In Loving Memory Of....

So I have not posted in a while because I have been REALLY busy at Tyler working on three classes: Community Arts, Digital Photography, and History of Art Education. The whole experience has been exciting, exhausting, and amazing!

I'm about to wrap up my Community Arts Project I am working on with my class with Pepon Osorio. It's really exciting to see it all come together. All of the artists in the class are working with families from an area in North Philadelphia (many of the families are situated around the 5th and Lehigh area) about their experiences with violence. We are making art about these conversations and experience, and displaying it in their homes, or in my case, business. There are also Temple University Journalism students working with us as well, documenting the process and creating their own projects about the experience. Here is the website for the project:

www.inlovingmemoryofproject.com

We also have a live journal feed that students and professors have been posting to:
http://community.livejournal.com/projectviolence/



The opening for our projects will be on May 9th, starting at 11am. We will take a bus as a collective group (this would be the students, friends, family, and any one else who is interested!) and visit the homes that the art work is residing.

For part of my project, I will be facilitating a workshop for some of the community members. We will be creating pieces that will go into my final display. Photos to come shortly!

Photos from Nicaragua

Here are some photographs I took in Nicaragua this summer. All were taken on a SLR Canon Digital Rebel and are uncropped.

Tyler School of Art

I attend the Tyler School of Art - Temple University for my Master's Program in Art Education. It's a pretty cool program; I get to take lots of studios, as well as a pretty open ended education program. For instance, I'm doing my whole program surrounding community arts, and so far so good. I am supposed to graduate in the spring of '10 so wish me luck!

One of the best things about going to Tyler is that I get to study with Pepon Osorio. He really redefined community arts for me, and took it out of the context that it could only be murals. For example, right now we are part of a large project in North Philadelphia called "In Memory of..." as a reaction to the incredible amount of violence that occurs in that area, and the "in memory of..." shirts that people in that area always seem to wear. We each work with a family, and create a piece in their homes about their stories about violence. In May, we're going to have a big caravan go door to door and see the exhibit. Here is a piece Pepon did earlier in this area to get an idea of the type of thing we are working on.

I've been working ALL semester compiling my ideas, meeting with the families, and getting to know the people of this area. More to come on this.

Mural at 34th and Haverford

This is a mural that I assisted on that was created through the Mural Arts Program of Philadelphia. The mural was made through their Artworks! department, which is an educational program that works with at-risk teens. This was a Herculean effort, and involved many many people. The mural was a collaboration between a comic book artist, students from the University of Pennsylvania, Artworks! students, the community of Mantua, two mosaic artists, and finally, the muralists.

I worked on this project ALL summer, and it truly became a labor of love. I had the pleasure of working with three awesome and talented artists, who I feel lucky to call friends: Felix St. Fort, who was our lead muralist, Diana Gonzalez, and Gabe Tiberino. We had days we were melting in the sun, days we got yelled at, painted in the rain, etc. But...we also had fun, and ended up making this colorful mural located at 34th and Haverford St. in the neighborhood of Mantua in Philly. It's entitled "Finding Mantua." Check it out!

Here are some articles about the project:
http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2008/06/26/comic-verite
http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2008/06/30/focus2.html

small private mural in Trenton, NJ

I have been looking at the "Trenton Makes, the World Takes" bridge for my entire life, and never did I think I would ever get a job to paint a mural of it! The guys at Blaze Bail Bonds Co. in the Mill Hill section of Trenton, NJ had me paint a mural for their lobby area. Here it is, all finished!

PMA Saturday Program Class

Here are some pictures from my class that I teach at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Saturdays. This is the 7-8 year old program. You can find out about the classes they offer there here:http://www.philamuseum.org/education/371-199.html



We do projects based on artwork that is already in the museum. Here are some pictures from the class, to the right is the Indian Shrine Project, below is the Coat of Arms project, and at the bottom is the Sumi Brush Landscapes. All project descriptions are listed below.

My Coat of Arms
Goal: For students to process the idea of a “coat of arms” and to create one of their very own.
Students will use tissue paper and black construction paper to create a coat of arms that contains silhouettes of the different members of their family.

Materials:

1. Black paper
2. Tissue Paper
3. Glue
4. Scissors
5. White or light chalk
6. jewels and other embellishments
7. Colored construction paper

Objects and/or Rooms at the PMA for Reference:

1. Stained Glass – England. Royal Coat of Arms
2. Arms and Armor: Room 247

It’s an animal celebration!

Students will look at Indian art, and look at works such as “Dancing Ganesha.” They will then go back to the classroom, and create their own animal, real or imaginary, that is celebrating (this could be interpreted in many ways, such as changing the gesture of the animal, to putting a party hat on it, and so forth). They will try to find as many animals as possible in the galleries of Indian Art. We will pay special attention to what is REAL and what is IMAGINARY, and explain that in art, you can do either, or both!

Students will paint their animals with glaze, and afterwards, using a paper-mache and tapioca mixture, create a “shrine” like frame for their animal to rest in. We will go back to the Indian art section to find out what sort of frames they used, and do sketches.

Materials:

1. Clay
2. Clay tools
3. Boards for Clay
4. glaze
5. brushes
6. newspaper
7. tapioca mix (I will make at home and bring in)
8. foam or plastic trays

Objects and/or Rooms at the PMA for Reference:

1. Nandi: God Shiva’s Bull 1966-123-1
2. Deity and Gods – Room 229
3. Flute in Forest Show
4. Dancing Ganesha 1971-154-1
5. Sanarian Hall 133-154-1

Japanese Scroll Painting

For students to understand Japanese art motifs and forms, for students to create a dialogue in visual format, for students to use ink and watercolor in a new way. Students will create a long scroll (7” x 5’), which includes the following: Overlapping hills, a castle, a farmer’s house to take care of the crops, river for the crops to grow, sky, and a path to the castle. This can be translated in any way the artist sees fit. In addition, the students will create a story line somewhere in the scroll, similar to the way that the Japanese artists create a story that unfolds and you roll out the scroll. Then students will attach a “scroll-like” paper border with a ribbon to tie the scroll shut.

