3D Paper Construction (14yrs)

This project took place in Japan with my 3rd Yr group. Until this point the projects I had taught had been very methodically taught, step by step and fairly prescriptive in order to achieve the outcome. According to my experiences whilst training in the UK, students in this age group can be capable of generating and researching material for their own ideas. Also for this year group a certain amount of technical ability regarding 3D construction work can be expected as most students will meet 3D processes in CDT (craft design and technology), Maths and Home Economics.
When I began this project in Japan I wondered how the students would cope with having more freedom and whether I could encourage them to think first, research, design and then make. The reason I wanted to do this is because I had witnessed too many ‘Do it like this’projects in other Japanese schools which saddened me in the light of the age group.

First Choose
The group were presented with two construction projects;
1. Produce a fantasy mask/hat that describes you and your interests.
2. Produce an animals head using paper to show textures and features.


Procedure
In order to develop awareness about the qualities of paper, all the students produced a paper sample board (see photo) to explore paper in terms of creating textured surfaces. At this time I also showed some basic construction techniques such as scoring, making nets and tabbing (glue tabs).

From here the group divided and began their projects. As the projects progressed, I encountered gaps in the students ability. I was surprised at first that design skills, idea sketches etc and research were so difficult. Despite having a library and Internet access, physically getting the students to find reference material and use it, took longer than it should have. Similarly they found it difficult to solving construction problems. Because of their age I did not want to ‘spoon feed’ every step. I really wanted them to find their own methods and try out different ideas.
Another aspect that was difficult for the Hat /Mask group was identifying themselves. They didn't seem to be able think symbolically about what represented their interests. The discussion amongst them was almost silent. Getting feedback took a lot of time. It was also very hard to move the girls away from cute, pretty and anime style images. As I mentioned before characterisation is rampant in Japanese youth culture, as is cuteness. The final pieces (see photos) show this effect. I doubt that UK students work would include so many of these elements.

The second project had more boundaries than the first. There was no opening for characterisation as the references came from real animal photos. Similarly the limitation to white paper and card also eliminated pop colour schemes. With respect to the sample sheet produced at the beginning, these student quickly noticed its relevance when faced with recreating fur, fleece, skin and hair.

As a teacher this project taught me about the importance of knowing students previous learning experiences. On reflection I can see where the holes are in this scheme of work. If I were to teach the Hat project again I would tighten the brief. However the tightening would depend on the country.

In Japan the students would need an additional project somewhere in their art programme that specifically examines Self. In the UK, I would limit the materials to white card and paper and so the students would be forced to use texture and shadow more. I can not gauge this, but the perhaps the form onto which the hat or mask was built could be limited so that more time can be spent on the expression of self rather than the hat shape itself. This I realise is not ideal as it alters the expression to a form of decoration in some ways.

Drawing Stages in Japan (14yrs)

These photos represent a small cross-section of my students work, beginning with the process decribed in the previous blog. When this project was taught in the UK is was taught over four lessons. In Japan I was able to teach the project over six to eight lessons. This allowed me to build technique knowledge and to slowly introduce the students to aspects of drawing they were new to.


Drawings from Imagination
As you can see, these images were simple and in this case imaginative. In Japan many everyday objects are characterised when they appear as anime. Students will often add a face to anything given the chance!







Quick Sketches and Ellipses
These drawings show the early stages of ellipse
practice on scrap paper. The drawings are lively and energetic.

























Composition Various Mediums

With more time, these compositions show a progression and a certain sophistication. Overall the observation is much more accurate. The picture left used toothbrush and ink, those below brush and ink and pen and ink.







Final Compositions
The final drawings were made onto prepared backgrounds. Students used the medium they felt most comfortable/confident with. The examples below were made using correction pen, bamboo pen and ink and brush and ink.

Drawing

For some reason drawing always manages to extract a groan from children and adults alike.
This is a great shame because drawing is an extremely rewarding activity. From a teaching perspective it's exciting because I often find plenty surprises from my students. However I have discovered that in order to find something fresh, some of the students own residue negativity must be brushed off. For most people great drawings don't happen immediately. I feel drawing needs time, air and a certain type of attitude to allow emotions, eyes and hands to coordinate because it's a skill we don't use in everyday life for the most part.

Project Introduction
The next project was at first taught during teaching practice in Reading, UK and then repeated again in Yamagata ken, Japan with my 2nd and 3rd year students at junior high school.
In both cases I had noticed that students had great difficulty drawing objects where ellipses occurred. Often the ellipse was draw in two parts and had points or corners where the near edge appeared to join the far edge. Attending to this problem would I hoped help students feel more confident when facing still-life projects later in the term and beyond.
The first two pieces are final drawings made by Yr10. The following pictures show some of the stages carried out in Japan before the final drawing was made.

