Artcademy's Random Musing

It may be gooodbye... for awhile that is!

2009-10-26T20:59:00.002+08:00

Hi guys,

We've been missing in action for awhile. We'll be doing some reshuffling and planning for something interesting next year. Heh. So, thanks for checking back, we'll update you on our plans. Stay tuned.

Basic Pinch Pots

2009-09-04T23:25:00.003+08:00

Okay I must admit that I am not much of a writer, I'll leave the poetic prose to Nic. So, I'll just post the necessary updates. Unless of course, if I'm in the mood, I'll throw in a joke or two.

We have just completed a module of ceramics with 14 classes. I think we're mad. Nonetheless, it was great fun!

Some of our kids at work.

These are some of their works, glazed, but not fired yet. We taught them how to make a basic pinch pot, and geez, look at what these kids came up with.

9 yo Gabriel's dinosaur

10 yo Nicholas's cup with a coconut tree

10 yo Natalie's tortoise

10 yo Hagen's bathtub with a shower head

9 yo Fenna's basket

And this work that I'm soooo impressed with ... Check out the workmanship!

10 yo Benjamin's trophy

Batik Workshop'09

2009-08-08T12:24:00.005+08:00

Here are the pictures of our recently conducted batik workshop for a group of China students from Xiamen.

This has to be one of my favourite workshops this year. The girls were simply great fun to be with - enthusiastic, takes initiative and very helpful - such that the preparation and clearing up was a breeze. I forgot to prepare gloves for them to do the dip-dyeing, and some of them ended up with purple hands… WHUPS. But, they simply shrugged and laughed it off, … heh, great kids!

The theme of this workshop centered on Peranakan culture, we watched a video showing how traditional batik was done in Indonesia, and the role of batik in Peranakan culture. Then, we conducted a hands-on session, creating a piece of batik art using Peranakan porcelain wares as design motifs. To wrap up the 2-day workshop, the Teacher IC, Ms Ang generously bought tons of traditional Nonya kuehs for our foreign guests to sample.

To enquire about our workshops, do drop us an email at contact@artcademy.com.sg

The Resident Dog

2009-07-19T18:22:00.001+08:00

As you can see, the lack of activity on this blog and of cos the soon-becoming-stale website that has yet to be designed means only one thing - We are darn busy. But, our misery will be ending soon, ... I hope. With the textbook and teachers' guide out of the way, we'll be going full steam ahead with our publicity and workshop-plans. Can't wait!!!

As to what we are busy with, - we're taking ceramics lesson, we've also just conducted an intensive batik course for a China Immersion Programme, and conducted a ceramics module with our primary sch kids - they never fail to amaze us with their extraordinary understanding of aesthetics.

Alright, totally unrelated pictures, but, here - Chip Choo, the Resident Dog. Kinda think that you peeps would like to be entertained with this overdose of cuteness.

Weighing 6 pounds and 1 foot in length, with enormously huge ears... presenting Chip Choo, aka Chippy Choo.

Don't be taken in by his good looks, he really is a gremlin

I See Sparks!

2009-06-15T15:38:00.000+08:00

We were invited to participate in a metal sculpting workshop conducted by local sculptor, Mr Baet Yeok Kuan at Bukit Panjang Government High. It was an eye-opener and we welded enough metal to rebuild the Eiffel Tower - twice. Just kiddin. But it sure was enough to blind us for awhile.

We had great fun hanging out with the guys, chatting with long-lost Mr Ling Yang Chang and getting tickled by his infectious laughter. Many thanks to Mr Richard Lim and Keng for having us over, Mr Baet for his mentorship, and of course, the lovely Mr Tan for inviting us down.

Cutting with the plasma cutter

Took me a lot of courage to strip off the safety gear

That's lovely Mr Tan who took us through the welding process step-by-step. I wanted to chicken out and wriggle myself out of the crazy burning inferno of flying sparks, heh. But, Mr Tan made sure that there's no escape.

Welding, with the full protective gear. Kia See lah.

And of course, the charismatic Mr Baet Yeok Kuan

Photos by Nicola Choo, who went blind taking these pictures.

Crash Landed!

