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Friday 28 November 2014

Growth mindset class setting

I find that the subject I struggle with having a growth mind set the most in is my university functions class. Although my marks are still satisfactory I find this year I am struggling to come to terms with new concepts. I also noticed I enjoyed my math class more last year when most of the curriculum was expanding on concepts already taught in grade nine. This year however most of the information is new to me, and I am having trouble coming to terms with the direction the curriculum has took. 

In order for me to improve my mind set in this class I need to do a series of things. The first, is to remain positive. If I believe in my strong math background I know I will be able to overcome my lack of confidence when facing issues that make me feel defeated and unmotivated to learn anymore. The second, is to ask more questions. I need to stop being afraid of the possibility of being incorrect, and voice my questions and concerns to not only my teacher, but my peers.

Hopefully I can implement these ideas in my course and continue to succeed.

Tuesday 25 November 2014

The growth mindset

A growth mindset is the ability to keep learning thinks despite failure. Success depends on the effort of a student, not the intelligence. 
As I student I see myself struggling with this concept because when I am praised for my natural intellectual ability I have a hard time pushing myself when times get tough. However, I believe I do have a growth mindset because my work effort and ambition is reflected through my school work. This video scientifically proved that my effort does pay off, and I should continue my hard work in order to achieve my goals, and continue to grow.

Thursday 20 November 2014

Cross curricular ideas

I really like this photo because I wanted to do something  a while ago that involved a map but it never happened. However, I think it might be too hard to use as my inspiration for this project because I am too afraid mine will turn out too similar. Now I am looking at more images. One that interests me is:
It's like an animal inside another animal! It also plays to the saying "concrete jungle". I'm thinking of using this idea but incorporating more animals. Also thinking about using the lyrics from a song about New York to fill the buildings.

Tuesday 11 November 2014

What I've Been Up To

Lately, I have been lacking inspiration. I have been jumping from project to project without being able to commit. At first I was considering doing a painting of the Brooklyn bridge because I love New
York. However, the thought of drawing many lines for the bricks turned me off. Then I thought of doing a painting with mountains in Switzerland because they are beautiful.
I didn't end up getting very far, but I did do a small painting inspired by a Renaissance colour scheme. Instead of using the usual blue, white, and grey. I used burgundy as the shadow side on the mountain. I did have some troubles though mixing the paint to get the shade that I was looking for. I think it might have been too close to red but, I was satisfied with the product. The photo is on my old phone and will be added as soon as possible! In grade 10 I did tons of experiencing and a project with calligraphy, and the other day I thought I would try it out again because it did kind of tie in with our recent unit the Renaissance. 
I just did some basic experimenting, but I still really enjoy it hopefully I can find a way to utilize it in a future project!

Renaissance post card progress

I started my post card today. Rather then copying an exact painting, or an artist style, and colour palette I chose to draw the architecture. During the renaissance many beautiful buildings were built, and painted. I found a photo online of a sketch or a building showing key architecture features that were created during the Renaissance. Here is the photo: 
I enjoy using my sketching abilities, which I haven't In a while, so I thought I would draw rather then paint. I sketched the building free-hand. I thought if the proportions were off it would add a modern effect. Here is my beginning sketch: 
Then I had to decide where to go next. To continue with the pencil and shade, or use a black pen? I decided on tracing with a black pen over the existing pencil lines. 
I enjoy the way it turned out considering I only did it in one period. Tomorrow I am going to add a more realistic effect by shading. I'm not sure if I will continue with the pen or a pencil. I have asked a couple class mates and they have suggested pen. However, I'm worrying the shading will be too prominent and take away from the building itself. Using a pencil however might look odd with the shift from materials. Perhaps I will experiment tomorrow than make my decision! They will be sent out on Thursday!

Thursday 6 November 2014

Artists Observe

As an artist when I think of observing other art works the first word that comes to mind is: analyzing. By analyzing I mean asking myself questions such as: what techniques did this artist use? why? What is the main message of this piece? What is the most prominent part? Is it visually enjoyable? Is the piece made to be looked at or thought about? The last question is the most important in my opinion. All pieces are meant to be thought about, but some are meant to speak a message in another form then word of mouth, and other are made to be hung in your living room. I personally enjoy works that keep me thinking about it wondering how creative and genius the artist is. An example of this is the contemporary artist Ai WeiWei. His pieces make statements, and shed light on controversial topics. Such as this one, which was made in honor of the collapsing of a school killing many children.
An example of a piece made to be visually enjoyable is:

#AskACuratorDay

Awhile back my art class celebrated ask a curator day. It was an opportunity to tweet question to curators from museums all over the world. A curator is a person responsible for the collection, art pieces, preservation of historic pieces, and displaying. They also might over see fundraising or be the museum director. For this specific project I chose to ask a Canadian museum is there was any preference of Canadian artist over international artist to have their works displayed. Sadly I did not get a response. However, I did learn plenty of useful information which related to our contemporary vs. traditional project. Mrs.Rose tweeted Johannes Burg for example and they actually responded with pictures of traditional, and contemporary pieces that were in their museum. Overall, it was a great learning experience.