SAIIER 2018:Kalabhumi Art Studio
 Kailash Youth Residency |
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 Kalabhumi Music Studio |
| Kalabhumi Art Studio | ||
by Author::Nele
The open art studio has been set up as a collaborative space to facilitate interaction between artists and interested students of all ages. The students from Transition School and Future School appreciate the small groups with individual help and professional equipment and the art studio atmosphere.
Many adults at some point in their life feel the need to express themselves through art. Often this need is not developed because either one thinks one is not good enough, or because one does not have the necessary facilities. The nonjudgmental atmosphere and the diverse offer of guided and free classes according to the level help to overcome these difficulties. Some artists also like to come to the studio's free sessions to exchange ideas, and get inspiration.
The studio wants to give a chance to all who wish to pursue art, for whichever reason.
Activities of the year:
There are currently three artists, teaching groups of students ranging from age 9 to 75. Most classes are planned and guided, and one afternoon is set aside for more experienced students to come and work free on their own projects, while exchanging ideas critic and so inspiring one another.
The studio is at walking distance from the schools, thereby making it possible to include the studio classes in the school schedule. Over the year I offer various art projects to the students, for which they can sign up and come and work in the studio. In the last year we had five groups from school age (Transition School and Future School), one group from the fashion school, and two adult groups. Each group can have between 3 and 6 students. I try to give a balance between classes for technique and free exploration.
Some interesting developments this year have been:
- A semester of drawing studies in anatomy and drapery for the fashion school students.
- The introduction of clay and sculpture classes by Sabrina who has joined the team at the beginning of the year.
- A fantastic initiative was taken up by one of our students, Li Mei, who taught a series of classes on creating paper flowers
- A series of figure studies in charcoal with the Future School group.
- We continued and refined work on the preparation of the surface of the painting. We used cloth, tissue, paper, white cement and gesso on paper. It was shown how important each step is for the final artwork, from the material used to composition, layering of colors and interaction of the colors, light and contrast, etc.
- Future School students experimented with new materials such as paper mache and bamboo for sculpture.
- A study on finding one's own expression and interpretation of an object, by going beyond the outer shape and analyzing its inner structure and form. This is a new and very important way to observe and give a deeper meaning to the artwork and at the same time a creative way of self-research.
- A series of exercises on color: interaction of colors, the use of layers and brushstroke.
Outcomes:
The studio serves at a space to meet, to explore art, to exchange ideas, to learn and to teach.
We have been able to provide some skills to enable the student to accomplish their intention, whether it is sketching the idea for a dress for the fashion student or work on interaction of colors for the painting class, or creating a sculpture.
We talk about how to observe with attention to get inspired, find ways and techniques to materialize the idea, with methods like aquarelle, sketch, acrylic paint, spray paint with stencils, sculpture in clay or paper mache, collage and many more.
We talk about composition and proportions by doing specific exercises in life drawing and still life study.
Reflections:
This year we have seen an increased interest from the students, especially from the younger children and in the free expression class on Saturday. This has been encouraging and led us to offer more courses.
With three professional artists in the team, we are able to offer a very diverse program and it has been very well received.
Working in a well-equipped and functioning artist environment exposes the student to various aspects of creating artwork. The student is able to see how the artwork evolves through various stages from inspiration to the final object.
The learning process is reciprocal. The facilitator gets new ideas for their own work by seeing the work from the angle of the student. So I would not call this “teaching” but “creating together”.
Conclusion:
This project continues to grow. Most students are attending the courses since many years and the groups have formed a dynamic which helps the student to feel comfortable, free, but also trying to do their best work possible. The secure atmosphere created also makes it easy for new students to integrate.
