On the Map

 I just stumbled upon a great show  at the Museum Sheffield (England) that featured a group of British artists who use mapping in their work in a wide range of ways...I will also post their link page which is also worth a look...

19 January - 15 June 2008 Millennium Galleries Introduction On the Map uses craft and design to examine the notion of mapping. It explores what a map is, what can be mapped and how maps can be used and manipulated. More...

another one

preliminary sketches for the wrap

I am finally working on the preliminary designs for the wrap. It is much more complicated than I thought! As it is hard to learn when to stop working, the editing process can take as long as the making/building process. I am so proud of the students' work. The students at KKSA are very talented and have given me some really strong works to choose from. I know that some will be disappointed not to have their work on the van. I am not sure how I can bring my work into the design...I am finding that my work is really in the editing and composing and collaging.

More student images

Here are some of the students final maps that I will soon use to compose the  AutoShare wrap. We saw the vehicle on Monday and it looks really cool. An Euro cargo van--much smaller and more interesting shape. It is the only model available in Canada. 

cool map 1948 San Francisco trafficways

via Good via Wikipedia

More images...

artists we are looking at...

Last map and a coyote drawn for the project...

There are evidentally coyote and fox in the ravine behind the school. There is a bit of the wilderness in Etobicoke. We are not sure who owns the ravine? One afternoon a fox snagged a squirrel in the playground during classes and most classes stopped to take advantage of a teachable moment. On a map note, I really like the range of interpretations that students made of their journey to school. Some are expressive, some very accurate and gridded, and others have buildings that seem to hug the road as it criss-crosses and winds around. I love the flattened perspective and what we learn about student's lives.

more maps...

The brief: I was told that many of the students at Karen Kain did not live in the neighborhood and took various modes of tranportation to get to school. After looking at a range of artist's interpretations of maps, I asked the students to chart their routes to school. Here is what they came up with:

4 January 2010

Ravine Walk....it was coooold and snowy but we decided to take the walk as planned to experience and think about the area surrounding the school. Here are some photos...

Our Vehicle for AutoShare

Art on the Move First Year

The Brief:

This winter I am working with Art on the Move and Beryl Cohen's After School Art Club at Karen Kain School of Arts.

We will work together for six sessions and then I will take the student work, mash it up and create a wrap for an AutoShare vehicle.

I will post student work, photos, and other process details on the blog so you can voice in and follow our progress!