As we started the second pathfinder, students were uneasy about how they were going to visually show the sound of their friends' voices. Once we got the art medium in their hands and replayed many of the recording, the students allowed their creative juices to flow. All the teachers are very impressed with the visual art these students produced.
sound art
Finding their own meaning in the artistic process
2021, China, Ukraine1 CommentBeing in and enjoying the process of overcoming artistic challenges
8 years old, 9 years old, China, USACommentSampling, sounds, and storytelling for their friends in Finland
2020, 8 years old, 9 years old, Collective Art, Finland, Mixed age group, United KingdomCommentAlethea and Sigi have been working on these pieces inspired by the ‘collaging’ in the last project as well as their experiences over the recent lockdowns. They have experimented with making sounds with what was available to them, banging together pebbles, using hairbrushes to play the ukekele, using their voices as instruments and playing each other their favourite piano pieces.
Sounds of Kokkola
2019, 2nd Grade, Australia, FinlandComment
Ympäristön äänimaiseman havainnointi ja äänittäminen oli 2. luokan oppilaistani lopulta mielenkiintoinen tehtävä, vaikka aluksi kuului vähän nurinaa siitä, eikö saakaan kuvata. Pyrimme tekemään lyhyitä pätkiä, sillä toisten tekemien ääninäytteiden kuunteleminen ilman kuvaa on osalle lapsista aika vaikeaa ja pitkästyttävää. He eivät ole tottuneet keskittymään, kuvittelemaan ja miettimään, miltä ääni näyttää. Nykyajan visuaalinen kulttuuri suoltaa valmista kuvaa joka taholta.
Sääolosuhteet vaihtelivat suuresti marraskuussa Kokkolassa . Välillä oli kuulas pakkassää tai satoi uutta pehmeää lunta. Välillä satoi vettä kaatamalla. Lapset halusivat äänittää ulkona veden eri olomuotoja. He havainnoivat litiseviä lätäköitä, tippuvia räystäitä ja jääpuikkoja, rapisevaa jäätä, narskuvaa lunta ja lopulta riemukasta lumipallojen heittelyä. Jotkut oppilaista halusivat kuvata ääninäytteessään tuulen voimaa: kuinka jännittävästi tuuli repii oksia ja paukuttaa ovia.
Koulumme takana oleva puisto on talvella tyynellä säällä hyvin hiljainen. Linnut ovat muuttaneet etelään. Huonolla säällä siellä kulje juuri ihmisiäkään muutamaa koiraa ulkoiluttavaa mummoa lukuunottamatta. Toisin on kesällä.
Äänimaisemassamme ei yllätyksekseni kukaan edes yrittänyt kuvata Suomen alkutalven pimeyttä tylsyytenä, joka sateisina päivinä syö kaiken värin maisemasta ja melkein lamaannuttaa elämän (aikuisista). Lapsia kylmä, märkä ja pimeä ei tunnu lainkaan haittaavan! He saapastelevat iloisina suoraan lätäkön halki ja laskevat pyllymäkeä heti, kun on vähänkin jäätä. Koulun kuivauskaapit ovat hurisseet täysillä jo monta viikkoa, kun märät pipot, lapaset, sukat, ulkohousut ja takit yritetään saada kuiviksi ennen seuraavaa välituntia. Ilmeisesti vain aikuiset kärsivät kaamosmasennuksesta! Ja heti kun sataa vähänkin uutta, valkoista ja puhdasta lunta, lapset suorastaan ratkeavat riemusta.
Vastakohtaisuudet Australian kesään, kuumuuteen, kuivuuteen ja metsäpaloihin korostuivat. Bullin koululaisten äänimaisemia kuunnellessa oppilaani kiinnittivät huomiota heti lintuihin ja luonnon ääniin. Se, ettemme juuri saaneet selvää lasten puheesta ei haitannut. Riemukas kesäinen tunnelma välittyi tänne maapallon toiselle puolelle ja sai lapset kuvittelemaan jotain itselle tuntematonta, asettumaan toisen asemaan ja matkustamaan mielikuvituksensa avulla lämpimään maailman ääriin. He totesivat, että kesällä meilläkin on puissa suhinaa ja lintujen laulua.
Tietoa ei pidä erottaa taiteesta. Siksi olemmekin opiskelleet Australian asioita ja seuranneet uutisia mm. metsäpalojen vaikutuksista koaloihin ja muihin eläimiin. On ollut helpottavaa kuulla Jeremyn lähettämistä viesteistä, ettei ystäväkoulumme ole vaarassa. Kuulimme kuitenkin, että joillakin oppilailla on kotona matkalaukku valmiiksi pakattuna, jos tulee äkkilähtö tulen takia. Se herätti keskustelua ja empaattisia tunteita. Oppilaat sanoivatkin, että Bullin koulun oppilaat saavat tulla kouluun ja asumaan meille, jos savu haittaa. Tervetuloa ilman vaarojakin!
