Zandrea, Translation

 My students love making "accordion folds" for various projects we do in the year. I'm always looking for ways to incorporate storytelling and written word into our curriculum. This would be great to use with their accelerated reading they're required to do and/or with their favorite books. It is very adaptable for my K-5 students. We usually do a mother's day project with "pop-up" cards, so this could be a follow up lesson. I may even write it in to submit for a classroom lesson to incorporate their social studies or spelling words. Either way it has made it on my To-Teach list.

Cherie Smith, Altered Book

The strong reaction I had to the process of creating the altered book took me by surprise. I was a little off balance from the beginning. I also had a strong reaction to using the old images and photographs I had brought with me. Even during the final discussion I resisted the impulse to say that my altered book told a story. I only realized in the quiet of my home that every image that ended up in my altered book was a picture of someone who directly influenced my choice to start a master's program and further my education. So my book is telling a story...it is remembering the guides who have led me down this path thus far.

melissa swift, found drawing

I thought for sure I'd gravitate towards the shadows of foliage for this assignment, but surprisingly, I found my way into the linear world. Plastic surfaces made the most interesting reflections of light and shadows - which clearly I am fascinated by.

Christie Knoll, Peer Response

 I really enjoyed Sarah Sparks Project Book. I could see so many different ways her concept could be used within any art program.  I think she captured the innocence of her daughter in the manner she drew her. I think she was able to pull from the marks her child made, interesting ways to create compassion. She keep the lines simple but they had energy and strength.   Most of all it made me smile.

Cherie Smith, Translation to Teaching

There were several ideas that I think would translate well into the museum setting. Primarily I use projects that tie into the overall theme of the tour I am leading. I liked the one page book project as it would work well with several themes that we use. One of the tours is about finding line, shapes and animals on the tour. Then I could use that imagery to have the children create a wax resist drawing of animals we had discussed or found during the tour. After folding the paper and creating the one page book we could talk again about the lines and shapes that make up the original image as well as the story behind it.

Christie Knoll, The Day After Sketchbook

Project Book

For my project book I carried on with the theme of 'Time.' My ideas connected to the research I mined from the Altered Book project. I started with a variety of experiments using transfer techniques of images of the tracks of subatomic particles. I also created wax resist drawings of clock parts and used watercolor to abstract the drawings to give them a more organic quality. I explored the pendulum in relationship to time and movement by creating a pendulum out of found metal pieces and attaching a brush. I swung the pendulum over my paper for varying amounts of time creating interesting drawings. I also videoed the pendulum in motion which gave me ideas for slowing down or speeding up the pendulum in recorded time. Photographs of the pendulum in motion became ghostlike and transparent in the most surprising and beautiful way. I composed these experiments into my project book and generated several ideas for how to make this "play with purpose" into an exhibition. I considered variations in scale, material, time, methods for installation etc. I am very excited with the process and direction of the project book and can't wait to continue developing my ideas.

Here are a few of my favorite spreads:

Christie Knoll,Found Drawing

The Unseen Marks

I was sitting in a restaurant, thinking about our walking studies. I remembered we talked about the shapes between. I took pictures of the people in the restaurant that had interesting lines. I came back put them into Photoshop so I could relay to you what my mind had seen.

Susan Striepe—Found Drawing

My found drawings reflect my daily walk to class in the morning and back again to my dorm at night. They are based on photographic images of the sidewalk. I find when I am walking, that I look down at the pavement while I am thinking and then I look up again to take in my surroundings and converse with my friends. I think of it as traversing interior and exterior spaces, much like snorkeling. The space on these three images is flat in the same way that the surface of the water is an illusory flat dimension, dividing the water-breathing world from the air-breathing world.

Amelia K.,peer response

I really enjoyed all the concepts Nicole put into creating her installations within her project book-she came up with some great ideas that can go so many places. From the use of several different materials to having a consistent visual theme that makes her overall theme apparent throughout.

Color Chart book, Nicole Kirkpatrick

I loved this idea and will be doing this one with my students. What a great way to get the mind working. Using colored (free) swatches from paint stores, we were to chose a certain number and looking at the name of the paint, draw the first thing that comes to our mind. It could relate to the name or it didn't have to. Loved this one!

Project Book, Nicole Kirkpatrick

This was by far the most exciting part of the week for me. My project book was all about LINES! The theme was "ALONG THE LINE"... I found that lines were a common theme throughout my work this week and I'm attracted to all kinds of lines. The ideas really took off immediately in my book. I had been researching string installations, but when I went back to get started into the book, I began to think about one photo I took of a rope. It then just transformed into this wonderful idea book all about how I could build ceramic posts (cylindrical and rectangular forms) with different string/ribbon flowing out from them. It also became a way for me to think about what could be "contained", or kept out by using these lines. I felt my hand wasn't able to keep up with my brain quick enough to record my thoughts. I'd really like to work these ideas out in sculptural form.

Project Book Concept web & research, Nicole Kirkpatrick

This is a wonderful idea to do when starting something big. The concept web really helped me narrow down ideas and get a feel of some outcomes or possibilities for projects.

Image of Choice

This was the first assignment of the course. Sent home with only a roll of tape and two sheets of paper, we were to interpret the assignment however we saw fit. I started by covering the box of tape to use as the book "cover." I then cut and taped small pieces of paper together that were cut to the size of the box. The pages were then folded accordian style. I chose to go the more traditional route by illustrating the book using words and pictures. Of course I had to throw some humor into the mix since that is a big part of my personality. The story is about my travels to UF and all of the emotions, thoughts, and activities along the way.

Research, Nicole Kirkpatrick

For my research, some of my favorite artists were Wayne Thiebaud, Henry Moore and Andy Goldsworthy. All three of these artists I can see where my work has some element from each of their work. It was exciting to actually see sketches from their personal sketch books and see how and where their ideas developed.

Flag Book, Nicole Kirkpatrick

The flag book was a fun way to look at a book/assemble a book. It unfolds in a an opposite manner, which is very interesting. The kids will love this one!

Collection, Nicole Kirkpatrick

The collection drawings were fun. We were asked to bring in a collection of something.... my collection was band aids. I almost didn't bring any, but decided last minute that I'm pretty accident-prone, and I would probably need them. It just so happened I did- the last day! haha

Transfer Samples, Nicole Kirkpatrick

This was so neat to learn. One of my favorites. Playing around with different photo copies and how we can use them in our sketch books, and altered books. The use of gesso, gel medium, packaging tape, clear contact paper and clear transparencies were all used.

Memory Drawings, Nicole Kirkpatrick

The memory drawings were one of my favorites. I loved starting out with just a square on the paper and writing or telling the story of a dress (with our eyes closed). It didn't matter whether we were writing over top of what we had already down on the paper. Once we were done describing, we erased about 50% of it. We then drew a blind contour of our dress we just described. We then played around with positive and negative, and what it might look like if those were present in our picture. The second drawing was of when my husband proposed to me. It's a picture of the ring.

Walking Studies, Nicole Kirkpatrick

We went on an adventure after eating at Burrito Brothers. We used a view finder and narrowed in on a few plants. I later went out and sketched some other plants. I really liked how the shadows were more apparent than the day we went on the walk.