Final Team Project - Art Journal

GROUP PROJECT

While Out for a Walk

Children’s Art
Lake Art

On the Way to Work

Written By:
Jennifer Carrero
Dawn Dean
Theresa Rush
Cynthia Smith

While Out for a Walk

This is a picture of the mural at a Children’s Museum in Dover, NJ. The artist Marco Gavi had painted this for the museum. It was a long process that I was able to see from beginning to end. Unfortunately, it seems as though some of the mural has been painted over. This picture shows what is left of the mural. His approach to painting the mural is quite unique. I have never seen anything quite like it. Lots of bright colors were used to bring out the detail on this mural. There isn’t too much I know about the painter, except what I was told by an employee at the Children’s Museum. The style Marco used is his own. He has also done several paintings that the Museum has displayed. It is a truly unique work of art that I enjoy seeing in town.



This is a sculpture in the town of Dover that was created shortly after September 11, 2001. The beams actually came from the World Trade Center. This is a constant reminder of the lives lost on that tragic day. The sculpture itself resembles the twin towers at the World Trade Center. The first beam evens looks the one of the buildings when it was first struck. We will never forget 9-11.

Children’s Art

Artist: Brandon Dean

Age: 4

School: The Learning Experience

Artwork: “Pizza Planet” by Brandon Dean 2007


Viewer’s Perception and Reflection: This piece made me think if something round, hot, red and yellow. Yes, I thought of the sun. After interviewing this artist, I found that he had something different in mind. The open-mind of this young artist helped me to open my mind and now I can see all that he would like me to see.








Artist’s Actual Description: This is my pizza planet. We used play dough with red and yellow paint. No paintbrushes, just fingers. When asked why he made this masterpiece, he said he was hungry and all you do on pizza planet is eat pizza. His inspiration was a school project.

Artist: Shannon Dean
Age: 10
School: Valley Road School

Artwork: “Leo the Fighting Lion” by Shannon Dean 2007

Viewer’s Perception and Reflection: This picture made me think of a soft stuffed animal that one might take to sleep with them or a simple drawing of a lion from a storybook. After interviewing this artist I was informed that much more technique and color went into this drawing than meets the eye.



Artist’s Actual Description: When drawing this photo the artist was inspired by the constellation “Leo”. The colors used for the hair are a combination of orange, mango, burnt orange and yellow. The artist chose this combination because she felt that this would look nicer rather than a flat brown color. This artist prefers to work in a room with a lot of people and action going on around her.

AUTUMN AT LAKE LACKAWANNA

Colors of fall are vibrant reflections on the lake from the trees. Swans gliding slowly along. The quiet sounds of nature.






You can almost see the children playing and hear them laughing. Now the lake is quiet, the beach is empty, waiting for the children to return next summer.












The summer activities come to a close and left over artifacts of the sunny summer days are left behind.

















Footprints left in the sand from a passerby. The calming
Effect this time of the year on the lake has on everyone
Including the animals.






Reminds the viewer of one of the oil paintings of the salt marshes By Martin Johnson Heade “Gathering Hay in the Salt Marshes” Each day brings forth a different take of how nature unfolds.

ON THE WAY TO WORK

On my way to work I found some interesting, heartwarming, Functional and even comical forms of art.

I found this on the side of an iron welding building. I really like the design and I felt the sign next to it said it all.

This display was sitting in front of a little flower shop. I originally stop to get a picture of the bears carved out of wood. Then I realized the whole display was a form of art. Someone took time to arrange all the different elements in this arrangement until they were happy with the out come. Just like an artist would do on one of their creations.

The next forms of art I found were the most compelling. They represent the honor and caring of those who are, our unspoken heros. The first photo is a statue in the center of town in Hackettstown. It was to honor the people who helped fight during the Cival war. Not only does it praise the soildiers but also the everyday people who lived in the town. Who in their own unselflish ways helped during a time of unrest.

