Deer Crossing The Art Farm

Discipline: Interdisciplinary
Homebase: Sunshine Coast
Regions Available: Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley &, Howe Sound, Vancouver Island Lower, Vancouver Island Mid, Vancouver Island North, Interior, North, Remote, Kootenays, Virtual
Languages: English
Themes: First Nations, Inuit, and/or Metis Art, Anti-Bullying, Climate Change and/or Environmentalism

The Art Farm is a non-profit community engaged arts organization of creative community builders based on the Sunshine Coast, BC, the unceded traditional lands and waters of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and shíshálh peoples. The Art Farm believes that creative engagement outside traditional art spaces—on farms or in forests, in hospitals and homes—and across traditional boundaries—between one discipline and another, between audience and artist, between arts and the environment—fosters a stronger sense of belonging for all involved. The more people feel they belong, the more they invest in their community. This is what we mean by creative community building. We build community creatively by building creative communities. We envision a world where people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities can engage in creative projects that reconnect us with the land, our indigenous roots, and each other. Our mission is to hold space for the mess of creativity and honour this practice through ceremony and celebration. We embrace, welcome, and champion under-represented cultures, ages, abilities, bodies, genders, and people, and we celebrate the joy of this experience. We create space—sanctuary—where new voices and ideas can mingle, collaborate and emerge. We amplify and showcase this work and seek avenues to share it with our wider community. We aim to gently shift our audiences from a place of separation and fear to a place of connection and wonder.

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Workshop(s)

Holding Space for the Mess of Creativity

School Year: 22-23
Discipline: Theatre, Storytelling, Interdisciplinary, Visual Arts, Land-based Artmaking
Offered Languages: English
Grade Suitability: K - 12
Duration: 2.5 hours
Capacity: 30
Tech Requirements: No tech requirements
Available Formats: In Person, Virtual

Being creative is messy! If we are doing it fully, with our whole being and all of our senses, then can we truly explore and learn. Using the tools of puppetry, this workshop will explore how we tell stories. Sandy Buck, a Metis Artist brings with her the dreamtime dance. This is a practice inherited from her ancestors. In the world of modern technology it is called storytelling, but it has a much deeper meaning, as it also draws from the people in the room. Sandy will share the importance of storytelling through the many techniques taught to her by Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and her many years of performing in front of audiences. She brings with her the Thunder Buffalo drum as an important tool of holding space by honouring all the ancestors of the land and classroom. Sandy (along with an Art Farm assistant) will come with examples of storytelling through puppetry using shadow boxes and/or the creation of 3D sculpture puppetry. Sandy will introduce different shadow play methods, which can include the building of a story box and shadow puppets, either individually or as a group, using household items, such as cereal boxes, tape, cloth, cardboard, sticks and a light source. 3D sculpture puppet-making uses newspaper and masking tape in order to build a character quickly. The class will be introduced to puppets made by Sandy using this method and she will teach the class how to build their own. The participants can work individually or in a group.

Holding Space for the Mess of Creativity

School Year: 23-24
Discipline: Theatre, Storytelling, Interdisciplinary, Visual Arts, Land-based Artmaking
Offered Languages: English
Grade Suitability: K - 12
Duration: 2.5 hours
Capacity: 30
Tech Requirements: No tech requirements
Available Formats: In Person, Virtual

Being creative is messy! If we are doing it fully, with our whole being and all of our senses, then can we truly explore and learn. Using the tools of puppetry, this workshop will explore how we tell stories. Sandy Buck, a Metis Artist brings with her the dreamtime dance. This is a practice inherited from her ancestors. In the world of modern technology it is called storytelling, but it has a much deeper meaning, as it also draws from the people in the room. Sandy will share the importance of storytelling through the many techniques taught to her by Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and her many years of performing in front of audiences. She brings with her the Thunder Buffalo drum as an important tool of holding space by honouring all the ancestors of the land and classroom. Sandy (along with an Art Farm assistant) will come with examples of storytelling through puppetry using shadow boxes and/or the creation of 3D sculpture puppetry. Sandy will introduce different shadow play methods, which can include the building of a story box and shadow puppets, either individually or as a group, using household items, such as cereal boxes, tape, cloth, cardboard, sticks and a light source. 3D sculpture puppet-making uses newspaper and masking tape in order to build a character quickly. The class will be introduced to puppets made by Sandy using this method and she will teach the class how to build their own. The participants can work individually or in a group.

