June 2022 Newsletter – SAEC Art
A year of art at SAEC
It’s the end of June 2022 and another school year has flown by! Just a few days to go before we wrap up for the summer. Here’s an overview and some photos to show you what we’ve done this year in our art classes.
Semester 1 was our printmaking and design course. Students learned about lift prints, linocut carving and reduction prints.
Lift prints drying on a line at Goldstream campground.
Everyone made a mini reduction print and turned the finished product into greeting cards on colourful card stock. It was delightful to see how each layer of ink transformed the image. The prints look like paintings with lush colours.
David’s reduction linocut prints.
Jamie McDonald’s reduction linocut print.
Diana Henry made some rockin’ reduction linocut prints as a guest in our class.
Tiffany Sun’s octopus reduction linocut print
We extended the printmaking course into the early spring to give students more time with their projects. Also I had to teach from home using Zoom due to health concerns. In spite of this challenge my students kept coming to class and making art! Their dedication impressed me. Many thanks to them and to staff members who supported us to keep classes going virtually.
With the arrival of spring and warm(er) weather we switched to the semester two course, drawing and painting. I was able to return to in-person teaching. I decided to give a crash course on watercolour and ink sketching for students so we could have adventures outdoors with our sketchbooks. We learned some basic skills about watercolour washes, colour mixing, colour theory and sketching.
a watercolour study of an owl feather
a watercolour, ink and colour temperature study of a coyote skull
colour mixing study with blues
colour mixing with greens
On our first field trip we went to Francis King Park to sketch the forest. Recently we went to Butchart Gardens. So many beautiful places to explore!
In between field trips we are doing painting and drawing activities to learn more skills.
In a few days we will wrap up the year and students will keep their sketchbooks as a reminder of our time together. I hope they fill up the remaining pages over the summer!
It’s been a good year. Students were dedicated to art classes, showing up consistently even on a Friday afternoon! Two students completed the printmaking course, and others came to art just for fun, even though they didn’t need the credit! We had fun together and that’s what really counts. Wishing you all a wonderful summer!
Caroline Stengl, SAEC Art Instructor
