State-Wide Student Show

Giraffe Shapes  This lesson was an early Kindergarten lesson.  The students heard a book about giraffes and discussion took place.  They were given pre-printed shapes to cut out and glue together. Use of scissors and glue were taught at this stage and emphasized throughout.  There was discussion throughout the lesson about what parts were still needed and how to approach making those parts. A frame was added to give the artwork a finished look.  This project took four 30 minute class periods to complete.

Kindergarten Tigers

This project was inspired by a photo I found on Pinterest by Mrs. Seitz and her blog: http://artwithmrsseitz.blogspot.com/2014/10/rousseau-tigers.html

I took the general idea for her 2nd grade project and pared it down to a simpler project to do with Kindergarten.  The success of this project comes from NOT pre-drawing the lines and going straight to paint.  

Vocab/ objectives:  Shape and Line are our two main focuses for this project as well as the guidelines for using paint- this was the very first project we did!  

Materials: orange, yellow, green and black tempera paint with white paper, brushes, and small leaf shaped sponges (I cut mine from a compressed sponge and have re-used them for many years).

I can Statements:  I can paint, I can add details

Process:

Day 1: After touching on guidelines for painting and caring for our painting materials, I demonstrate the basic shapes for creating the orange body of the tiger (the arch for the body, the head, ears, and tail) and how to fill the shapes in so that their tiger isn’t see-through.  

I only have kindergarten for a half an hour and because this is the first time we’ve painted, we take it slowly and allow ample time for clean-up. This is all the painting we do today!

Day 2:  Details.  I demonstrate how to stamp using the leaf sponge and a mix of yellow and green paint.  After reminding students to NOT paint leaves on top of their tiger, they add leaves to the background.  

When the leaves are done, I demonstrate how to paint the face and add stripes to the tiger using a small detail brush.  

That’s it!  This project has a very high success rate and students are generally proud of their results.  Painting is often its own reward and students are usually incentivized to follow the process in order to do it.  Happy painting!

1st Grade City Landscape Collage

First grade created a city landscape using colored paper and paint.  Students learned about layers in artwork, balance, and applying detail to enhance an artwork.  Painted stars were applied to teach the stipple technique with the paintbrush.

First graders learned about collage, shapes, and symmetry as they created these monsters inspired by the book, Go Away Big Green Monster. More information on my blog: https://drydenart.weebly.com/fugleblog/go-away-big-any-color-monster

Medieval Portraits

2nd-grade students studied the art of portraiture from the Middle Ages looking at how things have changed over the years.  Then planned their portrait by sketching ideas and coming up with a final piece.  Student artists used white tempera paint to “draw” and then fill in with colored pencils.  They also chose a pattern for the background after studying tapestries of the time. They learned how they were very heavy decorative fabrics that were used on walls and in doorways to help keep the rooms warm during the cooler months. If desired the students could use pearlescent paints for their background and/or glitter to enhance their piece.

In this collage project, we discussed creating depth and how to do that using the different grounds in space.  We started by preparing all our papers. We used watercolors on our sky backgrounds. We used tempera paint to create the water and sand that would go in our middle ground and foreground. As we painted our water and sand, we discussed texture and techniques we could use to visually show texture (i.e. a sponge to paint the sand). After our papers dried, we cut out our sail boats from patterned paper. We cut one large, one medium, and one small sail boat, and we discussed that how we glued them onto our paper would establish depth. We glued by layering our water and boats and finished with our sand to create the final piece.

In this painting lesson, students were introduced to the expressionistic artist Vincent van Gogh. His “The Starry Night” artwork served as inspiration for the students to create their own versions of their perfect starry night. After van Gogh’s life history was discussed as well as his painting style, students practiced painting short, dashed brushstrokes that represent movement in the sky. Creating a foreground, midground and background was reviewed and students used their artistic freedom to draw a location that was special to them. Once the project was completed, students created a recording of their artist statement that can be heard using a QR reader.

Students were learning about warm and cool colors and discussed artwork demonstrating both color families. Students then made observations of images of both seascapes and stained glass. They were given freedom to draw their sea, land, and sky with expressive lines (calm, stormy, peaceful, happy, scary…). Students layered colors with watercolor crayons, and then added patterns with colored sharpies to make their art reminiscent of stained glass.

