Sketchbook Covers 2013-2014

Following the "Home Collages", students were asked to personalize their sketchbook cover using their choice of pencil, markers, collage, colored pencils and paint.  
 Before beginning their sketchbook cover, the students were introduced to the elements and principles of art.  
The elements of art are the building blocks of each art piece, and the principles of art are the way that artists use those elements to create a beautiful and/or interesting work of art. 

A student plans/sketches out their idea for a cover. 

After watching a slide show and discussing the elements and principles, students in Honors Art 1 and Honors Painting were required to choose 1 principle of art, as well as something about their identity to guide the design of their sketchbook cover. 

I did a mini-demo on using paint to cover up their sketchbook, as well as experimenting with ink and other materials. As long as they expressed a principle of art and something about their identity, they could choose any materials to create their cover to look however they wanted it to.



The students did a fantastic job with this project. Their covers are unique and thoughtful, and I really enjoyed the diversity of the results.  At the end of the project, they wrote a statement describing what principle and aspect of their identity they had expressed. 

This student was inspired by the journals of Dan Eldon.

Students share with their peers the meaning behind their sketchbook covers and the way they expressed their identity.