Art is often about IDEAS. This gallery features the ideas and process behind some fabulous pieces being made by the amazing students in my Grade 10, 11 and 12 Visual Arts classes!
We LOVE diving deep into the creative and artistic process. :)
"Art is process made visible" - Jonathan Dueck
The HIStory/HERStory/THEIRstory Project
Students in the Grade 12 class were challenged to create an artwork influenced by their past. Investigating personal, family, or cultural histories, they engaged in inquiry-based learning to discover stories, crafts, and materials that influenced or fed their own lives. Each student explored the meanings that these materials hold, and their individual connection (or dis-connection) with those materials.
To help us understand craft, story, costume and material, and their relationship to art, we examined the work of in the Resilience Boxed Set (MAWA), and the work of KC Adams, Rebecca Belmore, Theaster Gates, Zanele Muholi, Stephanie Syjuco, Do Ho Suh, Janine Antoni and Nick Cave. These artists work in a variety of media and using multiple methods of "making" - but all use their personal, family, or cultural histories to inform their work.
Working in the methods of contemporary artists, these students engaged in purposeful individual research, self- reflection and “story mining”, and then were asked to use visual metaphor and personal imagery to create an artwork that holds personal significance and shares a unique new history.
We looked at how our own personal HIStories and HERStories are all constructions - built by both lived and missed experiences. Students questioned: In what ways does my community influence my identity? In what ways am I connected to my "roots" - whatever they may be? Who decides what is recorded in history? Is there such thing as an "unbiased" telling of a story? How can we communicate our personal and individual experiences of a time, through art?
To help us understand craft, story, costume and material, and their relationship to art, we examined the work of in the Resilience Boxed Set (MAWA), and the work of KC Adams, Rebecca Belmore, Theaster Gates, Zanele Muholi, Stephanie Syjuco, Do Ho Suh, Janine Antoni and Nick Cave. These artists work in a variety of media and using multiple methods of "making" - but all use their personal, family, or cultural histories to inform their work.
Working in the methods of contemporary artists, these students engaged in purposeful individual research, self- reflection and “story mining”, and then were asked to use visual metaphor and personal imagery to create an artwork that holds personal significance and shares a unique new history.
We looked at how our own personal HIStories and HERStories are all constructions - built by both lived and missed experiences. Students questioned: In what ways does my community influence my identity? In what ways am I connected to my "roots" - whatever they may be? Who decides what is recorded in history? Is there such thing as an "unbiased" telling of a story? How can we communicate our personal and individual experiences of a time, through art?
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In the HIStory / HERStory / THEIRstory Project, Daniel "ages" the bandages he has wrapped on this old shovel. He is creating a piece that references the manual labour his parents did in China in order to be financially able to move their young family to Canada. “This story is about my parents’ past. It’s all about starting from the ground and making it through life starting with nothing. My family’s history consists of a lot of physical agriculture work. Their history of hard work is hidden in the people they are now. Their story reminds me to strive no matter what.” - D.W.
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Andy used carefully cut paint chips to render a detailed yet pixelated chess pawn; the piece that is most numerous and considered the weakest in the game.
He says, "Pawns are easily manipulated and sacrificed for a larger purpose; essential for gameplay yet completely disposable." |
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In the HIStory / HERStory / THEIRstory Project, students reflected on how their personal histories and life experiences have influenced who they have become. “I have played hockey since I was five, so almost 13 years now. Each new season we get two pairs of socks to use for the year. My socks never last through a season. The rips and tears in the fabric are symbols of the tireless work put into training and playing. I used mixed media to highlight the “scars” on each sock because they represent dedication and sacrifice.” - B.L.
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In her HIStory / HERStory / THEIRstory Project, J.T. took an unusual memory and investigated its personal significance.
“I had a number of teeth surgically removed over three years. I have faint childhood memories of my father taping my baby teeth, and those of my sisters, to a wall. This piece might be about preciousness, and it might be about a loss of innocence.” - J.T. |
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Josh thought about the way that stories can be told from multiple perspectives, based in individual perceptions - and that personal recollections of stories can change over time.
Using specific memories from his travels, he constructed a story-mixer which can be manipulated in a variety of combinations, depending on the movements of the user. The piece is intended to remind us that our memories of our own stories are made up of flexible, movable pieces and are forever changing. |
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In her HIStory / HERStory / THEIRstory Project, A.G. examined cultural traditions that she has difficulty personally connecting with.
