This is your last week in your schools. I have emailed all of your teachers to email me a list of supplies from Dick Blick. Please remind them. We will meet face-to-face Tuesday May 9th and again for our final exam. There are Yeh books in B-12. Please try to get the reading done and especially look at the images.
For this Week:
Continue reading in the Yeh book Chapter 6: pp. 124-131
-The remaining part of this chapter was about bookmaking and self.
Chapter 7: pp. 133-169
We will read and have due the last chapter, Chapter 8, pp. 170-195 due Tuesday, May 9th when we meet in B-12 from 9-10.50 am
You still have time to catch up with past posts, so please do if you are behind. Post those under the weeks you missed. Thanks, Ed Check
The last part of Chapter 6 talks about exhibitions and student bookmaking about themselves. What did you think of their work and ideas?
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DeleteWhen reading the second part of chapter 6, I thought it was great that they got a new exhibition room to provide more space. Although having more space was an issue, I think it was a great way to have the ability to display more art that lead to interesting things like bookmaking. I also love the idea of having a festival! It is great idea to get rid of stress and even though it has yet to happen, I hope it will someday. Yen’s other idea of having the students make a book is amazing. I have currently created three different books this semester and though it has been stressful, I love the way they have turned out and I think it is a great skill to have. The ability to use type and image side by side is great to show what the students are feeling and explain the concepts that are behind the drawings. I find it interesting that their work itself does have some deeper content to it. For example, A Dream-producing Picture involved a basketball and how you must aim for the goal instead of being distracted by other things. This describes so many of us who have so much on our plates. Sometimes we just need to sit back and realize our goal and aim for it.
DeleteReading the last part of chapter 6 made me think alot about doing a project like this when I start teaching. its a way to get the kids to open up about them selfs, and not be put back on it cause they dont have to say anything about it. I personally would rather draw something to show my self than to talk about my self anyday. So i can personally relate to how the kids that have had a hard life liking this way better. Which they also learn how to make books while doing it.
DeleteThe idea of a festival sounds so fun to me. At the new elementary school in my hometown, they have a Big Art Day and it reminds me of the festival she mentions. Also, the bookmaking is interesting because I never really heard about it until I started college and I think it would have been fun to do as a project as well. I think the book is good as a workshop for younger ages but the high schoolers could really benefit, I think, from being able to express themselves in that way. She mentioned some of their pages were a little rough since they only had an hour and a half to complete the pages but that they still were energized and jumped right in, which shows how interested they were in it. I think she has some really fun ideas and like Brittany said, I hope they get to do the festival.
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DeleteChapter 7: Personal Journeys and Cultural Heritage: Developing Awareness Locally and Globally (pp. 132-169)
ReplyDeleteThere is lots of text and images in this chapter. What did you think about how the transformations at the school? Were you surprised at any of the students' personal journeys?
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DeleteThe transformations that happened at the beginning was very interesting because of the challenges they faced. However, this only got the students more involved by having them pass bricks or seeing their reaction to the rainbow to broaden the stripes. I love how she made the rainbow showering the campus and how in the end it blends in with the sky on somedays. The picture of the finished project was gorgeous and I love hearing how sweet the Dandelion faculty and kids are. To me, her use of symbols is great; like the Feng Huang and other animals that are drawn from folk art that connects so much to the students’ and teachers’ lives. This form of tying the students back to their past is also seen in Yeh’s workshops which I think is great. Reading the stories that the children put in their mapping was upsetting because they are so young to have gone through so much. My personal journey by Zhang Bung Xin was saddening because of his injury that put the family in debt, but I found Le Peng Fei’s story the most interesting because of the evil place that would cause cars to quit and animals to die.
DeleteFrom how everything looked at the beginning of the books to how everything at the school looked at the end there was a huge difference. It is beautiful what they did to change that school to something better for the kids. As of kids stories i agree with Brittany that Zhang bung xin was the one that got me the most and was very sad.
DeleteI loved the idea of changing the shape of the roofline because she said it looked utilitarian so they made it wavy. It was also nice that they used the rainbow over the school because it made it look even happier and more fun. Also, it was a great idea to use some artworks from the Han Dynasty as inspiration since some of the migrant workers originated from the same area. The artworks came out so beautiful too. The story from Zhang Ting was interesting because it was almost like a short poem and the others were paragraphs. It was sad to hear about the earthquake and I never thought that could have been the source of their hardships but the student's art and writing went together well.
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DeleteWhat did you think about the different lessons used? There were workshops for students and teachers. What surprised you about those?
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DeleteThe teacher’s project of their personal map was interesting since most only came from one providence. This caused trouble with the artwork lacking content but their ability to continue pushing through was great. I thought it was also important to see the student’s reactions to the painting big and painting together. By bringing this project that has shown up before, gives us clues as to what the students like and feel. I do think I might have been one of the students complaining about the project being too busy and chaotic since clean and simple is in my graphic design nature. These workshops are amazing in inspiring creativity and happiness within both students and teachers. I also loved how they explored the area around the school. This learning experience for both Yeh and the students was amusing because the students depicted one area and Yeh wanted everything to be shown on the map.
DeleteThe lessons that where used in this booked worked for that school. They are worked hard on making the kids enjoy art and show their story. My favorite I think was the book lesson which really suprised me. Because I never would have done it the way they had done it in a million years. Which shows all the different ways people think.
DeleteLike I mentioned before, I think the bookmarking workshop was a good idea. It surprised me that they were able to finish in such a short amount of time but the idea of making a book to let the students express themselves sounds fun. I'd like to use that in the future as a lesson or maybe a longer workshop. Also, Lily using the Han Dynasty as inspiration for the mosaics on the school was interesting. Although doing a mosaic on the school itself is usually not possible, maybe a smaller mosaic lesson could work out. I think it's a good way for students to use a different medium and see the possibilities of materials that they wouldn't have thought could be used for art: glass, tiles, or even plastic. Another thing that surprised me was doing a workshop for the teachers. It's a great way to include them and let them show their creativity. Paper cutting can be used in the most simple of ways or it can become very complex and, again, that's a good way for students to use a different material for art.
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DeleteThe campus was greened and lots of nature was used throughout. What is your take on the discovering resources in the neighborhood through mapping? Mapping also entailed telling stories.What did you think of their stories?
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DeleteI think that nature is a very important issue to the students. It showed up within the first pages and has continued throughout the book, so the inclusion of trees into the school must have been an immense joy. The mapping of the neighborhood unfolded even a deeper desire with nature as one of the students stated how they wished they could plant trees in the surrounding area to make the place more beautiful and have cleaner air. The mapping of the students’ emotions were very powerful. The first one was about how beautiful the child’s life was before an earthquake that made them move to Beijing to be in the Dandelion school were they are now able to dream again. Like I mentioned in my previous comment, I was shocked that so many had experienced such tragedy at an early age. By reading their stories it is clear many have moved around a lot, so the mapping exercise is very important in anchoring their roots.
DeleteMapping is a way to show where they are and what roots they are from. Each student had a differrent story and and their own greatness and horror that they have lived through. With nature everything has its up and downs. That it has to go through. The emotions from these students are very powerful and makes you second guess your self on how everything is for you.
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