2022 WORLD COBIS ART COMPETITION IS HERE....(THE OFFICIAL JUDGE)

The 2022 World COBIS Art Competition is here........

I am glad to announce to you once again that I will be one of the Official Judges for 2022 world art contest for British Curriculum Based Schools across the globe and this will be my third time in a roll.

Are you a School owner, Management, Parent or Art Teacher? This holiday season is the best time to prepare your student(s) or child(ren) for this contest, so long your school or child's school is a British curriculum based school and member of COBIS i.e Council of British International Schools.

Below are the rules and instructions for the  contest which will officially open on January 26, 2022.

COBIS Art Competition 2022 Terms and Conditions :

1. The COBIS Art Competition 2022 is open to all COBIS schools (including Applicant schools). Each school with a registered COBIS account should participate as an individual school. 

2. Submissions will be open from 26 January 2022 until 3pm UK time on 23 February 2022. 

3. Entries must be submitted by a teacher on behalf of the student to the COBIS Art Competition page on the Zealous website (https://zealous.co/) via an online entry form. 

4. All entries will be submitted, processed and judged via the Zealous platform. Please read Zealous’ Usage Policy and Privacy Policy before entering the competition. 

5. All teachers should have the correct permissions from parents/guardians to share their pupils’ names and ages as part of this competition. 

6. There are five categories for submitted entries: Category A: Early Years and Foundation Stage Category B: Key Stage 1 Category C: Key Stage 2 Category D: Key Stage 3 Category E: Key Stage 4 Please ensure entries are submitted for the correct category. Entries will not be accepted from students outside of these categories or for work submitted to the wrong category. 

7. Three entries per category per school may be submitted. COBIS will accept the first three entries from a school in each category and reserves the right to exclude subsequent submissions from the judging process. 

8. The theme of the COBIS Art Competition is ‘Looking Ahead’. COBIS reserves the right to exclude any entries which do not adhere to this theme. 

9. Entries must be the students own work. 1

0. The student and school name should not appear on the image of the artwork submitted. 

11. Any foul play, cheating, plagiarism or attempted manipulation of the results will result in a permanent exclusion of the offending school from the COBIS Art Competition. The judgement of COBIS on this point will be final. 

12. The judges' decision regarding the winners of the COBIS Art Competition will be final. 

13. The winning schools will be announced in March 2022. The winners will be notified by email. 

14. The full name, age, school name and artwork of winners and runners-up will be published on the COBIS website and social media. This information may also be published and promoted at the COBIS Annual Conference in May 2022 and in other COBIS-related publications. 

Winners should participate in such reasonable promotional activity and material as COBIS may require. By entering the competition, the teacher confirms that the necessary permissions have been sought from students and/or their parents to publish this information for such purposes.

Abiola M.S

Cambridge Certified Art Educator 

& Official Judge For World COBIS Art Contest

THE IMPORTANCE OF ART EDUCATION IN THE CLASSROOM

 

In October 2019, the British street artist known as Banksy opened an online store called Gross Domestic Product and issued a challenge: to make a purchase from the shop’s selection of items like a Banksy-branded aerosol paint can, a brick handbag, and a vest worn in concert by the rapper Stormzy. Customers who wished to be considered for the opportunity to make a single purchase first had to answer the question: “Why does art matter?”

That deceptively simple, four-word query confronts a topic that’s occupied some of the world’s greatest creators and philosophers since Plato. How we answer this question can have much bigger consequences than whether you get to buy a piece of artwork from Banksy’s online store. The issue of art’s value becomes far more pressing when policymakers and administrators decide how to allocate time and funding for art education in schools.

Art teachers must be ready to advocate for committing the necessary resources to prioritize the value of creativity in the classroom. You may have to explain the importance of art education in a school’s curriculum and present the research to back up those claims. We can become powerful advocates for the power of art and improved student outcomes by investigating the many benefits that come out of integrating more creativity into the school day and improving our classroom strategies.

WHY IS ART EDUCATION IMPORTANT?

Anyone who’s passionate about the arts recalls formative moments of experiencing a work of art pushing through a creative challenge. When we’re exposed to remarkable artworks or have opportunities to create, we find that art is crucial to individual growth and development and can even impact our health.

A literature review from Frontiers in Psychology outlined several studies linking aesthetic experiences with broad improvements in subjects’ emotional states that promote physical and psychological well-being. Giving learners the time, space, and materials for creative expression can lower stress, improve memory, and make them feel more socially connected. Instructors can build their careers on bringing those experiences to students in a variety of settings, like galleries, museums, or events organized by nonprofit and community organizations.

