snapshots from the studio

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At Queen Alexandra, Christine and Maggie engaged the whole school in a shadow theatre adaption of a Haida story gifted to Christine. Finding your Way Home is a story of Little One, a two spirit indigenous child that wanders away rom their elders and gets lost in the forest at night encountering butterflies, salmon, bunnies and nocturnal forest creatures along the way.  Students brought the story to life using small and life-sized puppets, props and scenery created from cut paper, cardboard, sharpies and colored acetates mounted on old overhead projectors.  

Christine taught the students elements of North West Coast form line design which students incorporated into their puppets. Maggie worked with students to integrate backdrops and scenery and to transform the space of the gym into a giant cedar forest. 

At the Art and Discovery Studio in Florence Nightingale Elementary, Nellie Gossen invited Grade 5, 6 and 7 students to upcycle a piece of used clothing for their future selves.  Introducing fashion artists such as Buzigahill, Lucy Ortega and Nellie’s own practice which intersect with issues such as fast fashion, branding, and waste.  Students were asked to consider how clothing might reflect their own values and were given permission to burst open existing conventions about what is fashionable or beautiful, while still considering the functionality of their piece. 

Stepping into the studio at Tecumseh Elementary, one is immersed in a cascade of botanical prints and drawings decorating every wall of the room. There are intricate drawing of native plant species washed with plant-based “living” inks  that will change their tone over time.  These beautiful drawing were meticulously copied, to scale,  from herbarium sheets of native plant specimens that Julie had collected, pressed and compiled especially for the project.  

Alongside the botanical drawing are  striking negative silhouettes of different leaves in blue cyanotyps prints; photographic coated paper developed by the sun . A further collection of  prints combine embossed relief prints of Western Red Cedar, Yellow Cedar, and Douglas Fir leaves and cedar overlayed with  chin colle's of the colonial buildings that now stand where the abundant forests once did.  The contrast of positive and negative silhouettes are quite striking and a visual metaphor for our logging history and practices. 

Over the residency, students  learned the difference between indigenous, introduced and invasive plant species and how botanical illustrations contribute to  scientific knowledge. Students also learned to identify plants using the  5 aspects of the plant (the branching pattern, the flower, the leaves, the stem and the fruit).  

These plant forms are echoed in the whimsical floral motifs inspired by Art Deco design and the imagination of the students. These were carved into scratchboards, creating an  elegant  contrast of shimmering engraved lines against the deep black coating.