open sesame.
i don't think i've mentioned it on here, but i've been volunteering at my old high school. it's been a consistent three weeks, so it's worth mentioning now. last week i gave the grade 12 portfolio class my first assignment. i'm learning the importance of very strict guidelines.
in college we don't know what to do when we are given open assignments, but we always try to twist things when the instructions are very rigid. these kids aren't much different.
anyway, my first assignment was inspired by a page in "caffeine for the creative mind" by stefan mumaw & wendy lee oldfield.. a sparkling little gem i stumbled across on amazon one day. it's full of short little exercises that anyone can do to boost their creative juicies. yes, juicies.
so basically what i had my group of 5 do a self-portrait, they cringed.. so i said it could be realistic, caricature.. whatever. the hair could be any shape, any colour.. but had to be composed completely of text.. words describing them, their interests, anything that has to do with them.. and a minimum of three media had to be used.
the basic idea was to introduce me to them, and it's also going to be something to look back on at the end of the semester.
i promised to do the assignment with them, so mine is up above. self-portraits are still a challenge for me, but i was also rushed. that's my story, and i'm sticking to it.
yesterday we had our little group critique. all but one brought their portraits in, and it was nice to see that they really did put an honest effort in. there was also a wide variety in style.. and i didn't expect it, but each one had so much to say in their "hair".. small and slightly incoherent in the best way possible. never give yourself away. one girl used text messages she had sent to various friends. i like how they took the initiative to decide what they wanted to say, and it still had something to do with them.
frustration was expressed with my portrait on the table, but that wasn't my goal. i'm hoping that it inspires a little. i'm beginning to formulate what i want to achieve with this class this year.
mixed media is a biggie - i'm hoping that i can show them how much dimension and variety multiple media usage can give, and how many things can be used to make art that you wouldn't normally think of
portraits - we are going to do several. i have learned so much by drawing portraits.. if you can get someone's face to look right, it's such a big lesson in proportion that can be applied to almost everything in art.. and nothing is more gratifying than drawing a face that looks a little alive
composition - i don't have alot to say about it, but i'm sick of the center.
and finally, exhausting your creativity and ideas until you break through to something else.. which is what we are working on for assignment number two. i did a mild version of an assignment i had in second year illustration where we had to do 90 reproductions of a simple object. my little high schoolers are doing 30 for me. they have to use 5 different media, and the rest is up to them. they will get stuck at 10. and that is the point.
i love this.
and today, i did something new. i bought virgin honeycomb at one of my many jobs after work. i ate it, too. i wasn't sure if i was supposed to swallow the wax as well, but it kind of turned into a natural chewing gum after a few minutes, and i decided that i didn't want that in my stomach.
i also got my favourite granola, the only hippie mix i'd ever pay $10 for.. but i get a discount so that makes it ok.
..and some ezekiel bread. sesame.
closed sesame.
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