CRAZYTRUCK

Well, we have been doing a lot of wonderful things in our art classes at Firstlight; most recently in Foundations and Expressions, watercolor projects. Learning how to do watercolor is very hard, but the students have understood our key concepts that make it easier. Great paintings have been the result.

This past week we’ve been doing our first 2 Color Journals of the year, appropriately the red and green journal pages. In January, we will continue some color work, with the exclusive Firstlight Color Star. It’s like a color wheel, only better. If you want to know more about what makes it special, read my post from a couple of years ago. We also learn about how mixing opposite colors creates the most vibrant and useful neutrals, instead of relying on brown and black pigments. This is how the impressionists did it.

Next week we’ll have an Artist’s Choice day, which is great for self-expression and/or catching up on work that is unfinished.

The KidsART classes for the younger kids have lessons about fun things they’re interested in, and that teach as they work. This week is fun with snow, snowpeople, and even some photography!

Then we have the last week before our break. We’ll be having lots of fun in all of the classes, even the toons, with our GINGERBREAD HOUSE PROJECT! we do this every two years and it’s a blast. We have a party, make the coolest houses and get sticky. What could be more fun?  The cardboard house and the royal icing (we make ourselves) is Firsltight’s Christmas gift to the students.

Thank you

I am emphasizing my thanks. Without you, we would be sitting around wondering what to do all day.

Without emphasis, a painting leaves it’s viewers wondering where to look.

At Firstlight, we teach vital concepts like emphasis in our classes but we try to reduce abstract ideas like this to a more concrete term: Emphasis becomes “The Most Important Spot” and negative space becomes “the Air around the shapes”. This is how we take adult concepts and teach them to kids. We’ll be working on the most important spot over the next few weeks.

We also like to emphasize a couple of other things that are unbelievably important for artists

ENCOURAGEMENT

PRACTICE

In the world of art, most schools do not emphasize either of these. In my son’s freshman art classes in college, as well as my own, um,… a few years back, the emphasis was on discouragement. The idea is to “weed out” the people who can’t make a living at art so they won’t be… dare I say it: failures. This can be viewed as a logical goal. However, a problem occurs when all of the people who made it through the system start teaching art to younger people and use the same approach; “don’t do it that way!”; “no! stop that, it’s all wrong”; “you’ve made a mess. start over”; “you can do better than that”. It’s very common, because not only is that the way traditional art is taught, it’s pretty much the way we react to anything we think is not “correct” in some way. It’s a natural tendency.

But we believe this approach only serves to destroy an artist’s ambitions. Art must come from within. And within, is often a person who is scared to death that they don’t have enough talent and is already their worst critic. Pointing out things we don’t like is both obvious and confirms those fears to any artist who wants to improve.

We try very hard to let paintings and drawings become what each artist does, instead of the way we would do it. This gets pretty tricky when you start teaching specific techniques and concepts, but it can be done without applying rights and wrongs to the results. And it can be done without false statements, because those are definitely NOT encouraging.

Our first order of business, then, is to encourage. It takes some work to change our ways, but we keep after it.

The other thing, practice, has not been applied to art learning very much, and that is bewildering. For some reason we think that learning to dance or jump on a balance beam means a kid will fall a lot before they become awesome, or when we see a strike out, we aren’t freaked out. Yet when we see a “learner” by a young artist we become afraid that they don’t have talent. Art is so mysterious, and we are often asked if we think a child has that unknowable, “IT”. We respond with, “do they love doing it?” because if they do, then that is it.

There are “mediocre talents” who make the big time, and starving geniuses who are unmotivated or unappreciated. No one thought Van Gogh was any good at all in his day. Andy Warhol was famous for a lot more than 15 minutes, but his work is not that exciting today. (oh come on, you have to agree – he’s no Van Gogh). Also, Vincent kept all of his learners and they’re only valuable because he painted them. It’s no wonder art is confusing to us.

So please do not worry about artwork that comes home that is not beautiful or even finished. We are practicing! That is why we use the least expensive but enjoyable-to-use materials we know of. 15 sheets of canvas and 10 tubes of paint does not mean we will send home 15 gorgeous paintings this year. Just like an end of year recital will have just a few songs, we hope to see just a few keepers. (With the cost of framing, that’s a good thing too!)

Also, try not to disagree when your young artists hates a work. Instead of encouraging them, it communicates that their viewpoint is invalid. Ask why they don’t like it, respect their view, and let it be what they want; “a learner that you happen to like anyway”. (You can offer to “throw it away” for them.)

Always, if you have questions, please feel free to ask (end of class please, not at the beginning), or send an email to any of us.