This stain glass window in located on the Budd Lake fire dept. I drive by this beautiful work of art at least 5 times a day. However, it is at it’s most breath taking in the early hours of the morning before the sun comes up. There is something so surreal about this glass window. I do not know if it’s the way the light shines through it or the touching scene it portays. It could be the combination of both. All I know is that when I drive by it everymorning, I reflect back to Sept 11, 2001 and remember all those people who lost their lives and of those who tried to help the hurt and dying.

Team Final Reflective Paper

Team Final Reflective Paper

Everyday Art by Cyndi Smith

I realized as I was gathering information for our team project that I miss out on a lot of beautiful views on my normal drive into work. When I started to allow myself extra time in the morning to look at my surroundings I was more relax when I finally reach my destination. As creatures of nature most of us just get into routines of running here and there and cramming as many activities into a single day as possible. We are no longing setting time aside to enjoy the simple things in life.

I have lived in my neighbor for ten years now and only because I had to do this paper I found that I pass by many different forms of art daily. I saw a beautifully hand painted mail box, Home made crafts, and decorated homes for the holidays. I would have never considered these items as forms of art until now. I probably never even gave them a second thought. Now I see that someone took the time and used their imaginations to give me something new and exciting to look at on my daily normal drive. I now consider these neighbors as artists.

I am now taking time to go around a view my surrounding and thank those who took the time to create a piece of art for me to view. I started with an elderly man down the street who changes his yard with crafts and flags almost weekly. I saw him sitting in his wheel chair one day last week so I stopped and told him that I loved the way he decorates his yard. I also thanked him for taking time to this for our viewing pleasures. He then thanked me for taking the time to stop and say that to him. He seemed very happy to have at least one person recognize his creativity. So if we all just take a moment to thank one person in our neighborhood just think what a great place to live we would be creating.

Children’s Art by Dawn M. Dean

This was great! My children and I bonded through art for the first time. Yes, they have brought home work in the past and my husband and I have briefly looked it over and with a smile said that is real nice, thank you. This project brought new meaning to looking at their work. Now I was looking for color schemes and techniques used along with asking them what inspired their work. Their excitement in the fact that I was reaching out to them for more details regarding their work spoke volumes to me and really opened my eyes to just how important it is to not only go over and discuss their academic work such as math, science, social studies and language arts in detail, but to really take some time to focus on their elective work such as art and wood shop as well. Yes, I always help my daughter focus on an art project that is due, but never asked her the detailed questioned I asked when doing my project for this class. Maybe not asking went hand in hand with not knowing what to ask.

I feel this project was a huge success for me personally and I would recommend everyone who did not get the opportunity to work on the subject of “Children’s Art” take some time and collect a few pieces of artwork from their children, view it, jot down a few notes on your reflection of their work and then interview the artist. Your findings will be rewarding.

I enjoyed the class, but not something I think I will pursue. I will continue to enjoy art and open my mind to art more than I have in the past.

Lake Views by Theresa Rush

I think the Art Journal was a good choice as a project, it allowed me to use my imagination trying to capture the art of nature. This was something I probably would not have done before. Normally I would have chosen something along the lines of creating a piece of art work using oils or another medium. Deciding to use photographs in an art project opened up another world of art for me. I enjoyed the process of planning what to capture on film and when to capture it. Colors vary depending on morning, afternoon, or evening, while it is sunny or misty. Everything changes with the change of nature.

Taking photographs of the lake where I live was another appropriate choice, especially during the autumn season. The lake offers many beautiful views of nature where the trees autumn leaves reflect bright colors on the water, the sky a crisp blue, with wonderful puffs of white clouds. I found myself in wonderment as I walked about, taking pictures, realizing now why so many artists paint landscapes. I refer to Claude Monet, “Sunrise” 1872, and oil on canvas, as one of these many artists.

