Blog Update 2015-17

Please excuse my lake of updates. 2015-16 was a packed year for me and I never got to update once.

The art dept is transitioning to google classroom for communication. Please be aware that this blog STILL has many links and resources but may not be updated frequently.

Art Google Classrooms are here

2015 Westbrook Women's Club

This year 35 students were honored to be selected to compete in the annual Women's Club Competition.

This event is sponsored by the local chapter of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs. Local artists are guest judges and select 1st, 2nd and, 3rd prizes with one honorary mention. The winners all go to the district show in Gorham Maine and, those winners go to the State Convention in Augusta. The winners can go as far as the National level.

Student artworks are chosen to enter the contest by the High School Art teachers. Work must have good craftsmanship, strong composition, creativity and fulfill the guidelines of the lesson or standards. All levels of art are in the same competition so if chosen a freshman in a foundations class can be in the running with a Senior Studio Art Work done by someone with 4 years of art instruction.

Please join me in congratulating all the students who were chosen and the winners as well.

Haleigh Barrett 1ST PLACE Canis Major and Minor / Acrylics

Kai McGee

2ND PLACE Depth Scape / Colored Pencil

Chelsea Tuttle 3RD PLACE Cats Eye / Acrylics

Kelly Maguire

HONORABLE MENTION Still Life / Graphite

Complete list of students:

1	Sierra Cameron
2	Jenessa Corbett
3	Shammah Gohomera
4	Andrew Henward
5	Jasmine Im
6	Aymen Kahleel
7	Alaa Makki
8	Caitlin Morgan
9	Savahna Plummer
10	Dominic Creenan
11	Maeve Harnois
12	Kelly Maguire grade 9 HONORABLE MENTION
13	Alex Phelps
14	Sumayo Shute
15	Marion Webster
16	Kelsey Cavanaugh
17	Sadie Dorn
18	Haleigh Barrett grade 12 1ST PLACE
19	Emma Berry
20	Dana Ledue
21	Chelsea Tuttle grade  11 3RD PLACE
22	Lizzie Stalling
23	Isaiah Gava
24	Kaitlynn Hutchins
25	Lea Hikisch
26	LaPierre, Camryn
27	Sreyneang Sok
28	Kai McGee grade 11 2ND PLACE
29	Daniella Gilman
30	Natalie Brackett
31	Hiba Ahmed
32	Hannah Griffin
33	Alisha Aube
34	Kelly Dyer
35	Noor Abulabas

Youth Art Month 2015

Youth Art Month 2015

March is "Youth Art Month" and this year the Portland Museum of Art will be holding the annual exhibition again. MAEA teacher members from all over the state can select one work to exhibit. This year, two students will represent WHS. 

Kaitlynn Hutchins (Mrs. Bickford) and Natalie Brackett (Mr. Johnson)

The work will be up in the Portland Museum of Art for the whole month of March. Every Friday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., the PMA and all special exhibitions are free to the public.

Haleigh Barrett will have her work on display for one year at the MEA Headquarters Office 35 Community Drive, Augusta ME. Each year select students are honored for Youth Art Month in this annual show.

To see the complete collection of the YAM work at the PMA throughout the State K-12, click this link. 

Natalie Brackett - 1st Day of Summer
Colored Pencil

Kaitlynn Hutchins - Tiger
Acrylics and Mediums on Panel

Haleigh Barrett - Glass Still Life
Watercolor and Soft Pastel

Fall 2014

Projects and Events / Fall 2014

As soon as the year starts the speed of time becomes really REALLY fast. Along with regular classes we have many school and community based projects going on. Our chapter of National Art Honor Society is getting bigger and more diverse all the time.

Given that there are so many things to post, I felt it was best to do a bullet point list with a few high points. For more information on any of these events please see Mr. Johnson or myself.

We are off to an AWESOME start!
Ms. B.