Thanks!
Dennas
dd@firstlightart.org

Next weekend will be Firstlight’s 5th artshow, and the first time we’ll have the show in our own studios.

I am always amazed at the caliber of work that comes in and goes up on the walls, but I am more amazed at how this event impacts students, their families, and their friends. Everyone who shows up says they are so happy that they took the time to come. It’s one of those things that sounds like it will be “kinda-sorta ok-ish fun”, yet if you make it, you immediately change that assement to, “can’t miss this!!” and, “I wish everyone I knew was here!”

So, I guess I’m saying that you can’t miss this! I wish everyone I knew was going to be there.

We will have lots of paintings, charcoals, pencil drawings, and sculpture, but that’s not all. We will also have comic books, an animated film, 20 painted chairs, 15 stools, a wall mural, 2 door murals, several benches, and of course, a very unusual truck. All of these are the collective group efforts of each class. It’s quite a visual treat. (and we have refreshments, so yummy treats as well)

I hope to see you there!

It’s May. Seems to me that in this month, everyone has so much to do that they’re completely overwhelmed. (I think the word mayhem derives from the root word, “may”). When it comes to art and creativity, total freedom to do anything you want is overwhelming too.

That’s why artists need problems to solve and boundaries that give us a sense of direction.

All of the classes at Firstlight are working on these fantastic group projects. The truck gets painted. All of our chairs, stools, and various other furniture, doors and walls are being transformed into new and wonderful visual art.

The way the kids come up with ideas is one of my favorite things we get to be a part of at the school. They have to solve the problem of working together with all of their individuality and different styles. It’s a challenge, and of course, that leads to more creativity. There’s also the challenge of creating a work of art that also has a function. The classic “form vs. function” conundrum. Artists have had to combine these two opposing ideas for centuries, and some think that it hinders artists to have to do so. Commercial art is so gauche!

I love all kinds of art, and to make a living at it, it’s good to be able to solve the commercial use issue. Of course, it’s also great to be able to create without having to also be useful, but that kind of freedom is both rare, and hard to manage. In the practical real world, it is always a more pleasant place to live in when artists devote themselves to bringing beauty to utility.

Think about where you like to be. Starbucks, even if you don’t like coffee, is nice because it’s designed well. Walmart is not. We like Target marginally better because it’s a cooler place. The pocketbook rules us, but if the prices were the same I’d always be at Target.

I like to see art brought to things that don’t normally have paint on them. Like a 22 year old pickup truck. The truck is being painted like outer space, but with a wacky artistic bent. Of course. there’s a cow in space, as well as a family of flying toasters with a pet flying chair. You’ll also find some candy canes and a sofa out in space along with the more expected planets and things. Art is turning something blah and considerably ugly into a wonderful bit of culture and connection.
We do it every May, and this is our 5th year of it.

The crazytruck also represents the school and brings us new students. It’s marketing, it’s transportation, it’s learning – many functions as well as form. So too, are the pet animal chairs, the bathroom door that is becoming a sliced up portrait, the fantasy tree benches, and the mural of animals on the wall. Artists are making our studio special in a way that only a group that works together can do. In a way that only a series of difficult problems to solve will facilitate.

I love it!

“I think I’ll write a blog post”, I say to myself.

Here’s how it goes. First, I click on my handy “ME” bookmark folder to look for the blog page. It’s not there. Somehow I never got around to making a blog shortcut. It takes a number of steps but I get it done pretty quick. Not too much delay and I feel so productive to have streamlined my workflow a little bit more.

Next, I log into my blog page. That’s easy because I use a nifty program that saves my passwords so I can just click once to get into the blog. Well, after I find the login link. Oh, there it is at the bottom of the page. Then I can log in easy, right after using the inhuman password to unlock the password saving program.

I’m in! Hmmm. This page is way too complicated, so I decide to clean it up a bit before I begin blogging. Oops, there’s a notice that’s been nagging me about upgrading the blog software. Yeah, I better not put that off any longer if I want to start rearranging things. So I click to update and remember that I should always backup before I install the new stuff. How do I backup? I can’t remember that, so I click on a link and do a search for backup info. Hey look, there are plugins that make it automated. So I do a search on those. Oh, but wait, I think I may have one of those in my plugin folder already. Ok, then I need to check that. Click, click, click. Sure enough, there is one. But it’s out of date too, so it will take just a bit of work…

Pause.

Before blogging I need to update the plugin so that I can backup the blog software, so that I can update the blog software, so that I can rearrange the page so that it reads better and doesn’t have so much distraction.

Did I say distraction?

I just started writing this blog post instead.