I enjoyed the outcome of the pictures that I took, the colors were beautiful, and the subject matter was at times exciting, the brightly colored children’s beach pails left behind on the picnic table. Other times, the subject matter offered what I felt was a time of reflection. The row boats left draped over one another, waiting for the winter to come and lay a shroud of snow over them, allowing them to rest until next summer. Everything that I looked at and took a picture of tells a story of what happened, and what is going to happen. There is a very quiet beauty in what I found; I am going to continue taking photos of the lake and life around me in all four seasons.

I found that taking the online art class along with a math class as well as work and family definitely put me to the edge. Although I did enjoy the class, it was a lot of work along with everything else going on in my life.

Art Appreciation by Jennifer Carrero

This class was not what I expected it to be. I thought it would be a lot easier since it was online. I thought wrong. There was so much work to do that I was intimidated by it. I am not one to constantly be on the computer, except for work. This class proved to be quite demanding in that area. I feel as though I was on every day, several times a day. Luckily, I have a good group that has helped me in trying to accomplish our objectives.

We decided to do an Art Journal as our team project. This project has made me really take some time out of my busy life and look at everything around me. I always knew there was a mural painted near a restaurant in town. I never knew the mural was painted for the Children’s Museum next door to the restaurant. I took a good look at the mural and realized that a lot of time and effort was put into that painting. The way each character was painted seemed to give each its own personality. Although this class required a lot of work I think that the ultimate goal was achieved, Art Appreciation.


References:

Community Children’s Museum
http://www.communitychildrensmuseum.org/

Hackettstown Firehouse, Hackettstown, NJ

Prebles’ Art Forms 8th Edition Revised 2004
www.wikipedia.com

Team Final Project

GROUP PROJECT While Out for a Walk Children’s ArtLake ArtOn the Way to Work
Written By:
Jennifer Carrero
Dawn Dean
Theresa Rush
Cynthia Smith

ART JOURNAL - 2

Dawn M. Dean, Jennifer Carrero-Ibarra, Cyndi Smith, Theresa O'neill-Rush
Week 4 Group Journal Entries
October 27, 2007


This week Dawn has been collecting artwork from both her children along with her neighbor and plans on selecting one from each child along with one sculpture from each child. She will first write a brief description of each from her perspective and then interview the three artists (Shannon age 10, Brandon age 4 and Gabriella age 14) to gather a brief description of what they had in mind as they designed their work. She will also ask each child to make their own sculpture out of items she has selected for them and again will observe and document her thoughts and perspectives of their work along with an interview the artists to document their thoughts and perspectives of their work. The outline of her final input is in place at this time and will add the information as it becomes available to include a photo of each artist.

Cindy decided on 2 forms of art that impacted me the most. The first one is a stain glass window located on the town fire house. It consists of a fireman carrying a little girl. She feels it really reflects the importance of our local heroes. Especially after the tragedy our country faced on Sept 11, 2001. The other one was a monument in the center of Hackettstown representing the Civil war and the contribution the town and its people made to that war. She will be researching these items and hopefully will have some idea of the history and the artists or craftsmen that made them. If she cannot get enough information, she also has a few back up photographs.

Theresa wasn’t sure how her portion of the team project would take shape, but she found taking photographs of the lake had many wonderful aspects to it. Since the weather has been absolutely beautiful, it has been not only easy to stroll about and snap some shots, but has been so enjoyable and relaxing. There are many art forms in every day life; the trees are full of autumn leaves reflecting unto the lake. She found swans slowly gliding by while some of the larger birds dip into the water to catch a quick bite. Children leaving their colorful sand buckets on the picnic table at the beach, you can almost hear their laughter. Since autumn has arrived, the lake is quiet, the beach is at a standstill, but the remnants of summer life are very much alive.

