Category: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

What does a mask say about you?

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What does a mask say about you?  Or about the person wearing it?

Last quarter 3D Design students designed and created their very own Identity Masks to illustrate whatever they wanted to communicate with the public. Materials used were cardboard, paper mache, gesso, and acrylic paints. Some students’ work were based on their interests while others took a personal approach and took this opportunity to say something about him/herself. 

KAT

K. Luther

My name is Kat, at least that’s what a lot of people know me by. I am a junior and have been to 3 different high schools, I have never really fit in where ever I’ve gone and always kind of felt left out of things. I came to North for a fresh start and I got it. People always wonder what’s behind my mask I put on.

I interpreted what’s behind my facade with this mask. I added some random details that may be weird to some but have meaning to me, like the spikes. The top spikes represent my confusion, mainly done by placement. The color theme is for my over active brain. Purple is my fear. Black is my anger, which on the surface is very hidden, but inside I fight violent urges all the time in my quest to achieve peace.

The black inside of the mouth is how it feels when I try to speak, like I say nothing. I guess my mask represents my hidden pain that I hide.

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MARCOS

M.Santillan

 

My mask doesn’t represent anything all that much. I made it look like a bear, but colored it blue with white markings. The blue color is supposed to represent the calmness of bears, but the white markings represents innocence . I made the mask so I could wear it only on my face, the mask is held in place and fits perfectly which also covers the entire head. There could be be a deeper meaning about the mask and colors used but couldn’t think of a deeper meaning.

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KEVIN

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My Character’s  name is Void. He trained with the Spartans and killed his master Raz Al’ Ghul so that he could become the most powerful warrior. He has a brother named Slade. His brother is an Australian soldier that was injected with a cyrum called mirakuru. It gave him strength and power to kill with a single punch. Void was also injected with the same cyrum and had the potential to regenerate quickly. Void is a legit immortal. The brothers had a duel and Void had his brother killed with his own sword right through the eye. Slade was no match for void and his sword.

Another enemy has entered this world of Void and threatened to hunt Void down because rumor has it that he has everlasting life. Rattlehead is the master death. He is capable of taking a mortal’s life and eating its soul by piercing them with his sword through the heart. They began to battle and clashing swords. Void managed to cut his left hand off causing him to lose some of his souls he has taken. At the end we both clashed swords and we both were turned into stones.

To be continued……………

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LOGAN

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The mask goes by many names. But all know its true name: Darkness. The mask was once worn by Rattlehead, The master of Death. After thousands of years, the mask became the symbol of destruction and destruction. All that proves that it once truly was real is the replica of it that was found, and of his sword, Soul Reaper.

In the age before machines, all feared dying. Rattlehead enjoyed killing all,, even if they are not to die yet. After thousands of years, he sensed a power of another immortal. He crossed over dimensions to find and slay the power to take as his own. The being was known as Void. A strange being who became immortal. As the two clashed, an explosion erupted and the two vanished from the realm, never to be seen again.

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CHRIS

C. Hartley

 

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FRANK

F.Canseco

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ADRIANA

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Mr. Juarez teaches art in Ojai, California

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This spring break Mr. Juarez is participating in a visiting artist program at The Thacher School in Ojai, California. He will be working with Mrs. Mahoney’s art students. He will be introducing students to the Midwest Artist Studios Project (MAS), which highlights artists living in the Midwest. In addition, he will be Skyping the artists into the classroom so that they can have the opportunity to interact with them via a critique and/or Q & A.  

On March 25th, he spent the day getting to know the art students. Mrs. Mahoney’s students are fabulous and talented. He will be facilitating a few projects from the MAS Project and will be documenting his stay. 

To see images of students working on the MAS art lessons click here. 

Below will be a growing gallery of images. 

Wall Drawing by Drawing Intensive Students

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This video is a large scale wall drawing created by the NHS Drawing Intensive students. These students spend several weeks turning their sketches into reality. Using non-traditional materials such as string, yarn, tissue paper, and push pins large scale works were created in the lower level of NHS. Ideas varied, but one thing that unified my students’ ideas was to create some type of cityscape. Through their collaboration they created a vibrant city full of energy, individuality, and originality. 