Materials:

1. Sumi brushes and ink
2. Watercolor paint
3. Rice Paper
4. Weights to hold paper down
5. Origami and other decorative papers
6. Scissors
7. Glue
8. Watercolor Paint
9. Brushes
10. Yarn or nice ribbon

Objects and/or Rooms at the PMA for Reference:

1. Sumida-gawa, Kama-gawa 2002-40-1,2
2. Nine Otsu-e Subjects 2005-129-1
3. Landscape 1929-40-89
4. Ceremony Room – Room 224

Impressionism: What’s the weather like?

Students will choose a type of weather, and create a landscape scene that shows that weather pattern. We will use small dabs of color, like the impressionists, as well as layer color and line quality. In the classroom, each child will choose a landscape of their choice. If we are lucky, and weather permits, we can go outside! If not, I will provide visuals, or they can come up with one on their own. Using thick large paper, students will create a landscape using no black, and layering oil pastels to get an impressionist-like effect. We will discuss the colors of the weather, and what types of line quality will show the way the weather affects the landscape.

Materials:

1. Oil Pastels
2. Bristol Board, or Canvas Paper
3. Pencils
4. Erasers

Objects and/or Rooms at the PMA for Reference:

1. Poplars on the Bank Epte – Claude Monet
2. Bend in the River Near Giverny – Claude Monet
3. In the Park Monceau – Monet
4. The Japanese Footbridge – Monet
5. Other works in room 160 – 165

Rauschenberg: Collage cityscape

Students will use self portrait, and collage materials, along with paint to create a Rauschenberg style painting that represents their favorite place. In the classroom, the instructor will take a photograph of each student with a Polaroid camera. (If this is not available, I will take a picture the week before, and then print them out for the next week). Students will then use mixed media techniques to combine the photograph, with other collage materials to create an idea of their favorite place.

Materials:

1. Polaroid camera and film (or print out pics week before)
2. Magazines and newspapers
3. Acrylic Paint
4. Brushes
5. Water
6. Fabric
7. Matte Medium
8. Gloss Medium
9. Modeling Paste

Objects and/or Rooms at the PMA for Reference:

1. Works in Room 174

Mondrian Maps

Goals: The students will look at the work of Piet Mondrian and create their own simplified abstract composition based on the idea of a map.

Materials:

1. Small Canvases or thick paper.
2. Acrylic Paint: Red, Blue, Red, Black
3. Brushes
4. Water

Procedure: Students will visit the artwork of Piet Mondrian and discuss the differences in each painting, and what stands out to them. We will talk about color mixing, and I will briefly go over primary colors. Then, back in the classroom I will explain that we will be creating a “map” using each color as a symbol for three different places in their imaginary location (for example: red = houses blue = parks yellow = businesses). They will then grid out their design with black, and then fill in with the various colors. I will give them the option to create curvy lines if they wish.

Vocabulary:
1. Piet Mondrian
2. Abstract
3. Non-objective
4. Primary
5. Maps
6. Key

Room in PMA: 188

Amphora Vases

Goals: To learn about Chinese amphora vessels, their usage and type, and for the students to create their own amphora vessel that is specifically designed to a usage that the student creates.

Materials:
1. Terra-Cotta Clay
2. Glazes
3. Clay Tools

Procedure: Students will look at the Chinese tomb amphora vessels and talk about their shape, and their function in relation to their form. Back in the classroom, we will discuss all the various uses for amphora vessels. Then the students will decide a function for their particular vessel, and create the amphora vase to relate to that function.

Vocabulary:
1. Amphora
2. Tang Dynasty
3. Tomb
4. Glazes
5. Terra-Cotta

Room in PMA: Gallery 234

Indian Miniature Paintings

Goals of the Class: Students will create a small painting using gold and bold colors that is reminiscent of an important event in their lives.

Materials:
1. Small canvas
2. Gold Paint or Gold Markers
3. Bright Paint
4. All paint accessories

Procedure: Students will look at various Indian art paintings, and observe both the technique of the painting, and the subject matter. We will learn about some basic stories of the various gods and goddesses. Then, students will go back to the room, and paint a scene of a very important event in their lives, in order to memorialize it.

Vocabulary:
1. Miniature Painting
2. Gold Leaf
3. Memorialize

All lesson plans are original and written by Kathryn Sclavi. Feel free to contact me if you need more details on the projects.

Community Mural at Wissahickon Charter School

I worked with a group of students at Wissahickon Charter in an after school art program from September until June through the Mural Arts Program's Big Picture Department. It's a three day a week after school art program geared around teaching kids drawing and painting skills, as well as community interaction and involvement. The end of the year focuses on creating a mural for the community, created and designed by the students.

We had a good year, many ups and downs. Our theme was "Restoring Spaces" so our mural surrounds the theme of our local neighborhood, and how we could go about restoring it, both metaphorically and actually. The windows in the mural are done by individual students, featuring their "visions" of restoring their local community. The outer border of the mural are linoleum block stamps, each made by the individual students that feature the tools we would need to restore our community. Some examples are practical things, such as hammers and saws, as well as more symbolic things, such as eyes and hands holding.

In the end, we created a colorful mural for the basketball court at the school. The kids were proud of the work they had created, and the school was really thankful to get some color on the wall of the otherwise bland playing area.