Wine Journey

Maxine, one of my Grade 12 students, made a vine out of wine bottles; labels, corks and wire as her exam piece and she did drawings of feet in red wine as part of her related thematic drawing.

The smell of red wine in my classroom was quite strong – I often say to colleagues that I feel like I’m running a pub. The room has a convivial atmosphere, music playing, people having conversations and on occasion they burst into song (I just don’t serve snacks & drinks). When Maxine was making her artwork - the room even smelled like a pub!

Here is Maxine’s explanation of her artwork: 

My art piece is an extended metaphor of the journey to maturity.  I have used wine as my comparative. Wine goes through steps of production. The vine plant is grown as a result of pruning, fertilizing, watering and sunlight. The equivalent nurturing in humans; is provided by our parents, friends and family. All the crushing and pressing that the grapes undergo represent the hard times that individuals’ experience, which consequently makes them stronger and wiser.  In the same way that wine is fermented; people are often influenced and fermented by others. This may be a fermentation that benefits or negatively affects an individual. The final stages of wine productions are bottling, corking and leaving the wine to mature. We have to figure out who we want to be as individuals.  We choose the qualities we want to retain and how people perceive us.  We will mature, develop, learn and discover. We may stick to our wire or vine or we may grow free. Either way we hope to become individual, high quality and valuable bottles of wine that are wise and mature.

Maxine’s explanation of her feet drawings (she did three - but I didn’t photograph very them well):

My thematic drawings are feet of people of different ages and who were exposed to different environments.  My feet drawings act as a representation of a person’s life story. The more veined and wrinkled the feet, the older and more experienced and in most cases wiser the person is.  My feet represent the element of maturing, as one gets older.  Like wine gets darker, the feet that are older have darker tones. 

Born into Blanks

When Candice was in Grade 11, I gave her Nick Bantock’s book “Griffin and Sabine” a story told via removable letters and postcards between the two main characters. 

This book had quite an impact on Candice & she made an interactive artwork that included illustrated envelopes and letters when she was in Grade 11.

I am pleased that she returned to this experience and created an interactive journal for her final exam piece. The examiner had to physically open & read each envelope pasted into the book & read the enclosed letter this obviously increases the intimacy of the artwork.   

I have scanned/photographed the book and the inserts in order.

Candice’s explanation of this artwork is in her own words below:                                                                                                                                                                               "This thematic drawing revolves around the idea of a life journey. This concept is portrayed in a book that represents the life of a fictional girl named Jozi, whose unique events and decisions have created a story.  The plain book symbolizes the life that each individual is given, and how everyone starts off with a series of blank pages, ready to fill with their own story.  The growth and the changes that Jozi goes through are shown by means of different mediums, drawing styles, letters to her mother, and by the various drawings of Jozi at different stages in her life. At the beginning of the book, the drawings are very simple, dreamlike and sometimes incomplete, and this symbolizes the the simplicity of childhood, the dreamlike ideas that young children have on life, and how their self awareness and emotions are not fully developed yet.  The drawings and letters evolve as the book goes on, into more detailed drawings and more complex letters, which shows the maturing of Jozi as she grows older. Together with the letters written to her mother, the drawings and writing in the book demonstrate the various aspects of life, such as the growing process, discovery, happiness, sadness, love and freedom. This demonstration of the highs and lows of life and the various emotions that one feels, encapsulates the idea of the life journey, as it is a physical, mental and emotional journey that one takes. The book also comments on how people shouldn’t let themselves be tied down by things such as work and making money, and therefore it questions the way that most people are living their lives today."

The envelope in the following image opened up - the letter following it was inside the envelope.

The envelope in the following image opened up - the letter following it was inside the envelope.

The envelope in the following image opened up - the two page letter following it was inside the envelope.

The envelope in the following image opened up - the letter following it was inside the envelope.

 

The above drawing is so beautiful - I included a larger version of it

The following page was a folder piece of notepaper - I unfolded it & photographed it after this next image.

The next image is the letter found inside the envelope on the following page.

The journal ended with the image above of a young woman breastfeeding her baby.

