It’s great to be back after Chinese New Year because we have so much to look forward to.

Here is some of the outstanding work from last term done by our very talented Kingston Students.

One of my hobbies outside of school hours is writing and illustrating children’s books.  In the past couple of months I have written two new books that I would like to share with you.  The stories I write normally have some kind of PYP related theme.

The Rapperpillar

Theme: Being positive and motivated. A PYP Story about having confidence, enthusiasm and being a communicator.

Storyline: Mr Leech is not kind and caring like the teachers you have.  He loves squashing the dreams and ambitions of his students.

The second book is called I wrote and illustrated in just a few days. This is my latest Children’s Story. It is not as polished as my previous stories, but lately what has been happening in Britain and The United States has been so disturbing I needed to take action now.

The Shape of Things Right Now

Theme: Segregation, Racism, Inequality, Political Power

Storyline: A story about shape people who are convinced that turning on each other is in their best interest.

Central Idea Art can reflect or influence people’s beliefs.

Lines of Inquiry

• An inquiry into the points of view people choose to express in art
• An inquiry into the power of art and its effect on the artist, individuals and society.
• An inquiry into how our behaviour has been influenced and could influence others through art

This year has been so much fun.  Our Kingston students have evolved as young artists by challenging their pre-existing perceptions of the world and by taking risks and taking action .   It’s an honour to be invited into their imagination through observing and listening to them explain their  visual creations.  I am lucky to be able to teach such enthusiastic students who understand the importance of taking risks, learning from mistakes and producing work in which they feel person ownership.

Have a fantastic Summer everyone!  I am going to Paris, to see the Mona Lisa and then to England to be with my family. I look forward to seeing you all next term.  Keep drawing, painting and making. I can’t wait to see what you create over the holidays.

It’s finally here.  Hong Kong’s Art Week.  I was at the Art Basel opening last night and Art Central’s opening the night before.  Enormous rooms filled with artworks by hundreds of famous artists including Warhol, Picasso, Lichtenstein, Murakami, Haring, Kusama and many more.   Chances are if we’ve learned about them in Art class this year, then they were exhibiting.

It was also a great opportunity to speak to artists and continue to learn. (Yes, even teachers never stop learning new things).  Most artists are pleased to explain their work to you, what they were thinking at the time and why they chose to express themselves the way that they did.   I strongly recommend Art Basel to anyone looking for inspiration for their own art, particularly those in Upper Primary who are doing their summative assessment projects for the year.

Below – One of my favourite Japanese contemporary artists ‘Mr’.  (22/3/16 – Art Basel)

It’s always a challenge coming up with backdrops and props to compliment Ms Claire’s amazing yearly production. Luckily for me, I have over 250 fantastically talented artists on my creative team.  Not a lot of people can say that.  To continue to inspire us, I’m going to continue to post the backdrops on to the blog and on my twitter account.  Many of you follow me already. www.twitter.com/chrisgadbury

One question I am often asked as the Art Teacher at Kingston is ‘What Apps should the children use for art.’ This is tricky as there are a lot of fantastic apps out there. I just don’t want the students using them.

Here is a rule that I set for myself, my students and for my own daughter. If it can be done without an app, don’t use an app.   Any app, no matter how well programmed will never be as rich an experience as that feeling of a brand new slab of clay in your hands, the tools set out in front of you and the sensation of endless possibilities. As a teacher, I love being the only person coming home on the MTR with blue paint in my fingernails. That just means my students and I had the best day ever.

There have been times when a piece of student artwork has left me speechless. On occasion I have seen students artwork that hasn’t met my expectations. I value each one equally. Because the student who is struggling to ‘get it looking right’ has as much potential as the other. They may be at a different stage in their creative journey or it may be that they answered in their own unique way. Children’s work should be cherished.

There is research coming out all the time claiming negative effects on the brain due to too much screen time. We are living in a very different age from when we grew up. Every time I take my daughter to the park, I seem to be the only parent who is watching their child play on the swings and interact with other children. It’s fascinating and these moments are precious. My problem is that children her age believe it is normal to check your phone every 5 minutes and for adults to escape into TV dramas and candycrush in the middle of the day. They believe the world has always been like this since the beginning of time.

Art has always been my escape. As a child my father would bring back all the used photocopying paper from the office so I could draw on the back. My mother who was also a primary school art teacher, would introduce me to batik, tie dye and all sorts of wonders. My holidays were spent backpacking through the Samatran jungle and cycling through remote villages in China. I was able to see the world and I carried a notebook everywhere I went filled with my pictures, songs and poems.

The only app we use in art class is for animation. I’m all for bringing to life a drawing you did, or a clay model you made. It’s involves team work, human interaction, planning and drawing out storyboards, trying out new materials, making and painting scenes on cardboard boxes and recyclables. But only after you’ve had all that experience will I let you use an Ipad, to share what you’ve made with others.