Play in the Nature of Art and Technology

School Year: 22-23
Discipline: Interdisciplinary, Visual Arts, Land-based Artmaking
Offered Languages: English
Grade Suitability: 6 - 9
Duration: 3 hours
Capacity: 30
Tech Requirements: Access to power and wifi. Please note there will be a $5 material fee for each student.
Available Formats: In Person, Virtual

Media Artist Joah Lui aka Digi Majou (she/her) begins each classroom workshop with a journey outdoors to acknowledge and explore the natural world. Whether its plantain or dandelion pushing through cracks of the pavement, or healing cedar trees and sakura blossoms that we gather around, we give thanks for being on these Indigenous lands and teachings from the natural world. With a biosonification module that Joah built from open-source shared technology, we will be able to listen to the ampification of our bodies' and plants' energies! Specifically, the module has sensors connected to a MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) and an Ipad with Garage Band. Making sensors: we will explore a variety of scavenged and industrial materials, learning what is conductive and what capacitive sensing is all about. (Ie. our smart phones and devices all use touch or capacitive sensing). We will be building sensors and making buttons and switches out of conductive fabrics, metals, recycled wires, and craft materials. By ‘making’, we learn by doing and explore more deeply how it is that the bio-sonification module works. We will connect our newly built sensors to the module and test them out! In addition, students will be able to 'play' with a number of interactive artworks which involve sensors, light and/or sound triggers, and experience how these interactive circuits can be conduits for participatory storytelling.

Classroom Residency(ies)

Contact Me: 604 250 6029, Email, Web

Making Circuits Inspired by Nature & Culture

School Year: 22-23

Imagine what this world could be like if our inventions embodied values from our diverse cultural teachings, with care and awareness of Mother Earth? This 4-day residency incorporates a daily ritual of exploring land-based energy flows in nature and Qi Gong movement providing a foundation of grounding and reflection upon which to establish our maker laboratory innovations. Utilizing found and everyday objects, re-directed items from the waste stream, and a collection of industrial and unconventional hand tools and sewing & craft materials - our classroom will be transformed into an Arts and Science maker space. Students will participate in the hands-on building of audio speakers made from fabric and soft circuitry; sculpt props that light up with LEDs and fibre-optics; and make an interactive touch installation that triggers sounds. At the end of the residency, the class of makers will set up an interactive art gallery for the rest of the student body.

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Testimonials & Reviews

It has been fabulous to have Sandy in my classroom over the past five weeks using shadow and puppets to bring story to life. Sandy brings with her a captivating energy. Students are encouraged to find their own voice and use their creativity to explore and express themselves through play. Crystal Bouer, Art Teacher, Sunshine Coast Alternative School | ProjectSPIDER | SPIDER Secondary | Continuing Education, SD46

Joah's art, insight and perspective are so very heartfelt, important and creative. After his time with Joah our son spoke about his/ our connection to the earth and how amazing it was to hear the energy of the plants that live around us. Just wonderful having our son so engaged and inspired! Jon Izen, Parent of Grade 5 student,

Joah worked with our elementary Spider Home Learner groups of 10-20 students to provide a hands on experiential workshop on circuits. She beautifully engaged the childrens' imaginations, their creativity and their senses of wonder in her workshop while also teaching them about the science of circuits and also mindfully bringing the She Shashishalhem names of local animals to us. Jane Mead, Teacher Consultant and Inclusion Support Teacher, SPIDER Elementary (K-6), SD46

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