Between the Fates

Candice projected a video, she filmed and compiled as part of her exam work, on to a blank canvas in between two painted artworks on canvas. This artwork really appealed to many of the girls in our high school -  one group burst into spontatneous applause at the end of the video. She explains her work in her own words:

“This painting and video installation focuses on the idea of life being a journey from birth to death. The paintings of the new flower and the dead flower are representatives of birth and death, and the empty canvas in between symbolizes how although birth and death are inevitable, what takes place during one’s life journey is determined by the person living it, and it is therefore up to them what goes on this empty canvas. The video projected onto this middle canvas represents the life journey that one takes in order to get to their destination which is essentially death, but the artwork also aims to show how it is not the destination that is important, but the journey that one takes before their eventual fates. This is shown by the simplicity of the paintings in contrast to the busy, eye catching video that plays in between them.  The video shows the rise from darkness into the light in the beginning- which is shown by the lighting of a match, and the fall back into darkness at the end- which is shown when the light goes out (this is also shown in the paintings, as the flower rises out of the black mist, and then when it dies it appears to fall back into this blackness). The video demonstrates the different aspects of life- how one learns things, makes mistakes, and goes through highs and lows etc. It also aims to make the viewer question their own lives and whether the journey they are taking is making them truly happy or not.” 

The following images are stills copied from her video: 

The full video is below (note the music is not the student's own):

Dolls and suitcases

Caitlin presented a suitcase full of drawings sewn together like a patchwork quilt. I love her stylized figures stitched in thread. 

This explanation of this suitacse is in her own words: "

You can learn a lot about a person if you see what they put into their suitcase when travelling.  It is clear to see what they treasure, what they feel is vital as well as all the extra bits and pieces that they just cannot leave behind.  Some people over pack, making life complicated. Others leave items behind, and spend a trip missing something.

This case that you see before you, is filled with my personal valuable items. Places I want to go, people who have inspired me, images that intrigue me and beliefs that keep me grounded.

A mixture of a harsh reality and my ultimate fantasy: this case is me. If you are willing to take the journey to understand and get to know me, open it. If you are not, walk away."

I think she had fun creating her “art dolls” – she bought old dolls ceramics and toys from the SPCA flea market & constructed her dolls by deconstructing the objects & making new creatures out of the various bits and pieces. 

Caitlin's explantion of these strange figures is as follows:"The three figures before you represent a variety of aspects of life that each and every one of us experience in some form or another. 

Different people take different journeys throughout their lives. Some are full of joy, and success, whilst others spend years fighting sickness, pain and sadness.  These dolls represent these different journeys, as well as the aspects of life that affect us day in and day out.  The environment, torture, wealth, beauty, poverty and fragility are parts of our lives that determine who we are, and dictate whether or not we reach the pinnacle (according to society) of life.  The centered figure is that pinnacle, and determining on the paths we take and the impact that these paths have on us, we may or may not reach that apex." 

A Spiritual Journey

When Bianca spoke to me about making an installation for her exam piece, I was at first hesitant and discouraged her. It is a huge undertaking & it is very difficult to "pull a whole room together" into an artwork. The only area I could give her to make her installation is in a basement area under our school hall. When she started she had to first clear out old abandoned artworks that had been left there by past pupils. This in itself took about two days to complete. Bianca is a very determined young woman & I believe it was her determination and intelligence that made this very atmospheric artwork materialise.  I took photos of this installation with my iphone (which doesn't function too well in a dark room), this gives you some idea of the visuals but doesn't really capture the interactive quality of this piece.     

This work Revelation is explained in Bianca's own words:

"No matter what religion you believe, or how spiritual you are; when you engage with your religion you take a spiritual journey. Whether it is reading the holy text, praying, fasting or practising a religious ceremony, you are taking a journey within yourself and your religion to find meaning, answers and a revelation.

My artwork combines common aspects across all religions that are used on spiritual journeys: old teachings, candles, labyrinths, and a place of worship, beads, self-reflection and endless faith. The audience is invited to take their own spiritual journey through my piece to the centre where they find a reflection of themselves and the world around them – which is what our questions revolve around; as well as infinity which would represent the eternal faith or eternal life many seek through religion." 

The following pastel drawing is a further exploration of spirituality. It depicts a Muslim woman representing the women who were left behind & imprisoned when Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Imam Husain was brutally massacred along with his family and other followers. The commemoration of this massacre is called Ashura and is highly mourned by the Shia Muslims.

“They beat their chests, known as matam, to display their devotion to Husain and remember his suffering. Male participants incorporate in wounding themselves with small knives and sharp tools attached to the chains into the matam.” http://festivals.iloveindia.com/muharram/the-day-of-ashura.html

Bianca covers the image in a geometric design based on Islamic writing. To make the artwork interactive and to acknowledge the shedding of blood during Husain’s massacre – the examiner had to dip her hands into blood coloured water (food colouring) & wash the surface of the artwork to get to the drawing underneath. (see video below)