Day 12

Day 12.  Today's challenge, after you read about Vincent Van Gogh and his paintings of his bedroom in Arles, is to show me your favorite space in your house.

This is Vincent's painting of his bedroom in Arles.  I love all the colors.

This is a picture of MY favorite space in my house.  A few years ago, I added this sun room and a deck to the back of my house and this is a picture of one of the reasons that it is my favorite space.  The checkerboard floor!  Many, many years ago I went on one of those tours that they have of fancy houses and one house, which was actually down the road from the school where I taught before I came to AMS, had floors just like this. In that house this floor, which is made of cork tiles, was in a third floor 'media' room.  When I saw those floors, I said to myself, 'Self, someday you are going to have a house and in that house you are going to have floors like this.' And now I do!  This picture is just when they were finishing the room. Now, it is filled with books and plants and art supplies and the comfiest couch ever.  One of my goals for this summer is to put blinds up on those windows.  When it was first built, I didn't need them because my house was surrounded by woods. Now, I have neighbors on one side so I need blinds.

Read about Vincent's bedroom here.  A few years ago, The Art Institute of Chicago recreated Vincent's bedroom in a one bedroom apartment that you can rent and stay in for one night.  I think that would be a fun thing to do if I was ever in Chicago.  There is also a hotel in The Netherlands in the town where Vincent was born and spent most of his young life that has recreated his bedroom where you can spend the night.  My list for visiting places has become much longer now that I am stuck here in one place.

I can't wait to see your favorite spaces!

Day 11

Color is important! It might even be more important that line or shape or any of the other elements of art. Note: That's my opinion.  Color is my favorite.

See if you can guess the following characters just by their colors and the way that they are arranged.  Answer on our google classrooms wall.  Then, once you've done that, see if you can create your own character or groups of characters defined only by their color order.  I imagine that you could use legos or draw and color them or maybe even put strips of colored paper in order and take a picture.  Upload and share in google classrooms for everyone to see!  Note:  I didn't make these images, I just found them all over the internet.

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Day 10

There are so many videos on youtube that show you how to do art things.  Art Hub for Kids is a fun one to give a try.

I hope everyone is doing well.  Remember to stop by Google Classrooms even if it's just to stay hi!

Day 9

One of the things that a lot of you are probably missing right about now is meeting up with your friends and playing together.  Maybe you are missing playing basketball in the gym at school or throwing a football around at home or even just watching sporting events on television.  Whatever it is, this virus and Stay At Home - Stay Safe has disrupted all of our lives.  Everything is different.  My challenge for y'all today is to think about a creative way that you can show your favorite sport.  Maybe you can get some action figures together and depict them playing a game.  I'm all in for Thor, The Hulk, Loki and Captain America playing a game of soccer.  Maybe you could get some of your sports equipment together and create a still life.  You can also draw or paint something sporty or even go through some magazines that might be lying around the house and create a sports collage.  You can do this in your sketchbook if you like or on paper that you have at home.  Whatever you do, take a picture and post it on our google classrooms page so that everyone can see your work.

Day 8

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder.  I haven't seen my kiddos for coming up on 3 weeks now and I miss them terribly.  I miss seeing them in the hallway.  I miss their smiles and I miss their snotty little attitudes when I tell them to get to work.  I just miss being in their presence.  I didn't become a teacher to sit in my house and come up with lessons and post them online for my students to do with no real interaction from me.  I miss the joy in my classroom.  I miss all the personalities.  I miss the chaos and craziness and the aggravation and the hugs.  You would think that this forced isolation wouldn't be any different than summer vacation but it is.  There is a natural pause that comes at the end of the school year.  We wind down and we celebrate and we have time to say our goodbyes. We reminisce and settle things up.  We know it'll soon be time to take off and relax and recharge and spend the warm, long days with friends and family.  This abrupt break in the school year didn't give us that time.  And it's hard.  It's unprecedented.  I don't like it.  I really hope and pray that we will be given the chance to come back together as a school family before the end of the calendar and have a chance to see each other again.

Day 7!

Today's challenge is to go on a virtual field trip.  Choose a museum from the following links or one that you may find through searching.