Students began this lesson by learning about pandas and their natural habitats. They were then taught step by step how to draw a panda in pencil, which was then traced and colored in with Sharpie marker. Black pastel chalk was used to add dimension and texture to the panda. For the background, students drew a segment of a bamboo stalk on a small piece of printing styrofoam and then cut it out. Then they rolled green ink onto the bamboo segment and printed it multiple times to create the full stalks. They used green paint to add leaves to the bamboo.  Lastly, the panda was cut out and glued to the background paper.

Family Portraits

For this art project, third-grade students learned about using proportion and scale to draw their family at dinner. Their final product also included all the parts of the composition and as many details as they could possibly fit.  Students looked at many fine art exemplars of mealtime including Norman Rockwell’s famous “Freedom from Want” to Vincent Van Gogh’s “The Potato Eaters”. Together, students discussed how objects in the foreground were larger, and the artist would put a subject of interest in the middle ground.  Third graders also talked about the size relationships of people in their family and how that would change depending on where they were in the composition. Students also brainstormed all the objects that are; on a table at mealtime, in the kitchen, or in the dining room. Finally, students illustrated all these things and focused on how casual, formal, crowded, fun, or fast their dinner time can be.

Pumpkin Stack

This lesson is part of a unit on developing student vocabulary when responding to a work of art. As part of the art vocabulary development, students created a variety of artworks that emphasized specific terms. This lesson focused on value, depth, form, and balance. Students began by drawing a stack of pumpkin shapes in pencil. After drawing shapes, color was added with student mixed watercolor paints. Contour and pattern lines were subsequently applied with permanent ink or markers. Shading was added using charcoal to create depth.

5th grade practiced mixing colors from just the 3 primary colors, plus white and black.  After discussing Abstract art vs. realistic art, students created a drawing of their choosing- anything from slightly abstract to a more non-objective design.  Students were encouraged to create many new colors in their project.

For this lesson, students were encouraged to create their own landscape paintings. We discussed the different parts in a landscape and how they add depth to a piece of artwork.

Students started their artwork with a pencil sketch to decide on the main details of their landscape. They were then able to add details such as line, shading, and patterns.

Once the sketch was finished, students traced their drawings with a permanent marker and used tempera cakes to paint.

5th grade students posed, and their photos were taken then cropped and printed in black and white. Students watched a few YouTube videos including one by Igor Kazarin demonstrating starting from an outline, adding darkest areas and then shading. Students traced their photo onto their drawing paper extracting from their photo only the essential lines. Students used ebony pencil, stumps and erasers to finish their piece while observing their photo. The emphasis of this lesson was essential line, and shading.

Objectives: We will make experiences for people to LOOK at.

The Big Idea is UNITY.

My students will/can be directed to use pencil to create several contour line facial and figure studies. They will choice from their studies …and create their own piece of artwork … making an experience for people to admire.

In any work of art there is a thought process for the arrangement and use of the elements and principles of design. The artist who works with the principles of good composition will create a more interesting piece of art and the artwork will be arranged to show a pleasing rhythm and movement. The center of interest will be strong and the viewers will not look away, instead, they will be drawn into the work. A good knowledge of composition is essential in producing great artwork.

My students will/ can appreciate the knowledge or techniques I teaching them. They will/can be exposed to “A NEW WAY OF SEEING”, or thinking. We will/can be puzzling down faces, features, clothing, and bodies. I have loved being a part of their creative process!

Student’s artist statement: “If you don’t think you will ever be able to draw…Just keep practicing!” 

Students study & draw animals from printed photographs and specific zoological websites shared with them. They create their own scratchboard: color with thick crayon, mixing and making original colors, adding a layer of chalk dust made from scraping with scissors and rubbing on top, and finally brushed with india ink for an opaque black surface. Look at the gentle silhouette, or contour, intentionally left to divide the bird from background. On practice scratchboard or a worksheet on chromebook, students practice making implied textures related to animal and background before using stylus tool on project paper.

Students learned that they can shade with ink to create different values. First, practice took place on a guided worksheet to learn a variety of shading and stippling techniques. We put our practice to use by applying at least 3 different techniques to an animal, which then created a sense of form as well as value. Patterns and color were added in a scarf or a sweater for each animal. Materials used included patterned background paper, white copy paper, Graphix Clear-lay, Ultra-fine Sharpie, and marker. NAEA Anchor Standards include #1, #2, and #3. This lesson was put in place for grades 6 and 7.

