Contrasting colours and bringing friends together

This is my first year participating in a global art project. It is amazing to work at such a distance. The kids learned about stained glass being a decorative design made from pieces of glass in a different colour (contrasting colour). We emphasized the importance of the ''black lines" that separate the pieces creating a mosaic.

Today we just created pieces of stained glass using parchment paper. We discussed our favourite characters and the kids will pick and begin working on their sketches this week. I am sending few pictures for you to see our work.

There are great discussions going on while picking their characters. What a great time in the classroom.

Thank You!!!!!
Dance Agapieva-Vasileska

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

Marimekko inspirations

Here are the pics of our table cloths. Pupils did like the task. It was easy enough and we discussed a lot about Marimekko designs.

Päivi Huhtinen and her group of 5th graders from The English School in Helsinki, Finland are making and sharing art with Kaarina Losey and her 6th graders at Pioneer Park P.S. in Ontario, Canada.

Zen tangled together

The students enjoyed the project, but many had difficulty with developing a pattern. Some are more of an image, and some are more of a variation of a zen tangle - I showed them some of those images and that seemed to have sparked a bit of creativity with some students! 

To view the works please click here.

This was a wonderful experience for the students this year! Can't wait to see how it goes again next year!

Have a wonderful and enjoyable summer!
Kaarina

Kaarina Losey is the 6th grade teacher at Pioneer Park P.S. in Ontario, Canada.  Her group of artists are making and sharing art with the Päivi Huhtinen and her group of 5th graders from The English School in Helsinki, Finland.

Hyvää ruokahalua! Enjoy your meal!!

So turns out when we are eating, the thing we want to see the most is food. Second favourites include looking out the window, listening to the birds singing. We enjoy having a meal in the company of our family and pets.  On the other hand, we don’t so much like sharing our food with ants.

My last sessions with 1 A and 1 B classes very really fun! We made two very different, but beautiful ornamented table cloths.  The artists drew their own patterns on graph paper, and then we all spent some time together joining our creations to make one large picnic blanket.  When we finished the artwork, we took some time to write a letter to our friends, saying that we wish they enjoy their meal. Hyvää ruokahalua!! 

Anastasia Artemeva

The 1A artists at Viertolan Koulu in Vantaa, Finland are making and sharing art with the artists at Кепа школу (Kepa School) in Karelia, Russia. The 1B artists at Viertolan Koulu in Vantaa, Finland are making and sharing art with the artists at Sheppard Public School in Ontario, Canada.

We are proud of our friends!

Kaarina Losey and her 6th grade artists at Pioneer Park P.S. in Ontario, Canada have made a beautiful display of their friends at The English School in Helsinki, Finland.  It is on view at their school library.

Sounding our Little Forest "Pikku Metsa"

Sounding our surrounding meeting went real well, thanks to classroom teachers Titta and Anne, who had taken their young artists for an explorative walk in a little forest literally called Little Forest "Pikku Metsa" beforehand. From the walk, the kids brought natural materials for making brushes, as well as many interesting sounds to paint. We chatted about the difference in soundscapes in the school and outside in nature, as well as about composing music, as we painted our songs.

A lot of time was deliberately left for reflection and performance of the scores. To get into the musical mood, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star was performed skillfully by both groups - in Finnish and in English languages.

In 1A we each described what we heard and how we decided to combine and express these sounds on paper. In 1B we sang, hummed, tapped and whistled our own and each other's paintings.

It was lovely to hear, a teacher noted, how now, after 3 meeting, the kids already started to respond to me in English (Viertola is a Finnish - speaking school, but I speak English to the kids). Nice to see how Dear You can be not only a way to make art and meet new friends, but to learn a language also. 

Anastasia Artemeva

Below are photos from Titta's 1A class:

Below are photos from Anne's 1B class:

The 1A artists at Viertolan Koulu in Vantaa, Finland are making and sharing art with the artists at Кепа школу (Kepa School) in Karelia, Russia. The 1B artists at Viertolan Koulu in Vantaa, Finland are making and sharing art with the artists at Sheppard Public School in Ontario, Canada.

Go figure my riddle!

Some students took it very literally, and just wrote clues without much art work to support what they were talking about... a lot of others provided a great amount of detail on each and every page.

Some almost made the books more puzzle-like - flip - to the back -    flip back to the front, hide the answer, hide clues, etc.  Again, the topic was pretty varied.  Some chose a food, others favourite characters from books or movies, or an animal...

Most really enjoyed it, some opted out of some of the more "creative" component of the book.... :)

Here are a few short words on the class website.

Kaarina

Kaarina Losey is the 6th grade teacher at Pioneer Park P.S. in Ontario, Canada.  Her group of artists are making and sharing art with the Päivi Huhtinen and her group of 5th graders from The English School in Helsinki, Finland.

Anything is possible when you're having fun!