1.  One of the best places to start is Google Arts and Culture.  Like everything else Google, this is a warehouse of art, museums and information. You may need to install the google arts and culture app in order to visit these sites. Visit the collections page to see a list of all the museums that offer tours through Google Arts and Culture.  Happy exploring!

2. The Uffizi Gallery is one of Europes best museums.  It houses some of the greatest art works of the Italian Renaissance collected by the Medici family.

3. The Louvre is the world's largest art museum.  Located in Paris, France, it has nearly 38,000 objects dating from prehistory to today. It is one of the most recognizable buildings in Paris, a former palace, now with its large glass pyramid in the main courtyard.  If you look carefully, you might find daVinci's Mona Lisa in the collection.

4.   The Frick is a museum in New York that houses the collection of industrialist, Henry Clay Frick.  If you take a visit, you will see works of art by Bellini, Ingres, Bronzino and Holbein.

5. A little closer to home, you can visit The Mint Museum of Art in uptown Charlotte.  While these Charlotte museums don't offer 'virtual tours', you can look at their collections online: The Bechtler and The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture.

6. Also close to home, check out the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh,  The Ackland Museum of Art in Chapel Hill, The Nasher Art Museum in Durham, The Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, The Weatherspoon in Greensboro and finally, about 45 minutes from home, The North Carolina Pottery Center.  While not all of these museums have virtual tours, you can follow the links and look at their collections on their websites.

7. This place, The Guggenheim museum in NY is one of my favorite places on earth.  The building itself is a work of art, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.  Go.  Just go and look at it.

8. I'm saving my absolute favorite place for last:The Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Someday soon, when we are all back together, ask me about the hours and hours that I have spent in this place.  It's my idea of heaven.

These are just a few of the hundreds of museums that are offering virtual tours.  How lucky are we all that during this Global Health Crisis we can sit safely in our homes all the while traveling virtually around the world visiting some of the most amazing collections of art that there is to be found.  And the best thing of all, it's all free.

Day Six!

Not my art work, artist unknown but a great example of what we are doing today.

Today's challenge is texture. Look for little things around your house that have a raised surface.  You probably have all kinds of bits and pieces laying around your house that will create a really neat image when you rub a crayon or dull pencil over the top. Like I said, if you have any old crayons without paper on them, hold the crayon on its side and rub over the top of the paper with your items underneath and see what kind of a design you end up with. It can be random, or you can make an intentional picture. Either way, have some fun with the element of art texture today! 

Day Five!

Take the day off.  Relax.  Think happy thoughts.  I'll chat with you on Monday!

Day Four!

Today, I just want everyone to take a breath and remember that we are all in this together.  Just because because our building is closed, doesn't mean that school is out.  We are all still a family and we are all here to support each other.  This 'new normal', however temporary, is difficult for all of us but we will get through it together.

If any of you are having a hard time or need to talk someone, remember that you can get in touch with Mrs. Baker and schedule a google hangout with her.  The information on how to do that is on the AMS site.  Also remember that ALL of your teachers are here for you and would love a reassuring email to let us know how you are doing.

Remember, that we are AMS Bulldogs STRONG!

Day Three!

Today's art challenge comes from the painting Vertumnus by Giuseppe Arcimboldo. The painting is a portrait of Rudlof II, Holy Roman Emporer and was done in 1590-1591.  It's probably Arcimboldo's most famous painting and also one of the most unusual portraits I've ever seen.  In it, Rudolf is made of all kinds of plants, flowers, fruits and vegetables. If you look closely, you'll find pears, apples, cherries, grapes, artichokes, beans, peas, corn, onions, cabbages, chestnuts, plum, pomegranates, pumpkins, olives and figs. Vertumnus was the god of all the seasons.

Art is all around us and we can use almost anything to make art.  Just this once, I give you permission to play with your food.  Just make sure to wash your hands first!  Look in our Google Classrooms for some pictures of what other people have done with food art.  When you are done with your lunch, I mean art, take a picture of it and post it in Google Classrooms for all to see.  Don't forget, you can post on instagram and twitter using the hastags #AMSBulldogsArt #AMSBulldogsStrong.  A lot of people are following those # to see what you are up to.

