Take a Stand Against Child Labour!!

Take a Stand Against Child Labour

For our project my group decided to focus on child labour, because as Early Childhood Education students we are obviously interested in protecting the rights of children, no matter where they live. Although we were able to easily decide on a topic, we had a lot of back and forth discussion on what our "Big Idea" could be, and how to relate it to art and creativity. After looking into all the statistics and facts we realized that child labour is still a very large issue, and there really is not enough recognition in it. We realized that although we thought the most obvious solution was to simply boycott companies who supported child labour, such as disney, nike, fisher price, the gap etc. But upon further research we actually found that the most promising solution was to simply raise awareness about companies and organizations who are trying to stop it, such as Fair Trade and Unicef. We decided that our Big Idea would be to use a facebook page to start a T-Shirt competition. People would submit their ideas and designs for T-shirts that raise awareness on the issue. That way people will get involved in the issue and help support it by using their creativity. 

We will involve a local Toronto company who uses organic companies to print the design of the winner. We will also ask Unicef to help sponsor us and post our competition on their website. We will persuade these companies by advertising their business on our facebook page and also by contributing all of the profits to the Unicef organization.

After presenting our idea to the class and seeing the other presentations I was proud of the job that we did. I think we had a very informative presentation and were able to incorporate the arts into our presentation. I thought our hand-outs to the class were really well done because we decided to make little t-shirts with hand prints that had five facts about child labour. This went really well with our idea, which was to create a design t-shirt competition to help raise awareness. Our handout was a design with awareness on it.

 One disappointing part of the experience was that we were pressed for time so we were unable to actually recieve any comments or feedback from the class. The one comment we did receive was from the Professor, and she asked us how we would advertise our competition. We explained that we would do it through online media such as facebook and through word of mouth.

If we were to do this project over I think we would need to have more ideas on how to advertise our idea, such as posting it around the school or in public areas in Toronto. Though I do think word of mouth can work, I think it is much slower and by advertising to the public the information can get out a lot faster and to a whole lot more people.

I really enjoyed doing this project and I think it is greatly beneficial for Early Childhood Education because it taught me that when you believe in an issue you can really make a difference. It inspires me as a future teacher to use art and creativity as a way to get children to involve themselves in social issues that need attention. It also teaches children that anyone can make a difference. Using creativity is a great way to express your own desires as well as inspire others to make a difference as well. 

Guerilla Art

For this weeks blog I had to venture out into the world and leave an anonymous art piece in a public place. I decided to do sidewalk chalk art in my local park. I chose to leave the message: "Smile! Spring is Back!" because all winter long I have had to watch grumpy dog-walkers stomp through snow and ice in order to exercise their dogs. How have I witnessed this you might ask? Because I myself am a grumpy dog-walker. I thought this would be a good idea because it has been a long, cold winter and the change from winter to spring means finally going on walks is bearable and even fun again.


I decided to leave my message right beside the garbage can, because I know dog-walkers are often in need of this particular item. I sat and waited for a couple minutes and was very happy (because I did not want to have to wait for too long) to see a young man walking his dog. Like I had suspected he was in need of the garbage can and after throwing his bag into the garbage saw my guerilla art message. I was excited because he looked down and smiled and I think he might of laughed to himself. I was nervous to initially do this project but was happy that I did because it makes me feel like little people can make a difference. Even though sometimes it feels like its hard to be heard, little things can start a ripple of change. 


I actually had a lot of fun participating in Guerilla art because I felt like I was sending out a positive message to my neighbourhood. Although I only sat and watched one person go by my art piece, it will likely remain for several days and influence more people than I will ever see. I was glad I decided to send a positive message, because in our fast-paced society people are often in such a hurry to get some where that you often do not see them smile. I hope that my art piece allowed people to stop and think about what spring represents: new beginnings and renewed hope. I love that after a long, cold winter spring brings warmth and new life.


I believe this was a great learning experience for me as a future educator because it really reinforced to me the importance of including art and creativity in the learning experience. There are many ways to incorporate art and different social causes into education and involve students. I think it would be a great idea to right positive and inspiring messages in public places with the help of students. It encourages them to be creative, but also shows them at a young age that everyone can make a difference and be heard.

Pretend Play & Magical thinking: Wicked Witch of the Thorns

Magical thinking is the ability to use your imagination and fantasy to create unique ideas and stories.  Fantasy is an important aspect of childhood, as many children in our North American culture experience fantasy through the belief in Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny and stories. People have been drawn to fantasy for centuries, which is why mystical beings such as the Lock Ness Monster are still talked about today. To coincide with this blog about fantasy, I decided to create: The Wicked Witch of the Thorns. By simply taking a picture of a single rose from a bouquet in my kitchen, and using my imagination and creativity on the computer program paint, I was able to make an inanimate object come to life.