For the assignment, the words didn’t really have to say anything, but I was blown away by what I read.

I asked our computer class to make a newsletter to work on layout. The text was only needed to fill the space, so I said just make something up. This is what I read on Noemi’s page:

I remember myself doing a color drawing for a project in school. The best drawing would receive an award, and I thought mine was the best, and I was very proud of my drawing.  So I took it to class, and when it was time to show it to my teacher, I stood up and walked up to him.. When he saw my drawing, he liked it, but something was wrong.  He kept looking at it, and said to me, “Did you use your fingers to spread the color?”  I proudly said, “Yes!” He told me I was disqualified.

I was 11 years old, just a little girl. I was really sad. This traumatic moment marked my life and since then never use my fingers or any tool. I only use color pencil or a paint brush.”I GOT HANDCUFFED by my old teacher”

Now, I’m 23 years old and thanks to GOD; I met Mr. Dennas, my art teacher, he is amazing. He has taught me more than I expect. In Mr. Dennas class I feel free. I can use my fingers and even paper towel. “I AM UNCUFFED by Mr. Dennas”

I always remember these words that Mr. Dennas said to me, “It is your art and you do want you want to do with it”

Not true! In our current day and age, artists work together more often than on their own. At least that is true in the marketplace, with entertainment art and commercial art. I have seen installations at Cheekwood by Chihuly that were astounding. This was done by many people working together. I have seen amazing films, done by many people working together. I have seen art shows that are composed of many individual paintings but all the artists are working together to change the world in some way.

It is vital that artists learn not only how to create their own vision, but also to apply that vision to group projects. That is our goal each Spring at Firstlight. We also have a blast working together. It’s hard at first, but it always brings about a visual delight that surprises me. Each class that has made their strong individual opinions come into harmony, finds that the difficulties lead to more creative solutions, and that means getting to places that no one would find on their own.

When I first thought of the idea to do this, we applied it only to the truck. I had a year to think about it on my own, and could not come up with any idea that I thought would be really great. Then the class worked on it together, and within one session of brainstorming, they had several ideas that I loved. Every year it has been the same. I am always amazed at the way the ideas work out.

All through the month of May, we are working on these projects. You’ll see chairs, stools, walls, doors, and of course, the truck begin to change into a new expression. This reminds me of Spring, when God re-creates the wonder of the flowers and leaves. We will say goodbye to the old paint, and hello to new and wonderful expressions.

Take pictures, because next year we do it all over again!

Right now, in all of our Foundations classes, we are working on the parts of the face. We have created eyes out of modeling clay and will continue with nose and mouth models in the next 2 weeks.

Why do we create clay models? you might ask. The clay doesn’t harden, and is re-used instead of taken home, so it seems a little pointless from the perspective of making artwork.

However, we are not always working on making art, as we are learning how to make art. The purpose of our curriculum is to do both. Sometimes we see great artwork finished and going home, but many weeks we are simply learning things that will help artists do better work all of their lives. This is one of the latter times. (There is a quick and fun break for one week, with a magazine cover project to keep the kids from getting too bogged down.)

One of our biggest goals, is to see artists creating work outside of our classroom. That is the sign of true success, because that means they are gaining confidence and have begun their own artistic path. As the student moves into the Expressions classes, we coach them as they head down that chosen path.

So anyway, we make the 3D models because it is very important to use spatial memory and touch when learning how things are structured. Instead of learning the names of muscles, which artists find fairly useless, we learn the shape and placement of the muscle when we make it out of clay. We don’t actually do normal anatomy at all. We are simply trying to learn how the eye can be drawn in the best way possible. We learn that the nose doesn’t need lines on the sides and that people never look much at other people’s noses. We don’t like noses all that much, and there’s no communication in the nose. So we tell students that you should downplay the nose, because that is how we percieve other people’s faces. We’re looking at their eyes and mouths much more. Most artists initially try really hard to make the nose look “right” and so it gets way more attention and extra stuff on it than is appropriate. That doesn’t make the picture look good.

Now you know just one of the many myths we are trying to bust here at Firstlight. We have lots of things like that which are not taught in any classes or books that we’re aware of. We believe that this kind of fundamental knowledge will empower and encourage every artist.

We’ll do self portraits soon, and then we begin a season of paintings and self-expression that takes us through the Spring.

Finally, the end of the year in Foundations has a special group project. Each class gets an applied art project that must be a collaborative effort by the entire class. One class does a set of chairs, for instance. Another paints a mural, or the benches. Even the truck gets repainted every year!

In the real world today, most artists need to learn to work in groups, so this is not only great fun, but good preparation.