The Initial Stages
I wrote four words on the board; teacup, wine glass, teapot and bowl. I asked the students to think for a few moments and imagine what these objects looked like. Using scrap paper and pens, they drew their imagined objects. For the most part the objects were devoid of shading and were mostly an outline form. Students then moved about the room and looked at each others drawings.
On each table I then placed one of the listed objects and instructed the students to carefully look at the shape, texture and position while drawing. This time students were given five minutes to complete each drawing using a pencil on scrap paper, then rotated to the next table.
At the end of this exercise the students compared their fantasy drawings to the real observed version. In the UK, table led discussion worked well, but in Japan students had trouble talking together. However the difference in the perceived objects and the real was very clear. The real objects showed more depth and this brought up the subject of ellipses.
From here, once again on scrap paper I asked the students to loosen their wrists, to make endless circles and elliptical shapes freely, to switch between pen and pencil. I asked students to try creating a series of stacked ellipses and to join them together using a line down the left and right sides. This was when the technique began to click, especially with the boys.
The next stages were drawing exercises set up around compositions of crockery, bottles and glasses where students used different media, soft pencils, toothbrushes and ink, pens (biro, felt, marker) and bamboo pens and ink. Students worked to show shading, form, line and texture. I demonstrated different shading techniques and encouraged them to be as experimental as possible. Groups rotated around the media tables. My hope was that they would find a style they liked using and felt comfortable with.
The end of each lesson closed with students looking at the work done by everyone. I asked them to think about what they had discovered and how they had improved since last lesson and what had they seen that they liked.

As the students drawing confidence grew we prepared the backgrounds for the final pieces. Again this was to extend their experiences of techniques and the qualities of ink. Personally, I am very interested in Japanese ink paintings and like how much texture and atmosphere can be created with brushes, water and ink alone. Once again I demonstrated some techniques to the students and encouraged experimentation.
Finally each student had at least two good backgrounds and sample papers too. The samples were used as tests when the student drew using bleach and correction pens or as warm-ups for the final pieces.

Having read through this procedure, it may seem long-winded, however I was very pleased with the outcomes at each stage because it was easy to see and feel the students confidence growing. My overall aim was to allow enough time for them to actually understand what they were doing and to experience ways to draw unique to themselves. The additional benefits were that ellipses were no longer an issue and that they realised they didn't always need to use pencils to draw with.

Ceramics

Although my own discipline is graphics, I do also really enjoy ceramics. I am very sorry that I haven't had the opportunity to put much more time into this area on a personal level.

However during teaching practice I did get the chance to teach ceramics to a Yr9 group.

The brief assigned via the department head was to make a vase which looks like the one pictured. It's quite an odd piece, not really a vase, but not sculpture either.

The reason it looks like this was that the pupils were to consolidate two techniques that had learnt in Yr7 and Yr8. The two skills were slab construction and pinch pots.

As the training teacher my freedom came in the form the decoration should take. I chose a new method (for me) away from painted glaze or textured surface. The method was 'Scraffito' or scratch technique.

The final shape reminded me of joints, be they plumbing joints or bone joints. Pipe work or bones became the decoration for the outside. Students took time during the drying process to make observation drawings of old rusty pipes, taps, animal bones and skulls. They used a variety of drawing techniques including biro, technical pencil, pen and ink (metal and bamboo nibs). Using fine nibs meant they could feel the scratchy style of drawing the clay surface would provide.

I encouraged students to experiment with cross-hatching and short strokes for shading.

After the biscuit firing students applied oxide blotches. The blotches were where the students drew/scratched on their joint drawings. The scratched strokes removed the oxide glaze. Finally the vase was dipped in an opaque glaze that allowed the oxide to take effect and show the drawn decoration beneath.

Although the final piece was quite strange looking, the work completed was successful. Students showed good technical understanding in the making and decorative stages. However were I required to set a new scheme of work to utilise slab construction and pinch pots the final outcome would look different.

First Print Project

Out of the various projects I taught, this print project remains one of my favourites.

'A Room with a View' was completed by a Yr7 group.

The inspiration behind the scheme of work had come from a visit to Tate Modern some time before. As a designer I am often drawn to graphic styles of art. I was struck by the work of David Hockney and especially Patrick Caulfield. I liked the simplicity and the contrast employed by Caulfield where he painted a tiny part of the composition very realistically. The starting point for this project with my pupils were postcards of Caulfield's 'After Lunch' and 'Interior with a Picture'.

I felt the block and linear type designs would work well with a poly-tile print.

Students initially made sketches from inside their homes with the request that part of the sketch could partially show a mirror, a window, an open doorway or surface top in addition to the other furniture and objects in the room.

Parts of the drawing were selected and simplified, then transferred to the tiles.Decisions were made about which parts of the tile would be printed in what colour. The tiles were then divided into their colour components or tiles were printed once with further over-printing taking place later.

The prints were made onto intensely coloured paper, pink, orange, yellow, green, red and white.

Where students had included windows or mirrors, I encouraged them to find scenes from photos or magazines to insert in these spaces. Similarly other students worked into their prints with oil pastels to add further colour and strength.