I've been a bit absent around here lately, I know. For those of you asking for photos from Remi's trip, I'm still waiting for him to download the photos he took for me, although he did put some on facebook. Apparently he had issues with his camera battery so he didn't take as many as I'd hoped. He seemed to have had a great time, although we have heard very little about the trip apart from the little he told us on the first night he got home, after we'd said no, he couldn't go out with his friends!
As for me, well I'm pressing on with teaching myself to be a teacher again. I spend hours every day, reading, taking notes, finding new artists, exploring ideas, designing and writing up units to IB specifications etc. And I am loving it. I'm still helping out with the 2 textiles classes a week (and loving it) and this week I was fortunate enough to help out with a ceramics class as well (only because they were behind). I call it my unpaid job and I cannot express how much I'm enjoying doing this. I only wish that I could legitimize it all somehow. I would be really, really sad if I couldn't keep doing it in some way shape or form.
Anyway, as part of all my research, I'm learning about the importance in the International Baccalaureate program of the work book in art. And while I have toyed with the idea of sketch books in the past, it's not something I have really pushed myself to do. (I usually only use the first 10- 20 pages or so...). I love the look of artists sketch/journal books; with notes and techniques and bits and pieces tucked away. So in order to "know what you teach" I've decided I need to push myself to keep my own work book.
To begin with I am cheating a bit and going back over my collection of sketches and paintings and doing a bit of a cut and paste, but I am also forcing myself to write about the work; what I like, what I don't, what inspired me, what I'd like to work more on. I also got my water colours out this week and had a play which was fun.
As for me, well I'm pressing on with teaching myself to be a teacher again. I spend hours every day, reading, taking notes, finding new artists, exploring ideas, designing and writing up units to IB specifications etc. And I am loving it. I'm still helping out with the 2 textiles classes a week (and loving it) and this week I was fortunate enough to help out with a ceramics class as well (only because they were behind). I call it my unpaid job and I cannot express how much I'm enjoying doing this. I only wish that I could legitimize it all somehow. I would be really, really sad if I couldn't keep doing it in some way shape or form.
Anyway, as part of all my research, I'm learning about the importance in the International Baccalaureate program of the work book in art. And while I have toyed with the idea of sketch books in the past, it's not something I have really pushed myself to do. (I usually only use the first 10- 20 pages or so...). I love the look of artists sketch/journal books; with notes and techniques and bits and pieces tucked away. So in order to "know what you teach" I've decided I need to push myself to keep my own work book.
To begin with I am cheating a bit and going back over my collection of sketches and paintings and doing a bit of a cut and paste, but I am also forcing myself to write about the work; what I like, what I don't, what inspired me, what I'd like to work more on. I also got my water colours out this week and had a play which was fun.
It's a great exercise to do for myself, particularly if at any point I'm going to be asking it of others. I am actually surprised that it wasn't something we were required to do when I studied art at high school, and perhaps that's why I've never really been able to get into it. I'm also having a great time with pinterest, finding new artists, inspiring paintings etc. I do have an actual folder of inspiration from magazines, but having a lot of visual images in neat little virtual folders there at the finger tips (rather in a folder tucked away somewhere in a box somewhere in a room, and perhaps actually in America) is fantastic.
Oh and I did get totally sucked in to watching The Great British Sewing Bee on youtube this week! All 4 episodes...twice actually because when I told Ella about it she wanted to watch it with me too. And I finally found a real proper book shop here. One with the biggest section of (horrendously expensive) art books that I've ever seen anywhere in the world. I was in heaven...but kind of an overwhelmed heaven. I wanted to just move in and live there. They EVEN had a quite substantial craft section.
If in all that research you actually come across any artist apart from Du Champ of course who actually uses and acknowledges using plate glass (flat glass) as an actual art material in their work as opposed to merely framing with it please let me know.
ReplyDeleteRegarding poncy art journals, it was interesting how much emphasis they (our first and second year teachers) put on them and continually emphasized their importance...which was a real problem for me because my handwritten journal was for me all about hand writing practice which was an objective in itself, one that I did not want to interrupt with anything else, writing still being much more of a challenge than drawing/painting etcetera, which is why I started my art article blog to compensate for the difficulties involved in doing an "art journal" the way "they" thought an art journal should be done...and it may be an interesting and useful tool to have your own art blog on which to post links to arty stuff you come across, obviously flasher than mine but perhaps a very useful additional teaching tool down the track.
Interestingly Neil,the boss of school, who last week announced he is taking a new job as THE head of Visual Arts for all of La Trobe Uni (based in Bendigo, not Melbourne) and Kristian, the head of our honours programme and third year, both of whom are finishing their PhDs, do not keep "arts journals" in the style to which you refer...I suspect it is very much a stage of becoming an artist project for some.
That said it was quite amazing how much those who really worked on their journals (it should be said mainly gals around 20 years old) got from their very extensive and complicated Visual Arts journals.
loving that journal Georgia...i saw some gorgeous handmade paper journal books in a shop in Deloraine on friday...these would have been up your alley.the artist had made amazing material covers which were all stitched with a machine forming an art piece..(kicking myself for not taking a pic now )..XXXXX
ReplyDeleteHi Georgia, LOVE the workbook - can we see some more pages please? Maybe I'll get inspired! xx
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