School Tours & Workshops/Art Reach
September 2011 – June 2012
All tours and workshops are designed for all grade levels (primary to senior) to meet curriculum requirements in visual art. They are designed and taught by Karen Bell, Glenhyrst’s specialist in art and education.
August 27 – October 23, 2011
Material World
Guided Tour:
Stephanie Cormier (The Reconceptualised Universe of The Anti-Logo League Girls), Robin Laws Field (Surfaces), Arlene Laskey and the Brant Visual Artist Guild investigate the theme Material World using digital prints, fibre art, acrylic and watercolour.
Workshop: Material World – Creating with Colour:
Sources for inspiration as well as media are limitless for artists. Using a variety of recycled materials students will create a small fibre artwork.
Discussion:
Focusing on the use of repetition of colour and texture to create rhythm to express their ideas and feelings, students will discuss how composition can use warm colours with cools colours to create balance in a composition.
Vocabulary:
logos, icons, images in advertisements, social commentary, rhythm, composition
Curriculum Connection:
science (light and colour), social science (environmental, society)
October 29 – December 23, 2011
New Growth
Guided Tour:
Xiaojing Yan’s sculptures and installations are designed in geometric shapes from tissue paper and natural reed. Karen Piovaty focuses on the transformative power of language and art using the collaging of graphic text and imagery.
Workshop: Exploring Form in Sculpture:
Students will use paper tissue and wire to create a hanging sculpture while investigating the importance of negative and positive space in a three dimensional form.
Discussion:
Students will discuss the importance of how colour, size and asymmetrical balance in sculpture can reinforce mood or narrative.
Vocabulary:
minimalist, installation, transformation, negative and positive space
Curriculum Connection:
(an installation piece can be created by grouping all of the sculptures together in the classroom), geometry, science
January 7 – March 4, 2012
Painting Show
Guided Tour:
Cristina Zanella, Ian McLean and Robert Achtemichuk respond to their environments using paint on silk and canvas.
Workshop: The Wonder of Paint- Still Life in Acrylic:
Students will create a still life using paint and canvas board to explore the importance of composition to the overall feeling of balance and unity.
Discussion:
Students will explore how colour and variation in value can capture light in a still life composition in order to lead the viewer’s eye through the composition.
Vocabulary:
balance, unity, composition, still life
Curriculum Connection:
mathematics (ratios), science (light)
March 10 – May 6, 2012
Multi Media: Sculpture and Drawing
Guided Tour:
Jane Hook uses mixed media to create figurative sculptures and Elizabeth Barrett Milner uses acrylic and oil sticks on a black background to draw dream-like images of animals creating fanciful narratives.
Workshop: Heroes and Other Charming Stories:
This workshop provides an opportunity for students to write and illustrate the first page of their own book. First choosing a theme, the student will explore imagery using thumb nail sketches. Using oil sticks on black paper, students will create a drawing for their book.
Discussion:
Students will discover how the famous surrealist artist Chagall created dream-like paintings of people he cared about.
Vocabulary:
mixed media, figurative, oil sticks, narratives
Curriculum Connection:
Art students will discuss how consistency and completeness can be created through repetition of colours, shapes, textures and lines, language arts (students can write their own story before coming to the gallery based on a topic covered in class)
May 12 – June 10, 2012
School Art Exhibition “Expressions 2012”
Guided Tour:
All schools are invited to submit 10 of their best art works to Glenhyrst Art Galley’s “EXPRESSIONS 2012”. Drop off dates are May 1 to May 4, 2012 from 10am to 5pm. Pick up dates are June 12 to June15, 2012 from 10am to 5pm. The Opening Reception/Family Arts Day is Sunday May 27th from 11 am to 4 pm. Everyone is invited to celebrate the Arts!
Workshop:
Please choose a workshop from any of the workshops listed under Art Reach or School Tours/Workshops. Anyone interested in volunteering at this year’s Opening Reception/Family Day please call the gallery at 519-756-5932 or email info@glenhyrtartgallery.ca.
Art Reach Workshop Choices:
Imaginings — A Sculptural Painting Using Colour and Line
After a discussion about abstraction and composition, students will design two sets of thumbnail sketches. The first sketches will be line drawings based on observation of nature at Glenhyrst Gardens as viewed through a viewfinder. The second set of thumbnail sketches will be colour sketches inspired by listening to music. Students will discuss how colour and line can express ideas and emotions just as music can. Students will do a maquette (small model) of an installation piece by shaping Bristol board using various shaping methods such folding, pleating, cutting and slits to create an abstract “painting sculpture”. Students will discuss how vertical and horizontal lines can be used to unify a composition and will investigate the emotive quality of colour and the textural quality of line. Students will discuss scale, composition and abstraction. Abstract art is a particular genre of art where the depiction of objects in the world has been replaced by a concern with the formal aspects of art such as colour, shape or line. The surface painting of the sculpture will be a composite of the line and colour thumbnail sketches. Students will use mixed media including paint, pastel, Bristol board and photographic images.
