I think we will make good friends!

申钰萌：我是一个性格内向的小女孩，我有一双大大的眼睛，一头乌黑的长发和一张能说会道的嘴巴。音乐、画画、跳舞都是我平时的爱好，跳绳、跑步是我喜爱的体育项目。这就是我，一个快乐的小女孩。

申钰茜：我是一个性格内向的女生。我有一双炯炯有神的大眼睛，一头乌黑的头发，和一张能说会道的嘴。我喜欢画画、跳舞、唱歌。跑步、跳绳都是我喜爱的体育项目。这就是我，一个幸福、快乐的女孩。

Shen Yu Meng: I am an introverted little girl, I have big eyes, long black hair and I like to talk. My hobbies are music, drawing and dancing. Skipping and running are my favorite sport. This is me, a happy little girl.

Shen Yu Qian: I am an introverted girl. I have big and bright eyes, a black hair, and a can of mouth. I like drawing, dancing, singing. Running, jumping rope are my favorite sports. I am a happy, lucky girl.

沈力萌：我是一个爱笑的女孩。闲时，我喜欢吟诗诵读。画画，唱歌是我的最爱。每天我都在不断努力，不断进步，因为我相信：顽强的意志可以征服世界上任何一座高山。

Shen Meng: I am a girl who likes to laugh a lot. For fun, I like to recite poems. Painting and singing are my favorite. Every day I am constantly working hard and making progress, because I believe: if we work hard we can conquer any mountain in the world.

陈仁杰，今年9岁了。我是个阳光活泼的大胖子，跑步、跳绳、打篮球、画画等等都是我的兴趣爱好，但没有一个是我擅长的，我特别爱交朋友，希望我们能成为好朋友。

Chen Renjie, I turn 9 years old this year. I am a lively little pudgy boy. Running, skipping, playing basketball, painting and so on are all my hobbies, but I am not especially good at any of them. I especially love to make friends and hope we can be good friends.

陈楚楚：我是一个安静内敛的女生。我喜欢折纸，画画，跳绳……其中旅游，交友是我的最爱，好期待认识远方的您们！

Chen Chu Chu: I am a quiet introverted girl. I like origami, drawing, skipping ... travel, making friends is my favorite, so looking forward to meeting you from a distance!

程志奥:大家好，我叫程志奥，今年十岁，我是一个活泼开朗的小孩。喜欢打羽毛球、骑自行车还喜欢踢足球。我相信在这个大家庭里没个人都有不可代替的作用。

Cheng Zhi-o: Hello everyone, my name is 程志奥, I turn ten years old this year, I am a lively and cheerful kid. I like playing badminton, cycling and also I like to play football. I believe that everybody in the family has an important place and role.

石杰文：我是一个快乐的男孩，我喜欢阅读和唱歌，爱看一些关于恐龙的书籍和影片，我的理想是长大后成为一名考古学家！你们喜欢我吗？喜欢就和我交朋友吧！

Shi Jiewen: I am a happy boy. I like to read and sing. I love to read books and watch videos about dinosaurs. My dream is to grow up to become an archeologist! Do you like me?  If you do, we can be friends!

徐志东：大家好，我叫徐志东，今年十岁。我是一个活泼可爱的小男孩，我善常跑步、骑自行车、画画……我的梦想是成为一名聪明的冒险家，因为我想看看世界！有好奇心的小朋友就跟我交朋友吧!

Xu Zhidong: Hello everyone, my name is Xu Zhidong, I turn ten years old this year. I am a lovely lively cute little boy. I am good at running, riding a bike, painting and drawing ... My dream is to become a wise adventurer because I want to see the world! Curious children, come make friends with me!

徐梓惠 : 大家好，我叫徐梓惠，我是一个活波可爱的女孩。跳舞、画画、主持人，这都是我的兴趣爱好。我长大想当一名护士，因为可以帮助生病的人减轻痛苦。

Xu Zihui: Hello everyone, my name is Xu Zihui, I am a lively cute little girl. Dancing, drawing, being a talk show host are my hobbies. I want to grow up to be a nurse because then I could help the sick to make them feel better.

徐俪宁，我是一个活泼开朗好运动的女孩。平时休息的时候我会去做一些体育运动，例如：游泳、轮滑、攀岩。我的特长是舞蹈和绘画，但我更喜欢表演，我希望我长大后能当一名演员，像我的偶像杨幂那样优秀。

Xu Li Ning, I am a lively, cheerful, and sporty girl. Usually to relax, I will do some sports, such as swimming, roller skating and rock climbing. My specialty is dance and painting, but I prefer acting, and I hope I grew up to be an actress, as good as my idol Yang Mi.

When I explained to the kids what the event meant and what to do, they were very positive and found out how many great pictures they had and asked friends to pick out the ones they like. 

Next, the kids told stories about the photos. Then, the kids talked about their photos one after one. They made self-introductions and wrote them down, they expect to be new friends with the kids in Finland.

King regards,
Teacher Lisa and Miss Wu Juehua

The artists in Grade 3 (9-10 years old) at Taizhou Pheonix Primary School in Jiangsu, China are making and sharing art with the artists at Linguajoy (7-9 years old) in Helsinki, Finland.

杨俊涛：我是一个爱笑的男孩。我的眼睛小小的，笑起来眯成一条缝。我喜欢踢毽子、唱歌，魔方是我的最爱。

Yang Juntao: I am a kind of boy who likes to laugh a lot. My eyes are small, and when they are smiling that are like tiny slits. I like to play badminton, sing, and the Rubik's Cube is my favorite.

大家好！我叫刘晶瑶，今年10岁了。我内心阳光，性格开朗，是同学们的好朋友，老师的小助手。我热爱画画，钢琴、体育等…，希望大家喜欢我！

Hello everyone! My name is Liu Jingyao and I turn 10 years old this year. My heart is full of sunshine, I have a cheerful personality, I am good friends with my classmates, and I am teacher's assistant. I love painting, piano, sports, etc ..., I hope everyone likes me!

李一轩：我是个活泼且调皮的男孩，个子高高的，皮肤白白的，爸爸说他最喜欢我水灵灵的大眼睛，因为觉得我的眼睛会说话。别看我瘦得跟豆芽菜似的，我的饭量可大了，妈妈特羡慕我这种吃得多还不胖的体质。我的爱好是国际象棋和运动，来和我做朋友，让我给你们带去欢乐吧！

Li Yixuan: I am a lively and naughty boy, I am quite tall, my complexion is light, and my father says he likes my big watery eyes the most, because he thinks that my eyes can talk. I may look thin, but I have a big appetite. My hobbies are chess and sports, come and be my friend so that I can make you happy!

任建业：大家好，我叫任建业。我今年十岁了。我是一个活泼、爱笑的男生，一笑眼睛就眯成一条线。我有很多的兴趣爱好：看书、跳绳、踢毽子、画画……我的梦想是成为一位有名的画家，所以现在就要好好学习，天天向上，这样才有可能性。你们愿意和我做朋友吗？

Ren Jianye: Hello everyone, my name is Ren Jianye. I am ten years old. I am a lively and loving boy. I have a lot of hobbies: reading books, skipping, playing badminton, painting ... My dream is to become a famous painter, so I will study hard now and work everyday so that it can be possible. Will you be friends with me?

大家好，我叫吕明轩，今年10岁，我活泼好动，非常喜欢体育，尤其喜欢踢足球，跑步和打篮球这三项体育运动。如果来到我们学校的操场，那个跑步第一名的可能就是我哦！

Hello everybody, my name is Lu Mingxuan, I am 10 years old. I am active and very much like sports. I especially like playing football, running and palying basketball. If you come to our school playground, and we have a race, I could maybe be the fastest!

马嘉鸿：很高兴见到你们，我是一个好学、端行、尚美的学生，我的兴趣爱好很广泛，比如说：画画、跳舞等。

Ma Jiahong: I am very happy to meet you. I am a studious and pretty student. I have many different hobbies such as: painting, dancing and so on.

唐雨亭，我是个活泼开朗的女孩，今年9岁，我喜欢听音乐，每次爸爸妈妈接送我上学放学的路上都会拿着手机哼唱几首自己喜欢的音乐。你们喜欢跟我交朋友吗

Tang Yuting, I am a lively and happy girl. I turn 9 years old this year. I like to listen to music

When Mom and Dad pick me up from school I listen to and hum along to my favorite song on my phone. Would you like to be friends with me?

孙诗涵：我是个活泼开朗、乐于助人的女孩，也是个粗心大意的人。我的爱好广泛，最喜欢弹钢琴，因为88个琴键弹出来的声音是五彩缤纷的。我相信：天才出于勤奋，只有不断努力，才能让自己更优秀！

Sun Shih Han: I am a lively and helpful and thoughtful girl. My hobbies range, but my favorite is the piano, because the sound of the 88 keys are so colorful. I believe: genius comes out of diligence, only through continuous efforts we can make them better!

吴奕昊：大家好，我叫吴奕昊，我今年十岁了。我是一个活泼开朗的小男孩，我爱跑步、踢足球、扔垒球，我喜欢交朋友，我的梦想是当一个出色的运动员！为祖国争光！

Wu Yi Hao: Hello everyone, my name is Wu Yi Hao, I am ten years old. I am a cheerful little boy, I love running, playing football, throwing softball, I like to make friends, my dream is to be a good athlete! Wishing everything good to the motherland (China)!

顾一川:大家好，我叫顾一川，今年九岁。我是一个活泼开朗的女孩，一眼望去最小巧可爱的那个就是我。我喜欢看书、画画、做手工……，其中做科学小实验是我的最爱，我希望长大后做个科学家，揭开世界未解之谜。小朋友们，快来跟我做朋友吧！

Gu Yichuan: Hello everyone, my name is Gu Yichuan and I am nine years old. I am a lively little cute girl. I like to read books, draw pictures and do things with my hands. Amongst them, doing scientific experiments is my favorite. I hope to grow up to be a scientist and discover the mysteries of the world. Kids, come and be friends with me!

Festivities here and there!

Class 7C in Kontula were all very excited that they received a package from our friends in China!  We displayed their artwork and discussed them.  Many of the artworks had very warm and welcoming thoughts on them such as, "Welcome to China!".  Finally, we figured out what C & F stands for - China and Finland!  I hope we are right!

On one of the artworks had some questions written on them. 

These questions translates to: Firstly, it is very nice to meet you. Can we make an exchange using QQ? What kind of Chinese food do you like? Do you have some interesting festivals there?

We try to answer you the best we can:

It is very nice to meet you too!  We do not know what QQ is. What is it?

Some of us had said that they like the fried pork, fried rice, white rice and the duck.

Finland has all kinds of festivals. We celebrate Juhannus, which is called Midsummer in English. This happens towards the end of June where it is usually the longest day of the year.  We celebrate Pride, Vappu (May Day), Tikkurila Festivaali, Vegan Festivaali, and Ruis Rock, which is a big music festival.

Yesterday, in Helsinki there were two big celebrations. One is called Penkkarit and the other you will know very well, Chinese New Year!  Senior high school students ride on the back of trucks in costumes to celebrate before they have to start their matriculation exams.  There is lot of honking the horn and throwing candy at the crowd!!  The Chinese New Year celebrations were so beautiful this year! There was dancing, Kung Fu, music, Dragon Dance, Lion Dance, and ice skating too to happily bring in the year of the dog!

We wish you all a happy new year!

The 13 year old artists at Shenzhen High School in Shenzhen, China are making and sharing with 7c, 13 year olds, from Helsingin yhteislyseo in Helsinki, Finland.

Weaving their way to friendship

Through weaving, the artists in China have been exploring how chance can be an element in their artwork. By using recycled newspapers and colored papers, the weaving has helped give a hand in creating a story. The artists then wrote words on the artworks to enhance the meaning of the images made from the weaving process.

Everybody seemed to enjoy the art technique and made wonderful artworks!

The 13 year old artists at Shenzhen High School in Shenzhen, China are making and sharing with 7c, 13 year olds, from Helsingin yhteislyseo in Helsinki, Finland.

Storytelling time in Taizhou!

For the last session of this ‘Inspiring Stories ’project , we first divided the whole class into groups, then let each group choose a British children's work.  According to the content of the works, we encourage students to start imagination, then create stories and then write down the scripts.  At last, the children shoot the script into audio or video works with the help of teachers or parents during the spare time.

China #DearYou #UK #AudioStory

DearYou #China #UK #AudioStory

DearYou #China #UK #AudioStory

China #UK #DearYou #AudioStory

China #DearYou #UK #AudioStory

China #AudioStory #UK #DearYou

China #UK #DearYou #AudioStory

DearYou #China #UK #AudioStory

China #AudioStory #DearYou #UK

DearYou #China #UK #audiostory

The event was a new experience for the children, and they were excited and happy.

Best wishes,
Lisa

The artists in Grade 3 (9-10 years old) at Taizhou Pheonix Primary School in Jiangsu, China are making and sharing art with the artists in Class 4 (8-9 years old) at Sneinton C of E St Stephens Primary School in Nottingham, England Both groups are aged 8-9 years old.

Your art inspires stories!

Inspiration is everywhere!  To see how our inspiration directly comes from our friends in Shenzhen, China we looked at the artworks they had sent us. This got our creativity buzzing!!  It was also fun to review all the Dear You projects we have been making these past few months.

We then got into three small groups where a teacher helped the students to write down their thoughts on who the characters are in the story, what happens in the story, and how does the story end.  Have a listen to the artists at work:

DearYou #Helsinki #Finland #InternationalSchoolofHelsinki #ArleneTucker

When the groups were ready with their story they had a quick think about how to TELL the story using their voice and intonation as an art form. As you can hear, they all did an amazing job!

Uploaded by Arlene Tucker on 2017-12-11.

The Explorers

Thank you for being friends with us! It has been great getting to know you through your artwork and videos!

With love,
Arlene & The Explorers

The Explorers, 5-6 year olds, from International School of Helsinki in Helsinki, Finland are making and sharing with the artists aged 6 years old at Shenzhen Primary School in Shenzhen, China.

This is our story!

We had the most fun doing this project! The class really enjoyed looking at all of the images sent by the children in Jiangsu, China. They all chose different images as inspiration for their stories, working in pairs they told their stories to Heather, even making their own sound effects. Heather then chopped up their stories and put them together to make ‘their story’ and played it to them after they had just performed their Christmas play. They laughed a lot and enjoyed hearing their own voices!

Nottingham #HeatherConnelly #UK #InspiringStories #DearYou #AliceWilby

I noticed that many of the stories encompassed the ideas embedded within the project…asking questions, making friends and reaching out to others. I would like to get the children to draw this story now and create a montage with the original images. 

It was a perfect end to a fantastic project and I am sure that it is an experience that they will always remember. I have really enjoyed getting to know the children and going on this journey with them and you all! See you in 2018!

Thanks Dear You!

Heather Connelly

The artists in Class 4 (8-9 year olds) at Sneinton C of E St Stephens Primary School in Nottingham, England are making and sharing art with Grade 3 (9-10 year olds) at Taizhou Pheonix Primary School in Jiangsu, China.

Tarinoita ja juhlat

Dear You -projektimme viimeisellä kerralla Kontulan ostarilla sijaitseva the Museum of Impossible Forms kutsui meidät vierailulle. Vierailun aluksi katsoimme videoterveiset Kiinasta. Saimme myös nähdä taideteoksia, joita ystävämme olivat tehneet.

Viimeisessä työpajassa kirjoitimme ja äänitimme pienissä ryhmissä äänitarinoita, joissa teemana oli Differences and Similarities. Työskentelyn päätteeksi Arlene oli kutsunut vieraaksemme lapsiryhmän Kontulalaisesta päiväkoti Pihapirtistä. Pihapirtin lapset aloittavat ensi vuonna oman Dear You -projektinsa. Iltapäivä jatkui juhlavilla tarjoiluilla ja luotujen tarinoiden yhdessä kuuntelulla.

http://hyllinkuvis.blogspot.fi/2017/12/tarinoita-ja-juhlat.html

Making inspiring stories calls for a party!

We are watching a video our friends in China made for us!

For the last project of this session, we thought it would be great to bring the artists in 7C from Helsingin yhteislyseo to get to know another artistic space in Kontula, Helsinki. So we gathered in Museum of Impossible Forms to create Inspiring Stories art project and celebrate with next year's Dear You group from Päiväkoti Pihapirtti, who are also located in Kontula!

We started the session by looking at a video a few of the artists from Shenzhen Middle School made for their friends in Kontula. They had made a sweet introduction of themselves and also shared with us the art that they have been making in China.

Looking at our friend's artwork and thinking about past Dear You projects we have made gave us some material to work with as the next step was to make an audio story.  One artist said we need to keep in mind the sanoma (the message) when creating a story.  Some other creative writing elements are to designate characters and what is the beginning, middle, and end of the story. 

We then got into small groups and came up with four different amazing stories! When it was time to record, we thought about intonation, sound effects, and tone of voice to enhance the story.

Brainstorming in small groups

And action! Recording our audio story.

Anastasia and the groups then edited their audio recordings

The stories were all so different! Have a listen! 

MuseumofImpossibleForms #Forest #Kontula #Helsinki #Finland #13yearsold #InspiringStories

Forest is a story about a boy named Ajax. He lived in the 1940s in a small village. Ajax went to pick some berries and mushrooms in the woods. About an hour into the journey, he found himself lost. He then saw a mökki (a small cottage) and peaked through the window. Inside he saw an open cupboard, which had a lot of food in it. He went inside and ate a big loaf of bread. After that he left the mökki to try and find his way home. Along the way, he met an old person and asked this person some questions. The old person didn't understand anything!

DearYou #Kontula #Helsinki #Finland #InspiringStories #13yearsold #MuseumofImpossibleForms

DearYou #Kontula #MuseumofImpossibleForms #Helsinki #Finland #InspiringStories #13yearsold

The storytellers from Differences and Similarities have more questions for their friends in China.

Do you pack your own lunch? Or do you pay 1euro for it? Or how much?
Do you have a lot of homework?
When does your school day end?
Are your tests difficult?
Does your school have any after-school activities?

Helsinki #Kontula #MuseumofImpossibleForms #DearYou #InspiringStories

Eläimet puussa , Animal in the tree (English translation)
All the animals are meeting under a tree and they decided to make a pack. The pack leader is the lion. The walrus also wants to be a leader. They start to fight and the walrus wins. The walrus will become the leader and so the lion has to go. The walrus was a good leader but the lion returned. The lion took a coconut from the tree and hit the walrus in the head with it while the walrus was asleep. The walrus got a mild concussion! The lion became the leader again. The animals didn't want the lion to the be leader so everybody else left the pack.

We had a great time making these stories for you!

Thank you! Kiitos!

With love,
Arlene, Anastasia, Saara, and the artists at 7C

The 13 year old artists at Helsingin yhteislyseo in Helsinki, Finland are making and sharing art with the 13 year old artists from Shenzhen Middle School in Shenzhen, China.

In autumn 2017 Dear You project in Kontula is supported by the Museum of Impossible Forms.

From left to right: Saara Raevuori, Arlene Tucker, and Anastasia Artemeva. Saara is the art teacher at Helsingin yhteislyseo. Arlene and Anastasia are the makers and creators of Dear You. Thank you, Museum of Impossible Forms for hosting us!

Transferring visions

The artists in China have been experimenting with using the graphite transfer technique! They got inspiration from the elements around them to show their friends in Finland a little a bit about who they are.

Thank you!

The 13 year old artists at Shenzhen Primary School in Shenzhen, China are making and sharing with 7c, 13 year olds, from Helsingin yhteislyseo in Helsinki, Finland.

The friends in China and the UK are "Hand in Hand"

In this activity, the teacher first talked about the form of weaving. Then the teacher presented some pictures of weaving artworks, which made children understand it well. Next, teachers and children had a discussion on how to do weaving artworks. Children said there were two pieces of paper that were horizontal and vertical. They could be weaved with one press and one pick. The art teacher Miss Liu Chunjuan and her students demonstrated at the front of the classroom, and students worked in groups to make it out. Finally, the teacher encouraged the children to give a name of the book. Some students said, we want to express our friendship between the two schools, so he took the name of ‘ Hand in Hand’.

Best wishes,
Lisa

The artists in Grade 3 (9-10 years old) at Taizhou Pheonix Primary School in Jiangsu, China are making and sharing art with the artists in Class 4 (8-9 years old) at Sneinton C of E St Stephens Primary School in Nottingham, England Both groups are aged 8-9 years old.

"My friends are trading together"

What a day it was with The Explorers! When I told them that the idea today was to come up with a unanimous title for our collective book and to weave using recycled materials, everybody was so open minded to try new art techniques and to work together!  As always, I am deeply impressed with these young artists with how respectful and imaginative they are!

So how are ALL of us going to come up with one title when we ALL have such amazing ideas?  The Explorers came up with excellent suggestions such as, 1. to mix the ideas together, 2. we can vote, 3. we can take turns.  Being the kind and diplomatic group, The Explorers combined these methods and off we went with spouting out title ideas!

The top three titles were:
- Together my friend trading
- My friends are trading together
- Friends trading places

And the winner is, "My friends are trading together"!  This title really encapsulates Dear You art project and the process of exchange. Amazing how these 5 year old artists understand so clearly the heart of friendship, sharing, and creativity!

This was the first time The Explorers tried weaving and they all did a fantastic job as they took their time, asked for help when needed, and persevered when faced with a challenge.  Everybody could choose what they would like their base or loom to be.  They then played with colors, patterns, and happy coincidences that arose when weaving images together.

We hope our friends in China like our artwork!

With love,
Arlene & The Explorers

The Explorers, 5-6 year olds, from International School of Helsinki in Helsinki, Finland are making and sharing with the artists aged 6 years old at Shenzhen Primary School in Shenzhen, China.

"Differences and Similarities"

With open minds and ears, 7C came to art class full of energy! In this session we made book covers for our joint project with our new friends in China. We decided to use recycled paper not only to be ecological and creative, but also, this way one can extrapolate so much information about the local environment in Finland just from the words and pictures found on the paper.

The first challenge was coming up with a unanimous title for the book!  Everybody was so gracious and diplomatic that it went smoothly, but we did go through quite many processes to get there. First we got into small groups to brainstorm and come up with some ideas. Then every group wrote their favorite idea on the board. They were:

- The wisdom of art
- The book of art
- Dear You
- Art book / Taidekirja / 藝術書
- The story of difference and similarity
- FinChi Konchita

We all voted and 'The story of difference and similarity' won! All was settled, until somebody spoke their mind and asked if we could shorten it. Good thing this person opened up because they made a very good point about why it should be modified. So then we all revoted and that's how the title 'Differences and Similarities' was born!

The range of papers gave them so much to play with color, patterns, and storylines!

I think these woven pieces of art are beautiful and we hope you like them too!

With love,
Arlene, Saara, and the artists at 7C

The 13 year old artists at Helsingin yhteislyseo in Helsinki, Finland are making and sharing art with the 13 year old artists from Shenzhen Middle School in Shenzhen, China.

In autumn 2017 Dear You project in Kontula is supported by the Museum of Impossible Forms.

"This is us"

Year 4 have had another fantastic art project with Heather on Friday. The children started off by discussing the artistic journey they have been on so far and the relationship they are creating with the children in China. Lots of pupils suggested titles for their work which revolved around the idea of a team identity, and the title we have decided upon is 'This is us'. As a class, we felt this showed how all of our art work is a representation of our characteristics, personalities, likes, dislikes and artistic talent. 

After having chosen the project's title, we then had a fantastic session with Heather where the children created a book cover using weaving. We used all recycled material, and some children even used practice pages from previous Dear You art projects to incorporate within their weaving. I hope you will agree that the woven book covers they have produced are excellent! They have all used lots of different colours and types of papers. 

We are all looking forward to creating the next piece of artwork! 

Many thanks, 
Alice Wilby

What I noticed about this session was that the pupils really started to think for themselves and to make connections with the other projects they had done, they had really enjoyed receiving and looking at the work that their partner class had sent and integrated some of their ideas into their weaving, introducing hidden flaps for their title – so the dialogue becomes evident in the art works they are producing. The children said that they used the visual clues in the work that they received to imagine the questions they had asked when they couldn’t read the Chinese text, I wonder whether they would have done this had they not answered the same brief. I am also impressed with  how thoughtful the children are and concerned with how they can communicate their ideas to those in China.

Best wishes,
Heather Connelly
Dear You Workshop Leader

The artists in Class 4 (8-9 year olds) at Sneinton C of E St Stephens Primary School in Nottingham, England are making and sharing art with Grade 3 (9-10 year olds) at Taizhou Pheonix Primary School in Jiangsu, China.

Happy to share with you!

Sketching questions and putting these ideas out in the open for their friends in Finland!

The 6 year old artists at Shenzhen Primary School in Shenzhen, China are making and sharing with 6 year olds from International School of Helsinki in Helsinki, Finland.

Questions lead to more questions

The Tigers really know how to create a welcoming and artistic environment! They had so many questions and things to share even before we got started with The art of asking questions project! This sort of excitement is the inspiration every artist looks for!

We started the session by first looking at the artworks we received from the Full Moons. WOW!! We talked about what their pictures were communicating and was wondering about all sorts of things about our new friends. The questions started pouring out so we made a long list and then founds ways to put image to the text.

Some wonderful questions and explanations of the Tigers' pictures:
Vanessa asked, "What countries have you been to?" She drew a picture of the world.
Olivia drew a house because she asked, "Where do you live?"
Rishitha asked, "When is your birthday?" In the picture, "there are fireworks and my birthday."
Mikelis asked, "Where do you live?" He said, "I drew the house. I drew a mother house with a wheel on the top of another house."
Nea asked, "What is your favorite food?" She drew a picture of pasta.
Cride asked, "Do you like to go swimming?" and drew a swimming pool.
Achu asked, "Who is your friend?" "I drew a friend who is having a birthday."
Oskari asked, "What is your favorite shirt?" "I drew my favorite shirt!"
Erik asked, "What do you like to play?" "My favorite toy is a castle. It's at home."
Aapo asked, "Do you like shark tornadoes?"
Arn asked, "What is your favorite shirt?"
Renu asked, "What does your room look like?" "It's a picture of my room."
Joann asked, "What is your favorite color?" "Rainbow!"
Anton asked, "What do you like to play?" "What do you do when you are outside?"

We also came up with MORE questions!

What do you watch? What house were you in when you were small? Do you have a tv?

We hope you like our artwork! We like yours a lot!!

Our best,
The Tigers, Arlene, Iveta, and Atefeh

The Tigers from Your School Espoo, Finland are making and sharing with the Full Moons from Moonstone Preschool in Philadelphia, USA. Both groups are 4-5 years old.

Kysymisen taide

Syksyllä alkanut Dear You -projekti jatkui toisella työpajalla. Projekti koostuu neljästä työpajakerrasta, joiden teemana on minä ja ympäristö. Projektin lähtökohtana on ajatus taiteesta prosessina ja dialogina ihmisten välillä. Työpajoissa syntyneet teokset lähetetään ulkomaille ystävyyskouluihin. Me saimme pariksi koulun Kiinasta, jonne ensimmäisen työpajan teokset ovat jo matkalla. Jäämme odottelemaan taideteoksia kiinalaisilta nuorilta.

Tällä kertaa pohdimme yhdessä oppilaiden ja taitelijavierailijamme Arlene Tuckerin kanssa kysymyksiä ja kysymistä. Jotta tietäisimme mitä toiset ajattelevat, on meidän kysyttävä, kerrottava ja kuunneltava. Äänemme on vahva työkalu. Käytetään sitä!

Tutustuimme graafiseen myös suunnitteluun. Mietimme tekstityylejä, kirjainten kokoa, sommittelua ja väriä viestinnän työkaluina. Taideteostemme tekniikkana käytimme erilaisia piirtimiä.

http://hyllinkuvis.blogspot.fi/2017/11/kysymisen-taide.html

Is it cold in China? Probably not as cold as it is in Finland!

The thing about questions is that once you get started you can't stop! That's how it was with The Explorers when I was with them making The Art of Asking Questions project. When I arrived to ISH we had such a lovely time looking at the artworks received from the artists in China. That's actually when our inquisitive minds started going!  We made personal connections to the self-portraits and then wanted to naturally know more about WHO these amazing artists are!

As a class, we came up with a loooong list of questions.  We then thought about different ways of depicting these questions and got to the making art bit as soon as possible!

We had a great conversation about why we chose to draw that picture for our question:

What do you like? "It's Darth Vader and Lollipops. I liked making it."

What candy do you like? "This is me and my big brother. He eats candy, but I don't any more. It's not good for my teeth."

What story do you like? "It's the story of Finland. That's me :) The house is from ISH"

What movie do you like? "My favorite is the Lion King.

Is your school fun? "I have fun at ISH"

What do you celebrate? "I'm celebrating Happy Birthday for my baby brother.

We like your art!!

My best,
Arlene & The Explorers

The Explorers, 5-6 year olds, from International School of Helsinki in Helsinki, Finland are making and sharing with the artists aged 6 years old at Shenzhen Primary School in Shenzhen, China.

Philosophical questions and art

It has been a while since I have been sincerely thought provoked and moved by the many questions the artists in Kontula were asking. Blown away by the artistic and conceptual skills these artists have!

As part of the warm up we got into a good discussion about questions, poster art, and graphic design. Some artists were sharing what their favorite fonts were so we took a moment to imagine the font used in different contexts and how that would have an affect on the message.  One way to see how our art is being perceived is to ask, tell and listen. Our voices are a powerful tool. We should use it!

We also looked at graphic design and artists who use graphics in their artworks such as Ed Ruscha. We considered text styles, letter size, composition, and color as communication tools. 

Then the questions started pouring out! Some artists wanted to make art from their own questions and others chose to use questions from their classmates. In any case, the outcomes were amazing!

Thank you and we hope you have a moment to answer our questions!

With love,
Arlene, Saara, and the artists at 7C

The 13 year old artists at Helsingin yhteislyseo in Helsinki, Finland are making and sharing art with the 13 year old artists from Shenzhen Middle School in Shenzhen, China.

In autumn 2017 Dear You project in Kontula is supported by the Museum of Impossible Forms.

Exploring and making with the artists in China!

Hey! Dear You!

In order to understand the foreign pen pals well, the headteacher Miss Diao Yangyang led the students to visit the website of Sneinton C of E Primary School before doing the second project. They also visited the website of Dear You for the first time art works and creative process of the British children.

The children are very excited when they read the news. They had a lot of questions to ask their foreign friends, such as: What do they learn at school? How to have classes? Do they have homework? What do they usually eat for lunch? What animals are in their city?

After that, the children began to discuss in groups, thinking how to express their questions in art form. Some children thought to make greeting cards, hiding the question paper in them; some wanted to write down the questions with brush pens;  some wanted to use the form of the combination of paper-cut and painting ; some chose to write the questions on the origami etc.

After discussing and defining their own artistic expression, the children came home and turned their problems into a piece of art with appropriate materials.

Best wishes,
Lisa

The artists in Grade 3 (9-10 years old) at Taizhou Pheonix Primary School in Jiangsu, China are making and sharing art with the artists in Class 4 (8-9 years old) at Sneinton C of E St Stephens Primary School in Nottingham, England Both groups are aged 8-9 years old.

Friendship grows between the artists in UK and China!

The children at Sneinton Church of England Primary School have once again had a fantastic time completing their next piece of artwork for the Dear You Art Project. It all started with great excitement by opening the envelope containing artwork from our partner school. The children were fascinated by the self portraits, as well as the questions they had sent in Chinese writing. All of the pupils commented on how beautiful this writing was, and how it was like an art form in itself, which led perfectly onto the next project, where the focus was font and text. 

To simulate discussion about different fonts and text types, we used a powerpoint created by Heather to discuss the varying fonts we have in our classroom and how each of them made me feel. It was very interesting to hear the children's views on how one font may suggest somebody was scared, and another one may imply that somebody is very serious and possibly earns lots of money! They were fascinated by how a font can tell you so much about the artist and their message! 

As a class, we then talked about how we use questions in everyday life to find out information about people's lives and interests. Each child came up with a question to ask their partner student, and then thought about how they were going to present it. We talked about using different sized letters, stencils, different textures, as well as a variety of fonts. We then created a piece of artwork by drawing the questions using lots of different fonts! The children were concentrating so well and they really enjoyed trying a new art form. We hope you enjoy our artwork! 

Sincerely,
Alice Wilby

The artists in Class 4 (8-9 year olds) at Sneinton C of E St Stephens Primary School in Nottingham, England are making and sharing art with Grade 3 (9-10 year olds) at Taizhou Pheonix Primary School in Jiangsu, China.