Mediakasvatuksen osuus huipentui siihen, että Yleisradion filmiryhmä kävi tekemässä jutun DearYou- projektistamme ja otimme skypeyhteyden Jeremyn luokkaan. Aikaeron takia tulimme aamulla jo puoli tuntia ennen koulun alkua ( klo 7.30) kouluun ja Jeremyn oppilaineen odotti puheluamme viideltä iltapäivällä. Oppilaat eivät malttaneet kovin hyvin kuunnella, mitä Jeremy oppilaineen puhui, sillä oppilaiden näkeminen livenä reaaliajassa oli niin jännittävvää ja ihanaa.
Omana kokemuksenani kerroin uutisjutussa, että taidekasvatuksen kolme tasoa ovat toteutuneet tässä projektissa loistavasti:
- Henkilökohtaisen kasvun tasolla oppilaat ovat keskittyneet kuvan tekemiseen ja ilmaisuun. On syvennytty itseen ja omaan tekemiseen, eikä lopputulos ole ollut tärkein. On vain pyritty kasvattamaan lapsen omaa identiteettiä.
- Toisella tasolla projektissa on ollut yhteiskunnallisia tavoitteita, jotka pyrkivät tarjoamaan lapsille sellaisia valmiuksia, joita elämässä tarvitaan. Esimerkkeinä mainitsin empatian kasvattamisen, erilaisuuden hyväksymisen ja ymmärtämisen sekä kuvanlukutaidon.
- Kolmanneksi meillä on toteutunut hienosti kulttuurinen näkökulma. Taide ja kuva kertovat ihmisistä ja ihmisryhmistä.
Kiitos hienosta projektista Arlene ja Jeremy sekä Bullin koulun oppilaat!Kokkolassa Suomen 102. itsenäisyyspäivänä6.12.2019, Auli ja 2a Mäntykankaan koulusta
Observing and recording the ambient sound landscape was an interesting task for my 2nd grade students, although at first there was a bit of a murmur about not being able to record. We tried to make short clips because listening to the sound samples made by others without a picture was quite difficult and boring for some children. They are not used to concentrating, imagining and thinking about what the sound looks like. The visual culture of today echoes the image of everywhere.
The weather conditions in Kokkola varied greatly in November. There were occasional frosty snow or new soft snow. Sometimes it rained by pouring water. The children wanted to record various forms of water outdoors. They observe squishy puddles, dripping eaves and icicles, crumbling ice, creaking snow, and finally, joyful throwing of snowballs. Some students wanted to capture the sound of the wind in their sound sample: how exciting the wind is tearing branches and banging doors.
The park behind our school is very quiet during the winter with calm weather. Birds have moved south. In bad weather there are just a few people out there, except for a few grandmothers who walk outside. It's different in summer.
To our surprise, nobody even tried to portray the darkness of the early winter in Finland as a boredom that eats all the color of the landscape on rainy days and almost paralyzes life (of adults). Children in cold, wet and dark do not seem to mind at all! They arrive cheerfully straight across the puddle and lower the butt as soon as there is even some ice. School drying cabinets have been buzzing for weeks as wet beanies, gloves, socks, pants and jackets are tried to be dry before the next break. Apparently only adults suffer from colic depression! And as soon as it rains a little new, white, and pure snow, the kids are out of joy.
The contrasts with the Australian summer, heat, drought and forest fires were highlighted. While listening to the soundscapes of Bull's schoolchildren, my students immediately paid attention to the birds and the sounds of nature. The fact that we just couldn't find out what the children were saying didn't bother. The cheerful summer atmosphere was transmitted to the other side of the globe and made the children imagine something unknown to themselves, position themselves in the position of another and travel to the warm ends of the world with their imagination. They said that in the summer we also have the hum of the trees and the birds singing.
Information should not be separated from art. That is why we have been studying Australian issues and following the news, for example. on the effects of forest fires on koalas and other animals. It has been a relief to hear Jeremy's messages that our twin school is not in danger. However, we heard that some students have a suitcase packed at home in case of a sudden fire start. It aroused debate and empathic feelings. Indeed, the students said that Bull School students could come to school and live with us if the smoke was hurting. Welcome without danger!
The culmination of media education culminated in the fact that the Finnish Broadcasting Company film group went on to talk about our DearYou project and reached out to Jeremy for a skype. Because of the time difference, we came to school half an hour before school (7.30am) and Jeremy's students waited for our call at five in the afternoon. The students were not too keen to listen to what Jeremy and his students were talking about because seeing the students live in real time was so exciting and wonderful.