- 2014 Camp Sunshine pumpkin Festival

•  250 pumpkins carved
• over 100 students participated
• 28 students got out of bed on a day off to install pumpkins in the rain
• the theme was the 200 Bicentennial Birthday of Westbrook
• we set up a Replica of Maine Street including the river and both mills as bookends
• to see the album click here

 

2014 Archangel Russia Student Exchange / Photo Exhibition and Contest

• three Archangel Students and two Teachers visited WHS this fall
• students participated in a photo exchange program with WHS students
• 200 images were submitted from WHS students
• 3 students were selected as winners and will travel to Archangel this Spring
• Winners are 1st Place Kaitlynn Hutchins, 2nd Place Isaiah Gave, and 3rd place Lizzie Stalling.

PHOTOS COMING / CHECK BACK

2104 Celebrate Origin Fundraiser

• beautiful works based on the origins of our students countries continue
• this project was a beautiful backdrop for the multicultural food fair this fall
• all families got a gift from the CO country they originate from
• cards, t-shirts and prints of all sizes are available and will be ongoing
• to see the images we have so far click here

National Art Honor Society 2014 /15
This Art in Service organization has lots of projects in progress. Below is the short list of activities students can get involved with.

• Girl Scouts troop Art Badge event / Contact Lizzie Stalling
• Improve the words of "Inspiration" art work around the building / Contact Ms. B or Mr. J.
• Family Art Night Supports Literacy @ Canal school at the Spring book fair
• "Art Builds Bridges" quote middle stair case by the Art Office
• Help the French Club with the "Festival of Trees" Francophone decorations
• photograph "Visit from Frosty" at Canal School
• many individually based projects that are ongoing that have been specially requested
• help with Seeds of Peace flags idea / contact Mr. Dyer
• 2015 NAHS Induction Ceremony Events
• 2015 Annual Art Exhibition / Installments / Free Art Making

SUMMER 2014

Hello Art Students! Summer is finally here!

This post will be for anyone interested in the following subjects - ART / Photography / The Art Process and AP Art. As you all know I spend a lot of time setting up pins on my Pinterst boards for inspiration and learning. I have boards for just about everything and add more all the time! Be sure to check out ones you think will encourage and inspire you.

First! Please watch this short video by Artist Gwenn Seemel. Her views on "process" are interesting and her habit of taking photos of that process is incredible to watch. Studio Art - Plan on taking a series of photos of at least one assignment this year.

 

I also want to talk about journals.....sketchbooks, visual collections of thoughts and inspiration. In a way, Pinterest is just like a journal...a journal of what inspires you on line. It is a collection of digital information kept in visual form. The variety of formats for visual journals is endless. When you do a general search for art journal / sketchbook you get millions of hits and an enormous amount of inspiration. I would like to focus on the blending of photos with the idea of a journal in this post.

Photography is just another medium. No different really than a pastel, a hunk of stone or any other raw material. You capture light and trap the instance within a format and composition of your choosing. You choose what the viewer will see and how they will see it. The image you create is just the start! There is no end to what you can do with that image once you capture it! It's yours and it can be manipulated however you see fit to enhance meaning, CHANGE meaning, evoke meaning, or even destroy meaning!

Here are but a few spectacular directions you might consider going in. These images are all from just ONE artist. All of them use photos as a spring board. Her blog entry - CLICK HERE.

This image is soooo inspirational. At it's core it has several design ideas. Repetition, pattern, positive and negative space, surface feel, contrast both high and low, TEXT, text as design, flipped image and more. Consider doing a journal entry that spring boards off of an image....yours or another artists. How can you use the image to inspire a new image with a different flavor.

Disect an image! Re-frame it. Reposition to create Movement. Add commentary! Enter related images. This journal entry is really clean and simple but of high impact. The composition gets your attention with clean lines and mixed with irregular frames. The use of simple red and black integrates the parts. The dissection of an image or images reworked back together or combined expresses a whole new take on the original idea.

