Talking Tiger Sings Old Time Rock and Roll

Talking Tiger Sings Old Time Rock and Roll from iansands on Vimeo.

Talking Tiger Sings Old Time Rock and Roll is a collaborative effort between the kindergarten artists at Douglas Elementary Arts and Science Magnet in Raleigh and the Computer Graphic artists at Apex HS

This is the first song completed. There will be 20 altogether. Stay tuned!!

Light Costumes

This semester, instead of just tasking my Art One students with creating light drawings, i asked that they create Light Costumes.

Each group had to decided on an iconic figure that they wanted to draw and then, through a combination of free hand drawing and light stencil use, create a light image that reflects their chosen icon. Here are some of their Light costumes!

Art History Carnival 2013!!

Today about 100 students gathered outside Building C for the first annual Art History Carnival here at Apex Art! There were games to be played, prizes to be won and enough sun to keep it fun!! Here is a look at some of the fun and games!

Pop the Pollock was a functioning "ring the bell" type game with a twist! Instead of ringing a bell, the top help a balloon that you needed to pop. Not just a balloon but a water balloon.. and not just a water balloon but a paint balloon. When it splattered, well, there was the Pollock influence.

Andy Warhol Ball: Knock down the soup cans and win a prize. Don't be easily deceived.  Our crafty carnies made sure the cans were not equally weighted  Needless to say, one of our most popular games was also one of the hardest to win!

Other than the fact that the sign mis-spelled Haring, this was a fun game. Try to knock the haring figures off the shelf using a home made rubber band gun.

The classic carnival game, Ballerina Ducks! (Degas reference)

Everyone wanted to win a dinosaur balloon!

Pac Mondrian Twister. You can't touch the black, only the primary colors. good luck with that!

Talking Tigers

Today, the Computer Art class kicked off a lesson about animating dialog. What makes this project interesting is the email I received from Jordan Lane, a kindergarten teacher at Douglas Elementary Arts and Science Magnet in Raleigh. She asked if our class wanted to collaborate with her class. She had some tigers that needed animating.

Check back in about two weeks to see what these tigers will be talking about!

The Reviews Are In!

The Reviews Are In! The critics have spoken about the Apex Dada Exhibit and here is what they have to say...

“It was interesting because it was like anti-art.”

~Miles, The News and Observer

“Hot Grass showed how, if people see something ordinary and it is sparkly, then it seems more appealing.”

~ Sam, The New York times

“The markers coming out of the bottle was an astonishing piece.”

~ Noah, The Washington Post

“Da Toylet represents one of the best inventions which is indoor plumbing.”

~ Nick, Chicago Tribune

“Just an Orange; Stop for a second to see and admire how the piece of trash is just different than your surroundings. Art is the ability to change the thinking of the human mind.”

~ Jesus, The Denver Post

“I liked Mirror, Mirror. It let me truly look at myself.”

~Macie, The Seattle Times

“The Clock was very interesting. Time does not exist, only clocks do.”

~ Seth, Tampa Bay Times

“The Popcorn. I had never thought of people like that.”

~Jonathon, San Francisco Chronicle

“The Yogurt and The Milk Cartoon speaks to how girls don’t eat enough lunch, which is true.”

~Claudia, Newsday

“When I saw the Hammer, it immediately hit me. ”

~ Conner, The Wall Street Journal

The Dada Exhibit

We had a great turn out for the opening of our Dada Exhibit. Works by Dada Artists currently enrolled in the Art History class were prominently displayed in the Media Center.

I'll let the work speak for itself but will include the titles below. The show will run for two weeks.

"Hot Grass" ~ Victoria

MC Hammer ~ Scott

"La Toylet" ~ James

"Purple Water in A Pickle Jar" ~ Emma

"Just an Orange" ~ Kyle

"Dirty Clock" ~ Shay

"Lunch Time" ~ Megan

Photoshop Brush Portraits

This week in computer art we explored brushes. The objective of this project was to create a portrait that included a photo with a strong light source and then incorporate brushes, gradients and glows in some way..



We took advantage of our new green screen to capture the photos.
Below, taking the photo for the image that was created, above.
 

Green Stencils

Was asked about the results of a green stencil project we tried out last year and since there weren't any photos of it on the blog, I thought I would show the process all the way through.

Above, you see a frame that we used when we made our spray paint stencils. The green border is 2x2 wood with a cardboard box stapled to the back. Instead of using this frame for spray paint, we filled it with top soil. The little bag on the left is birdseed

To test out our green stencils a student volunteered this alien stencil. I will say, this stencil is much better suited for spray paint. For birdseed, you need something simpler.  You don't get the same detail with birdseed as you do spray paint. Still, we had the stencil so we gave it a go..

Next, we sprinkled the birdseed onto the stencil. The birdseed that lands on the dirt will grow. Where there is poster board, nothing will grow. We sprayed the project everyday with water from a squirt bottle to keep the dirt moist.

In a few day the birdseed began to grow. 

    

The last step was to take away the tag board to reveal the dirt below. I think this would be a fun project to do on a much larger surface area outside.

Green Screens are Cool

We had a green screen donated to Apex Art and we are putting it to good use. The green screen will make it a lot easier to cut away the backgrounds....Plus, they are cool.

In the past, the best we could do was film against the whiteboard. But that isn't as cool as using a green screen. And when people ask, how did you take the photo do you want to say, "I was cool and used a green screen"? Or be lame and say,"I took it against the whiteboard"?

If you say the whiteboard, the person will probably walk away in disgust. However, if you say the green screen, they might take you out for lunch so they can ask you all about it.

By placing the green screen on the ground it makes it easier to take photos of yourself doing cool skateboard tricks. The other reason to put the green screen on the ground is because it is too big to put upright. I guess we need a higher ceiling.