In my experience, I told the news story that the three levels of art education have been accomplished brilliantly in this project:
- At the level of personal growth, the pupils are focused on picture making and expression. It has delved into itself and its own making, and the end result has not been the most important. There has only been an effort to increase the child's own identity.
- On the second level, the project has had social goals that aim to provide children with the skills they need in life. As examples, I mentioned growing empathy, accepting and understanding difference, and image reading.
- Third, we have a great cultural perspective. Art and image are about people and groups of people.
Thanks to Arlene and Jeremy for the great project and the Bull School students!
Kokkola on Finland's 102nd Independence Day
Auli and 2a from Mäntykangas School
6.12.2019
The 2nd graders from Mäntykankaan koulun in Kokkola, Finland are making and sharing art with the 1st and 2nd graders from Bulli Public School in Bulli, Australia.
The artists from Bulli interpret their surroundings to their friends in Kokkola
2019, Australia, FinlandComment
We began Project 3 by listening to our Finnish friends and the audio files that they sent via email. The students were intrigued with the cold climate sounds of ice skates scratching on ice and snow squishing between shoes. The concept of a narrator was discussed, what does a good narrator do? I modeled to the class a narration of the classroom surroundings, and focused on the use of adjectives to give the listener a more engaging experience. It was a particularly hot day, with a lot of smoke in the atmosphere from nearby bushfires, we brainstormed what types of words we might use to describe the sounds, sights, and emotions. We had a trial run, using a voice recorder on iPads, of describing the playground outside the classroom. We listened back to these audio files, and debated what the narrator did well, and what they could do to improve. They worked in pairs with their partners giving advice on what aspects to record.
At the first attempt the students focused on creating sounds rather focusing on the natural sounds that occurred. They were scratching tree, stomping on the grass and concrete. Although this was good, I encouraged them to use their voices more and describe the world around them.
The second attempt was much more successful, with the students narrating the environment around them. The project guidelines outlined the approach of acting like a guide for our environment, and to give the listener a tour of the surroundings.
The 2nd graders from Mäntykankaan koulun in Kokkola, Finland are making and sharing art with the 1st and 2nd graders from Bulli Public School in Bulli, Australia.
Kanelit and the Monkeys make art at MIF!
2018, 6 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, FinlandComment
Kanelit (Cinnamons) and The Monkeys got together at Museum of Impossible Forms in Kontula, Helsinki to make art!
It is amazing that the Monkeys from Your School in Olari, Espoo and Kanelit from Päiväkoti Pihapirtti in Kontula, Helsinki got to meet in person after months of making and sharing art from a distance!! What an exciting morning we had at Museum of Impossible Forms!
We first got into small groups of mixed artists from the two schools to listen to the sound art we had made for the previous art project. This way they could meet and get to know each other by physically making art with each other! Everybody was so open and kind with each other.
The first part of this session's artistic process was listening to each other describe what they saw in the environment. This brought immediate smiles to their faces as they heard their own voices and their friends' on the loud speakers. The Cinnamon group made these recordings and The Monkeys made these. As they listened to the recordings they could draw what they heard. They could be more abstract or more literal with their drawings. For example, some chose to draw the soundwaves of children laughing in the background and some drew snow and sun as they were mentioned in the recordings. The artists were free to go in any direction they wish, but the awareness of connecting sound to thought to visual output was discussed.
After some time of collective drawing, the possibility to collage and build with maps was introduced. Maps were chosen for their symbolic purpose as our artists live in different locations, but have come together to meet and create. Simple 2D maps turned into 3D bridges, people, and tunnels. I was so impressed with everybody's creativity! Masterminds at work!
We closed the day by taking a long caterpillar walk to look at the artworks and made a circle where the artists could reflect on the morning and their experience. It seemed that everybody really enjoyed meeting their friends and making collages together. In the closing circle, they realized that they had more in common than their love for making art! The topic of languages came up and they discovered that their friends from the other school could speak Somali, Russian, Albanian, Finnish, and English! What an amazing bunch of young artists and teachers that encourage their creativity and help grow their confidence!
The Monkeys stayed at MIF to eat their lunch before hopping on the metro to head back to Espoo. Marianne Niemelä, one of the artistic directors of MIF, came up with the great idea to make wristbands! Naturally, these were a huge hit with the kids and now they all want to come back to make more! Thank you, Marianne!
Thank YOU and Dear You wishes you all and happy happy summer! Hyvää kesää!
With love,
Arlene
The 6 year old artists at Your School in Espoo, Finland are making and sharing art with the 6 year old artists from Päiväkoti Pihapirtti in Helsinki, Finland.