Appreciation for art also makes a significant difference in people’s lives on a macro level. Entire societies may stand to gain from an investment in the arts. Drawing on data from the General Social Survey, researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Department of Public Administration linked participation as either an audience member or creator to higher levels of civic engagement and social tolerance. This work suggests that learning how to draw, paint, sing, or just appreciate the works made by others can help us become not just happier and healthier, but also better people.

HOW DOES ART EDUCATION HELP STUDENTS?

When surveyed by the nonprofit organization Americans for the Arts, members of the U.S. public overwhelmingly agreed that the arts are one aspect of a well-rounded K-12 education. Yet, participation in the visual and performing arts is often treated as merely supplemental to other aspects of learning. As a result, there are major differences in access to art and music classes across the country.

2019 findings from the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed that eighth graders in the Northeast were much more likely to report being enrolled in a visual arts course than those in the South. Disparities were also tied to race, ethnicity, family income, and whether a school is located in a city, suburb, town, or rural area.

Meanwhile, the Nation’s Report Card shows that U.S. students continue to score lower than many of their peers in Europe and Asia on standardized tests despite years of pressure on educators to close the achievement gap. But seeking to improve student performance in math and reading does not have to come at the expense of art education.

In fact, researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Education, argue that instruction becomes more effective when educators integrate creative activities and make them central to academic development. Across disciplines, including STEM, there’s room to reimagine classes with a strong emphasis on drawing, painting, playing music, performing drama, and other creative pursuits. Encouraging students to use their imagination can help them actively engage with new concepts and discover connections between ideas as well as provide advantages for their social and emotional well-being.

One example of effectively integrating creative expression with other fields as a pedagogical strategy can be seen in the collaboration between University of Florida faculty members Susan K. Jacobson, who studies wildlife ecology and conservation, and Robert C. Mueller, who teaches printmaking. The UF professors collaborated on an interdisciplinary project in climate change communication in which groups of graduate students from both the School of Natural Resources and the Environment and the College of the Arts visited the university’s Seahorse Key Marine Laboratory. The students participated in learning activities like scientific lectures, discussions, and making collages before working in small groups to create environmental communication materials for visitors.

As this example shows, students benefit from learning to embrace insights from multiple disciplines, and this can be valuable when they go on to pursue jobs. A 2019 survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers showed that employers are interested in hiring professionals with skills that can be strengthened through participation in the arts, such as written communication, problem-solving, teamwork, and taking initiative. Art teachers can help students become more well-rounded and capable individuals by teaching them to develop original ideas through creative projects and practices.

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THE IMPORTANCE OF ART EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN

It’s never too soon to introduce kids to the possibilities of creative expression. As outlined in a literature review from the National Endowment for the Arts, a variety of studies demonstrate the value of embedding artistic practice into early childhood education. Imaginative activities for young learners can lead to better skills in social interactions and emotional regulation.

Lessons in the arts introduce K-12 students to problem-solving techniques, which help them to see the world in new ways, and provide access to creative ways of knowing. Kids discover how art can communicate their own ideas and may become interested in creating increasingly realistic depictions and mastering new techniques. By high school, young artists can think critically about their own work and that of others, establishing a unique point of view and a sense of community with other creative individuals.

The National Core Arts Standards provide a framework for advancing students’ artistic understanding. This structure breaks down the developmental stages from Pre K through high school into 10 anchor standards. In each stage, students build creative habits as they learn to:

• Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work
• Organize and develop ideas and work
• Refine and complete artistic work
• Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation
• Convey meaning through the presentation
• Perceive and analyze artistic work
• Interpret intent and meaning
• Apply criteria to evaluate work
• Make art by synthesizing and relating knowledge and personal experiences
• Deepen understanding by relating artistic ideas to societal, historical, and cultural contexts

Pediatrician Dr. Perri Klass outlined the benefits of art education in schools in the New York Times, noting improvements for overall motivation, thinking, and academic achievement. An arts-integrated curriculum that asks students to draw or sing as part of the learning process may enhance their ability to recall material such as scientific principles or vocabulary. Foregrounding creativity can be especially effective for students who struggle to retain information from traditional lectures and reading assignments alone.

Art does matter in the classroom, delivering a wide range of advantages for students. Educators can make the most of that potential by equipping themselves to offer creative practice as a central feature in the curriculum and show decisionmakers how these initiatives can achieve transformative results. The University of Florida’s online Master of Arts in Art Education (MAAE) program helps teachers make a difference. This program features courses that prepare educators to work in a variety of learning environments, support students of all ages, incorporate digital tools into their pedagogy, and foster critical thinking.