What goes into a work of art?

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A few days ago I noticed a semi-finished painting by senior Mikayla resting on her work table. The painting had a series of legs collaged at the top of her canvas and a woman resting towards the bottom. To the left of this canvas was a sketch of an idea, “What’s the Point?” Although we talk on a daily basis how often does a teacher really inquire about a student’s process? After all, haven’t we seen it all? I have found that students tend to shy away from sharing their personal thoughts, but are willing to share their ideas. I was curious as to how she went from this sketch to her collaged painting. Here is what she had to say about her process. 

Sketch by Mikayla

Sketch by Mikayla

Before I started this piece I had already cut out the girl on the bottom I thought that could possibly use it later in another piece. I then chose it for this particular piece because the girl was in the water; it reminded me of the Little Mermaid. I cut the swimming cap off of the original picture and set it in my sketchbook. Lately, I have been interested in simple line drawings, so I started adding her red hair in. To go with my theme, I looked up “the dark side of the Little Mermaid.” There I found that in some version of the story Ariel was turned into a human so the Prince would love her, but it did not work. He loved some other girl. Ariel became depressed and jumped back into the sea where she died (when mermaids die they become sea foam). After having that in my mind, I look at my sketch. I still wanted to have some collage aspect to it. I thought, “what was a big thing in the story?” Legs. The Little Mermaid wanted legs. 

I got to work. I started cutting out all these legs. I placed them in a row overlapping each other. I liked the idea, “How far away should she be from these legs?” I thought. I was thinking that some distance between her and them showed some sort of representation. That she could never really be human, the Prince would never love her. I created a large canvas and went straight to painting. I added the sea foam at the bottom from the story I read. I wanted this piece to evoke sadness and I think, “What’s the Point?” really adds to it.  – Mikayla

"What's the Point?" (detail)

“What’s the Point?” (detail)

AIR Happenings as of May 22nd

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The last couple weeks have been busy with many projects! Sara gave a presentation on 1970’s poster design to four of Carrie McGoldrick’s history classes and then worked with them to create their own posters depicting important issues in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. Many students recreated specific design styles that emerged in the 70’s and focused on topics like civil rights and the Vietnam War. Check out the creative posters they made below!

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Sara is also part of the two person exhibition currently up at The Frank Juarez Gallery, open on Saturdays from 10am – 4pm or by appointment. On the final day of the show, Saturday, June 13th, there will be a more in-depth artist talk from 3-4pm. All are welcome to attend!

In Tandem_Email card

Have a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend!

AIR Happenings as of April 9th

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Before break Sara had been working with Kris Flynn’s Spanish class to create Trees of Life. Traditional Mexican Trees of Life are clay sculptures that depict the Biblical story of creation, but for this project students each created his or her own two-dimensional autobiographical tree. Students brought in various materials to make their trees including family photos and collected ephemera like ticket stubs and hair. Many creative approaches were taken so check out the in-progress and now completed trees below!

AIR Happenings as of March 19th

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Mind mapping is still going strong in Ms. Cavanaugh and Ms. J’s classes! Below is more of the progress made on these maps during week 2. Everyone is really looking forward to seeing these in their completed forms!

Sara also met with students in Chad Stauber Soik’s Humanities class to help brainstorm ideas for the art component of their current essays which include topics such as religion, hope, and technology. Drawing, photography, and other visual mediums were discussed to figure out how to best present each student’s concept.

In the studio, there are collages and drawings everywhere! Sara has been busy creating pieces for her upcoming two-person show, In Tandem, opening in May at the Frank Juarez Gallery.

String Art on Display

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Drawing & Painting students explored the use of non-traditional materials to create drawings using string and push pins. The 4′ x 8′ drawings are on display in the hallway outside of Room 25 on the ground level of NHS.

A glimpse at the works in progress:

And the final results:

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