Eco ART!!

Some of my favorite projects are the ones inspired by nature and that use natural objects. I taught an "Eco Art" Class in spring 2011 at the Arts Center. We looked at the work of Andy Goldsworthy and used the inspiration to design public artworks. Other nature inspired projects I've taught include flower pressing, moss sculpture, and leaf prints in clay, to name a few.

   

Hand made journal to house photographs of Andy Goldsworthy inspired art projects created by Eco Art Class Spring 2011

 

Andy Goldsworthy inspired sand snake made by Eco Art Class Spring 2011



Model treehouses made during "Forests of the World" Globetrotters Arts and Culture camp

Drawing!!

Drawing is such an important fundamental of art that I use it a lot and apply it in virtually all of my classes. Even for 3 dimentional projects I will always start by having the kids sketch out their ideas first. In my basic drawing classes I teach the fundamentals of drawing including line, shape, value, shading, perspective, landscape, contour, gesture, portrait, negative space, abstraction, etc. I have taught quite a few private drawing lessons to individual students.

This is a sketch for fashion design class (note the caution tape wrapped around the legs!)

Drawing from my Japanese Manga Drawing Class

I teach the kids how to break the body into basic shapes to avoid stick figures.

Awesome comic strip from a Japanese Manga class!!

Building cities!

Excellent example of two point perspective!

To teach value I shine a flood lamp onto an egg and have the students draw it.

Adding some color- I like introducing various drawing media including pastels, charcoal, chalk, ink and markers.

Altered Fashion Class

 My Altered Fashion class focuses on learning how to re-use clothing to make new, more fashionable threads! We cut things apart, learn no-sew techniques as well as how to use a sewing machiene and hand sewing. I teach how to make stencils, patches, playing card purses, and more!

Altered Fashion Class gearing up for Fashion show!

The above photo is from a private workshop where we studied Japannese Street Fashion and created different layering techniques and color combinations with clothing. The students used their creativity to come up with inventive combinations of color and design.

Pin Hole Camera Photography

 I taught a pin-hole camera photography class during the summer of 2010.  It was a lot of fun and the kids really enjoyed the process of developing their own film! Even though some of the pictures didn't turn out the kids would find shapes in the photos and use their imiginations to decide what it could be a picture of.

Picasso Play pre-School Class

In this class I focus on early arts integration and exposure to various mediums. The photos above are from a foot painting project which was a lot of fun! The pre-schoolers get lots of hands on activities to improve dexterity and motor skills. They learn to mold clay and use the pottery wheel (with a little help, of course). I have also done lots of painting projects with them including marble painting, painting to music, print making, stamping, etc. They are also introduced to drawing with pencils, crayons, cutting paper shapes, mixing colors, tracing objects, gluing, etc.

Painting Classes

I have taught many different painting classes through the Corvallis Arts center. My painting classes generally cover the following: basic color mixing, application techniques, self- portrait painting, surrealism, abstraction, and landscapes.  We use primarily acrylic paint, tempera and watercolors. 

Splatter painting- always a blast!









This painting is from a "close up" art project where students used large paper to paint a small part of something. This project helped children to focus on the details of their subject.



 Group murals the kids did during Globetrotters New Zealand week at the Corvallis Arts Center.

 Barrier Reef