Abiola, M.S

(Cambridge Certified Art and Design Educator)

Credit: UF (University if Florida)

FACTS ABOUT FAMOUS MONALISA PAINTING

 Mona Lisa, a painting done by Leonardo Da Vinci; one of the major masters of Renaissance Art Movement. Monalisa is also known as La Gioconda. She is the wife of Francesco del Giocondo. This painting is painted as oil on wood. The original painting size is 77 x 53 cm (30 x 20 7/8 in) and is owned by the Government of France and is on the wall in the Louvre in Paris, France.

This figure of a woman, dressed in the Florentine fashion of her day and seated in a visionary, mountainous landscape, is a remarkable instance of Leonardo's sfumato technique of soft, heavily shaded modeling. The Mona Lisa's enigmatic expression, which seems both alluring and aloof, has given the portrait universal fame.

The Mona Lisa's famous smile represents the sitter in the same way that the juniper branches represent Ginevra Benci and the ermine represents Cecilia Gallerani in their portraits, in Washington and Krakow respectively. It is a visual representation of the idea of happiness suggested by the word "gioconda" in Italian. Leonardo made this notion of happiness the central motif of the portrait: it is this notion that makes the work such an ideal.

Some Facts You Might Not Know About The Masterpiece

1. She lived with Francois I, Louis XIV and Napoleon

Although da Vinci began work on his masterpiece while living in his native Italy, he did not finish it until he moved to France at King Francois I's request. The French king displayed the painting in his Fontainebleau palace where it remained for a century. Louis XIV removed it to the grand Palace of Versailles. At the outset of the 19th century, Napoleon Bonaparte kept the painting in his boudoir.

2. Some historians believe Mona Lisa is a Self-Portrait of Leonardo da Vinci.

Leonardo da Vinci died in 1519, and he is buried at a French castle. Italy's National Committee for Cultural Heritage is undertaking an investigation, and plans to dig up his skull. They want to rebuild Leonardo's face, using CSI-style technology. Will he resemble the mysterious Mona Lisa?

Leonardo's Self Portrait

3. She has her own room in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

After the Louvre launched a four-year, $6.3 million renovation in 2003, the painting now has its own room. A glass ceiling lets in natural light, a shatter-proof glass display case maintains a controlled temperature of 43 degrees F. and a little spotlight brings out the true colors of da Vinci's original paints.

4. It is a painting but not a canvas.

Da Vinci's famous masterpiece is painted on a poplar plank. Considering he was accustomed to painting larger works on wet plaster, a wood plank does not seem that outlandish. Canvas was available to artists since the 14th century, but many Renaissance masters preferred wood as a basis for their small artworks.

5. Jackie Kennedy invited her to visit.

Over the centuries, French officials have only rarely let the painting out of their sight. However, when first lady Jackie Kennedy asked if the painting could visit the U.S., French President de Gaulle agreed. "Mona Lisa" went on display at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. and then at the Metropolitan Museum of the Arts in New York City.

6. A thief made her famous.

Although in the art world, the painting had always been an acknowledged masterpiece, it wasn't until it was stolen in the summer of 1911 that it would capture the attention of the general public. Newspapers spread the story of the crime worldwide. When the painting finally returned to the Louvre two years later, practically the whole world was cheering.

7. Picasso was under suspicion for the theft. During the investigation, the gendarmes went so far as to question known art dissidents such as Pablo Picasso about the theft. They briefly arrested poet Guillaume Apollinaire, who had once said the painting should be burned. Their suspicions proved to be unfounded.

8. She receives fan mail.

Since the painting first arrived at the Louvre in 1815, "Mona Lisa" has received plenty of love letters and flowers from admirers. She even has her own mailbox.

9. Not everyone is a fan.

Various vandals have tried to harm da Vinci's famed masterpiece, and 1956 was a particularly bad year. In two separate attacks, one person threw acid at the painting, and another individual pelted it with a rock. The damage is faint but still noticeable. The addition of bulletproof glass repelled subsequent attacks with spray paint in 1974 and a coffee cup in 2009.

10. She cannot be bought or sold.

Truly priceless, the painting cannot be bought or sold according to French heritage law. As part of the Louvre collection, "Mona Lisa" belongs to the public, and by popular agreement, their hearts belong to her.

.....Abiola, M.S

Cambridge Certified Art and Design Educator

Credit: https://www.leonardodavinci.net/the-mona-lisa.jsp

FIGURE / LIFE DRAWING

Figure drawing involves the drawing of the human form in different positions or postures, using any drawing media e.g Pencil, Charcoal, Pen, Pastel, Graphite etc.

