HSC Bensonhurst Senior Center VISUAL DIARY Project.7 6/10/2021

 

HSC Bensonhurst Senior Center

VISUAL DIARY Project

Blog 7 6/10/2021

Logging on early gives us a chance to catch up and learn more about our students. So Sim, who is always first to sign onto zoom, and generally the first to submit her homework, is 92 years old, or young! Her classmates hold her in high esteem, calling her Big Sister. Ru Ping said she tried twice to learn how to crochet from So Sim who’s an expert but was unsuccessful. Pun calls her “my idol!” and Julisa says she can’t keep up with her when they are out walking together. So Sim goes to Bensonhurst Senior Center every day to help with the distribution of food now that it’s open for “grab and go” meals. 

We joked about nicknames and Pun shared that hers is “little swallow” because one of the Chinese characters in her name is “swallow”. Julisa’s last name is Chin which is the character for money, so her nickname is “lots and lots of money”. It’s fun to share the meaning of names and pertinent as we will be using the calligraphy pen later to write our names in different fonts.

As we will be thinking about words that come to mind when we think of the seasons, we began with a warmup where we each gestured how a particular season made us feel. The rest of the class then guessed the season and the action. For summer, Pun did a swimming motion, Ru Ping fanned herself and Hui Fen gestured a sweaty brow. Julisa held aloft an imaginary umbrella suggesting regular summer storms and So Sim mimed drinking to keep hydrated. Lao Yu chose a different season and mimed putting on a sweater for winter. Jing Wei mimed raking the fall leaves. 

It’s always rewarding sharing our students’ homework as it allows students to comment and for us to honor each person’s achievements. Last week they drew hands holding objects and completed extra drawings at home, which included captions. Susanna drew a hand holding a brightly colored orange, “this orange must be sweet”. In comparison, she drew a small strawberry nestled in the palm of her hand, which changed how a hand holds an object. For, “shoeshine is not easy”, she cleverly drew only the toe, with the hand holding the brush. Stella taught us a lesson with her drawings of hands holding a lemon and a cup of lemon and honey. Her second drawing held an apple, and she drew the lines of her palm towards the apple making it the focus.

Sook Fong drew a small blue mask in the palm of her much larger hand, changing the perspective. She drew another hand holding a banana and another holding the handle of a mug. So Sim’s hands held a mug and another a banana. Depth was added by including shadow behind the apple lying in the palm of the hand. So Sim is an avid Tai Chi practitioner, so she included drawings of this.

Ru Ping documented what $.05 bought in 1961 by cleverly drawing an open palm with the coin then a hand holding a flavored ice block and another with a triangular preserved fruit treat. Pun eats half an avocado every day, so she drew an open palm holding it. Her family makes fun of her skinny arms, so she drew her arm lifting weights and added the caption, “I don’t look strong, but I work hard”. Miu drew a series of “how to” drawings; hold a microphone, use a for, hold a red wine glass. 

Lao Yu began with a witty drawing of a hand holding a pencil, “What to draw? I have no idea”. Many of the ladies cut their own hair and Lao Yu is no exception. She drew her hand holding scissors, “What kind of hairstyle do you want?”. Her charming drawing showed water running from the tap onto the chubby baby's hands with grandmother’s hands washing them. Jing Wei drew a calligraphy brush in motion held by her hand. Her other drawing was of a hand holding a magnifying glass, “when I get old words get smaller..” She drew her fingers holding a coffee pod so the viewer could read the brand name. Hui Fen’s drawings showed a series of actions, a finger pricked and dripping blood, a person giving an injection into another’s arm, pouring juice from a carton into a held glass and a hand stirring a mug of coffee. 

Students used the manuscript pen for the first time today, experimenting with what lines they could draw. Next, they drew letters of the alphabet and then used the Micron pen and the brush to add to the shape and design. As reference we shared examples of their name written in different fonts and talked about how each font made them feel. With the grid paper they experimented with writing their own name breaking up the characters. They also revisited the character figures they drew using the other pens and tried redrawing them with the manuscript pen, focusing on how this pen affects the shape and texture. 

As inspiration for homework, we shared how to evocatively write words that come to mind when we think of each season, encouraging them to add small character figures to each word. How will our students dazzle us with their creations this week?