Effervescence!

It's been a while since writing on this blog as I've been engrossed in a fabulous first term of art classes for this year. It felt so good to be back with my young artists helping them see things up close and observe their world from as many different viewpoints as possible using an array of drawing materials. Here's a snippet of some of the things we got up to over the 8 weeks.

This term of drawing kicked off with looking at cave paintings... our very first form of mark making as visual communication. My young artists and I sat around a 'pretend' fire pit and created our own cave drawings using the charcoal from the fire pit! It was so much fun drawing around our hands and exploring the many different ways in which charcoal can be used to make marks. My young artists liked working on the floor so much, they requested to continue working on the floor the following week!

My young artists also jumped at the chance to work together making collaborative magic spells using 'ingredients' made from observation drawings, cutting them out and collaging the drawings onto a swirling pot of mark making of chalk pastels and paint, blending all materials together with their hands and fingers! So much mess but oh so much fun!

While the young artists were making spells and hands prints, my high school artists were having an education in unusual vegetables! They played with sticks, ink and water making marks and allowing the ink 'to do its own thing'. The result?... young artists not being hung up on perfecting photorealism but getting excited about what 'could' happen when using sticks, ink and water.

The end of this term was marked with a lot of people affected by COVID, either having COVID or being close contacts of someone with COVID. My family haven't been spared... I haven't let this stop me from being inspired by the positive energy built up over the 8 weeks. Being in insolation, due to one of my daughter's testing positive at the beginning of the week I revisited a painting I've had sat in my studio for a year or two. I've not had the desire or time to finish it up until now. The painting is now as finished as it ever will be. I have called it 'Effervescence' as a response to my life right now and the positive energy passed between my young artists and myself this past term.

'Effervescence'

60x60cm

mixed media, acrylic

POR