During this art experience, the students learned about many contemporary artists who use collage in their work. The students worked through brainstorming activities, themes, and composition elements to develop their own original idea using images of their own or from other sources.

Artist comments: When I originally made this piece I was just planning on putting people from different time periods in the same place, but a little bit more ended up happening. I made the people in black and white so they would stand out from the background, and emphasize how they didn’t quite belong. The way the people are facing is like they are staring through the tunnel of time. A woman from the 1800’s is looking at the girl from the 60’s who is taking a picture of the model from the 2000’s who is staring at you. I added the clocks to symbolize time and they are twisted and distorted just like the whatever this takes place in.

“Close”-up Animal 

For this project, we are inspired by the artist Chuck Close for his grid technique, as well as, his ability to overcome challenges and obstacles. This lesson teaches students how to draw from a grid and use proportions to create the grid and draw the subject matter. This lesson also teaches students how to use pastels to create a 3D effect, with the goal to create a realistic image, like Chuck Close. As this is a time consuming project, students are asked to keep in mind how Chuck Close preserved in his life, in order to inspire them to persevere through the challenges of a drawing this large and detailed. Without knowing, students are actually learning the work habits of an artist! 

Timeline : (5 weeks) 

• Warm-up: Practice Activities for creating a grid and using pastels 
• Teacher led demos and student independent practice time 
• Students observe what a successful vs. unsuccessful project looks like before beginning 
• Students find resource image and create a 7×10 in grid over their image (1 inch grid- 1 inch
  cells) 
• Students create a larger grid on the black drawing paper, this time marking every 2 inches
  after first creating a 2 inch border on their paper. (The grid will still come out to 7×10, but this
  time with 2 inch cells) 
• Students draw out the image with a pencil 
• Students label the values in pencil 
• Students use the pastels to complete the image, starting with the darks and foundational
  colors and working their way up to the highlights and details. Materials :
• Oil Pastels 
• Blending Stumps 
• Sandpaper Block 
• Black Drawing Paper 
• Ruler 
• Pencil 
• Printed Reference Image Concepts : 
  • Texture: Visual vs. Actual 
  • Variety 
  • Line Techniques 
  • Oil Pastel Techniques: blending, overlapping, mixing colors, layering, etc.
  • Creating a 1:2 grid (Final project 14×20 inches with a 2 inch border paper size 18×24 inches) 

Artist : 

• Chuck Close

How do you get middle school students to understand everything doesn’t show up because of a black pencil outline?  You reverse the media by introducing white on black paper. We begin by completing several “warm-up exercises” to get us ready for the final large scratch board.  The first “exercise” is a value scale using white colored pencil on black paper, but they are not allowed to just color (they must use lines/cross hatch, squiggles, or directional lines).  Next, we practice shading an apple but without a white outline and only focusing our attention on the highlighted areas using white conte crayon or chalk. Next the students research scratch board artists, their favorite subject matter and then decide on a composition.  If they choose a realistic image, they can use graphite to transfer the image onto the scratch board paper. The final “exercise” is completed on a small scrap of scratch board using a 2×2 section of their final image so they can practice how to create the correct textures, values and NOT rely on an outline!

ARTIST STATEMENT:

I chose this because #1 I love wolves and #2 I love the pattern of the hair and the position of the wolf and the eyes.

Lesson Description:

This student’s work was created in my advanced Art 3 class. In that class students have to come up with their own theme/concentration and create a complete body of work. This student chose landscapes and to work with painting. 

Artist Statement:

For these two quarters of art, my concentration was nature and landscapes. At first, I had a plan for all of my future pieces, but I ended up changing about three of them. My inspiration was definitely the different colors I would work with and I enjoy painting using many different and bright colors.

I am proud of all my pieces, but I am proud of some a little more than others. Either way, I am happy with all of them and I had so much fun creating them.

Students selected an artist’s work to reproduce in their own style with the medium of their choice. Samantha recreated Salvador Dali’s “Ship With Butterfly Sails” using acrylic paint.

Portraits (proportions, shading, value, facial features) is taught in 7th grade. An 8th grade lesson involves paint color mixing; tints, shades and gradual value changes. My 8th grade classroom is choice based and Daisy chose to combine a portrait with the paint techniques.

Title: Eye Work

“I drew a simple drawing of an eye. It looks somewhat realistic. I like the way I used watercolor and a splattering technique for the background, but if I could do it again, I would create a different background.”

