The thoughtful artistic process in Barcelona

I have chosen this photo because I like very much to make chinese shadows.

I have chosen this photo because I think that I have my own light.

I have chosen this photo because there are numbers in it and I love numbers.

The artists at SOLC in Barcelona have shared their creative process of making a self-portrait.  They sketched their ideas of what personality traits and things about themselves they would like to tell their new friends in Finland.  Before they took their photographs they first experimented with the camera and found many different ways to play with the images.

Great job!

The 4th graders at Vesalan Peruskoulu in Helsinki, Finland are making and sharing art with the 5th graders at Escola SOLC in Barcelona, Spain.  Artists in both groups are 10-11 years old.

I choose this picture because exaiting and I love the light and yellow colour.

I love this photo because I thing it’s like sience. It’s dizzy / making you feel dizzy!!

I did dis photos because i like the sun and the lights .And the natural places and other things .And I love dance with the lights and the dark.

I like that photo of one poster of my school because I'm so creative, and this photo too.

I chose this picture because I love sports and I like swim

The Sun:The Sun represents space,I like to study bodies of space.

This photo means the water (of a swimming pool, anything more than water…). I think that can mean many things of me. This is a curious photo for me.

Welcome home!

The children loved this assignment! 

How to fold and cut and which way to crease the paper was a great experience for the children. 

The kids love the assignments and your projects inspire them to look for various art work with attention to how that particular art work is made. They think as artists. 

Thank you,
Dance A. Vasileska

The 4th graders from Ryerson Public School in Cambridge, Canada are making and sharing art with the 10 years olds from Kepa School in Karelia, Russia. 

Spiraling their way from Canada to Finland!

We received the spirals and shared them the class. It was interesting to watch the kids guessing the day/night side of the spirals.

Our art is on the way. The characters are traveling using different kinds of transportation.

Our spirals (project #3) should arrive at the same time with the project #4 (different kinds of transportation). The kids wrote letters in English. There was a group of students who were eager to write in Finnish Language. They used Google Translator. We are not sure about the accuracy of our translation, but I am proud of the kids who came up with this idea. 

Dance Agapieva-Vasileska
Grade 4
Ryerson PS

Dear You art project, Look around

The 4th graders from Ryerson PS in Ontario, Canada are making and sharing art with the 4th graders from Viertolan Koulu in Vantaa, Finland.

Time to share!

We are ready to share our characters with our partners - Grade 4 friends from V.K. in Vantaa! Their package arrived today and we really enjoyed the art work! I posted their characters on the glass window in our room. I am sending a picture for you to see how beautiful they are.

The kids are excited to draw and write to kids who are far away from their country. There were so many questions about Finland and predictions on the climate. Some of the students really took time to share details from their lives.

I am sending pictures that show the working process and finished art work. It has been a great experience so far and we can't wait for the next art idea!

Together with art,
Dance A. Vasileska

Ryerson PS
Cambridge, Ontario
Canada

The 4th graders from Ryerson PS in Ontario, Canada are making and sharing art with the 4th graders from Viertolan Koulu in Vantaa, Finland.

VK 4A Lights, Camera, Action!

Characters and superheroes from young artists in 4A class in Viertolan Koulu in Vantaa, Finland are on their way to Ryerson Public School in Cambridge, Canada! 

We used oil pastels and overhead projector sheets to create the stain glass effect. At the end of the workshop the kids handed me a bunch of letters that they had written to their new friends personally. It was wonderful to see that Dear You project continues outside of our 90 minutes sessions. Together we wrote the names of the young artists and names of their characters next to each other, so it will easier to match artworks from this and following projects as the Autumn session continues.

The pace and the structure of our meetings are always important to me. As we use English as the main language of communication, with the help of the class teacher translating to Finnish and other languages, the initial discussion and the explanation of the project at the beginning always takes some time. This is enjoyable time for everyone, to think and imagine together. 

Then I make sure everyone has their materials ready, and for the second half of the session, the young artists just work independently, at their own pace, asking question if needed. My favourite part is when we have 5 minutes left, and everyone brings their works to the table at the front of the class, to admire each others' creations before placing them in one big envelope. 

Looking forward to our next meeting!

Anastasia Artemeva

The 4th graders from Viertolan Koulu in Vantaa, Finland are making and sharing art with the 4th graders from Ryerson Public School in Cambridge, Canada.

Out and about in Mooste with our viewfinders!

Through the perspective of the artists in Mooste you'll catch a glimpse of how beautiful their town is with their historical buildings.  You can even see MoKS across the street! 

I wonder if their friends in India have ever seen such a place.  We can share our worlds with each other!

Stories tell you so much

The 4th and 5th grade artists from Mooste Põhikool  in Estonia have a lot to tell their new friends in Arivu School in Mysore, India.  I can sense closeness to the family and to their surroundings.  I think our world is feeling warmer from these string collages.  Thank you!

Randlevskolen working on "Sweets for you"

Tatjana Knudsen and her 4th & 5th grade artists are full of energy after their Efterårsferie holiday! 

"They were very creative and concentrated while they were working on their candy bags. This project lead us to a wonderful talk about the words "candy", which is American and the word "sweets", which is English. I think that all my students now know the difference between the two words.

THIS really is a wonderful way to mix art and language learning."

- Tatjana Knudsen

Great questions from the artists at The International School of Vantaa!

The artists at The International School of Vantaa in Finland are a very welcoming group of 4th Graders!  As I was approaching the school I saw a few kids playing outside and they all ran to me asking if I was Arlene.  Wow!  What a warm greeting for my first time at this school :)

They then took me upstairs to the class where Mary Banda, their teacher, and the rest of the artists were waiting to start creating their first project to be exchanged with Nuuk Internationale Friskole in Greenland.

Mary had the great idea to Google Map where Greenland is in relation to Finland.  This prompted many questions!

What language do they speak in Greenland?

What is the weather like?

How come there is so much snow when it is called Greenland?

Maybe our new friends in Nuuk could help us answer some of these questions.

Here are the Self Portrait Puppets they made.  I like how some artists decided to turn this into an interactive game or took the time create texture with different materials.  They look forward to hearing from their new friends in Greenland!