Tom+Ferraro

//The Sun, the Moon and the Stars//, Tom Ferraro, oil on canvas, 2010

[|Art Resume.pdf]

Cambridge Springs residency observations:

April 25th, Day 1, 2nd grade April 26th, Day 1 3rd grade There are four 2nd and 3rd grade classes. To introduce students to our project, we combined 2 classes to present a powerpoint presentation showing paintings in recent art history where artists used the element of clouds to create a mood and emotion in a work of art. The flow of the powerpoint went very well. We began with two paintings by British artist, Wm Turner whose work is charged with atmospheric emotion. We talked about the images in the paintings (shipwreck and snowstorm) and showed how the artist used storm clouds to set the mood. We then moved to Van Gogh and I explained how he worked in France, painting landscapes that are emotionally charged not only with imagery, but also with the way the artist handled paint and color. Most children recognized "Starry Night" and we discussed how we might imagine ourselves looking up at the stars on a clear night and what kinds of feelings they may have, comparing their thoughts to Van Gogh's painting style. We then looked at paintings by Americans Winslow Homer and Martin Heades. Heades work provided great examples of how the artist sets the timeframe of his paintings around the anticipation of an upcoming storm or the calm after a storm. The children were able to identify this timeframe based on cloud formations and clues such as puddles of water or boats seeking shelter. We concluded with work by American artists Georgio Okeefe and Alfred Steiglitz. They work provided the best opportunities for the children to use their imagination to visualize shapes and imagery found in their paintings and photographs. Okeefe's "Sky Above the Clouds" was the children's favorite and we spoke of being in an airplane, looking down at the clouds and talked about how this perspective is different from how we see clouds here on earth. The more abstract the work, the more the children's imagination ran wild. We finished by looking at a few photographs by Alfred Steiglitz's Equivilant series. This showed cloud formations in compositions where images of land are removed and thus the cloud formations form an unfamiliar point of reference that once again allowed the children to use their imaginations to identify forms and settings. I was allotted 45 minutes for each powerpoint of about 25 images. The timeframe was perfect for me to complete the presentation. Surprisingly, the children remained attentive and responsive throughout each session.

April 27th, Day 2, 2nd grade, April 28th, Day 2, 3rd grade Students each received a laptop computer and each logged in to a website with software that enables children to choose a cloud formation from a menu and outline the clouds with the cursor which then creates images on their screen. While they were preparing their computers, I played a song by jazz musician Chuck Mangione titled "Chase the Clouds Away" and I explained how musicians, like visual artists, also find inspiration and charge their imagination by looking at cloud formations. The more the children follow the outlines, the more the images appear. The children in both grades were engrossed by this program. Many completed an outline and selected a new menu and did more than one. Some began to experiment with the color feature of the program. Once they were satisfied with their outline, they were instructed to take out their sketch diary and copy the image that was computer generated onto their sketchpad using an ebony pencil that was provided by the instructor. The results were nothing short of outstanding. While the shapes were somewhat simplistic, the children showed a remarkable ability to capture the shape of the cloud almost exactly as it appeared on the computer screen. It is necessary for all children to have a computer. We were planning to share computers in the 3rd grade which would have made things difficult, however, we were able to secure more computers before class began, so things went very smoothly.

May 2nd, day 3, 2nd grade, May 3rd, Day 3, 3rd grade I would have liked to have taken the children outside to draw the clouds however the weather has not cooperated. Instead, I brought in to class 3 prints from a local Erie artist, Christine Bowler, that I had in my studio. They are of 3 different cloud formations and I had the children try to draw them with an ebony pencil. I instructed the children to try to capture the shapes of the clouds similar to how they outlined clouds on the computer. I also talked about how to create contrast in a work and how contrast creates drama. The 3 prints showed various cloud formations, the first showing a clearing sky, the next a gathering of puffy white clouds and finally threatening thunderclouds. I documented the results which included many wonderful drawings from several students. Both 2nd and 3rd graders stayed focused on these drawings, approximately 15 minutes with each print.

May 4th, 2nd grade I met with each class separately and had prepared blue and white tempra paint in small containers for each child. We passed out brushes, water and paper and I gave them instruction on how to begin a painting. We discussed how to get contrast in paint began by covering the paper with the blue paint. They then used the white paint to put in the clouds. We chose clouds from the menu of the klowdz.com website which we had worked with the previous week. Again, the students produced several wonderful paintings in a wide range of styes.

May 5th, 3rd grade Today we went on a blue bird trail with the entire 3rd grade class. It was the first day of decent weather and we took a short walk to teacher Tony Jardina's property a few blocks from school. Mr. Jardina has been working with his class on documenting the many blue bird houses on the property and recording updates of activities around the birdhouses. I gathered the children to give them instruction and told them that we are now going to add another element besides clouds to our drawings. We are growing our visual vocabulary. By adding another element such as a tree, birdhouse, pond, etc. we are beginning to define a sense of place. Just as the artists in history painted in England, France and New England, our drawings now show us in Cambridge Springs and therefore our picture now shows the weather and its effect on the place that it occupies. The property was vast and choices of subjects were many. Again, we had a diverse group of drawings not only in style, but also in subject matter.