2009-06-15T10:17:00.000+08:00

"Liwei falls to the Como lake Italy", 2008

"Liwei falls to New York", 2008

"Love at the High Place 1", 2008
Source: Artist Liwei

At first glance, China artist, Liwei's works look like cleverly manipulated digital images. But I was mistaken. Liwei's works are part performance, part photography. Combining acrobatics with extensively staged wires and scaffoldings, he creates these intriguing realities. View more of his work here

Mini Art Exhibition for Aesthetics Day

2009-05-24T13:58:00.000+08:00

One of the things we do to value add to the kids' learning is this:
A mini exhibition for the School's Aesthetics Day.

More than just an exhibition of work, it really is the culmination of our time spent in designing the curriculum, and the fruition of our the kids' enthusiasm, learning and commitment.

Curation & Set-up

Primary 4 Posterize Me Self Portraits!

Primary 4 Drawing Singapore with Scissors (Cut Paper Collage)

Primary 3 You're Wanted! Prints of Our Friends.

Primary 4 Line Dancing! A 12-student collaborative on each scroll of paper

And I'm proud to say that I believe the kids learnt important art and life skills and had fun at the same time.

Where initially we were concerned that we may have spent too much of our time managing the class in terms of behaviour and character development, taking difficult students out to talk and counsel them, then finding creative ways to seat them in order to help them focus and stay engaged, we're heartened that our strategies have worked and have helped the children grow and develop good and proper working habits such as perseverance, focus, self belief and ownership.

And I guess, this experience encapsulates what we mean when we say, "We love what we do. We Teach."

Assemblage

2009-05-17T15:37:00.000+08:00

Ever wondered what to do with all that loose too-little-to-use-but-too-much-to-throw-away shillings and change you never fail to accumulate from all your travel? Or what about the bits and pieces your kids leave lying on the floor as vacuum-cleaner floor mines?

I say, be inspired by Joe Pogan and make an assemblage with them, that's what!

Tin Man Re-interpreted

2009-05-16T00:27:00.000+08:00

Tin Man, 2008. Digital painting, incomplete.

Tin Man, 2008. Digital painting; close-up, incomplete.

I started on this somewhere last year, never got down to completing it.

It was my students whom rekindled my long-lost interest in manga,
I was really inspired by the quality of their works.
I'll probably post up some of their works once I've gotten their permissions.

About the work, ... I just needed a character to work on,
and I thought reinventing the entire character cast of the Wizard of Oz: sci-fi version,
would be kinda interesting.

Doodle Underwaterwonderland!

2009-05-07T21:49:00.000+08:00

Finally!
With the last period in our last sentence, the P3 Art Textbook is a wrap!!
That is until MOE unwraps it, tears it to pieces and sends it back to us in scraps....
But nothing that can't be fixed with more google and a million more hits on the delete button - or a fierce debate, heh.

In the meantime, here's a doodle activity you can print to satiate your sporadic bursts of creativity! Good for boring meetings, sleepy bus rides or time-crawling-invigilating during exams!

Go ahead, surprise the unsuspecting tourist, scan or snap your masterpiece, email it or the link to us, and we'll post it up here!

Tea-off with Fong!

2009-05-03T14:09:00.000+08:00

We're looking to conduct a short 1-2 day workshop in June, cost and venue to be confirmed (cost will vary depending on materials, venue and number of participants), for teachers, students or private enthusiasts alike!

If you have a venue in mind, a burning endeavor or some ideas for any session of sorts, and whether it's to view his works or talk about his journey and how he went about making his dream a reality, or teaching strategies or artistic processes etc, email us at contact@artcademy.com.sg.

We had this whole elaborate publicity plan which didn't quite come together because of the other elaborate-textbook-plan so we've decided to put him up for grabs here instead.

But in a nutshell, Fong Choo is a Singapore-born American potter based in Louisville, Kentucky. Although known for his award-winning and exquisitely quizzical miniature teapots, it is his breezy take on life and affable personality that precedes his pots - and makes his workshops a whole lot more than just pottery, and any encounter with him more than an acquaintance. To read what others have to say about him, read an article in the Louisville's Alt-Weekly here, and a blog entry by one of his workshop participants, here.

Batik Workshops 2008

2009-05-02T16:43:00.000+08:00

Tricia Goh. Wayang Disaster, 2008, Batik on silk. 25cm x 35cm

I splashed and dribbled my way through this piece a day before the workshop was conducted.
It was for a Hangzhou exchange programme for Crescent Girls' School.
I thought it will be good to have a sample of an artwork that they will be working towards.
As I found out, they made better "samples" than I did.