In winter 2018 Dear You project in Kontula is supported by the Museum of Impossible Forms.
Kaneleiden ryhmä kävi nauhoittamassa äänitallenteita!
2018, 6 years old, FinlandComment
(English below)
Kaneleiden ryhmä kävi nauhoittamassa äänitallenteita päiväkodin pihalla ja lähiympäristössä. Kohteina päiväkodin pihalla olivat kiipeilyteline, ulkokatos ja leikki siellä, päiväkodin lähimetsä, jossa oli puiden oksista tehty maja ja grillipaikka pöytineen ja penkkeineen. Lisäksi kohteena oli ympäristötaidepatsaat, jossa oli eri eläinten ylä- ja alaosia yhdisteltynä yhdeksi kokonaisuudeksi. Eskarit tykkäsivät osallistua omien kertomustensa äänittämiseen; he kertoivat vapaasti kohteistaan tai sitten heille annettiin avustavia kysymyslauseita kuten mikä tämä on? mitä sillä voi tehdä? jne.
Kanelit
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The Cinnamon group was making audio recordings of what they found around the daycare's yard and nearby surroundings. Around the grounds of the daycare were a climbing frame and an outdoor cabin to play. Nearby was the daycare's forest where there was a log house and a barbecue area with tables and benches. In addition, the point of our search was to find environmental art statues in which we could find the upper and lower parts of animals, which in the end, make a whole. The pre-schoolers liked to share their own stories and record them. They freely told about their discoveries or then they were given some questions to help guide their explorations. Some questions were "What is this?" "What can this do?"
The Cinnamons
The 6 year old artists at Päiväkoti Pihapirtti in Helsinki, Finland are making and sharing art with the 6 year old artists from Your School in Espoo, Finland.
In winter 2018 Dear You project in Kontula is supported by the Museum of Impossible Forms.
The 6 year old artists at Päiväkoti Pihapirtti in Helsinki, Finland are making and sharing art with the 6 year old artists from Your School in Espoo, Finland.
In winter 2018 Dear You project in Kontula is supported by the Museum of Impossible Forms.
The Monkeys translate their environment for their friends!
2018, 6 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, FinlandComment
Words have an amazing way of painting pictures in our minds! The Monkeys have created sound pieces that will hopefully tell their friends in Kontula about where they are in Olari. We started by exploring the environment and then as we were recording tried to catch as many details as we could to communicate them to our friends.
Kanelit, you can draw a picture based on our recordings! Also, do you hear what is happening in the background? The more you listen the more your visions grow.
Thank you for making art with us!
Sincerely,
Arlene, Sanna, Ben, and The Monkeys
The 6 year old artists at Your School in Espoo, Finland are making and sharing art with the 6 year old artists from Päiväkoti Pihapirtti in Helsinki, Finland.
Tämä on kanssa aika hauska!
2018, 4 years old, 5 years old, FinlandComment
(English below)
Talvi on jännää aikaa: välillä oli niin kylmä, ettemme päässeet ulos ja sitten hetkessä tuli suojasää. Pakkasella juostessa kenkämme narskui ja aurinko paistoi.
Suojasään jälkeen löytyi jäätä ja vettä. Loimme lunta ja rikoimme löytyneen jään, jään alta paljastui aarre: vettä!
Vettä ei voinut juoda, sitä varten on ruokavesi ja wichy-vesi. Onko vesillä eroja?
Terveisin,
Pippurit, Mantelit, Teija ja Satu
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Winter is an exciting time: at times it is really cold, so cold that we cannot go outside and then at times comes thawing of ice. When it is freezing, while walking there is crunching sounds and the sun shines.
After the thawing ice and water were found. We created snow and we broke the ice. Under the ice treasure was revealed: water!
We cannot drink this water. We have water for food and mineral water. How do the waters differ?
Sincerely,
Pippurit, Mantelit, Teija and Satu
The 5 year old artists at Päiväkoti Pihapirtti in Helsinki, Finland are making and sharing art with the 5 year old artists from Your School in Espoo, Finland.
In winter 2018 Dear You project in Kontula is supported by the Museum of Impossible Forms.
The Tigers make sound art!
2018, 5 years old, FinlandComment
As the Tigers are telling what they see so many memories and feelings come up. Listen to their sound piece and you will be happily surprised!
They realized that there are so many different ways we can describe snow! How do we describe air and sound? This was challenging at first, but they did a great job trying to express their observations through words in Finnish and in English.
Sincerely,
Arlene, Floriin, Anna-Maria, and the Tigers
The 5 year old artists at Your School in Espoo, Finland are making and sharing art with the 5 year old artists from Päiväkoti Pihapirtti in Helsinki, Finland.
