It’s bitterly cold outside…supposed to go as low as -35 tonight. Our neighbours to the north are experiencing blizzard conditions and roads from Banff west have been closed on-and-off again for the purpose of avalanche control. News reports state that 300 truckers slept, parked along the highway last night, unable to continue their route to Golden, B.C.
I’m inside and warm and so very grateful as I send up my prayers for all travelers on this blustery night. After driving my son’s tenor drum set over to his school after work today, I decided to put on my thick socks and bunker down for the evening.
As I vacuum up my Laurie-dog’s ‘sheddings’, I think about a unit I’ve been doing with my Junior High Art students…"Art Speaks". The work reflects some of what I’ve been thinking about for some time…work that is itching to be painted/drawn/written.
In the art, script/text is incorporated so that there can be fewer assumptions made by the viewer about ‘what this art is about’. Interesting though, it is possible that words will misrepresent themselves…and not clearly convey their own meaning. Think about how often you speak to someone and they receive a completely different message from the one that was intended.
The youngest students (grade sevens) have created graffitti on paper…oil pastel compositions with faux brick walls as the backdrops. These also create an interesting dichotomy simply because young artists are being given permission to do something typically considered taboo in society. Not only that, but their tags are intentionally positive, with no seeming dark seedy stereotypically disturbing messages. It is interesting to watch the adults in the building make references that are so positive on such a subject. The art creates a reaction by the adult viewer that is surprising.
Tomorrow I will take photographs of some of the student works and publish them here! They are really quite interesting.