Your choice of either “Spirit Trees” or “Spirit Soars with Emily Carr”
Glenhyrst Art Gallery of Brant is surrounded by 15 beautiful acres of land with over 200 species of trees. These trees have been identified and catalogued on tree plaques by their botanical name, common name and in Braille. Students will have the opportunity to tour a selection of these trees while discussing tree identification, form, texture, colour and shape. Elements related to the workshop choice (Spirit Trees or Spirit Soars) will be emphasized during the guided tour. Note: In case of inclement weather, the tour will be substituted with an indoor tour of a current exhibition.
Spirit Trees: This workshop examines frottage, a method of reproducing texture by rubbing crayon on paper over textured surfaces like tree bark. Students will use coloured conte (pressed chalk) on black paper to create “Spirit Trees”, emphasizing line and negative and positive space in order to communicate feelings.
Spirit Soars -– Emily Carr: Canada’s Emily Carr spent her life painting West Coast forests, skies and First Nations villages. After discussing Carr’s views on modern art, students will begin their project by sketching outdoors (weather permitting). Using oil pastels, students will emphasize distortion in their forms in order to, as Carr said, “raise the thing out of ordinary seeing into a more spiritual sphere”. Students will explore how the forms in nature can be reduced to geometric forms. Students will discuss how colour, shape and line can suggest emotions such as sadness or joy.
Assemblage – Getting to Know You
The class as a whole will plan an installation piece based on a topic chosen prior to attending Glenhyrst. The card-like figures can be “exhibited” back in their school. Each student will have the opportunity to design and build a figure based on human proportions. Students will use cardboard, paint, pastels, fabric and found materials to create their sculpture. Students will look at the works of Marisol Escobar, a sculptor interested in people and their relationships. Assemblage refers to art that incorporates real objects into a sculpture.
Contour Drawing: Surfaces and Edges
Contour drawing refers to the lines which define the edges and surface of a form. Through a series of enjoyable exercises designed to enhance concentration and drawing, students will complete a series of contour drawings using paper, pencil and colour conte. The first exercise will involve synchronizing the movement of the eyes as they follow the contours of the object with the movement of the students’ hand and pencil/conte on the paper. The emphasis will be on “seeing” the object. The second project will involve the student in touching an object without looking at it, while drawing the object’s contours. Students will discuss how the artistic element of continuity, that is, how a line or edge of one shape continues as a line or edge of the next shape contributes to an overall feeling of unity in a work of art. This workshop is adapted for both beginner and more advanced students.
Earth Day Celebration (II) — Mixed Media Sculpture
Students will create a modular sculpture by joining, folding, or cutting a set of modules to create a 3-dimensional sculpture. Students can collect 10-15 of one type of everyday consumer goods (frozen orange juice cans, paper cups, paper rolls) or use what is provided by the gallery. Students will manipulate the modules (repetitive shapes… paper rolls etc.) using either additive or subtractive method of sculpting.
Sculpting with Clay — Form and Space
Students will enjoy the many possibilities of shaping clay beginning with forming a ball, creating a pinch pot and finally creating a free-form sculpture to convey a particular idea or emotion. Students will compare works of Jean Arp, Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore as well as discuss how artist use positive and negative space and texture to communicate ideas and feelings. Forms with smooth lines give the feeling of calm while angular forms may suggest movement or agitation.
Feel of the Land -– En Plein Air with Watercolour
Students will have the opportunity to do a watercolour landscape painting outside (en plein air) — weather permitting. Students will be introduced to various methods of conveying perspective in a landscape painting as well as investigating the importance of tonal values to create form. Students will discuss how artists use a “limited palette” to create unity in their paintings.
Frame It: A “Teachers Choice” Workshop
Students will create their masterpieces based on a workshop pre-selected by their classroom teacher. The teacher can choose any workshop from this brochure. The students’ art will be hung 15 minutes prior to the end of the workshop to provide the students the time to analyze what they like about their art pieces. There will be a discussion about how jurors arrive at their decisions using the 4 stages of art criticism: description, analysis, interpretation and judgment. Students will use the seven Elements of Design, line, shape, form, space, value, colour and texture to discuss their works
of art.
