Figure Drawing and Expressing Light

Following the design of their sketchbook cover, students in Honors Painting embarked on a figure drawing project to hone their observational drawing skills.  
First, they warmed up by practicing gesture drawing for several days, capturing the essence of poses quickly. 
 


Next, a former student of mine posed for 3 days. Students drew the model in charcoal from their point of view, using comparative measurements and drawing the negative space shapes in order to try and capture the correct proportions. 

 

  
Next, we discussed the idea of value, and the students established the tone of their paper as a middle value. They then added white pastel for the highlights they observed and dark pastel and charcoal for the shadows and lower values. I showed the students many images of drawings, some dating back to hundreds of years ago, by artists who used this same technique to express contrast and form.  

Home is... the images you combine to express it!

Similar to last year, for our first Honors Art 1 project and an introduction to the studio as well as each other, my students created collages based on their idea of home. 

 

  
First students brainstormed words and phrases that described home, and thought about each of the senses as filters for how they experience home.
Next, students learned about where the collage materials are kept in the room, as well as how to apply the Mod Podge, contour cut images, and think about the layout of their collage before gluing it down. 
 




For inspiration we looked at Artist Trading Cards and several images by collage artists such as Wangechi Mutu and Romare Bearden.




Finally, after creating 2 different collages about home, the students looked carefully at their cards, and described what they saw in their piece by writing a statement.   

  

Students walk around the room on a "Gallery Walk" to read each others statements and view the collages.

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.

To begin the new school year... we Explored what CAN be done with limited materials, time and instruction

As a first act of making for the year of 2013-2014, I challenged my Honors Art 1 students to create something in only 30 minutes using at least 2 of only 4 available materials: yarn, white paper, string and cardboard.  They had access to scissors, tape, staplers and glue, which they could use to attach something.  Given no more instruction than, "it's okay to make bad art", "you can make something 3-D or 2-D" and "just see what happens and make something", the students were sent on their way.  

  
There are several miraculous things that came out of this exercise for me as a teacher. 
First, ALL of my students actually tried something.  They did not protest or sit there staring at materials unmoved. Instead they took a leap of faith and went for it.  They had no plans, but despite that, they used the materials in all different ways and in most cases feverishly came up with something interesting using not the nicest of materials. 

 


Another miraculous thing was that every single piece was different.  
 

After the timer went off, we went around the room looking at all of the work that was made.  Many students mentioned that they drew from prior knowledge to help them make their work.  They already knew how to create origami, or sew, or they always obsessively draw a certain thing... and they started from there.  Other students saw something in the material that guided them; a fold in the cardboard that when looked at suggested they make a house. I went around the room and asked specific students to describe how they got the idea for what they made, as well as what their process was like to make it.  They openly shared this information with the group (also miraculous!).  In conversation, I pointed out how their diverse processes and approaches directly mirror all artists' processes and choices when they make things.

This student was able to express his interest in architecture.

This student drew a familiar image that he had previously created in fabric.

A student "sews" using yarn and poked holes.

This student is wrapping yarn around an "A" made of cardboard.

This student is creating origami based on prior knowledge and skills.

"The yarn reminded me of hair, and that made me think about a horse or unicorn."

This day of student exploration made me really excited to teach again this year.  The creative process and the innate human inclination to create things is so very alive and well at Lane Tech High School.