Jennifer has taken pictures of the art mural in her neighborhood. The same artist had painted another mural in the same style for a children’s day care. It seems as though his style for painting has been requested by several organizations and schools in town. Jennifer feels that she will be seeing more of his unique work around town. She has made several attempts to get in contact with the artist for additional information but was unsuccessful. Jennifer has also taken pictures of a sculpture in town that honors everyone that died in 9-11. This sculpture is of two steel beams that came from the Twin Towers. The two beams are erect and resemble the Twin Towers. This is a constant reminder of the tragedy we faced on September 11th. The pictures of these murals and the sculpture will be included in the final project.

Updated Project Choice and Outline

Art Journal :
Children's Art - Dawn
At the Lake - Theresa
Traveling to work - Cyndi
The Neighborhood - Jennifer

Revised Outline:
1. Each team member will submit photos and/or sketches to Dawn
2. Dawn will combine the photos and sketches into a compressed file and send to Jennifer via e-mail
3. Jennifer will post the file onto the blog website

Re-organization of Team Roles

Team Lead-Cynthia
Editor-Dawn
Webmaster-Jennifer
Team Player-Theresa

This re-organization better enhanced the success of our team.

ART JOURNAL - 1

Theresa O’Neill-Rush, Dawn M. Dean, Cyndi Smith, Jennifer Carrero-Ibarra
Team Project – Art Journal
Week Three Journal

We decided that our team project should be the Art Journal. The Art Journal will be about the art we see day in and day out. It was decided that Jennifer would take care of any art she sees in her neighborhood. Dawn would take care of the children’s art work she sees. Cyndi will take care of the art work she sees on the way to work. Theresa will take care of any art she sees at the lake. The following entries are from each of the group members. Here are their thoughts of what they have seen so far.
Theresa has chosen to take photographs of the lake where she lives as her part of the Team Project. There are many interesting aspects of the lake that she felt would provide a good representation of nature and art. What Theresa did not anticipate was that she is not very computer literate, when it comes to taking pictures and getting them uploaded into the computer. Yes, she does work in IT and has for several years, but it is a very different IT than PC land. She is not an IT technician, but a software developer, which is totally different! So, with that being said, she will somehow figure this out and achieve the goal she has set out to do.
Dawn has prepared for our group project by choosing to do children’s art. Since her son is in preschool she has been bringing home some real prizes. Dawn also teaches Sunday school that takes a portion of their sessions to focus on projects. Here she has the opportunity of seeing some really beautiful thoughts poured out onto paper. She also has a daughter that loves to draw pictures to express her thoughts. She knows that this is going to be fulfilling for her, as children are so innocent and their perception is so much more different that that of an adult. Her intention is to get one piece of work form her son, who is four; one from her daughter, who is ten; and one from her niece, who is fourteen. She is interested in seeing the rest of her teammates’ findings and looks forward to sharing her findings with us.
Cyndi’s part for the team project is looking for everyday art on her drive to and from work. At first she was a little nervous about what she would see and if that would be considered art. Cyndi was surprised at what she found when she started to leave for work a little earlier. This way she could take her time and really look at her surroundings. The first item she came across was in her own neighborhood, a hand painted mailbox. She could not tell you how many times a day she passed that mail box and never noticed it. That made her wonder how many other pieces of art she was missing because she was always in a hurry and did not pay attention. Some of the others items she found were stained glass windows, neon signs, a sculpture made at an iron welding shop, a few other sculptures and monuments. She photographed the items and will be picking two of them for our final project.
Jennifer has chosen to do the art she sees in her neighborhood. Not far from where she lives a Children’s Art Museum. A few years ago a painter began a mural on the outside of the museum. He started with a sketching out what he envisioned. Time passed by and certain areas of the mural started to take shape. Jennifer noticed that it wasn’t your typical mural. It portrayed people but not with great detail, almost abstract. She was always intrigued by the design and wondered if it was an inspired style or an original style. She is doing further research to find out more information on the mural’s painter.
Overall, our team sees to be going in the right direction with the project. As we get further into it, we will supply photos and more detailed information of our findings. So far it has been a great experience to actually take some time out to see things we would not normally think of as art.