So who is the

 Wicked Witch of the Thorns?

She is a female witch who supervises a little known world called: The Kitchen. She generally enjoys her environment, acknowledging that the thorns around her are a big reason she became so powerful. Her thorns have acted as natural weapons for her, and help her to fend off pesky animals and children. Although she likes this power, she feels lonely at times, since children do not enjoy her presence as much as other flowers who are more inviting. She enjoys her height, as it gives her the ability to overlook the kitchen world. She became a practised witch several years ago after shadowing Harry Potter, an old man who potted plants. At the time she was a simple bulb, but with his help she flowered into a beautiful witch. He showed her the ways of magic and she went wild, creating a world of thorns and thick branches for protection.  She generally speaks plant, but she is familiar with dog, cat, and turtle as these animals often explore her territory. While she enjoys the advantages of living indoors, she sometimes thinks about giving up her stable, protected life in order to interact with the bugs and animals that live in the wild. She once said, one must endure the bites of the caterpillars in order to see the beauty of the butterfly. Though she is a lone rose, she dreams of one day being a mother but realizes she would likely have to relocate, as her glass vase holds no soil to firmly plant down.  She hopes to one day travel, but has fears about detaching herself from her base.

After creating my Rose Witch, I sat back and wondered what art word I could pick for this blog. The word I decided on was: 

Design 

In Art & Creative Development for young Children, Schirrmacher and Fox refer to design as: “A scribble of lines, a splash of colors, and an array of shapes” (2009). I feel like this fits for my object because my I feel like my overall picture combined many different aspects, but worked together as a unified whole (Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009). Basically, I feel like I was able to accomplish what I set out to do (Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009).

Including fantasy play or stories is an important part of the developing child, as it creates endless amounts of possibilities in terms of where you can take the learning. Although fantasy play may at first seem like nonsense ideas, there is actually so many ways to incorporate fantasy and imagination into everyday learning. Fantasy can be used to teach children about the lives of animals, their world, or just to explore their creativity.  This is important for Early Childhood Educators to understand, because often the focus of learning is placed on concrete learning such as math and reading. Imagination and creativity and fantasy play can be just as important for the development of the child, and allows children to actively engage and interact with their education.


Reference:

Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J.E. (2009). Art and creative development for young children (6^th Ed.).Belmont, CA: Delmar.

Grocery Shopping with a Berry Good Twist!

Berries

For this blog I decided to focus on berries, because they're (mostly) super sweet, colourful and yummy. There are a wide variety of Berries available to us, made up of a wide assortment of colours, shapes, and sizes. Berries most often have tiny little seeds located inside the fruit. 

There are Berries everywhere!

Just the Bare-Berries Necessities

Blueberries

Strawberries

Blackberries

Raspberries

Cloudberry

Boysenberry

Marionberries

Tayberries

Gooseberries

Reducurrants

Blackcurrant

Cranberries

Huckleberries

Elderberries

Goji berries

Mulberries

Acai berres

Bearberries

Holy Berry! There’s Berries in there!

Milkshakes: strawberry, strawberry banana

Smoothies: strawberry, fruit

Drinks: Strawberry daiquiris,

Jams: blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, wildberry

Muffins à Blueberries, Apple Rasberries

Pies: Strawberry Rhubarb, blueberry, rasberry

Pancakes

Strawberry Crepes

Strawberry Shortbread

Strawberry cheesecakes

Rose

Strawberry Salads

Rasberry Vinagrette

My Sketches:

 /  Shape \

I chose to sketch these particular berries because of their unique shape. In Art and Creative Development for Young Children, Schirrmacher and Fox state that "shape is an appropriate criterion for critquing two dimensional art that has length and width" (2009). Shape is created by connecting lines. The berries that I chose to sketch could be characterized as realistic, clearly defined, small and little, angular, complex, precise and proportional (Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009). I also chose them because I wanted to sketch berries that I had never heard of or seen before. The Tayberry has a very similar shape to a raspberry, looking very oval. The cloudberry has a shape and look very similar to that of a flower. The gooseberry's have a shape that is similar to a coconut, very round.  

Talking about shape, colour, patterns etc. is important in the Early Childhood Education classroom because it helps children to see the connection between art and their everyday life. Because the curriculum often places a strong focus on language and math, this helps children to understand that art is something that is a part of everyday life, not just a leisure activity to be done in spare time. 

Picture Retrieved From:

Assorted Berries: www.thehealthyjunky.wordpress.com

Raspberry Heart: www.lemonmeringue.com

Strawberry Salad: www.justsimplycook.blogspot.com

References:

Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J.E. (2009). Art and creative development for young children (6^th Ed.).Belmont, CA: Delmar.

