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The theme Finnish forest -
Throughout the year the theme forest is involved in the art studies in different techniques and workshops. To start in the late summer and early autumn the classes visited the forests nearby and made sketches and took photographs on the locations where the sketches were made. We also collected lots of loose nature materials to be taken into the classrooms for further studies and as working materials: dry branches, cods, leaves, pine needles, moss, lichens and even whole snag trees, to be surveyed and drawn in the classes afterwards. We have read stories and fairy tales and discussed about the myths of animals and beasts living still in the Finnish forests and have made pictures describing the animals and events. We intend to organize a summer camp in the countryside in June 1998, in collaboration with Vantaa Dance school, which would be an interdisciplinary project. We intend also to visit the forest in winter, in March, since there will be enough light still in the afternoons, and make winterly landscape painting in the open air. We plan also to develop the environmental aspect in the future in the art education curriculum. The theme will continue until the year 2000. We will have a comprehensive exhibition of the children's works and the whole project in March 2000 in collaboration with Vantaa City Museum/Visual Arts. The show will take place at Myyrmäki-house Exhibition Hall in Vantaa. Pirjo Olsson |
