Updates

Today we have some updates for the student-made borders that will be on the banners by the river this summer as well as an update for Romeo and Juliet.

And awa-a-a-a-a-a-y we go!

On top we have a grade 8 student working on her border and on the bottom there is a draft of one of the borders.

Now on top you can see one of the students' decorative letter. On the bottom (left and right) there is a sampling of their borders after students have gone over them with permanent black marker.

Also, today the students have been working SUPER HARD on Romeo and Juliet. They've finished the  border gotten a few layers of purple on Juliet's dress.

Come, thou monarch of the vine,

Plumpy Bacchus with pink eyne!

In thy fats our cares be drown'd, 

With thy grapes our hairs be crown'd:

Cup us, till the world go round, 

Cup us, till the world go round!

Domitius Enobarus, Antony and Cleopatra, Act II, Scene VII

Erin

My Knight in Shining Armour

Yay! FIVE HUNDRED AND THIRTY PAGEVIEWS!!!! Wow. Thank you so much for your support! So if you are wondering about the title, we have pics of the grade 5's and 6's who are drawing knights.  We also have an update on our photo cut-outs! Along with another picture of Romeo and Juliet, we are also working on one featuring Antony and Cleopatra! Enjoy!!!

 

A beautiful window from Romeo and Juliet.

  

Now we have some students working on the background.

 

And here we have a sketch of Antony and Cleopatra.

And lastly some of the Gr. 5/6's drawing their knights in shining armour!

"O, find him! give this ring to my true knight,
And bid him come to take his last farewell."

Juliet, Romeo and Juliet, Act III, Scene II

Claire and Erin

 

ELO

Today students from Bishop Filevich, St. John, St. Philip, St. Volodymyr and St. Mark as well as some students from  Georges Vanier gathered in our art room to take part in ELO (Extended Learning Opportunities). We will be focusing on calligraphy, using William Morris designs and William Shakespeare quotes. Our pages will then be bound together using traditional techniques. Cathryn Miller will bind them and they will be on display during summer at the Mendel Art Gallery (Basement Gallery) in Saskatoon.

Here are some of the students working on their quote and the decorative letter.

On top are a sampling of the letter that will be used as a guide. Below is a photo of the group in the art room.

Be govern'd by your knowledge, and proceed 

I' th' sway of your own will. Is he array'd?

Cordelia,  King Lear, Act IV, Scene VII

Erin

More Cut-outs!

Our Mystery Man is finally finished so we will be posting some pictures of him!

 Here we have a student (well, just his face) with the finished product...

Alright, everybody!!! This is your last chance to guess!!! Who is he?

 

Drum-roll, please!

 

      That's right everybody! This is William Shakespeare himself, in front of the globe theatre! At his side is a real (not really) 3D sword made of wood. Ms. Martin's WONDERFUL former student Mr. David Schrader made the sword yesterday and ta-da! Instantly amazing!

Just so you can see it better, we have David's sword:

****************************************************************************

 

 

And since we finished working with Shakespeare, our wonderful students began on the next project: Romeo and Juliet! In this photo, you can see (in front) some grade 8 students painting the background for the star-crossed lovers while some from the younger grades begin work on some of their own projects.

 

 

 

"By this hand, I am. Good fool, some ink, paper and
light; and convey what I will set down to my lady:
it shall advantage thee more than ever the bearing
of letter did."

 

Malvolio, Twelfth Night, Act IV, Scene II

 

 

 

Erin



 

 

Mark von Eschen

The Artistic Director for Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan visited today to talk to the kids about "All the world's a stage" from As You Like It. The kids are going to make little stages and we'll post some pictures as that project progresses.

Mark talking to Grade 5 students about various projects and As You Like It.


       All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms;
Then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lin'd,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well sav'd, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans every thing.  

Jaques, As You Like It, Act II, Scene VII

Erin

And Now For The Grade Twos!

Our Grade 2s have been studying Shakespearian clothing and then they started drawing them.

Picture Time!!!

 As you can probably see, they've been working really hard!

We also wanted to say that we've made it to 300 pageviews!!! Thank-you so much for your support and view-ing-ness (Claire's word, not mine)

"Hey, I'm only a teenager!"

Shhhh!!!

Thisby, the flowers of odious savours sweet-- 

Bottom, A Midsummer's Night Dream, Act III, Scene I

Erin

Video

Shaw Cable did an interview for their programming (which included Georges Vanier School) and here it is!:

'Tis a great video to see if you want some behind the scenes footage!

"Brought to this town by that most famous warrior, 

Duke Menaphon, your most renowned uncle."

Antipholus of Ephesus, Comedy of Errors, Act V, Scene I

Erin and Claire

Borders and Batiks!

Yesterday students started working on the borders for the streetlight banners that will be on the riverbank in Saskatoon. 25 total will be chosen and put up. Here are some pictures of what some grade seveners have so far:

The borders will be repeating and (if the students listened) have lots of connected swirls. The artwork is inspired by the work of William Morris. Each one will be customized to the play of which their quote is from.

We also have been working hard on our "Mystery Man". His identity we be revealed when he is finished, but until then, we will keep posting pictures:

On top, we have him posing with two the students here (Don't worry! There won't be any brown splotches when we're done!). And the bottom photo shows the design we are using for his clothing.

The spirit-stirring drum, the ear-piercing fife,
The royal banner, and all quality,
Pride, pomp and circumstance of glorious war!

Othello, Othello, Act III, Scene III

Erin

Some Batiks!

Todays post will be about our batiks (say: ba-teeks)! Grade sevens and eights worked on these for four weeks (one 60 min. class per week) and they look pretty nice if we do say so ourselves.

To make a batik (student friendly, of course), we started with draft paper and drew the Shakespeare plant we had chosen (grapes, pomegranate, primrose etc.). After completing our draft, we went over them in permanent black marker and taped them to a rectangle of white cloth. We then traced  over the lines with resist (a substance to mimic wax, but actually it's alum and flour. Professionals use hot wax.) which will be white after we dye it. We then took very watery acrylic paint and once it had dried, we peeled the resist off and sewed borders. The grade sixes are learning to sew, so they did the borders with some help.

This is a sampling of the various paints we used.

Here we have a student chipping the resist off his batik.

And now some grade six sewing.

It took awhile...

And we finally had our finished products! Yay!

Each student had to find a quote about the plant on their batik and they will be displayed inside the Shakespeare tent!

"See where she comes, apparell'd like the spring."

Pericles, Pericles, Act I, Scene I

Erin and Claire

Banners!

You know how we showed you some of the banners that were going to be all around Saskatoon? Well, most of the Grade 7 kids and 8 kids have been writing down their quote and what play it is from. There are some really cool ones, such as; 'The course of true love never did run smooth', and 'Uneasy lies the head that bears a crown' and Erin's favourite, 'Some are born great, some achieve greatness, some have greatness thrust upon them" Below we have some of the student working on the banners.









All over Saskatoon, advertising Shakespeare on Saskatchewan... Wow, this whole production is going to be huge!

We also had a graphic designer working with us for some time.

We are all so excited to see the finished product! These are all going to be fantastic!
 Erin was sick today, and I was kind of confused what I was supposed to do, but I think I did a fairly good job, don't you? :)

'Since my young lady's going into France, sir, the fool hath much pined away.' 

Knight, King Lear, Act 1, Scene IV

Claire