Each year I like to have my students create a collaborative installation piece at the school. We are a Title One high school, approximately 2,000 students.
•We created a school wide sticky note gallery installation titled 'This is My School'. All students and staff were able to draw or write their personal response to the statement "This is My school". Stickies were posted on black foamcore boards in the gallery. POWERFUL!
•We created a school wide sticky note gallery installation titled 'This is My School'. All students and staff were able to draw or write their personal response to the statement "This is My school". Stickies were posted on black foamcore boards in the gallery. POWERFUL!
Spring of 2013 my Art 102 classes created a contemporary Medicine Wheel in our courtyard. Bricks with a continuous gold stripe represented relationships, a silver circle for individuality, and bottle caps were filled with the drawings of the four directions and the students personal vision for each. Sand was colored with tempra paint for the four section fillers. We also added a vertical, moving component with four trees. Colored strips of cloth were tied on each tree. Students added their names to the banners. The installation was used by several curriculumns in the school. Native Elders spoke and a drum circle performed. It was blessed with a smudging ceremony. Powerful stuff for ALL ethnicities.
Interior self
We wanted the teen artists to be able to truly express themselves, without censor, so we thought it more revealing of self to create self with symbol and color.
The symbols seen on the manikins are abstracted to represent the life events and experiences of the artist. Working this way freed the artist to say what they wanted, and because the symbols were invented, no one else knows their meaning. Colors represent emotions. A part of the terrain also includes what didn’t happen: the vacancies, the empty spaces, and silhouettes of unrequited relationships or events. It expresses our vulnerabilities. Clothing being the opposite. The art pieces are set on a block presentation with the embossed metal Artistmark of the creator. It is the artist’s ‘personal logo’, infused with symbolic meaning. The wood of the manikins was a living material, often having spiritual use. We felt it the perfect medium to represent the inner self.
We wanted the teen artists to be able to truly express themselves, without censor, so we thought it more revealing of self to create self with symbol and color.
The symbols seen on the manikins are abstracted to represent the life events and experiences of the artist. Working this way freed the artist to say what they wanted, and because the symbols were invented, no one else knows their meaning. Colors represent emotions. A part of the terrain also includes what didn’t happen: the vacancies, the empty spaces, and silhouettes of unrequited relationships or events. It expresses our vulnerabilities. Clothing being the opposite. The art pieces are set on a block presentation with the embossed metal Artistmark of the creator. It is the artist’s ‘personal logo’, infused with symbolic meaning. The wood of the manikins was a living material, often having spiritual use. We felt it the perfect medium to represent the inner self.
My Drawing /Design classes visited Yellowstone Art Museum's new show 'Face to Face, Wall to Wall' . We were inspired to create our own contemporary self portraiture pieces. Using manekins varnished for ethnicity students self created symbols for words and events, color for emotions and feelings.
Each year we have a black light art show in the gallery. It changes in theme and classes. We have had melted album sculptures painted with flourescent paint (photo-AMAZING SHOW!), Also, Yellow Submarine, Cinco de Mayo skulls, Tim Burton and other installation pieces. These entail 60's colors-flourescent colors, of course. Kids and staff LOVE the annual show!
Bud Luckey, Senior High Graduate of 1954, Is the creator of 'Toy Story'. He worked for Pixar at the time. We wrote a BroncBooster grant to cover his visit to Senior, Saturday Live and our classes. Inspiring!
Individual painted rocks inspired by the Andy Goldsworthy video, 'Rivers and Tides, Working with Time" The two classes that participated were able to choose how they wanted to layout their rock sculpture. They chose a peace sign. The gold strip represented unity, silver circle individuality. The rest of the design was personal expression. They were proud of their installation, and most kept the rocks when disassembled.
This was such a FUN project! I had postcards printed of the image to the left. It was a student's photo. It 'kicked' off our Converse tennis shoe unit: Bronc SNEAKER FREAKERS. I had a student teacher's assistance , so we were able to add some 'extra' oomph. Art 1 class made clay shoes, choosing their laces from many different ribbons. 75 shoes! Three classes! Students wrote their RSVP exercise on postcard, attached it to shoe for gallery show. They also designed their own Converse tenny on the Converse website. Good computer exercise.
I had a tv monitor installed in the gallery, so for a 'grand opening' we set up a photo opportunity at lunch. Advanced photo students took photos, interactive with a white board. Check out gallery below. Staff and students really enjoyed this. Plus it brought many people into the gallery to check themselves out on the big screen. Target donated several pairs of Converse shoees for us. Clubs around the school decorated them and we were able to donate seven pairs to the local Ronald McDonald House. They were pleased with the donation.
I had a tv monitor installed in the gallery, so for a 'grand opening' we set up a photo opportunity at lunch. Advanced photo students took photos, interactive with a white board. Check out gallery below. Staff and students really enjoyed this. Plus it brought many people into the gallery to check themselves out on the big screen. Target donated several pairs of Converse shoees for us. Clubs around the school decorated them and we were able to donate seven pairs to the local Ronald McDonald House. They were pleased with the donation.
This was our foray into organic ink making. Black walnut ink. Staff GLADLY donated walnuts. We boiled, strained. Strained the ink again and added vinegar as a stabilizer.
The color is a rich, deep brown. We used it on our 'Memory Masks" which,are pictured in the slide show.
The color is a rich, deep brown. We used it on our 'Memory Masks" which,are pictured in the slide show.
Native American Day, September 2014
Mom, Dad and three children
Northern Cheyenne Tribe
Billings Senior High Assembly
Mom, Dad and three children
Northern Cheyenne Tribe
Billings Senior High Assembly