Figure drawing in otherwords, can also be refer to as, LIFE DRAWING.

A good Life drawing is better achieved through the use of Live Model, which could either be a male or female.  It is arguably the most difficult subject an ARTIST commonly encounters, and entire courses are dedicated to the subject. The human figure is one of the most enduring themes in the visual arts, and the human figure can be the basis of portraiture, illustration, sculpture, medical illustration, and other fields.

SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT FIGURE DRAWING:

• An average person is generally 7-and-a-half heads tall (including the head). This can be illustrated to students in the classroom using paper plates to visually demonstrate the length of their bodies.
• An ideal figure, used for an impression of nobility or grace, is drawn at 8 heads tall.
• A heroic figure used in the depiction of gods and superheroes is eight-and-a-half heads tall. Most of the additional length comes from a bigger chest and longer legs. These proportions are most useful for a standing model. Poses which introduce Foreshortening of various body parts will cause them to differ.
• A female shoulder is narrow, while the male shoulder is broad.
• The female have a subtle muscle (except for those is sport). while male are muscular.

Note: The images in this write-up are images of a recent Life drawing session carried out by my wonderful KS4 (Year 11) Art and Design Students.

....Abiola M.S

(Certified Cambridge Art and Design Educator)

 

PAINTING (The Use of Oil Pastel - Dry Medium)

Painting is the act of applying paint, pigment, color or other related medium on a surface. 

In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action.

However, painting can be done using wet or dry media.

Examples of wet media include the following;

Oil paint, Acrylic Paint/Poster colour, Water colour etc.

While dry media are;

Colour pencil, Oil and Chalk pastel, Wax crayon, Pen, Marker etc.

In painting, the focus could be on; Still life, Life or Nature. Any of these can be achieved through either observational or the use of reference(s).

The images attached to this write-up are paintings of fruits done by my KS4 Art and Design students, using reference.

Abiola, M.S

(Cambridge Certified Art & Design Educator)

 
 

MY ILLUSTRATIONS FOR EKO POEMS (An Anthology of Nursery Rhymes In Lagos)

Illustration is an interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, video games and films.

 An illustration is typically created by an illustrator. Digital illustrations are often used to make websites and apps more user-friendly, such as the use of emojis to accompany digital type.^[2] Illustration also means providing an example; either in writing or in picture form.

Below are some of my illustrations for Eko Poems. A book compiled and edited by a friend and multiple award winning TVC News reporter, Ola Awakan. Eko Poems is the compilation of Poems by Lagos State Public Primary School Pupils.

 

THE TRAINING OF MY COLLEAGUES ON CLASSROOM DISPLAY

Classroom displays are wonderful ways  or tools to liven up classroom and make the learners feel welcomed. 

Classroom display boards have been an integral part of schools for many years, allowing teachers to create a creative, encouraging classroom environment.

Maintaining a good standard of visual displays in school is important because: ● they communicate powerful messages about what is valued by the community. they help to build a culture of learning within and beyond the classroom. 

SOME IMPORTANCE OF CLASSROOM DISPLAYS:

—  Class displays are important part of any classroom, as they make the room appear more inviting and create a better learning environment.

  —  A good display not only engages and informs, it also brightens up the atmosphere of the classroom.

—  Classroom displays are used to promote class management. They can include lists  of routines, responsibilities, tasks, rules, label and instructions.

Here are some images of works and activities during the training of my colleagues on how to create learner's friendly CLASSROOM DISPLAYS

....Abiola M.S (Certified Cambridge Art & Design Educator/Assessor)

PACKAGE DESIGN WORK BY MY STUDENTS

Graphic design is the art of combining text, illustrations and colours to pass across information. 

Examples of Graphic design works are; Poster, Shopping bag, Label design, Logo creation, Invitation card, Fliers, Package design etc.

The work here is an example of Package design work which is our focus in this post.

Definition of Package Design

Package design involves the design and creation of a product's container, cover or wrapper which is usually attractive and meant to serve as protection and means of advertising the product to consumers.

The images in this post are examples of Package design. The works are all done by my Art and Design students.

 ......Thank you

Abiola M.S (Cambridge Certified Art & Design Educator & Assessor)

MY ILLUSTRATION FOR INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY CELEBRATION

International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Significant activity is witnessed worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women's achievements or rally for women's equality. 

It is marked annually on March 8th, International Women's Day (IWD) is one of the most important days of the year to:

• celebrate women's achievements
• raise awareness about women's equality
• lobby for accelerated gender parity
• fundraise for female-focused charities

This illustration in this write up is done by my humble self and it is dedicated to women all over the world.

God bless our women!!!