AOTW #9: Waterlilies, Dreams and Reflections: The breathtaking Art of Claude Monet.
Founder of Impressionism, and waterlily obsessive, Claude Monet, dedicated his life to plein air painting, with many of his most famous works inspired by, and painted, in his own garden. Last week we hosted a Dream Garden painting workshop at the Pankow shelter, encouraging the children to imagine and draw their dream garden. Given the theme, it seems only right to dedicate this weeks 'Artist of the Week' to one of the most prolific garden painters in the world: Claude Monet.
PTC Weekly #9: Kids make trees out of cotton wool, and Zamzam's mother joins our workshop.
Another action-packed week for us at PTC. In Wedding, and Weisensee, we continued with our current painting and printing series, and in Pankow we welcomed our friends from Studio Brique for a special Dream Garden workshop! This week we brought our Lichenstein project to Wedding, where Ayiat and Salaam attempted 'Coast Village' for the first time. Although they were both daunted by the complexity of the piece, with Salaam even commenting, "I can only finish this when I am dead
AOTW #8: Artistic innovator or shameless copycat? A closer look at Roy Lichenstein.
We are currently studying, 'Coast Village', by Roy Lichenstein, so it seems fitting to dedicate this week's Artist of the Week post to the Pop Art heavyweight. BUT, does Lichenstein deserve such prestige? Is Roy Lichenstein the avant-guarde creative the artistic community claims him to be, or just a cheap 'swiper' who has profited from the work of other's? Pop Art was born in America and the UK during the late 1950's, in the wake of the post-war economic boom. The kitschy bra
PTC Weekly #8: Lino-carving and Lichenstein.
This week at PTC, we study Rory Lichenstein; have more fun with lino carving; and find out the answer to the ultimate question... Real Madrid oder Barcelona!? Last week we launched our new Artist Masters series, in which we study the works of a famous artist over a period of a few weeks, and then bring the kids to see an exhibition of their work. Our series began in Pankow, last weekend, with pop art pioneer, Roy Lichenstein. We charged the kids with recreating one of Lichens
AOTW #7: From Sōsaku-hanga to German Expressionism: The *groovy* history of Woodcut Printing.
Sometimes perceived as a peripheral art form, woodcut printing has, in fact, played an important role in some of the most major artistic movements of the 20th century, including the German Expressionist movement, led by our Artist of the Week: Ernst Kirchner. This week at PTC, we did print making with the kids at the Weisensee shelter. For our workshop we used lino, which made the carving process easier and much more safe! Traditionally, however, print making, otherwise known
AOTW#6: Tanaka Tatsuya plays with perceptions, and pieces of brocolli.
Last week, we hosted a diorama workshop with the kids in Pankow, challenging them to create their own mini universes out of shoe boxes, using everyday objects in new and inventive ways. So, it seems fitting to dedicate this week's 'Artist of the Week' post to diorama master, Tanaka Tatsuya. “Broccoli and parsley might sometimes look like a forest, or the tree leaves floating on the surface of the water might sometimes look like little boats. I wanted to take this way of think
"You, Me, And The Distance Between Us": Making sense of being a volunteer, whilst serving
'You, Me, and The Distance Between Us', by Ellen Murial, portrays the reality of migrant camp life in all of its dirt, distress, boredom and banality. It also dissects the life of its volunteers, who very rarely get considered as more than a bunch of earnest drones searching for a cause. I went to watch 'You, Me and The Distance Between Us' a few weeks ago. The performance took place at M29 Theatre, a community housing project located near Gesundbrunnen. Pillows were strewn a
PTC Weekly #7: Green screens, Dioramas and Saying Goodbye.
Another great art-filled week at PTC, but tinged with sadness, as this week we said our final goodbyes to the kids at the Spandau shelter :'( GOODBYE SPANDAU The reception center in Spandau was one of the first shelters we ever came to, and since the start of PTC, we have been visiting Spandau every Friday. Sadly, this shelter is being shut down, so last week we went to Spandau for the final time, to say goodbye to the kids. Spandau holds a special place in our hearts, and so
