Georgia O'Keeffe studies... Week 7

Students spent Monday gathering information about Georgia O'Keeffe and her artwork. Noting O'Keeffe's monumental style, focusing on organic objects and bright, bold colors, students created sketches reproducing the artist's bold compositional style and use of negative space.

After gathering natural objects from our local setting, students created their own monumental drawings in O'Keeffe's style and used chalk pastel to add bright, smoothly blended colors.

Initial Designs & Color Schemes... Week 6

Students created their own logos this week, inspired by the lines and shapes of their initials. After creating small sketches of at least 6 different designs, students chose one design and drew it three times. Each design was then painted in a different color scheme, changing the effect of the identical designs based on the colors used.

Progress Reports were also given out this week!

Romare Bearden Collages... Week 5

Students learned about Harlem Renaissance artist Romare Bearden this week. Noted for his inventive use of paper in collages, his focus on the themes of everyday life of African Americans, and his involvement in the art world, Bearden is an influential figure in art history.

Inspired by Bearden's work, students used his style and techniques of paper collage to create their own images of everyday life.

Color Theory and Painting: Week 4

Our final Element to explore is Color!

Students learned new color vocabulary this week, including color schemes, mixing and theory vocabulary. Students also learned the practice of color mixing by creating their own color wheels including primary, secondary, and tertiary colors, as well as tints and shades of each hue.

We're going to sing the Elements of Art... Week 3

Students sang and quizzed on the Elements of Art all week... much to their chagrin, but it worked! All students had passing grades on the quizzes by week 3. Students also continued introductory projects focusing on each Element and allowing them to become familiar with different art media as well. 

Students created drawings with colored pencils focusing on Shape. After creating a 2 inch border (and flexing some math skills) on their papers, students divided their compositional space in to geometric and organic shapes. Next they used the principle of Repetition to create patterns within each shape. The resulting pieces were bright, colorful, and fun!

Students also created projects focusing on Texture. After collecting both actual and implied textures (through crayon rubbings), students created collages of their textures. It was amazing to see the different smooth, rough, prickly, sticky, fluffy kinds of textures they found and created!

Students explored Value by creating their own value scales. After an introduction to drawing pencil categories, students used soft ebony graphite pencils to create a range of at least 7 values using one pencil. Students explored how different amounts of pressure and layers of graphite can affect the value created with a single drawing instrument.

Students explored Space by creating drawings of chairs in class close up and from different angles. They focused on positive/negative space and creating dynamic compositions. After creating 6 different 3x3 inch drawings in their sketchbooks, they colored each one in an interesting way to focus on the lines and shapes created by the positive/negative space.

Hard at work: Week 2

Sketchbooks, songs, and silliness, oh my!

This week was full of all three. Students continued work on creating their own sketchbooks from a simple bookbinding technique they learned in class. Their covers really reflected their personalities and interests and helped me get to know them even better!

Once finished, we began learning about the Elements of Art and Principles of Design. Here is a link to a great site that explains what these terms are and their significance. The terms and ideas are the basic language of Art, so it is important that students learn those early and quickly. After an intense note-taking session, I taught them a song to help them remember the Elements of Art and an acronym to help them remember the Principles of Design. And yes, I made them all sing it! Although it's a silly song to the tune of Row Your Boat, it really helps students remember and reminds us all we are not as cool as we think we are! :) We also listened to one student's new version created on Garage Band software to more of a Caribbean beat. Props to Baxter for the great new version! We will be quizzing on those terms until I feel everyone knows them by heart!

We also began our first project concentrating on the Elements and Principles. Our Line sculptures used simple cut white paper lines of varying thickness, lengths, and directions to create interesting forms on our white paper background. Since the sculptures were wall hangings, we created them in a style of relief sculpture. They look fantastic under the gallery lights in our hallway; the shadows created by the raised lines make them even more interesting!

Week 1: Introduction to the Course

Our first week of class was very busy! We began with lots of forms: pretests, surveys, syllabi, parent signature forms, and more. We went over class logistics and expectations and got a feel for how the class will be run on a daily basis. Students began watching the CNN Student News podcast as their daily starter, and already they have a new appreciation for puns!

Students also began their first projects this week. All students created a nametag for their storage cubbies. After looking at typography, the study of type as design, students created designs which showed their style and personality through their font choices. Students hung their nametags on their cubbie drawers for identification.

Students also began the creation of their sketchbooks at the end of this week. Using a simple bookbinding method and readily available materials, students made their own sketchbooks to use in class and at home for the semester. They decorated the front and back covers with images, words, and ideas which they felt represented them and their interests. They created some colorful covers which really reflect their personalities!