Art with CAYA -- Youth Ambassadors

 

The week flew by with work at Bamberger Ranch and then at Southwest School of Art with the CAYA group, Texas host kids and families and the year-long residency group of SEED teachers. On this post, we just wanted to share some of the graphic and visual forms we worked on -- you can see more photos of the various aspects of the program, and the kids at work, on the Posterous SEED blog, if you're interested.

This is what I love about these graphic forms, and why I think they work as collaborative art projects:

First,  limit the palette in use  to some degree -- kraft paper brown, black, white and red  construction paper were the choices here (We loosen up on these color restrictions as the day goes on, figuring that the repetition will hold the general design together).

In the projects, we emphasize cutting over drawing or sketching. First, its less intimidating for kids who don't think they are good artists. Secondly, it keeps things simple and strong and bold. Black cutout letters and shapes are the bones for any little fussy stuff on top!

The t-shirts start with cutout "logos' for air, earth and water. Each kid makes a logo. I gang them together reduce each to a grid that will fit on a thermofax and the kids get to print their own shirts. Then, with colored fabric markers, each one can individualize and personalize his or her design. Again, the black ink on white shirt holds the whole design together.

The "dream towers" included collage work (each person cutout  a large word that described a personal dream, then collaged it with magazine pictures), a few notan designs, etc. Again, the color palette holds it together. I used the model of the Eames "house of cards" as patterns for the large foam board cards. These notch together with slits and make relatively stable and sturdy set/exhibit pieces that can be easily stored, recycled with new images with a new group, and infinitely rearranged. Since our final exhibit and presentation was in a gallery where we could not attach anything to the walls, these towers provided display space for work -- and they could be quickly assembled and disassembled and moved easily in the van or even a passenger car backseat!

The black foam  board cards were just taped into triangles (for stability) and stacked on top of each other. Kid wrote their recipes and remedies and cures for issues facing their world on these with chalk -- again, the boards can be wiped clean and reused. The blackboard form was fun, gave shape to the thinking and message, and was un-intimidating since if one made a mistake you could erase and do it again. And I love the black and white with the other forms.

The mask forms are simple paper bag masks using limited colors and mostly cut out shapes and forms. The kids (each in their group of either water, earth or air) chose a creature or element to personify as a mask and to "speak" for -- their assignment was to be a voice for those without words -- the animals, plants and elements of nature that depend upon survival with our solutions for the difficult problems facing the environment and our stewardship of the world, our partnership with the rest of the world. We used recycled packing materials from our lunches and other meals in these, as well.

After years  (and years) of doing collaborative (and quickly produced) art forms with kids and adults with all kinds of content, I do have my bag of tricks and approaches that help with visual strength and form, but still give everyone the sense of personal contribution and expression. I think that providing a few "rules" in terms of setting a strong format, limiting materials, and structuring the work experience all add up in the end.

Bookmaking with the Maestros/Maestras

We're doing another round of book-making here at Palo Alto with the international program scholarship teachers in Group 4. Everyone is writing and illustrating with photo collages their own "me books," as models and to take back to their schools as examples when they return to the classroom. The creativity is exciting -- and everyone is enthralled withusing copiers and photo printers -- technology not necessarily at hand back at home. But, as the digital world gets broader, as tools become more accessible, these teachers will return with the knowledge and experiences to dream with their students. And, the basic book-making and writing and illustration exercises can be done with low-tech supplies and tools, too.

 

Casa Ovalle in Antigua

Where we are staying:

See more on the hotel website http://www.hotelcasaovalle.com/index.htm

Artisaneas in El Salvador

Rich burnished clay jars, some with dream-like and graphic crabs and lizards, or bolsd stripes, spots and repetitions of thick brushed lines. Painted wooden boxes, with surreal nighttime images, painted with tiny brushes and eye-candy detail; popular crafts – little eggs with daily (or night) life scenes under the dome. Leather bracelets, woven bags, hammocks, bedspreads and table cloths in the simple graphic stripes and checks and diamond patterns that show up everywhere in El Salvador, from the tile floors to the brightly colored walls of houses and businesses.

There is, says José Bonilla, our SEED/CASS country coordinator, a craft revival and growing artisan entrepreneurship in El Salvador. Julia noted that compared to what she has seen on previous visits, there are more varied and more polished examples of handicraft and art works available for visitors.

We have seen wonderful examples of beautiful art and craft, both modern and traditional (and our experiences with the teachers of El Salvador confirm that many people here have an innate visual literacy and talents for making wonderful art). Here’s a sample of the SHAPE collections from the workshop:

Both traditional work, like the black pottery from the Linca people in the northeastern state, to modern contemporary uses of recycled materials in jewelry, craft work and even wire puzzles. And there is a plethora of “tourism” goods – wooden plaques, books and other souvenirs, Cottage artisans, school students and others also make a wide variety of tiny woven and leather bracelets and seed necklaces. 

At the heart of all of the effort is a burgeoning entrepreneurial spirit – and a preparation for what the country hopes to be an increase in tourism, and with it a market for arts and crafts. Such a spirit is seen in the many small shops and stalls wherever local visitors gather, the flower and fruit sellers on the volcano road,  -- there was an the enterprising wire-puzzle artist at the mirador at Planes de Banderos a few miles outside of San Salvador who had set up shop with a roll of wire, cutters and imaginative maze like patterns he designed himself. With the advances El Salvador is making in its education infrastructure we can even imagine a future of “education tourism,” where El Salvador is a model of educational development based on natural, cultural and human resources.

One of the more sophisticated craft industries is the use of native indigo to dye fabric and clothing. The beautiful blue and white garments are sophisticated and graphic in their tied resist patterns. I was given a gift of a beautiful shirt by the teacher group from Morazán who participated in the San Miguel workshop. I hope to return to the Morazán to visit the dyers in the future, but, as a working trip, we didn’t have the time for that excursion.

Another contemporary and iconic craft tradition was started by artist Fernando Llort who began teaching young people in La Palma to paint colorful wooden boxes, tiles, crosses and other items inspired by his designs. Many others have taken up the style, but the best examples (and a gallery of Llort originals) are at his gallery in San Salvador.

In addition to stops at several artisan shops in San Salvador, we also visited the local coffee roaster in Perquín and bought some paper bead jewelry and a little wound paper jar, as well some more of the black clay burnished pottery from one of the little artesanea stalls that has sprung up around the Museum of the Revolution. Last night I stopped in at a artesan co-op where handmade soaps and organic coffee beans shared space with stacks of indigo dyed shirts, abstract paintings and woven housewares. Enough words, check the posterous escuelaCASS site for more photos, too. It's easier to upload on that site, so there are a lot more examples there!