There isn’t an app for childhood. There isn’t an app for life experience nor an app for family. There are great apps, but none of them are relevant to a 7 year old’s art education.

– Mr. Gadbury

As the 1st term is coming to an end, Spring Concert is right around the corner. Last year the Kingston students did such an amazing job at creating backdrops for each one of their songs.  After that, for upper Primary we will be focusing on our final projects.

Here are some of the recent Artworks from P1’s to P6.

These are the biggest Art Exhibitions happening this year. I always go to all three.  If you do decide to go, here is some advice.

Go in the morning! It gets ridiculously busy in the afternoon. Buy your tickets before the exhibition or you will need to line up for about 3 hours (no joke).  If you only go to one I strongly would recommend Art Basel. It is the most established and you may even bump into a famous artist.  You’ll see artwork by Andy Warhol, Picasso and hundreds of others.  Tickets to any of these events are expensive, especially if you bring the family. My advice is to ask around. Chances are you or someone you know gets them for free at their company.

Art Basel Hong Kong, March 24 – 26, 2016

https://www.artbasel.com/hong-kong

TICKET PRICES: Vernissage ticket (Mar 23, 5pm to 9pm) : HKD 850. One-weekday ticket (valid one day either Mar 24 or 25) : HKD 250, concessions HKD 150. Saturday ticket (Mar 26, limited tickets available) : HKD 350, concessions HKD 200 Evening ticket (Mar 24 only, 5pm to 9pm) : HKD 180. Two-weekday ticket (valid Mar 24 to 25) : HKD 450, concessions HKD 300. Three-day ticket (valid all days, Mar 24 to 26) : HKD 650, concessions HKD 400.*Admission is free for children aged 5 and under when accompanied by an adult.

Art Central, March 23 – 26, 2016

http://artcentralhongkong.com/

TICKET PRICES Adult: HK$230, Concession*: HK$110, Student**: HK$50, Children aged 12 and under: Free with a paying adult

Affordable Art Fair, May 13 – 15 , 2016

http://affordableartfair.com/hongkong/

Adult HKD 150, Concessions HKD 80, Children under 16 Free

A letter will go home today with more information.  I’m really excited about this! Just to let you know, I’m looking for originality, use of materials (I like recycled materials best) and effort put into it.

You can work with your family to make it. This is art after all, it’s supposed to bring people together. Having Mum and Dad help out isn’t cheating, this isn’t an exam.. it’s some Chinese New Year fun! I always say ‘if your art is boring, then your doing it wrong.’  Don’t feel like you need to bring in some masterpiece.  Art is just as much about the process as the final product and I value and appreciate every ones artwork.

P6 – Art can reflect or influence people’s beliefs

P6 have been learning about tessellation during Maths Lesson. We’ve been looking at the artwork of MC Escher and learning how to draw, cut and paint our own tessellating pattern.

I am super excited about this coming year.  Let’s start with lower primary.  I’m going to add an extra art lesson for P1’s once a cycle.  There is so much I want to do with you and teach you and I know as soon as Christmas is passed the year just races by.   Illustration club is continuing in lower primary too.  This is a chance to work in a smaller class and get loads more advice and learn more skills and techniques.  We’re going to have more school wide Art competitions, the first one being something to do with year of the Monkey.  That’s all I’ll say about it now. More details will be revealed.  With my Upper primary artists, we are going to start up Early morning art club again.  Last year you guys were incredible at getting up half an hour early, bouncing into the classroom with enthusiasm and ideas pouring out.  I loved it!  Last year I also started an oil painting club for upper primary during lunch times.  I’m wondering if you would like to do oil painting again, or is there another skill you want to explore more.  I was thinking of screen printing. Come talk to me. It’s your lunchtime, you tell me what you want to learn and we’ll make it happen together!

Street Art!

(NOT to be confused with vandalism, which is the opposite to art and requires no skill or intelligence.)

Street art contributes to society and it’s setting. It can express a belief, a view, an idea. Or it can simply be for the enjoyment of others.

At the beginning of the term, P6’s learned about stenciling. This form of image manipulation allows students to cut out pictures and rearrange them along with text. What I personally love about stenciling is the sharp clear image you can get, and the fact that you can repeat the same image over and over again.

Street Art is clever. It requires consideration of space and original thinking. It allows you to express yourself through art, without the nuisance of renting gallery space and spending millions of dollars. It is a major focus in the art world and one that gets more attention than any.

It is often controversial and criticised. It is daring. It is everywhere and it cannot be ignored.

What I love about teaching Street art, is it encourages students to look at spaces in a different way. I remember as a young child, seeing faces in a floral pattern or in a pile of clothes. The older we become the less we see and imagine. Street art encourages that child like creativity. What can that crack in the wall be? How can I use that drain pipe in the playground and make people stop and look at it?