Personalize Your Journal!!!! Make this puppy Y.O.U.R.S.! Select that one image that keeps you going! Place an image on the cover that screams I BELONG TO __________.  An artists journal is like a museum of thoughts and ideas. A museum needs a Marquee.

Combine two or more images into one. Be thoughtful about the composition. Consider color and value and how they interact in the whole. Cropping is GOOD! What you leave out is just as important as what you decide to include. Use principles of design to create rhythm, and flow. Get out your other art mediums and see who plays nice. Have some fun. Explore possible ideas for final works.

More resources:

Art Journals and Book Arts my board on Pinterest
Digital Media Art Board

Photography Board

AP Studio Art Board (KH - :-) see the shoe designs that incorporate art styles on this board....I see some fun possibilities for this concept with Architecture and photo manipulation or set up shots. This student scored a 5 on his portfolio.)

2014 Annual Exhibition / NAHS / Celebrate Origin

It's Art Show time again!

And that means crazy busy art rooms. Below is a list of whats going on.


First:
We are heavily into our current fundraiser "Celebrate Origin"
NAHS and art students are working on over 26 images that represent our diverse learning community. We now have students from over 26 countries and we are creating images to represent each one. Cards, prints and T-Shirts are available.
Click here for pricing and items.

Here are some examples of the beautiful works.

  



Next up: National Art Honor Society Activities.
On Tuesday May 6 during our annual exhibition we will be inducting 15 students into our new chapter of National Art Honor Society. NAHS is an Art in Service activity. Students participate in community art related services such as "Camp Sunshine Pumpkin Festival" "Archangel Sister City Celebration" and the "Celebrate Origin Fundraiser." They also perform countless school improvement projects. The following students will be inducted on Tuesday May 6 at 6:30 in the art suite.
For more information about National Art Honor Society click here.



Lizzie Stalling President
Annie Pryor VP
Emma Berry Secretary
Leah Driesen
Paul Gorham
Maggie Harnois
Doaa Khalil
Sam Clark
Kaitlynn Hutchins
Aleah Manoogian
Janessa Corbett
Sierra Cameron
Abby StClair
Dana Ledue
Aymen Khaleel

Finally - 2014 Annual Art Exhibition.
Our annual celebration of visual arts learning will be held during the week of May 6 - 8. All students in art classes will be represented at this show. The exhibition is attended by WHS classes and community members. Our show is an interactive show that provides many ways to interact with the art and the students. There will be voting for prizes, Artist making cards hands on activity, a WHS grad studio talk about study and employment in the arts and Celebrate Origin items on sale. Below is the schedule.

 

Westbrook Women's Club Competition 2014

This year the Annual Westbrook Women's club had 31 entries into the annual competition. Over half of the WHS students chosen to compete in this event were able to attend the ceremony and celebration. All 31 artworks are shown in the slideshow to the right. The chosen winners are below.

1st Place Maggie Harnois

3rd Place Sam Russell

2nd Place Kaitlynn Hutchins

Honorable Mention Leah Driesen

The following students were honored at this event:

1. Abby StClair   

2. Marty McKinnis  

3. Kaitlynn Hutchins   

4. Courtney LeClair    

5. Catherine Galipeau    

6. Tylor Work     

7. Lizzie Richardson     

8. Julie Mudasumbwa    

9. Caitlyn Stearns    

10. Sierra Cameron   

11. Leah Driesen   

12. Jessie/Sawyer Bartlett  

13. Shammah Gahomera   

14. MacKenzie Rayner   

15. Diego Ramirez    

16. Lizzie Stalling  

17. Annie Pryor    

18. Corey Williams   

19. Haleigh Barrett

20. Aymen Khaleel

21. Dana Ledue     

22. Sean Gagnon    

23. Jenessa Corbett    

24. Ethan Nash   

25. Jasmine Im    

26. Christina Wormell    

27. Emma Berry     

28. Doaa Khalil  

29. Maggie Harnois  

30. Dana Abdulhay  

31. Sam Russell