Emily Carr (Canadian, 1871-1945) Forest Glade date unknown oil and gouache on paperboard 92.1 x 59.1 cm Gift of Mr. John W. McConnell 39
What can we learn from looking at Emily Carr s Forest Glade? Let s look Take your time. Look carefully. Where do your eyes go first? Then where? Take in as many details as you can. Let s describe What season is it? What time of day is it? How would you describe the atmosphere in the painting? What visual elements support your ideas? Encourage the students to ask questions. What visual clues prompt the questions asked? Let s imagine What would it be like to walk through Forest Glade? Why? If you sat on the patch of yellow and looked all around you as well as up above, what you would see? What would you hear? What would smell? How would the air feel on your skin? 40
Art-making inspired by Emily Carr s Forest Glade Do You See What I See Curriculum Connections: View and discuss objects and images in their community. Materials Needed Image of Emily Carr s image Forest Glade Liquid Tempera Paint in Primary and Secondary Colours Liquid Tempera Paint in White and Black Paint Brushes Water Containers Paper Towel Heavy Paper or Bristol Board (at least 16 x 20) Pencils Erasers 41
Let s Get Started Discuss! Students have been exposed to multiple types of landscapes such as the school playground, their backyards, the street they live on, etc. By giving students the task of painting familiar landscapes, they have the opportunity to share a piece of their lives with their fellow classmates. Using Emily Carr s painting entitled Forest Glade as inspiration, students will have the chance to create a landscape painting of a location of their choosing. Prepare! Students will be asked to pay attention to their surroundings at home and at school on the days before the intended class. Give students the option to bring in a photograph if they so choose, but it is not necessary. (This is important as some students need visual prompts and cannot work from memory). Many examples need to be shown alongside that of Emily Carr. These images can be created either by the teacher, or found examples can be used from the Internet. Create! Note: The example image of Emily Carr s painting will be on display for the class to refer to if needed. 1. When the art class begins students will be instructed to take a few minutes to visualize their landscape. 42
2. They will be told to close their eyes for 30 seconds and think of what they want to paint and get a mental image of the landscape. Those students who chose to bring in a photograph can also participate in the mental mapping of their landscape. 3. Using a pencil, students will be instructed to quickly sketch out general placement of prominent landmarks in their image. (This can be as simple as where to place trees, buildings, etc) This is an important step as once they begin to use paint, it cannot be removed from the paper. 4. Once their sketch is complete, they can begin the next step. 5. Students will identify their favourite colours from the choices available. The ideal would be to have a primary red, primary blue, primary yellow, secondary green, secondary purple, and secondary orange available for students to choose from. 6. Students will be given their paint tray with their chosen colours, along with some black and white paint. Be sure to not use too much black as it over powers most colours very easily. Once students have their paint they will begin painting. 7. Students will be encouraged to add as many details as they can possibly remember. 8. The teacher can use this as an opportunity to circulate the room and asked questions to the students to attempt to remind them of details. Questions such as: Were there any other trees? How many windows are on the front of your house? 9. If certain students finish their paintings early they can be given the task of cleaning up their workstation or perhaps starting another painting. 10. This is dependent on the amount of time left in the class as well as the resources available. 11. After all the paintings are complete and dry (probably the next day) students may be asked to present their masterpieces to the class and describe their landscape. 43
Tips and Tricks Use small paintbrushes as it will allow students to add more details and will encourage them to be more patient. Most younger students will not look for smaller brushes to add detail so the size of the brush determines the amount of detail that will result in their final painting. Use a limited amount of water in the water containers as spills are bound to occur. Artist Biography Emily Carr (1871-1945) was born in Victoria, British Columbia. Carr began drawing and sketching at a young age and decided to become an artist as a teenager. At age 18, she left Victoria to study art in San Francisco, London, and Paris. For several years, Emily Carr continued to paint her bold French style and to explore the native culture of Western Canada. When she returned home from Europe, Carr made a six-week trip to native villages in northern B.C., where she produced many drawings and watercolours. Although her paintings were well received by local critics, Carr was not able to support herself by the sale of her art. To earn an income, she opened a boarding house, taught art classes, and drew cartoons for newspapers. She painted very little during the following 15 years. It was not until Carr was over fifty that she began to receive recognition for her work. In 1927, she was invited by the National Gallery of Canada to participate in an exhibition of Western Canadian art in Ottawa. Here, she met Lawren Harris and other Group of Seven artists, who inspired her to redefine herself as an artist. Carr began painting canvases depicting abandoned Native villages and totem poles set in deep forests. A year later, she moved away from Native subjects and devoted herself to depictions of Nature. Her paintings expressed the dynamic beauty of Western Canadian forests, beaches, and skies. 44
In 1937, Carr suffered a severe heart attack and, with little energy left for painting, she began to devote her time to writing. During the last eight years of her life she published five books, including Klee Wyck, which won a Governor General s award. Today, Emily Carr s work fills galleries and libraries across Canada, and she continues to be recognized as one of Canada s most talented artists. Art Terms Landscape Painting: A painting of natural forms, i.e. open countryside, parkland, or forest, often covering a considerable range of distance. Figures may be included to give a sense of scale, but they are subordinate to the view as a whole. Art movement Group of Seven: A group of seven landscape painters in Canada in the early twentieth century who used intense colour, bold brushwork, and stylized curvilinear forms to express their love of nature and their nation. Post-Impressionism: An art movement and style of painting from the late 19th century to the early 20th century which emphasized emotional expression, strong colour, and outlined forms. 45
Resources Emily Carr Vancouver Art Gallery: Emily Carr A comprehensive site about Emily Carr including featured works, a biography with pictures, and a variety of educational resources for various grade levels. http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/exhibitions/emilycarr/en/index.php Emily Carr at Home and at Work An excellent site from the Library and Archives of Canada containing links to images, a virtual tour of Carr s home, information about Carr s family, a wealth of lesson plans and teacher resources, and links to sites about Carr s writing. http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/301/ic/cdc/emilycarrhomework/default.htm Historica Minutes: Emily Carr A variety of one-minute movies about Emily Carr by Historica, which make valuable teaching aids. http://www.histori.ca/minutes/minute.do?id=10214 Aboriginal Culture & Art The First Totem Pole An illustrated Haida story useful for teaching about Aboriginal culture. http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/exhibitions/haida/java/english/totem/totem3.html 46
To The Totem Forests: Emily Carr and Contemporaries Interpret Coastal Villages A virtual exhibit in which the voice of the First Nations people is used to describe drawings, paintings, and prints by Emily Carr, Walter Phillips, A.Y. Jackson, George Pepper, Langdon Kihn and F.M. Bell-Smith. Incorporates historical photographs taken before and during the years these artists painted. http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/301/ic/cdc/totems/contents.htm Women in Art Women Artists in Canada Biographies of 23 female artists in Canada from the past 150 years, including pictures and suggested readings. A biography of Emily Carr is included. Provided by the Library and Archives of Canada. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/women/002026-500-e.html Edythe Hembroff-Schleicher, Emily Carr: The Untold Story (1978); Doris Shadbolt, The Art of Emily Carr (1979); Maria Tippett, Emily Carr: A Biography (1979). 47