Picture Collaging with Scissors

Communicating personal identity and understanding of the world can be a difficult process, especially for children who often have trouble turning thoughts into verbal communications. That is why art is such an important endeavor that should be encouraged throughout all children's development. Art is a way for children to use visual pictures and words to communicate how they are feeling inside. For this blog I decided to use scissors and magazine pictures to express my own personal identity and at the same time show an understanding of the world around me. I think that this activity could easily be modified and used in a classroom, to allow children to express their selves as well as to find out their understanding of the world around them. 

Collage
Creating a collage is an abstract process that involves combining different pictures and elements of art together to make a complete whole. It can include words, photographs, hand-drawn pictures, pipe cleaners, bobbles and much more. The only important thing is that you create something that works together as a whole. 

For my personal collage I chose to put in a number of pictures as well as a couple of key phrases that I found to be representative of myself and my understanding of the world. The phrases I used were: where the sky is the limit, be the root, free your mind, and choose your own destiny. For me personally, these represent how I feel about myself as well as how I see the world around me. Racism and all sorts of discrimination still exist and I think they could easily be eradicated if people would only choose to free their mind and see all people as equals (which is not so easily done). For myself though i feel like the sky is the limit and has endless possibilities for all people all over the world. I think people, as well as myself should try and be their own root, meaning they need to find their own ground, their own place and spot in the universe to begin their life. 

When I chose my pictures for my collage I kept with the theme of openness and freedom by choosing open eyes, water (which represents a sense of freedom to me), an umbrella, two colored people (blue and purple) and a picture of the world. I purposely put a picture of the umbrella over the world because I feel like it is our job as humans to protect and care for the world and the people and animals within our earth. I included a picture of a pair of hands holding flowers because I believe that we hold the key to beauty, what we think is beautiful is beautiful. Finally, I put in a picture of a blue and purple person because to me this represents the idea that we are all the same, no matter what our appearance may be. It does not matter what is on the outside, whether we are blue, purple or green, but what is on the inside. 

I believe this art activity could easily be transformed to use in a classroom setting because of the benefits it holds for both the children and the educator. By asking a group of children to use a collage made of pictures and words to represent themselves and their understanding of the world, the teacher and the children can get a better understanding of the kinds of beliefs and ideas that the classroom holds. I think for this kind of art project it would be important and beneficial for the children to bring in magazines from home, to help children to represent the different cultures and beliefs they have at home. 

After completing the collages I think it would be important to have a sharing period where children could explain to classmates why certain pictures or words were chosen for their collage. This can help children to reflect on why this activity was important and also to advocate tolerance. 

After completing this project and blog I feel like I have a better understanding of why art is so beneficial for allowing children to express their thoughts and feelings. Sometimes it is much easier to acknowledge our feelings and beliefs that we carry through art and pictures. Especially for young children, the ability to use words to express feelings is very difficult. Bringing magazines from home and giving children the ability to explore and create in a comfortable environment is an easy way to bring understanding and acceptance into the classroom environment. 

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!

The world forgetting, by the world forgot.

Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!

Eternal sunshine of the Spotless Mind was an interesting movie, with many artistic components and many hidden meanings. This film is also very

ABSTRACT

using many different dream sequences, and often going between past, present and future. 

When talking with several of my friends in the course, we discovered a lot of symbolism within the film, that can be found in the names, colours, objects and places. The character of Clementine is a lot like the song "Oh my Darling Clementine" relating to the lyrics: 

Oh my darling, oh my darling,

Oh my darling, Clementine!

Thou art lost and gone forever

Dreadful sorry, Clementine

Just as the song suggests, the character Clementine feels lost in the movie. Always searching for change because she is not happy and cannot accept who she is. This change is represented in several ways: through the colour of her hair, which changes throughout the movie depending on her moods, and also in the objects that surround her. Her potatoe collection seems to portray her life and the many different "costumes" that she tries on. Her quilt, which I see as her comfort item, represents her life, which is made up of fragments of experiences. Clementine is very impulsive, constantly wanting to try new and exciting things, as she gets bored and restless with routines. 

Joel on the other hand is portrayed as very opposite to Clementine, with his name literally translating to: "to be foolish and determined".  That definition very much describes Joels character in the film, he is often foolish, doing things on a whim, but is determined. As we can see throughout his dream sequences, Joel makes an impulsive decision to erase Clem from his memory, but realizes this is a mistake and spends the rest of the film trying to reverse this decision. I think Clementine's and Joel's opposing personalities are represented throughout the film with the opposing colours of red and blue that can be seen in almost every scene. 

