Welcome to the online art studio, aka the wired atelier*!

This blog is designed for students and families in Allison Fuller-Mulloy's SMHS Art Classes. It is a site for posting our daily work and homework (IWs) each week, ideas and images to explore further, reminders and due dates. I hope this blog will help students by reinforcing the week's major ideas and activities, giving make-up work for absentees, and providing families a look into the atelier every day!

Please visit the links on the right side for more information, downloads and images.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Great Designs


The students spent the block finishing up their sketches for the Google doodle and many began transferring their best idea and design to the final paper. The theme, "What I Wish for the World," yielded some amazingly profound statements from the students on what they see as problems with the world and so many innovative ways to visually represent those ideas. Curing cancer, saving coral reefs and rainforests, ending pollution and hunger, affordable college education, and world peace were just a few of the things the students wished for the world.
I can only choose 6 designs to submit for the contest, and I can already tell I'm going to need lots of help choosing!
(Doodle above made for my fave artist- Rene Magritte's birthday!)

Monday, March 9, 2009

Brainstorming

Students used the period today to brainstorm ideas for their Google Doodle project. After listing 10 things they Wish for the World (the contest theme), students began working with images and ideas for this exam project. Examples of past winning designs and tips from Google's doodle creator were shown in class to inspire students' ideas. The project will be due Thursday before the students leave for Spring Break.

(Last year's winning doodle below.)

Friday, March 6, 2009

College Finale

Students finished up College Week by creating their final logo design for colleges on 9x12 paper. Using their choice of colored pencils or paints, students added color to their final designs. Some colleges really need to buy some of these designs to use; they're outstanding!
Students were asked to be brainstorming for their final project of this quarter- their EXAM project- the Doodle 4 Google contest. The theme is "What I Wish for the World." Students should be thinking of ideas and how they could incorporate images into the Google logo to demonstrate their vision for our world! We will begin working on these logos Monday!

Thursday, March 5, 2009

College logo designs

Students continued to enjoy College Week today with an art project surrounding college logos. Students pre-selected a college logo to redesign and brought in a copy of the original today. After spending the first part of class in the computer lab to research college logos and find information about the college they chose, students worked on several sketches of possible new designs for the logo. Prompts for new ideas were given to consider, such as mascots, initials, geographical features, and notable programs of study at the college. By the end of the period, all students should have created several design ideas in their sketchbooks and given color to the best logo. Tomorrow students will finish College Week by creating their best logo design on 9x12 paper and add color using their choice of colored pencils or paint.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Art majors and colleges

Students continued their studies about college and arts-related majors today with a speaker from the Art Institute of Tennessee in Nashville. Students were presented with programs of study including Graphic Design, Fashion Design, Culinary Arts, Video Production, Interior Design, Video Game design, and Photography, among others. Students were shown sample portfolios and work from students in each program; it was quite impressive to see what you learn and how quickly you learn it! Students got information on scholarships, admissions requirements, and other information to help them understand the college admission process. Check out http://www.artinstitutes.edu/ for more info on the Art Institutes!

Students were also briefed on our final 2 assignments of the quarter: a College logo re-design and the Doodle 4 Google contest. For the college logo redesign, students must have a copy of an original college logo tomorrow(3/5). Students who do not bring their original logos will complete bookwork instead of the project. Students will use the established color scheme and mascot (if any) to redesign the existing logo for the college.
The Doodle 4 Google contest will be their quarter exam project, testing their ability to generate ideas, select appropriate materials, and execute their idea. See http://www.google.com/doodle4google/ for more info on the contest. Although each student will create a design for the exam grade, only 6 works of art can be chosen for entry into the contest! Students should begin brainstorming on the theme "What I wish for the World."

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

College Bound


In honor of College Week at SMMHS, students spent today's class in the computer lab doing online research on colleges. Students generated a list of 25 different majors which require visual arts or design classes, along with a list of 25 different colleges which offer an arts-related major. While conducting this research, students also created a list of 5 different Websites where they found good information on colleges.
When finished, students responded to 5 questions about their dream majors, colleges and careers, then used their remaining time in class to find out what education, experience, and skills are necessary to make their dream careers a reality.

Happy Monday

Today was a great start to a new week. Students presented their wikis today in class. There were some outstanding presentations, and many students had some great insight on the artwork they chose. Many students made connections to their knowledge of American history and shared some outstanding interpretations of the works of art. I was impressed by how much biographical information the students found about the artist to deepen their peers understanding of the artwork.

In honor of College Week at SMMHS, students also contributed a major and college they are interested in to our wall of "Colleges and Careers." We will spend the week looking more closely at Art and Design- related majors and colleges which offer these programs!