“Gold jewellery is an important part of my cultural background. During weddings, the bride is given jewellery from her relatives. People use jewellery to show off their wealth to others. Their worth is placed on how much they own; how much they consume... rather than who they are.” - A.G. |
Sarah's mixed media sculpture speaks to the raw vulnerability of a student who has been consistently exposed to bullying.
“I am part of a Muslim orthodox family. In my family, girls are expected to cover their bodies with a shawl or a “shalwar”. In order to show my faith, it is expected that I wear a head scarf. Inside my hanging sculpture (over a small Bluetooth speaker) you can hear a recording of some of the voices of my community, sharing their comments and opinions about how I dress.
I choose not to wear a hijab, not because I am unfaithful to Islam, but because I don’t believe that faith is in a piece of cloth. By making this piece, I am learning about forgiveness and patience, and how strongly I believe in my religion. I feel closer to my faith.” - S.S. |
G.L. is fascinated with the complex stories and folklore passed down through her Filipino family for the HIStory / HERStory / THEIRstory Project.
“I was inspired by urban legends and stories from my country. I grew up with these stories - such as the White Lady and the Aswang (shape shifter) - hearing them from my mother, grandmother and neighbours. They helped me develop a vivid imagination, and to believe that there is much more out in the world that we cannot comprehend.” - G.L. |
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For the HIStory / HERStory / THEIRstory Project, Sarah hand-sewed a series of kites inspired by Bangladeshi stories and music. She taught herself to embroider, inspired by the traditional nakshi katha. These kites will be mounted on wooden frames and hung in a hallway installation.
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Sarah's Artist Statement: "This installation, titled "Ghuri", was inspired by the nakshi katha, a Bangladeshi hand-embroidered quilt made by the village women. These detailed quilts take almost a year to make, and tell stories of the women’s lives. They are decorated with images of events and special occasions happening during the months when the quilts are created. In Bangladesh, there are kite-flying festivals where people enter into “kite fight” challenges to see whose kites can stay in the air the longest. They decorate and personalize their kites and gain prestige for elaborate and intricate designs. For this project I created a set of eight kites. The images on my kites represent significant moments and learning experiences I had while living in Bangladesh until the age of 17. As a group, they not only represent my culture but they each commemorate each of these important stories in my life."
Grade 11/12 Inquiry-Based Projects
(Above and Right) Justine sketches and tests out ideas, collects visual references, plays with paint and develops her painting technique in her idea journal.
(Below) She uses what she has learned to render this large acrylic and mixed media painting. |
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Yashan's monochromatic mixed-media painting is rendered in an textured, expressionistic style.
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Riley experiments with tints and shades of one colour in this dramatic portrait.
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Sharmistha's carefully painted, candy-coloured acrylic works are inspired by pop-surrealism. "This project is about my alter egos; my inner-selves that nobody gets to see because of the masks I wear to hide them from everyone. I disassemble and reconstruct the figures." - S.W.
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G.L. develops a layered digital drawing of an original character using our drawing tablet.
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"The Invisible Man" - ceramic sculpture by Y.W.
Just in time for exam period! |
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Jovana plays with layers of mixed media to develop this organic work in her idea journal. “Playing around” is an essential part of the experimentation process in idea development!
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Sarah’s detailed and surreal acrylic painting is a heap of diverse and expressive faces.
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“This sculpture is about contrast and balance between people. It is based on a story called SaraLuna, told to my by my grandmother. It is the story of two very different, but connected sisters. Sometimes people overestimate the importance of their own cultures - over the ones of others, especially in Western Society.” - C.C.
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“Summers at my mom’s parents’ farm inspired this hand-embroidered piece. Hollyhocks grow in abundance and fill a small U-shaped garden where I could sit to be surrounded by a flower-forest. Black-eyed Susans are wildflowers that grow all over the nearby fields. I would pick them and bring them to my Gido to see the smile on his face. Daisies are my Baba’s favourite flower.” - K.L.
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Kayode experiments with layers of acrylics for this dynamic and surreal portrait.
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Samreen is careful with details in this graphite value drawing.
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Dan's carefully sculpted creature is made of polymer clay and acrylic.
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Jovana’s architecturally-inspired paintings are rendered in fresh colours.
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Reece uses masking tape and layers of acrylic to build the surface of his painting.
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This is one photograph from Joao’s photo series “He is Like Us in Every Respect”. In the funny series, he places a Jesus-like figure in everyday situations.
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Gerianne starts filling out the musculature on her sculpture. She works on a wire armature she sculpted from wire and then attached to wood. The clay will then be baked and then painted.
