FALL LEAF PROJECT - 2016 - 2017
Each Autumn the gardens at Aberthau Mansion offer a spectacular array of colours, shapes and textures, which provides several prospects for walk-based art engagement and creative production in studio. During the five-year residency, artist Laura Lee Coles has found inspiration and creation opportunities in the garden, but also in the surrounding neighbourhood and local nearby urban forest at Jericho Park. Below are images that Coles is currently assembling in the creation of an interactive gesture controlled installation. Currently she is seeking grant and funding to complete this work, so stay tuned for future announcements. In conjunction with this work, Coles created a walk-based exploration and collection of artefacts with the Pre-school class at Aberthau Mansion/West Point Grey Community Centre. Coles and artist Rob Scharein assisted each student with an in studio study of the textures of leaves they gathered and chose to make an individual collage, via digital scanning. Please scroll down go view their creations!!!
PRE-SCHOOL FALL LEAF PROJECT 2016
The afternoon class of West Point Grey Community Centre Pre-School experienced an exploration into Jericho Park urban forest to learn about why trees change colours in the Fall, and to connect to the various patterns, colours and textures of Autumn leaves.
The students gathered various leaves from the ground on the walk back to the studio. They were given a choice of six of their leaves to place on a flat-bed scanner where the artists Rob Scharein and Laura Lee Coles documented their collage.
Everyone had a fun time, and there were a lot of great questions!!!! See the slide show below of the outing. And below the outing picture boook, please see the gallery of the student's creations.
SPECIAL THANKS TO THE BOARD OF WEST POINT GREY COMMUNITY CENTRE AND VANCOUVER PARK BOARD FOR THEIR SUPPORT!!!!
THE STUDENT COLLAGES
Each student collected several leaves during their walk and choose six leaves from their collection to make their collages. There was great care and introspection by the students. Several took time to inspect both sides of their leafs and were very certain as to where on the flat bed their leaf would be placed. Some studentes were careful as to which leaf they chose first, second, third, and so on. One student had collected moss and added it to his collage. Several students immediately asked to inspect the digitized leaves and the artists expanded them on to the flat screen. The students observed the veining and branching of the leaves. The artists explained to them that in the human body, the human circulation system is also veined and branched. Many of the students were amazed and understood that this pattern exists in several ways in nature.
WORK IN PROGRESS:
Artist Laura Lee Coles has been collecting thousands of photographs of the fall leaves around the studio for five years. At the completion of the residency in 2017, Coles will begin assembling the photographs in a series of forms: time lapsed films, interactive immersive environments, gesture controlled video installation, and digial mosaics.
FALL LEAF PROJECT - PRE-SCHOOL 2017
THERE ARE SEVERAL PHASES OF THIS YEAR'S PROJECT WHICH IS DESIGNED TO OFFER THE STUDENT. DAY 1, EXPERIENCE OF RECREATING FROM STILL LIFE. DAY 2 EXPLORING THE ENVIRONMENT AND CHOOSING LEAVES TO MAKE A COLLAGE USING A SCANNER, AND DAY 3 DRAWING FROM OBSERVATION, THEIR OWN LEAF.
DAY 4 A SMALL EXHIBITION WILL BE HELD FOR STUDENTS AND PARENTS.
On a rainy afternoon, Day 1 of the Fall Leaf Project 2017 launched November 1. The students picked out two maple leaves and one oak leaf to use as subjects as the reproduced their leaves unto leaf drawings. THE identified the colours in their leaves, choose their colours and finished off their creations.
THE LEAF COLLAGES: Each student from West Point Grey Community School decided which leaves from their collection they wanted to use, and how they wanted to arrange them. They were asked, which leaf and where do you want to put it? Amazing minds these four-year-olds! It is such an honour to work with them!