Poem Book: Assemblage Sculpture
Students will create a Poem Book using the technique of assemblage (three dimensional work of art consisting of many pieces assembled together). By folding a sheet of coloured bristol board students will create the form for their book. Students will then create a short poem inspired by words drawn randomly from a box. Students will use sandpaper, fabric, photos, as well as creating symbols and imagery to further enhance their assemblage Poem Book.
Printmaking: The Expressive Line
Students will develop a series of relief prints using printer’s ink and foam blocks. Students will discuss how artists use line variation to express different ideas and feelings. Quality of line will be explored in order to understand how artists use line to control eye movement. Lines can lead your eye into, around, and out of visual image. These prints will accompany a simple story written by the students. Students will discuss how visual rhythm is created by repeated positive shapes separated by negative spaces. Students will appreciate how repetition of an element or motif creates a sense of movement.
A Wilderness Sculpture: Forest Fort
Using a mixed media approach to sculpture, students will design and build a maquette (small model) of their Wilderness Fort. Students can use cloth, wire, wood and fibre to construct their sculpture. Students will be introduced to both formal and informal balance and discover how artists achieve balance of unlike objects. Students will have the opportunity to write a short story explaining how the Wilderness Fort is used. For eg. a place for fairies to gather, sustainable architecture, a gathering place for enjoying music.
Figure Drawing: Hold that Pose
Students will be introduced to figure drawing through a series of gesture and contour drawings using charcoal while studying the model. After students discuss proportion, the Golden Mean and of course Leonardo da Vinci’s pursuit of beauty, they will do a finished drawing of the figure. Students will be introduced to Euclid’s discovery of the Golden Mean and how this mathematical ratio influenced the ideals of harmony and beauty.
The Group of Seven: A New Vision
Students will discuss the Group of Seven’s unique vision of the Canadian landscape by contrasting the “European” style of landscape painting that existed prior to 1920 and the year the Group of Seven had their first exhibition. Students will use bold colours and layers of texture to create Northern Canadian Landscapes using oil pastels. They will begin by investigating various compositions using “canoe” thumbnail sketches to arrive at a suitable design for their work of art. An introduction to perspective and colour theory will highlight this workshop.
A Mixed Media Collage: Memories, Stories and Dreams
Students will investigate an important theme in their life by using mixed media to create a collage. Students will discuss how the elements of design (line, shape, form, colour, texture, space, and value) and the principles of design (rhythm, balance, proportion, variety, emphasis and unity) are used by the artist to successfully communicate their ideas and feelings. The theme for this workshop can be chosen prior to the workshop by the teacher to connect with classroom studies.
Self-Portraits: Here’s Looking at You
Historically artists were concerned with creating a perfect likeness of the sitter. Contemporary portraits on the other hand often diverge from imitationalism and reflect a more formalistic interpretation of the subject. Students will discuss the proportions of the face, the importance of colour relationships in conveying feelings, and the importance of understanding the effects of light in creating form.
Surrealistic Landscapes: Fantasy and Dreams
Max Ernst was a surrealist artist who used “grattage” (a method of creating texture by scratching into wet paint using a variety of tools) to make patterns which inspired him to paint fantasy landscapes with dreamlike qualities. Students will experiment with various tools to create textured papers to be cutout and used to build up elements for a fantasy landscape collage. Students are encouraged to use a variety of visual rhythms to create a sense of movement.
Eric Carle Collage: I See a Song
Students will read Eric Carle’s “I See a Song” and “The Very Quiet Cricket” in order to discuss how Carle creates imagery from simple geometric shapes. Students will print their own textured paper using inks and sponges. A simple story board will be developed to accompany the students’ collages. The video “Eric Carle, Picture Writer” can also be viewed as part of this workshop.
Watercolour Resist: Bugs in the Garden (Choose A or B)
A) Students will use resist and watercolours to design their own butterflies. Students will discuss how secondary colours are mixed from primary colours and identify different kinds of line that can be used to build up pattern and texture.
Students will have the opportunity to do a watercolour landscape painting outside (en plein air) – weather permitting. Students will be introduced to various methods of conveying perspective in a landscape painting as well as investigating the importance of tonal values to create form. Students will discuss how artists use a “limited palette” to create unity in their paintings.
B) Students will create their own fantasy garden bug after a brief discussion about symmetry. Pastels will be used to create texture and pattern before applying a watercolour wash. A wall mural can be created with the students’ creations.
