoned this poor blog for quite a few weeks now. My time has been eaten up by increased subbing days, a new part-time job, and an online Educational Psychology course. But I'm inspired to write once again, after having a fantastic experience yesterday talking to a 2nd grade class about the artwork of Ida Kohlmeyer (pictured above).

The class was really great to work with, and I had a fun day with them, overall. When I arrived in the morning, I was happy to read in the teacher's day plan that I was to teach an art lesson in the afternoon, and that I had freedom to plan it as I wished! She just specified that it be based on a specific work by Ida Kohlmeyer - which she had provided in poster format. As Kohlmeyer's work was new to me, I've since researched it further, and have become quite enamoured with it.

When it was finally time for art yesterday afternoon, we weren't left with time to carry out a full hands-on activity. But I decided to introduce the students to the artwork and facilitate a discussion about it. They were getting a bit squirmy, as it was the end of the day, but I decided to forge ahead and had them gather in a circle on the carpet in their classroom. When I held up the poster it was met with gasps of delight and awe. It's been a while since I've had an opportunity to discuss a work of art with students this age, and it was so refreshing to observe their genuine enthusiasm. We had a wonderful discussion about the the shapes and colours that Kohlmeyer used in the painting. We also talked about how each section of the painting made them feel, and what some of the shapes and colours reminded them of. I wish I was going to be with them to carry out an artmaking activity inspired by the painting! But I will have to try this out with another group of children in the future!

[ameliaepp-blog]

To motivate adolescents, teachers must develop lessons acknowledging the interests of students, present lessons offering opportunities for choice, honor the knowledge and experience students have to offer, build on students’ prior knowledge, treat students as competent and capable of learning material, respond appropriately to students’ behaviors and frustrations, foster a sense of community in the classroom, demonstrate care and understanding in all interactions, and listen carefully to what the students say and do not say.

Karen L. Cummings (2012), Motivating Urban Youth: Honoring the Experiences of Adolescents

I'm currently reading through one of the recent NAEA Art Education publications (from November 2012), and came across the article quoted above. It describes the experiences and reflections of two art teachers from an urban secondary school. Their observations and struggles are specific to their school and location, but also can be applied to the experience of working with adolescents, in general. The quote, above, really resonates with me, as does the general teaching approach advocated for in the article. As a substitute teacher in a rural school district, I've had the opportunity to observe many different classrooms environments and to (attempt to) teach many different high school subjects. I feel that the approaches described above could be applied across the board, not just in urban art classrooms. The author emphasizes the importance of developing rapport with students and exhibiting a positive attitude, as a teacher - not always easy tasks! I highly recommend this article to all you high school teachers out there!

[artedish]

When young people learn about art, they learn about DaVinci or Botticelli. These artists are important but they do not suffice for representing life in the present. Not many high school students know about contemporary art. It should be known by every student that there are thousands of people out there trying to better our society - now and for future generations- through their artwork.

R. Francis (1996)

Yes! This is a great quote, and something that I feel very strongly about. I only learned about a few contemporary artists as a high school student - but their artwork is forever etched in my memory, and it had such a huge impact on my life.

[ameliaepp-blog]

On Space Time Foam: Tomas Saraceno

I recently came across the fascinating work of artist and architect, Tomas Saraceno. I stumbled across his large scale work On Space Time Foam, and was completely transfixed by images and videos of people engaging with it (see images above). It represents such an interesting intersection of art and science. I'd love to share this work with students as part of a discussion about the connections between art and architecture as well as art and science.

Saraceno's work is inspired by 20th-century utopian architecture and "stems from the desire to create aerial structures that can be inhabited by people, are self-sufficient and have a low environmental impact." On Space Time Foam is described as follows:

At HangarBicocca Saraceno creates On Space Time Foam, a floating structure composed of three levels of clear film that can be accessed by the public, inspired by the cubical configuration of the exhibition space. The work, whose development took months of planning and experimentation with a multidisciplinary team or architects and engineers, will then continue as an important project during a residency of the artist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT in Cambridge (MA).

I wish I could take a trip to Milan to visit this exhibition!