CAPITAL OF CREATIVITY
  • Capitol of Creativity
    • Art Lady's Identity
    • ARTISTS: Expectations
  • Art Lair- Blog
    • T.H.I.N.K. about ART
    • Art Books
    • Art Contests & Shows
  • Art Gallery
    • Art Gallery Through the Years
  • Resources
    • Web Based Art Tools
    • Color Family Tree
    • Videos
    • Prezi
  • #SKMSART
  • Art Class

Artists that inspire us...

2/12/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
My art story starts at home. As a child, I was blessed to be taken by my mother to see the local artisans in the community where I grew up in WV yearly for craft shows. The community where I grew up didn't have an art education program available until I was in Junior High School. The artists that started my love for making things and sharing my creativity started within my own community. Hidden in the hills of WV are some amazingly creative individuals that have long traditions of craft and expression that have been passed down through the generations. In my own home town of Beckley, WV you can quickly stop by Tamarack to see a variety of artisans in their studios hard at work or browse through the gallery. The community of artists is an ongoing source of inspiration and pride.

Growing up the first "famous" artist I was exposed to was Georgia O'Keeffe. In high school I had a project to recreate a painting that spoke to us in some way. We all dove through a variety of images and I was drawn to one piece. To my surprise the artist was the ONLY female artist represented in our choices. There has been a continued sense of pride and interest in other female creatives through out my life thus far and in my post you will find the strong female visual voices that have spoken inspired me.
At West Virginia University in the early 90's I found great pride in knowing one of my professors helped to publish one of the first art history text books that included women.  ​

Picture
Memories of traveling up to Pittsburg on occasion to be inspired still are vivid in my memory. One day is clear in my mind when I went to see work at the Mattress Factory. The docent led me down a row of old houses where she unlocked a door and let me in. Alone, I entered the home to experience Ann Hamilton's art installation that would forever change how I view art experiences.
Picture

Ann Hamilton

I climbed the three floors of the abandoned house scared yet curious. The first floor only showed small stalagmites of wax building up on the ceiling above. The creaky steps led to the second floor where wax remnants were seen on the floor and the ceiling but an additional scratching sound could be heard.
At first I feared going to the top floor but reminded myself that this experience was ART. On the top floor to my surprise I found birds nibbling away at the bird seed suspended in the wax melting beneath the coffin shaped container of face forms. ​ There was a beauty within  the decay and I found myself frozen in that moment questioning life, materials and how I define art. Later, I was fortunate to meet a Professor Beckley at an art reception and he asked me about the art that inspires me and Ann Hamilton's work fueled a long discussion. Later that year I was thrilled to be contacted and invited to a lecture and diner with the artist afterwards. She remains a source of inspiration, strength, and humility that shows in all of her artistic installations or experiences.

Lenore Tawney

I was introduced later to the artist Lenore Tawney through a book Retrospective published by the American Craft Museum. Over the years I have visited exhibits that included her collages, drawings, and weaving installations. There is a decay, a revival of materials and sensitivity to the way she composes her pieces. Woven threads, drawings, or simple strips of paper she elevates the meaning and use line.

​Artists inspire and speak to each of us in a different way. I find beauty within each of my students in much the same way as I look at art.  
Picture
Each child has a visual voice ready to reworked, polished or woven together in a new and exciting way. Beyond the tough exteriors of a typical teenager, we must, as educators push forward to explore the creative inspiration inside us all. 
What art or artistic experiences have molded the way you view art? 
​Students also have a wonderful opportunity to share their own inspiration through the Doodle for Google Annual Contest.

Be sure to check out the other wonderful art educators sharing their own artistic inspiration via the links below!
Art Teacher Blogs
This post is a part of The Art Ed Blogger's Network: Monthly Tips and Inspiration from Art Teacher Blogs. On the first Tuesday each month, each of these art teacher blogs will post their best ideas on the same topic.

Participating Art Teacher Blogs:

  • Art Class Curator - Artists That Inspire
  • Art Ed Guru
  • Art is Basic
  • Art Room Blog
  • Art with Mr. E
  • Artful Artsy Amy
  • Capitol of Creativity
  • Create Art with ME
  • MiniMatisse
  • Mr. Calvert's Art Room Happenings
  • Mrs. Boudreaux's Amazing Art Room
  • Mrs. T's Art Room
  • Party in the Art Room
  • shine brite zamorano
  • Tales from the Traveling Art Teacher
  • There's a Dragon in my Art Room
0 Comments

    Categories

    All
    2D/3D Art
    6th Grade
    8th
    Art 21
    ArtAcrossVA
    A.R.T.: Art Read Think
    Art History
    Artist Visit
    Art News
    Art Nouveau
    Art Project By Google
    Art Room
    Artsonia
    Atc
    Balloon
    Blown Ink Trees
    Books
    Cartoons
    Character Education
    China
    Choice
    Clay
    Cubee
    Cubism
    Design Thinking
    Dia De Los Muertos
    Dragon Culture
    Drawing
    Dream Rocket
    Elementary
    Field Trip
    Fulbright-Hays Seminar
    Google
    Heroes
    Illuminated Manuscripts
    Inside Out
    Japan
    Memory
    Monochromatic
    NAEA
    News
    Nyc
    Op Art
    Origami
    Paper Sculpture
    Pinwheels
    Play
    Portrait
    Power Of Art
    Quotes
    Shuttle
    Smile
    Super Artists
    Technology
    Trees
    Value
    VCETarts
    Watercolor
    Youth Art Month

    RSS Feed

    Picture

    Author

    Art lady 
    Ms. Kincaid

    Follow @ArtLadyHBK
    Follow Me on Pinterest
    The smARTteacher
    Tweets by @ArtLadyHBK

    Archives

    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    April 2017
    March 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    November 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    April 2014
    October 2013
    April 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    November 2011

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Capitol of Creativity
    • Art Lady's Identity
    • ARTISTS: Expectations
  • Art Lair- Blog
    • T.H.I.N.K. about ART
    • Art Books
    • Art Contests & Shows
  • Art Gallery
    • Art Gallery Through the Years
  • Resources
    • Web Based Art Tools
    • Color Family Tree
    • Videos
    • Prezi
  • #SKMSART
  • Art Class