The mask project was difficult for grade 1 students to understand (we teach art in French), but the projects are cute!

Elizabeth Goldsworthy and her 1st graders at Sheppard Public School in Ontario, Canada are making and sharing art with Tatjana Knudsen and her 3rd graders at Korsholm Skole in Hinnerup, Denmark.

Walking this way and that way!

The headline "I'm a walking pattern" made my 3rd graders wonder how they actually could be walking patterns, but it didn't take long before they started to examine their hands, fingerprints, eyes and skin. As a teacher it was an interesting process. My students were so absorbed in their study that they didn't really need me in the room. 

Very fast my students discovered that our body really is a walking pattern. One of the students even said: "Tatjana, it is so amazing our body is full of different lines and patterns......each and every one of us is a little miracle". Wauw!

Another student asked if they could have magnifying glasses, and of course they could. Within a few minutes I saw 19 young detectives investigating patterns on their hands, fingers, and skin.

I asked my students how we could make a piece of art, that could show what we had discovered about our magnificent body. One suggested that they made drawing of their fingerprints, another said that It would be fun if they could make a print of a hand walk. I was into the last idea, and I must say that I think the results are so full of creativity. I'm proud of my 3rd. graders and I hope that our friends in Canada will be pleased with "the walking handprints"

My best,
Tatjana

Tatjana Knudsen and her 3rd grade artists from Korsholm Skole in Hinnerup, Denmark are making and sharing art with Elizabeth Goldsworthy's 1st graders at Sheppard Public School in Ontario, Canada.

The English School find creativity everywhere!

The first impression pupils had on this task was "creepy". Observing their own skin was not so interesting for them. Finally they choose to take this project with eager minds :) They are very curious about their new Canadian friends. I let them to see and read the letters we have received this far. 

A few did masks using different materials. Many borrowed faces or part of somebody else´s face using the magazine photos. They enjoyed playing with the Mac photobooth.

Br,
Päivi Huhtinen

Päivi Huhtinen and her group of 5th graders from The English School in Helsinki, Finland are making and sharing art with Kaarina Losey and her 6th graders at Pioneer Park P.S. in Ontario, Canada.

Let's Go to Finland from Canada!

Here are the photos from the "Let's Go" project. We talked about being creative, and some of the basic ideas we knew of transporting items and goods. I showed them the basic shapes and left it very open ended. They were able to draw, cut and paste, anything. I asked for some labels to communicate their thinking and design choices. Some did more of that than others... :).

This was a really great opportunity for the students... I can't wait to do it again next year!

Have a Merry Christmas!
Kaarina

Kaarina Losey is the 6th grade teacher at Pioneer Park P.S. in Ontario, Canada.  Her group of artists are making and sharing art with the Päivi Huhtinen and her group of 5th graders from The English School in Helsinki, Finland.

From Finland to Canada, our atmospheres come together

Here comes a few of the latest artworks. We first practiced with portrait drawings. The landscapes were done in small groups.

This time my pupils were more eager to write letters rather than concentrate on their drawings.

Br,
Päivi Huhtinen

Päivi Huhtinen and her group of 5th graders from The English School in Helsinki, Finland are making and sharing art with Kaarina Losey and her 6th graders at Pioneer Park P.S. in Ontario, Canada.

Diving into worlds!

We discussed and demonstrated a few different ways that they could get things to be 3D and "pop" from the page. I showed the fold and snip, we talked about tabs of grass they could glue on, and also how they could do an accordion pleat of paper on the back of a shape as well. I did share the video about "Houses" that was posted on Facebook and shared some of the photos Päivi had shared with the entire class, but many were already partway through the project.  My students were very excited, and think that the English class are all much better artists than they are!! :)

I am hoping to set up a display in the library or a glass cabinet of both the places and the puppets when everything arrives.  I'll send photos once I get it organized!

Enjoy your week!
Kaarina

Kaarina Losey is the 6th grade teacher at Pioneer Park P.S. in Ontario, Canada.  Her group of artists are making and sharing art with the Päivi Huhtinen and her group of 5th graders from The English School in Helsinki, Finland.

Who wouldn't wanted to be art pals with the artists in Canada?!!

Kaarina Losey, the 6th grade teacher at Pioneer Park P.S. in Ontario, Canada shares with us how they approached 'Imagine Me' project. 

"I had talked briefly a day or two ahead of time, that we would be "art pals" with another class about the same age as us in Finland.  They were encouraged to bring in any materials that they wanted to use specifically. 

The morning of we talked a bit about imaginary friends, kind of following the outline in the project and I had this at the beginning of a short Google Slide show I had created a showing images of different styles and forms of puppet making (bags, sticks, tubes, etc.)."

The slideshow Kaarina created is quite impressive and an art piece in itself! Please have a look by clicking here.  Thank you, Kaarina!  I know that the 5th graders from The English School in Helsinki, Finland are very excited to meet their new friends!!