So in two mornings, we learned a little about the history of batik, about cross-cultural influences (as you can see the designs are based on chinese papercuts motifs), I also introduced local artist, Justin Lee and his papercuts, and of course, how to stretch, wax, splash, dribble and iron. Below is a sample of one of their works.

Mai Zi. Wayang Mask, 2008, Batik on silk. 25cm x 35cm

I conducted a separate workshop for a group of secondary 2 and 3 students for Crescent's enrichment programme. These are some samples of what they achieved in 6 hours over a span of 2 days.

Edited: If you're interested in our batik workshops/ programme, do leave me an email: contact@artcademy.com.sg

How Fast Do You Drive?

2009-05-01T23:21:00.000+08:00

Source: PREIK via FFFFOUND! (link provided by my student)

Wouldn't things be clearer if visuals were used instead?

Own your Damien Hirst

2009-05-01T18:08:00.000+08:00

Damien Hirst. For the Love of God, 2007.
Source: The New York Times, White Cube

Damien Hirst's diamond skull is covered in 8,601 flawless diamonds.
And, that lump on the forehead is a 52-carat stone.
A $100 million bucks and it's yours.

For us mere mortals, we can still own a Damien Hirst's skull. Ha! For £55.00 only, get it here.

Levis x Damien Hirst Skull Section Skull Tee
Source: endclothing

Our Logo Evolution

2009-05-01T12:01:00.000+08:00

Logo 01:
One of our first logos. 3 primary colours and 3 basic shapes - the fundamentals of art-making.

Logo 02

Logo 03:
Artists-inspired logos. Duchamp's Bicycle Wheel and Rodin's Thinker.

Logo 04:
New age art and the ever popular use of emoticons. Can you see the kiddo crouching with only art on his mind.

Logo 05:
Artcademy. Too long, visually.
People kept mis-pronounciating it as Art Academy. Well, that was what we wanted initially, but words like "academy, school, institution" needed to be registered and approved. Hence, substitute A for Art.

Logo 06:
Bauhaus-inspired, and also inspired by Tim Fishlock's font set.

Logo 07:
I did this logo for a certificate course I did at a local arts institution. I was quite disappointed with the course structure really. Well, I thought if I signed up for a course in multimedia art, I will be learning something about it, esp. when the lecturers are working professionals in the field.

So, I asked the lecturer:
" Will you be telling us what makes a good design and what are the things to avoid in a design? ".
His reply:
" I am here to teach you how to use the software, not how to design. "
My face:
"-_-"

Seriously, you don't need to pay 1.2K to learn things that are readily-available online.

The assignment that I was to hand in together with the logo.

We were quite settled on this logo. Nic designed the namecard. Yes, I'm the minimal and she's the elaborate.

Logo 07.1:
For the visually-inclined, most could make out the letters 'a', 'R', 'T' and "cademy" from Logo 07. But, for most, those shapes were just cutsy randomness, and could only make out the word "cadems". Fail.
So Nic edited the logo and added the words "art" in.

Well, come to think of it, this logo is rich in symbolism:
- the shape inspired by the letter 'a', is also a speech bubble; to connote the idea of talking about art.
- the shape inspired by the letter 'R'; we added an eye to represent the idea of looking at art.
- and finally the shape derived from the letter 'T', which also resembles a blob of paint, symbolises the idea of art and mark-making.

Logo 08:
Let's do away with abstraction and go straight to the point.

Logo 09:
Substitute "ART" back into "A"

Logo 10:
I quite like this. A subtle blob of paint. A controlled blob of paint. But Nic didn't like the fonts.

Logo 11:
Hmm, looks like a sushi restaurant.

Logo 12:
Not quite right still.

Logo 13:
Erh...

Logo 14:
I like it. Nic likes it. Do you like it?

Hello World!

2009-04-27T23:23:00.000+08:00

Hi guys,

Sorry for the delay.

We've been busy busy busy.

We've just completed the P3 textbook, (well, almost) and we've just started work on the P4 installment, in between HBO, afternoon catnaps, half hourly coffee-breaks, and battling the frenzy of uninvited guests especially, Charles the Cockroach - and his evil twin!

In short, stay tuned for updates.

Apart from all that busy-ness, our life and work with the kids have been an amazing experience, and we just need more hours in a day to get these gems to you.