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Gerianne's finished sculpture, called "Chapter 1: Birthright", based on a series of original stories she wrote, is made of wire, polymer clay, acrylic, fabric and beads.
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The following six artworks were made in response to the Final Exam Project prompt: “Create an art piece that represents what visual ART means to you - the role it plays in your life, or how it has contributed to your personal, social, cultural, or creative identity.”
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“I see life as a puzzle. There are many pieces of it I understand completely and some I don’t get at all, however they all fit together from the time we are born, while we live, and until we die, whether we understand why or not. My art piece speaks of how art helps me express these complicated pieces.” - S.S.
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“Art allows me to express my true self to everyone, in a way that I can't always do just by myself. Sometimes it's difficult for me to say what I really mean, but art is always there to support me in getting my true feelings across. Art also helps me to flourish, and helps build my confidence, without fear of what other people will think of me.” - B.S.
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“Life is really stressful and art has always been one of the ways I cope with reality. With it, I grasp onto my passions, express my emotions, see my potential and explore more about myself. I’m honestly nothing without art, it shaped me into who I am today.” - G.L.
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“This piece is called "Bigger Picture". It directly reflects the relationship I have with art. Even though I don’t spend a lot of time making art, the times I do are precious. In today’s society it’s very hard to make it as an artist, but I will continue to work in small pieces that may look blurred to the outside viewer. My ultimate goal is to one day have a picture clear enough for everyone to see.” - J.Z
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"Art calms me. Like a warm afternoon spent baking, drawing and producing art leaves me feeling fulfilled and kind of nostalgic for some reason.” - J.T.
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“Art is my hidden place where I don’t like anyone to interfere with me. I want to get lost in it and find my own adventure.” - B.A.
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Grade 12: The Body in Place Project
Students were challenged to think about their bodies - their physical selves - and the ways that their bodies interact with the spaces around them. How does your body fit into the places around you? In what ways do spaces hold ideas, feelings, memories? Are there places that you connect with more than others? How does your body (or your presence) change those spaces?
J worked on a series of digitally altered photos. She scavenged through her childhood photos and added herself into old scenes from her early childhood. “The combination and juxtaposition of old and new photos from my life show the enormous life change I have endured. I have grown a lot, and my whole life switched as soon as I moved to Canada. [This project] was a way for me to look back on my childhood and reflect on it.” -J.Z. (Grade 12)
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“Usually, suitcases just stay in the utility room, forgotten by everyone until the day we need them. But for me, it’s different: every day my suitcase sits in my room. And it reminds me how lucky I am because I got to experience what living in Canada means.” - A.A.
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“This park feels as if it is mine and no one else’s. The trees, animals and wind have witnessed my emotions and important periods in my life. I’ve been here in sad circumstances, and happy ones too, and when I felt lonely. It is a place I can trust; a second home. In this photo, I used the shadow of my body to represent my presence. The shadow is me, but not me. And even when I’m gone, or have moved to another city, this place will forever know my story and who I was.” - C.C.
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“I feel like my entire life has consisted of stopping for a photo, or being recorded. There are boxes and boxes of photos of my family, as well as pictures of my sister and I. There is an importance to documenting things. The images in this project are pulled from old films of my family.” - Cali
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For this Body in Place project, M used a pathway by her house to create this diptych.
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Our Guerrilla Art unit allowed Matt a chance to create a giant chocolate bar in an area where most students stop to take a break outside.
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During our Water inquiry unit, M found out about a horrific accident in Cambodia's Preach Sihanouk Province, where seven young girls drowned in 2017. Her thoughtful and troubling watercolour piece calls attention to this horrific incident. "This event barely made the news," she says, "it's like nobody even stopped to pay respect to the victims." - M. L.
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This gentle watercolour piece by Julia is a response to the ways that the media represents women of Asian heritage. "They are sexualized and minimized, and expected to perform," she says. In this piece, Julia questions and challenges racist ideas of East Asian women and the beauty ideals of Western culture.
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This sculptural piece by C.D. is made of found objects, cardboard, paint markers and wood. The whole sculpture is less than a foot tall, but you would never know by how realistic it seems in this photo! Can you see the 'shout-out' to his graffiti artist idol, Shepherd Fairey, in his piece?
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This layered mixed media piece by Ada, created during our Dirty Pictures Project, is called "Float". "All of us are floating, barely hanging on. In stressful times," she says, "and we have to rely on each other to pull ourselves back into reality." - A.Z.
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Header photo (top of page): Ivy Lendero works on a watercolour and mixed media artwork in class.
