AP ART STUDENT REFLECTIONS

Tiger by Toy
Acrylics on paper
AP 2D Design
I painted an image of a tiger using bold warm colors with a narrow composition. The reason I thought warm colors would look best for this piece was because it would show how bold the tiger is. During the process of my piece I was looking at tiger images and cropping them in unusual compositions. I thought that this composition would look best for the tiger because it would concentrate on the tiger's face. I learned that with acrylics you have to paint quickly if you want the colors to blend since the paint dries really fast. Above all I had so much fun working with this piece because I haven't worked in this color scheme recently. -Toy

Peacock design by Jome
Ink on paper
AP 2D Design
For this artwork I was inspired by animals, Thai line art and tattoo designs. I am proud of this artwork because I think it looks really interesting and elegant. I like to mix the line art and create a new graphic object like an animal, a plant or people. I worked really fast on this artwork because I had been practicing with Thai line art for a while. First I sketched the outline of a peacock and then designed line art on the peacock that I had sketched. After that I decided the color that I'm going to use and then worked on the final. While I was working I had a bit of a problem. I found out that ink pen is really hard to use. It's really hard to control the line and the thickness of the ink, but I learned how to use it after some practice. In the future I would like practice more with the ink pen because I think working with ink pen is really awesome and also I would love to work more on line art design. -Jome

Northern Lights by Niche
Oil on canvas
AP Drawing
This piece depicts a scene of the northern lights at sea. Completed in oil paints and mainly using cool colors this piece was inspired by my love for magical phenomenon in nature. Oil paints are easier to control when compared to mediums like water color or ink however the time taken for it to dry is pretty long. The reason for using oil paints was because it's easy to blend and the colors are rich in texture. Personally this is one of my favorite pieces out of all the work that I've done so far. Although it's not perfect, I love the color combination and it's blending. -Niche

Portrait of Niche by Nin
Mixed media
AP Drawing
This is a portrait of Niche. This piece is part of my AP concentration. The concept of this is to give a colorful twist to a traditional portrait. I chose this piece because this piece allowed me to be experimental with markers mixed with acrylic paint. In this piece, I focus on value and color. I enjoyed making this piece because I had a lot of room to be creative with the use of color and media. - Nin


"PHNOM PENH" STUDENT ART EXHIBIT AT THE INTERCONTINENTAL

For most of the semester the art classes at NISC have been hard at work conceptualizing and creating. However, a big part of being an artist is sharing your creations with the wider community. For the past two weeks NISC has been exhibiting a professional art show titled "Phnom Penh" in the InterContinental. The collection of artworks is made up of primary and secondary students' interpretations of Phnom Penh. On November 21 we had our official opening, complete with a collaborative project, treats and live music. The students and their families, along with teachers and community members all got together to celebrate this showing of artistic talent. The exhibition is up through December 11, so if you haven't gone yet you still have the opportunity to admire this showcase.

Here are some student reflections on the exhibition and their work:

"I am very satisfied how my piece turned out. This is because of the strategy I used to create this painting which is using layers, and overlapping with acrylic paints... To assure a successful result , I tried to make sure I would check with my team mates to make sure it fits and matches up. The challenges I faced while painting my piece were trying to make a steady and straight line across my painting. It was hard to do this, but I just had to try and be focused and steady while doing it. Another challenge was to paint dark blurry trees in the back. To overcome this challenge, I used a fan brush which made it much easier to create blurry trees." - Savannah, Gr 8

"I didn't believe my picture was in a hotel because I never been somewhere where my stuff (art) was!" - Yun Seo, Gr K/1

"In art class I did a painting of one part of the royal palace with acrylic...I learned that acrylic paint dries really fast and after the painting is dry it dries darker." -Kim Hour, Gr 8

"It was published in a real book all together in alphabetical order and we can see each others' different art all together." - Moustafa, Gr 4/5

"My work strengths are that I put in 100% effort on my work and I'm committed. I need to improve on keeping a good pace. I learned how to shade properly, and I learned how to be patient. I chose the image I did because there was a good balance between the shadows and highlights, and the picture was somewhat challenging for me." - Cherry, Gr 12

"We usually don't get to see our art work in places like that (InterContinental) and there was another person there seeing our art; 'I can't believe it!'" - Narai, Gr 4/5




ANGKOR WAT MARATHON - 4 December 2011

What our runners thought at the end....

The thing is, when a school can create times when families can have defining moments in their lives, it's a great thing! Rob Cody

Hmmm, My legs hurt. Dan Fahy

Good and fun. I like it. That is the first time for me to run in Siem Reap, next year I want to run 10K. Rattana Ouk

I really liked the sunrise before starting. It was a good way to start the day. Natalie Ross

It was exciting and fun seeing a lot of people participate in the run and it was nice running so many kids. I feel fit. Cherry Phat

It was more fun than I expected it to be, I would definitely do it again next year. Aspasie Song

I was able to meet a lot of new people, it was exhausting, tiring. Matthew Landau

It was fun, exciting and tiring. I really enjoyed the race it was a very new experience to me and I hope I get to do it again. Bandith Phat

It was wonderful to watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat. To see so many runners of different ages doing the different runs- people young and old having a good time and enjoying the run. It was rather challenging. Todd von Seggern

Whizzing along the quiet roads on my bike in the stillness of dawn around Angkor Wat, truly magical. Lynsay Flowers

It was hard to run because there were so many people. Haven

Amazing effort by everyone, they all set out to achieve what they could! Brendan Tobin





NISC Cultural Festival 2011 - Robert W. Cody, Primary Principal

NISC's vision for this year's cultural celebration was to help students reflect on their own culture as well as appreciate the culture of other students in the school. It was a big change from UN Days in the past. UN days revolved around student performances and in some cases had no ties to the NISC curriculum. This was an area we wanted to address. We also wanted to expand the role of our parents by making them partners in the classroom, teaching their culture to the other students. Teachers have started to reflect with their students on the Cultural Festival and here are some of the things they are saying. (Mistakes in the writing of reflections were left in to reflect the exact meaning of the students).

"I learned that Lebanon and Jordan are near each other and they have similar songs and dances". Grade 2/3

"Before I thought that South Africa was a poor country but now I know it's an awesome place with cool animals, rain, forests and different kinds of people". Grade 2/3

"I realized that some Korean and Khmer food are similar. The sticky rice cakes we had for snack were both small and chewy". Grade 2/3

"I liked when my sister, my brother and I help the Costa Rican flag at the gym. We carried it onto the stage". Grade K-1

"I liked when we made the flags. I made flags from the Philippines and Malaysia. My mom is from the Philippines and my dad is from Malaysia". Grade K-1

"My mom helped me color the flag from Cambodia. My favorite food was from Japan". Grade K-1

"I saw my baby sister carry the Cambodian flag onto the stage. She carried it with the big kids". Grade K-1

Based upon the reflections of students, we accomplished our vision; students appreciating who they are, students appreciating others, parents in their child's classroom teaching about their culture. For those parents who would like more student performances, do not worry, the Festival of Lights in December is all about students sharing their talents. Stay tuned.