For this project, students needed to photograph interesting landscapes during their daily travels or near their homes.  The photographs needed to have something interesting, such as trees, streams, hills, and buildings were not required. Students also had to consider their overall composition: Rule of Thirds, leading lines, focal points.  Last, time of day was stressed, as silhouettes were not permitted in the painting. After choosing which photo to copy, students worked with a variety of watercolor techniques to complete their painting.

Brynn took this picture of a wheat field near her house, the sky had a little color and everything was pretty at that time of day.  This was her first watercolor landscape.

Media- Compressed and Vine Charcoal/white pastel/White Charcoal Pencils.

Students arranged a still life utilizing the rule of odds with different light bulbs. Students were to use black paper and start dark and work their way light using media provided. Value study and reflections in the glass were utilized by students to create 3D images.

Samara was a student in our Advanced Drawing course.  She developed a series of portraits exploring fashion, Art Deco, and natural design.  Samara is an avid user of sketchbooks and she developed the ideas for the series there.

Objective: Students will create a drawing using pen that shows a variety of pen techniques showing a strong range of value and contrast.

In this unit, students were introduced to the medium of Pen & Ink and how they could implement various shading techniques to create a drawing with strong value and contrast. After viewing video demonstrations of the various shading techniques of hatching, cross-hatching, scribbling, and stippling students were tasked to find a subject matter where they could successfully implement all or some of the techniques in their drawings. After practicing the various techniques, students slowly and methodically added the techniques in their work until completion.

The students were to create a work for a local competition with the theme ‘Heritage-What does it mean?’. We looked at how to define the word heritage and what it means from a global view to more personal meaning.  The student chooses to show the diversity of heritage through color and facial composition. The medium is acrylic. The three women stand close to each other and support each other while engaging the viewer as if to defy separating their identities. This is an independent class which allows the student to select their own interpretation and media.

Fundamentals of Design

Time Frame: 2 Wks.

Lesson Title: Metamorphosis

Lesson Link:  This lesson explores the relationship between the internal and external.

Romans 12:1-2 talks about the transformation or metamorphosis of the heart.  Students will explore the internal and external transformations.

Project:

Student will make a series of four drawings transforming an inanimate object (household object) to an animate (animal) image. Each image will show a change from the original image to the final image. Student is to select the best transformational images to demonstrate the change. This will be done using graphite on white paper and mounted on black mount board.

Megan was an advanced AP Studio Art Drawing Student when she completed this drawing independently using Photoshop. This piece was inspired simply by a drawing prompt of creating an underwater metropolis.

Reductive Block printing lesson:

This is a multiple color block printing assignment using one block to achieve a full-color image. The idea is to cut out the block after each color is applied to eventually reduce the printed image on the block to the key outline working from the white of the paper then light to darkest color with the black or darkest color key printed last.

Torn paper portraits. Using a printed 8”x 10” self portrait or portrait of inspirational person, students collaged construction paper, magazine pages, or other found materials on top of a piece of plastic (leftover lamination film.) Use a strong cardboard or back of sketchbook as work surface and completely tape all 4 edges of plastic over photograph or the plastic will curl when wet. Students glued (Elmer’s school glue in a souffle cup with cotton swab) layers of colors and values to create the image. Some tore papers, other cut specific shapes, sizes, or contour lines. Generally, the work is broken down into 4 sections: background, face, hair, and clothing. When the glue is dry, the paper collage pops right off and the plastic can be used again. This work could become a 2 sided portrait if planned ahead!

Kaleidoscopes can be made from various sized triangles or “pie pieces” that rotate around a single point. A common measure is 45 degrees for repetition 8 times. Rotational movement or reflective symmetry can be seen based on tracing technique. Students can trace under the paper, use tracing paper, a light table, window, or trace/transfer technique from front & back of design. Thematic designs could incorporate symbols, intials, or class subjects as a result of brainstroming & sketching. Color, value, and pen techniques make the kaleidoscopes vibrant.
A follow up to the flat design is a 3D kaleidocycle that actually spins & rotates.

Students studied Van Gogh’s painting “Irises” and symmetry. They created an iris by putting violet and white paint in the middle and folding their paper to create symmetry. The leaves were created with bleeding tissue paper. Texture plate rubbings were used in the background to recreate the texture Van Gogh loved so much.

5th Grade Underwater Scene

Students were asked to create an underwater scene filled with ocean creatures of their choosing.  They designed their own environment and were asked to place their marine life within the space of their artwork