Rudolf II as Vertumnus by Giuseppe Arcimboldo 1590-91 Oil on canvas 2'4" x 1'11"

Day Two!

 Today’s artist is Albrecht Durer.  Albrecht Durer was born in Nuremberg, Holy Roman
Empire in what is today Germany on May 21, 1471.  Albrecht was a painter, printmaker
and all around Renaissance guy. He had already gotten a reputation as an influential
printmaker while in his early twenties due to his amazing woodcuts.  He was friend with other
artist of the time such as Leonardo daVinci, Raphael and Giovannni Bellini. By 1512,
Emperor Maxmillian I (of the Holy Roman Empire) had become his patron. A patron is
“a person who supports with money, gifts, efforts, or endorsement an artist, writer, museum,
cause, charity, institution, special event, or the like: a patron of the arts” according to
Dictionary.com.  You know how ‘influencers’ on youtube or instagram are always inviting
folks to join their ‘Patreon’?  It’s kind of the same thing. It’s a way for artists to make money
by doing what they love. It’s kind of a big deal now and it was definitely a big deal back in
Albrecht’s time.  Emperor Maxmillian was a very rich, influential man.

Albrecht’s father was a very successful goldsmith who moved to Nuremberg from Hungary. 
Albrecht was one of fourteen (possibly 18) children. Albrecht studied goldsmithing and
drawing from his father, so he was ‘homeschooled’ kind of like y’all are being right now. 
After a few years, at the age of 15, he became an apprentice to a German printmaker and
painter. When he was about 18, he graduated from being an apprentice and left home to
start studying under different artists so that he could polish his skills and learn from them. 
After about four years of traveling about he made his way to Italy. He went to Venice, which
you might notice has been in the news recently. Venice is a city built on canals and is known
as ‘The city of Water’. After about a year, he returned to Nuremberg and opened his own
shop.   Because of his travels, his style became greatly influenced by the Italian artists and he
created some of his best and most famous works of art. He stayed in Nuremberg for about
10 years and created such works as St. Jerome in the Wilderness, a small painting that
interestingly shows a comet or meteor in the sky behind the central figure, which was
something that was recorded as happening on November 7, 1492.  He also painted portraits
of everyday people, including his father at 70.

In 1505, he returned to Italy for two years. Here the most important work he created was
Feast of the Rose Garlands.  In 1507 he traveled back to Nuremberg and there he stayed
until 1520. Some of the most famous works from this time were his woodcut studies of the
human body, portraits of the Emperors Charlemagne and Sigismund, and the Madonna of the
Carnation.  

In 1521, he traveled to the Netherlands where he stayed for a year, then returned home to
Nuremberg where he lived the remainder of his life.  Durer remains one of the most influential
artists of his time. He left behind 4 books about the study of human proportion, and was
possibly one of the first artists to paint self portraits and was one of the most influential artists
of the Northern Renaissance.  He is known to some as ‘The Leonardo of the North’. 
Durer died very suddenly on April 6, 1528 at the age of 56.  It’s possible that he caught malaria when he visited the Netherlands.

This sketch is of Katharina, who was a servant of one of the agents of the King of Portugal. 
I think that the look on Katharina’s face says it all. She kind of over it. I feel you Katharina,
feel you.

To learn more about Albrecht Durer you can visit here: Khan Academy

and

Met Museum

To see more of his work, visit:Artsy.Net

Day One!

Today is our first day of online learning. Please just be sure to check in every day even if it's just to say hi! I'll be posting multiple activities for the day here. Some are an art challenge or reading about an artist. You don't have to do all of them but I am adding them here as options so that you can be creative everyday, give you a break from online academics or something you can do with your camera phone. I miss you all and hope you are all doing well.

Virtual Art Class

Well.  Here we are in a situation I never thought I'd be in in my career.  Being forced to isolate ourselves due to the Covid -19 virus has created a brave new world that we are going to have to navigate together.  Every day, I'll be posting information here on this blog, in our google classrooms and on the AMS document.  Remember to check in and say hi! Post your work on instagram and twitter using the hashtags #AMSBulldogsArt and #AMSBulldogsStrong.