Who Am I Collage:
For one group I introduced the idea of a mixed media portrait collage involving things they like. I started with a lesson on facial proportions that I teach in my high school class. I followed that up with a step in which they trace the portait onto a page protector. Lastly, and the part they enjoyed the most, they constructed images of their faces using pictures from magazines. They paid close attention to picking things they are interested in. They also focused on matching the colors of their skin and hair tones. The final result is a layered portrait.
I was so excited to try this lesson with a younger group. I have always been primarily interested in photography and I want to get younger students excited about traditional photography. The campers worked together to build pinhole cameras out of shoe boxes and captured images with them. I set up a darkroom to develop their photos and create reversals of them. When the students returned for a second day of my class they wrote creative stories about them and mounted them. The result was multiple ages of students excited about a method of photography they've never experienced before. I want to continue to develop lessons like this to promote the understanding of this older technology.
I also was able to showcase some of my recent art as part of the instructors' exhibit. What a great week!