Much of this film revolves around the idea of change, with Clementine trying to change herself, and the patients at the clinic trying to change the past. I think what this film is trying to get across is the idea that you cannot change what is meant to be. I think that is why a lot of the scenes occur in winter: this is a season that represents loneliness, despair and darkness. Although people do not often like winter, it cannot change to spring until nature takes its course and it is time. I also believe change is a significant theme because when Clementine is talking about how she never believed she was beautiful, and as a child wanted to make her doll beautiful she is lying on a leapord blanket. Although she is talking about how she believed she could be beautiful if she could change the doll and make it beautiful, the blanket conveys the idea that you can't change your spots. Clementine is always looking to change and be beautiful, instead of accepting herself for what she is and seeing the beauty in that. 

I also find it interesting that Clementine and Joel fall in love on the ice. I believe the ice portrays the idea of love as being fragile but beautiful. In the picture I chose to include in this blog, Clementine and Joel can be seen in the right upper corner happily together, with a large crack in the middle, left of the frame. This is the idea that love is so fragile and can so easily be broken.

 I think another major theme in the movie is that people should just be happy and enjoy the time they have together. Both Joel and Clementine are initially together thinking the other person can save their life and give them meaning. Only at the end of the film, after realizing they were previously together and unhappy do they realize that they are not the answer to each others problems, but would still like enjoy their time together anyways. I believe that this ending implies to us the idea that love can only work if you see the person for who they are, a separate human being that can add to your life, not solve your life. 

To conclude this blog I really enjoyed watching this movie and looking for the artistic elements. I believe this movie has so many hidden meanings, with even the title of the movie being based off of a poem. Clementine's and Joel's oddball relationship shows the fragility of love, using bizarre dream sequences. The movie happens out of order and not in sequence, and just like Joel and Clementine's love, the movie only makes sense at the very end. 
This is significant for early education because it makes you realize that there is various art forms all around every day life. Even though our education today often only places importance on subjects such as math and english, movies like this show children that art really is all around us. Whether or not education supports it, it is something that people support. If you just try and look a little deeper, you can show to children that art is every where and it is always important to use creativity as a way to express feelings and issues. 


Picture reference:
google images

The Many Patterns of Toronto

Patterns 

are all around us. 

Whether we take the time to notice them or not we  are constantly surrounded by the many patterns and designs found in jewelry, clothing, animals and nature. When I started to think about every day patterns that existed in Toronto, my mind began racing with possibilities: windows in buildings, brick walls, trees, tiled floors... all of a sudden I realized that everywhere I looked there were patterns. But none of them seemed right, none of them jumped out at me as the pattern I wanted to talk about in my blog. It wasn't until I was waiting for my Go Train to arrive at Union that the perfect pattern came to my mind: train tracks!  

Why not write about a pattern that is so influential on my every day life, a pattern that dictates my arrival to and from school.  Although the Go Train itself would have been easy enough to talk about - with patterns being present both inside and outside the cars - I decided to focus on what moves the train: the tracks. 

. 

There is something beautiful to me about seeing sets of train tracks buried beneath the snow. When I first look at this picture I see a snowy route to school, but when I look a little deeper I see many different patterns. The first patterns that come to my mind are the most obvious: the regular, sequenced pattern of the horizontal wooden slates, so precise and particular, and I see the irregular patterns of the vertical metal slats, some perpendicular and solo, while others are intertwining and bending. 

When I look even deeper I see a more significant pattern, one that very much represents to me the atmosphere of the GTA. This pattern of snow, train tracks, snow, train tracks, signifies to me the idea of man vs nature - a pattern that can be seen throughout Toronto. Every where you look you see nature and development fighting for their place in our city: parks surrounded by highways, condominiums creeping up on Lake Ontario, flowers neighboring concrete. The question is: who will win?

This idea is significant to me, because very soon these patterns may no longer exist. As Toronto continues to grow  more buildings, stores, apartments and roads are built to accommodate our ever-expanding population. I feel like our society lives in the here and now, destroying nature and beauty without a second thought all for quick profit and quick fixes. 

I am afraid that our contrived and created world may very well overtake our natural, amazing planet. Although I highly doubt I will live to see our city vanquished of all nature, I don't believe that this idea, this notion, is so far fetched. We need to start thinking about our actions, and how we are affecting the future of our children, and the future of humanity. But more importantly we need to think about the future of our planet and all the other species that call Earth their home, because their fate, their survival, their future is dependent on the decisions we make  today. The world is an awesome place, and we should really work to keep it that way. 

This is significant for Early Childhood Education because it made clear to me how easily art can be incorporated into nature and every day events. You do not have to sit and cut out shapes and provide markers to find art in the classroom. It also showed me how easily art and nature can be incorporated together. After doing this blog I thought of several fun art ideas that could be used in the future when I become a teacher. I realized that an easy and fun thing to do with children would be to ask them to go home and into their backyards and find patterns or take a picture of something that looks artistic to them. This helps them to be creative but also to see that art is a part of every day life.

Picture References:

google images