Still Life Drawing: Shapes and Form
Students will use oil pastels to compose a still life from objects arranged on a table. Students will be encouraged to use shading to create the illusion of depth. Students will discuss how artists use the elements of design to create a focal point in their art works. Students will discuss how Paul Cezanne used colour to create form and unity.
Mandala as Art: Symbols and Symmetry
The symbol of the circle appears in ancient and modern religions, myths, including the mandalas of Tibetan monks. Mandala designs also appear in European and Christian art including the rose windows of the cathedrals. Students will design their own mandala using images, colours, lines and shapes relevant to their own lives. Students will discuss the importance of positive and negative space in creating balance.
Primitive Cloth Drawing: First Nations Art
Students will study the art of primitive cultures and create their own mythical creature using markers on fabric. The emphasis on this project is the use of texture, line and pattern to create visual impact and meaning. Students will look at the art of the Inuit People to see how artists use the principles of design to create harmony. A collective wall hanging will be created from the students’ individual works.
Matisse Collage: Postcards to Earth — An Earth Day Celebration
Students will examine how Matisse used colour and shape to convey feeling and ideas. Students will create their own collages using environmental themes. Students will discuss how Matisse used organic forms and complementary colours to energize his artwork. Students will identify characteristics of symmetrical and asymmetrical shapes and describe how the repetition of elements is used to create rhythm. These “postcards” can be assembled together to create a mural for the school or classroom.
Patterns and Symbols: Power Shields
Students will create their own Power Shields using pattern, colour, shape and space to create a dynamic circular image. Students will discuss radial balance and develop a pattern using rotation to create the shields. Students will explore the importance of line and colour to convey meaning and feelings.
Exploring Watercolour I : The Sky’s the Limit — Watercolour Abstraction
Students will be introduced to the techniques of wet-on-wet, lifting off, flat and graded washes. Students will also be introduced to colour theory using the colour wheel. Using a limited palette of three colours, students will discover how to mix a myriad of colours. Students will also be introduced to the various papers and brushes available to the watercolour artist.
Exploring Watercolour II: Landscape using Complementary Colours
This workshop is for students who have already taken “Exploring Watercolour I: The Sky’s the Limit”. Students will discuss linear perspective while planning their watercolour landscape. Students will discuss colour theory, pigments and observe the effects of mixing a hue (colour) with its complementary hue. Mixing a hue with its complementary dulls it or lowers its intensity. Students will discover how the impressionists used complementary colours to create shading.
The Art of Storytelling: Ancient Scrolls
Young students will be introduced to the history of books from clay to computer. Students will create their own scroll by cutting and gluing shapes and textures to illustrate a simple story they will help to compose about an adventurous frog.
Making Masks: Dragons Galore
Students will make Dragon Masks using coloured paper and glue. Students will fold and cut paper to create three dimensional features. If time permits students will be given the opportunity to perform a simple Dragon Dance using the masks they have created.
Natural Light – Drawing Ourdoors
Using a view finder students will select a scene from the gardens that interests them. Using graphite, conte, and pastel on paper students will compose and complete a landscape drawing after discussing how artists use perspective and tonal value to communicate feelings. Students will discuss how Canadian artist Lawren Harris was inspired by landscape to create his works of art and how important natural lighting is to an artist when they are painting or drawing.
Forces of Nature
Students will create their own narrative about a memorable event they have experienced or imagined which expresses their feelings about their relationship to nature. Students will discuss how artists from other cultures use time and space to create stories. (eg. Persian miniature paintings and Vietnames’ story cloth depict scenes of events that have occurred over a passage of time). Using coloured acetate, rice paper, oil pastels, photographic images and markers, students will complete a mixed media collage in order to discover how artists use rhythm to create movement and meaning. Students will discuss how artist Emily Carr used rhythm to express the living force in the natural environment.
Making Your Mark – Exploring Identity
Students will explore identity by creating symbols that reflect their personal or cultural identity to create motifs. Using radial balance, a form of symmetry, students will use the motifs to create four relief prints. Students will discuss how artists use balance, colour and size to create a strong impact in a work of art.
In Your Dreams – Fugurative Sculpture
Students will discuss how artists use shape, form and space to communicate ideas and feelings in art. After a discussion of proportion and the human body, students will choose an important aspect about their own character, which they will express through the creation of a form. Using clay, students will transform the human figure into a fantastic figure combining both animal and human form. After looking at the sculptures of Henry Moore, students will discuss how positive and negative space, outline, and surface can create feelings such as comfort, fear, kindness and humour.