Art Is Messy

I love interestingly designed everyday objects. Give me a quirky looking tooth paste holder and I will love it forever.

While searching the web today I came across the Boskkye Sky Planter. Some smart designer figured out a way to make a normal flower pot that you only have to water once or twice a month and uses up to 80% less water. Genius! (No, I do not hold stock in this company or work on commission.)

This planter got me thinking about applications for the classroom. This would make a great visual resource for an art lesson on industrial design. You could challenge students to redesign an everyday object in a fresh, thoughtful and unique way. The final project could be done in almost any media: pencil, paint, a 3D computer model, or a sculpture. The lesson could be extended further by asking students to design packaging or an advertising campaign for their product.

This weather this past weekend was almost picture perfect. The fall air was crisp and cool. The sky was kind of blue. Not too shabby for a November weekend in Shanghai. David and I couldn’t let this weather go to waste so we set out to explore some of Shanghai’s contemporary art scene. We stopped in the M97 gallery on Moganshan Lu. This contemporary photography gallery is always a joy to visit. Their current show is called the Esquisite Corpse. It’s a photographic play on the famouse Surrealist game. Each photograph is linked to the photos next to it by some sort of visual element. It’s a good sampling of well known and up and coming Chinese photographers. I am particulary fond of Jiang Zhi, Lu Jun, and Yang Yi. I also really like the works of James Whitlo Delano.

In addition to the work, I absolutely love Steven, the gallery owner. He always spends a tremendous amount of time talking to David and I about art and life in Shanghai-two of my favorite topics!

My second graders just finished working on crayon and watercolor family portraits. Here are some examples of their work:

My fourth graders just completed a friendship collage project. Their task was to design a ‘quilt’ that uses patterns and silhouettes to depict an activity that they enjoy doing with their friends. Here are some of their images.

Earlier in the year, I took my 5th grade students to the Old Qing Pu elementary school. SAS students partnered with the migrant school students to create greeting card designs about peace. Here are some of their finished work: