Since its already December, and almost Christmas Break, we're a little pressed for time this year to do all the ideas I had posted about in my previous blog post, but they are still ideas to keep in mind for next year.
However, me and my friends are going to do something that we hope will get our school a bit more excited for Christmas, and maybe lift some of there spirits. We are going to make gingerbread cookies, like I suggested in my last blog post, but instead of just handing them out at peoples houses, we are going to decorate them, put them in little baggies, and hide them all over the school for the students to find.
This is something that I wish the older grades would have thought of when I was in gr.9 and 10, because it really is a great way to liven up the school a bit and get everyone excited about a common thing. It shows that it is nice to be a part of a small school, where we can do personal, fun, co-operative things like this.
I'm hoping that students will not be greedy and take all the gingerbread cookies they can find, but maybe just take one and leave the rest for other students to find, of tell a student who hasn't found one yet where to look, or even take 2 and give one to another student, after all, isn't giving to those who don't have what you have a part of the spirit of Christmas?
Me and my friends made the mix today, our art teacher gave us a recipe that she likes to use so we spent the class doing that. I think that the mix looks good, and it smells even better!
We are planning on baking and decorating the cookies on Tuesday. We were thinking of making them into traditional gingerbread cookie shapes, star shapes, and reindeer shapes. And then make them look really good and appetizing by decorating them with icing and sprinkles.
I then want to hide them around the school during my art class on Wednesday, I think that this will work out well because most of the school is gone on a ski trip that day, so I wouldn't really have to worry about that many people finding the cookies before they are supposed to. Also, art is my last period class, so I would literally be hiding them right before everyone goes home.
Thursday will be scavenger hunt day! I want the office to announce it first thing in the morning so that people know right away why there are gingerbread cookies all around the school, and that they are safe to eat. I really hope that we can follow this plan, and that everything works out accordingly.
This will be a great way to kick off Christmas Break and get everyone in the giving spirit!
Here is a link to both of my friends blogs if anyone is interested in what they are saying about our little project.
http://kylieperala.blogspot.ca/
http://www.oliviazeleny.blogspot.ca/
Friday 12 December 2014
Thursday 4 December 2014
Giving Back
The theme for this month that my art class will be focusing on giving back. It seems appropriate considering the time of the year. Our focus as an art class is to give back through art. I want to come up with some unique, creative ways to give back this Christmas season locally, and through our school.
There are many people that would benefit from having something brighten there day over this Christmas season, and if our class can do even one thing to put a smile on someones face than we have succeeded.
How can one give back through art?
For me, it seems kind of hard to think about ways to give back through art, after all, art has always seemed more like something you do on a personal level, or to gain personal achievement. This month we will be focusing on how we can use our artistic abilities to give back to our communities.
We started off this project by watching a video, it was actually kind of interesting to learn about how this artist gave back to her community, and other communities, and the ideas she came up with. I appreciated her thought process.
I think that this artists style of art is revolutionary, she not only has her name out there for everyone to know, and practically created a brand for herself (swoon), AND her art is always on display for the world to see, but she helps people in the process. Whether she gives people a conversation piece, brightens peoples day by showing them something spectacular, of actually builds a community for the less fortunate, she is always helping other people. She is basing her style of art on other people needs/happiness and that's really cool.
Obviously my art class can't do anything to that extent. But that also doesn't mean we can't do anything. We just have to come up with ideas that are more within our reach.
I did a bit of research, and brainstorming on the topic. How can we give back to our communities through art? It took me a while to come up with any ideas at all, but once I started thinking of ideas, more just kept coming. Now a few of these thoughts may still be out of reach, or unlikely to happen, but not impossible.
We could raise money.
This is a pretty general and common thought when thinking about giving back for Christmas, but we could fund raise through art.
We could use our individual artistic skills and have an art show where we would auction off our pieces, and use the money to buy gifts for kids that won't have any. This Christmas, we could buy gifts like art sets, pencils, sketch paper, paint, something that would get other kids interested in art, so they can maybe do the same one day for someone else.
We could offer art classes.
Being grade 11-12 students, most of us have a general idea how to do art. We could offer Christmas craft classes or basic art classes before Christmas and try and bring the community together and get kinds out doing something instead of sitting at home watching tv.
We could paint windows.
Everyone is my art class could be responsible for asking a certain local business if it would be okay to have them paint/decorate there window for Christmas. I think that this would be a really good idea, it would increase the amount of Christmas spirit in the town, and hopefully lift someones spirits walking bay the store/building. (It would also be good to do this at the hospital)
We could make Christmas cards.
I think that it would be nice if everyone made a few Christmas card, we brought them to the post office, and just asked the people to put them into random peoples mailboxes. It would be like a nice little surprise when someone opened up there mailbox, and who knows, that may be the only Christmas card they'll get.
We could make a mural in the snow.
One day in art class, we could all head down to the marina or something with a plan of what we wanted to do with the snow. We could spray paint some Christmas design into it, or build it up if there's enough snow and make a snow sculpture, either way would work.
We could handout cookies.
During art we could bake and decorate cookies really pretty, and then hand them out after school for free. We wouldn't hit every house, but I'm sure we could get a few.
We could paint the fire hydrants.
I'm not exactly sure what the regulations are for fire hydrants, but how cute would it be if we painted Santa and his Reindeer on them all over town!
We could get the community involved in a project.
What if we had a co-operative town project? Say a brick wall or something, anyone who wanted to paint on it would have to pay 1$ per brick, or a food donation per brick. Everyone could paint something that was special to them, or write what they thought when they heard the phrase 'give back'. Obviously, if people did not have the money or food donations they would not have to donate, but it would be a nice way to involve the community in a project while giving back to the community. (A brick wall is just a basic suggestion, really it could be anything)
We could incorporate nature.
We could paint little squirrels crawling up trees, or butterflies, or rabbits, on trees close to town so everyone could enjoy them.
Anyways, these are just a few ideas I have that could let my class give back through art, suggestions are welcome and would be appreciated, after all, we will be working on this all month.
There are many people that would benefit from having something brighten there day over this Christmas season, and if our class can do even one thing to put a smile on someones face than we have succeeded.
How can one give back through art?
For me, it seems kind of hard to think about ways to give back through art, after all, art has always seemed more like something you do on a personal level, or to gain personal achievement. This month we will be focusing on how we can use our artistic abilities to give back to our communities.
We started off this project by watching a video, it was actually kind of interesting to learn about how this artist gave back to her community, and other communities, and the ideas she came up with. I appreciated her thought process.
I think that this artists style of art is revolutionary, she not only has her name out there for everyone to know, and practically created a brand for herself (swoon), AND her art is always on display for the world to see, but she helps people in the process. Whether she gives people a conversation piece, brightens peoples day by showing them something spectacular, of actually builds a community for the less fortunate, she is always helping other people. She is basing her style of art on other people needs/happiness and that's really cool.
Obviously my art class can't do anything to that extent. But that also doesn't mean we can't do anything. We just have to come up with ideas that are more within our reach.
I did a bit of research, and brainstorming on the topic. How can we give back to our communities through art? It took me a while to come up with any ideas at all, but once I started thinking of ideas, more just kept coming. Now a few of these thoughts may still be out of reach, or unlikely to happen, but not impossible.
We could raise money.
This is a pretty general and common thought when thinking about giving back for Christmas, but we could fund raise through art.
We could use our individual artistic skills and have an art show where we would auction off our pieces, and use the money to buy gifts for kids that won't have any. This Christmas, we could buy gifts like art sets, pencils, sketch paper, paint, something that would get other kids interested in art, so they can maybe do the same one day for someone else.
We could offer art classes.
Being grade 11-12 students, most of us have a general idea how to do art. We could offer Christmas craft classes or basic art classes before Christmas and try and bring the community together and get kinds out doing something instead of sitting at home watching tv.
We could paint windows.
Everyone is my art class could be responsible for asking a certain local business if it would be okay to have them paint/decorate there window for Christmas. I think that this would be a really good idea, it would increase the amount of Christmas spirit in the town, and hopefully lift someones spirits walking bay the store/building. (It would also be good to do this at the hospital)
We could make Christmas cards.
I think that it would be nice if everyone made a few Christmas card, we brought them to the post office, and just asked the people to put them into random peoples mailboxes. It would be like a nice little surprise when someone opened up there mailbox, and who knows, that may be the only Christmas card they'll get.
We could make a mural in the snow.
One day in art class, we could all head down to the marina or something with a plan of what we wanted to do with the snow. We could spray paint some Christmas design into it, or build it up if there's enough snow and make a snow sculpture, either way would work.
We could handout cookies.
During art we could bake and decorate cookies really pretty, and then hand them out after school for free. We wouldn't hit every house, but I'm sure we could get a few.
We could paint the fire hydrants.
I'm not exactly sure what the regulations are for fire hydrants, but how cute would it be if we painted Santa and his Reindeer on them all over town!
We could get the community involved in a project.
What if we had a co-operative town project? Say a brick wall or something, anyone who wanted to paint on it would have to pay 1$ per brick, or a food donation per brick. Everyone could paint something that was special to them, or write what they thought when they heard the phrase 'give back'. Obviously, if people did not have the money or food donations they would not have to donate, but it would be a nice way to involve the community in a project while giving back to the community. (A brick wall is just a basic suggestion, really it could be anything)
We could incorporate nature.
We could paint little squirrels crawling up trees, or butterflies, or rabbits, on trees close to town so everyone could enjoy them.
Anyways, these are just a few ideas I have that could let my class give back through art, suggestions are welcome and would be appreciated, after all, we will be working on this all month.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)