Found Poetry

Artist:Pam Yee

The Grade 7 is doing a Poetry unit in their English class. In collaboration with English we are exploring visual forms of poetry in Art class and are going to culminate with bringing together the poems from both classes into a bound book that the students make.

A Found Poem in literature is like a collage in art. The writer takes text from another source (essay, newspaper article, letter, or a novel to name a few) that is not their own and reorders the words to create a poem. A Found Poem in art is slightly different, and not necessarily a collage. The picture above shows an example by an artist who works with Altered Books as an art form. In art you can create a Found Poem by also borrowing somebody else's text. The difference here is that you do not cut the words away and rearrange them on a fresh piece of paper but rather that you paint straight onto the text and highlight the words that you want to use to create your poem. The underlying text becomes part of the layering in the picture. The image created can illustrate the poem directly by referring to the text or it can become an abstract juxtaposition that has seemingly nothing to do with the wording. It is a very evocative form of visual poetry.

Grade 7 Studio Work
1. Your original text should be chosen;
2. You have found your poem;
3. Start sketching and then painting your image.

Grade 8 you are also doing Found Poems and will be referring to this post for your information as well.

Targets 2

Belmont School Hassocks

As a collective group the Grade 6 has come up with the following design idea for their Target project:
6_01 are creating Arrows
6_02 are making Bows
6_03 are designing the Target

The classes are creating three main elements for the final installation. Each item will be an individual sculpture that adds to the final collective work but can also stand alone as an art piece. The Target is a Bull's Eye with twelve different Endangered Animal species floating in front of it. The students want to bring attention to things that we are close to losing because they have been targeted by us in some way. The Arrows will carry wishes towards the Target, wishes such as freedom, peace & safe habitat. The Bows will represent how that wish is sent forth, for example a wish could be launched with good will, freedom of choice, peace or integrity. The overall aim of the Target project for the Grade 6 is to bring an awareness to their audience.

Grade 6, you are doing a great job with your Target project, most of you brought in materials to use on your Bows and Arrows and all of you have made good mock-ups of your concept designs for them. Remember to keep collecting materials that you can use to enhance your design.

For those of you who are working on the Animals, your research has proven to be excellent and it shows in your clay models. While you are painting your models, remember to look at the small details and colour nuances.

Life Map 2

The Life Map book that you are making is an independent project. Please remember to bring your Life Maps with you to class, as you are being graded on being able to work independently. I am not setting a deadline for your books yet, but I do want to see progress being made. I will be checking at the beginning of each class to see that you are working on your books and you will be given a grade for the work that you have done.

Reproduction Final

Paintings are overdue. Your completed Reproduction Painting needs to be handed in and assessed. If you still have not completed this project your only option is to be spending every free moment that you have in the Art Room making miracles happen.

Life Map 1

As an introduction to bookmaking you are creating a Life Map in the (originally Chinese) style of an accordion book. The idea behind a Life Map is create a chronological chart of your life using both abstract and concrete images to represent a significant event for each year.

In class we have talked about the different ways that you can illustrate your memories using a variety of techniques (painting, illustration, photo, words, abstract impressions, as well as using cut-paper techniques, stamping, collage, stitching etc.) Based on that discussion you have been asked to do the following:

In Your Development Sketchbook
1. List the years of your life
2. Write a memory/significant event for each year
3. Beside your memory/event sketch an idea of how it can be represented.

Once you have sketched your ideas you should begin to transfer them into the pages of your book using a variety of techniques to really make your Life Map personal and special to you.

Targets 1

Target, Jasper Johns (1974)

Since you have just finished your Archery unit in P.E. we have decided as a group to complete a project in art related to Targets. The three art classes in 6th grade (601, 602 and 603) have each come up with a different approach to this assignment. This project is going to be a mixed-media project and so far we are in the brainstorming phase trying to figure out what message you want to get across in your art pieces and how you are going to accomplish that.

Things that we have decided as a class are:

1. Your targets are not about destroying something. They are about bringing attention to an idea that you each find important.
2. You have also decided to create a larger group piece that each of you make a distinct part of.

Next we are going to start sketching out your ideas and clearly defining how the project needs to be planned and executed in your Development Sketchbooks.