Category: Drawing

Like a Blur

2/27/2015

So many things have happened this week, it is kind of like the semester is just blurring right past me! First, I am excited to say that Empty Bowls is only three weeks away. We finished the big bowl to be auctioned off at the event to the highest bidder this week with signatures from the BCWMS team.

Students are also finally glazing their bowls, which will be given away at the event as a reminder of those we are helping.

Students also finished their videos and animations this week, in preparation for the Meijer Great Choices Film Festival and Digital ID PSA competitions. This project was funded as a result of a MACUL grant. Here are some of the student pieces:

7th grade students also worked on the computer this week, learning more about how to use Photoshop as they shared their interests and likes in their profile collages (see a full gallery of images here):

Nick: I used more than one brush tool with different colors because I thought that by doing that, I would make it unique. I tried to make my background different from anybody else's. I also used the stroke tool so I could make the outline of my face more prominent and so you could make it out better. I choose the things I did because they represent things that I like. I put some teams that I like, some foods that I like, and some things that I like to do. For example, I put a MSU logo because that's my favorite college and I put Kentucky because I know a kid on their boy's basketball team.

Nichole: I used a couple tools while working on this project. One of those tools is the quick select tool. You use this tool to select the background of an object. After you have selected want you need you can either change the background or delete the background. Another tool I used was the fill bucket tool. You use this tool to fill large empty spaces with a color of some sort in stead of taking a long time to use the paint brush tool to color it in. Ok so I put a lot of things in well "myself". First I put a picture of Nik Stauskas because he is my idol. I put a cross in me because I love going to church and learning about god. Then of corse I put a maroon 5 thing because they are my favorite band. Then my last one I put the quote "Teamwork makes the dream work" because this quote always keeps me going and It is so true too.

8th grade students started planning out their first major project on Identity this week by learning about artists who employ this theme, seeing past student work, and sketching out their own ideas. We also worked on some drawing methods that they could use, too.

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7th grade happenings

11/29/2014

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Since I am mostly teaching 8th graders this semester, I have not spent much time blogging about what 7th grade students have been creating during our one class together (next semester will be the opposite of this semester). So, as to not forget about the great work these guys are doing, here is an overview of the ways in which we explored perspective for the last project.

I have been teaching perspective for a while now. It can be a tough concept to teach at times because it is very rule-based and I always tell my students that in order to be successful at it, you kind of have to turn your brain off and accept that you are limited to the rules of drawing either vertical, horizontal, or orthogonal lines. I also try and reinforce those concepts using more than one kind of method. So, here are some of the works we did while playing around with the concept of perspective, but you can always view the full gallery here.

Hallway Drawings

When we do this drawing exercise, I have students go into the hall to pick their point of view. Beforehand we go through various ways to use perspective by creating a generic hallway. Here are the results of putting that practice to work:

Colton B - area by Mrs. Gustafson's room

Caiden B. - area by the gym and cafeteria

Jordyn M. - area by Mrs. Stevenson's room

Name Drawings

Students were also asked to use perspective to draw their name. Here are some of the results.

Photoshop Hallways

The last way students were asked to explore perspective is through digital means. They used images I had taken of the various hallways and using the pen and brush tools in Photoshop, they outlined the vertical, horizontal, and orthogonal lines. They then used various fill tools to complete the pieces.

Joey S.

Eli G.

Phat P.

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Happy Halloween!

10/31/2014

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Today is the LAST day of the marking period. I am super proud of the work my students have accomplished this term and even more excited about what is to come in the next chapter we will start on Monday.

To finish out the semester, 8th grade students had the opportunity to earn the Skeleton Drawing badge and use their observational skills to create the following works:

Even though it was an "extra" activity, I was really impressed with the level of artistry from my students and their statements that are displayed along side of the work on Artsonia. So many students focused on the exploration of media and how they worked through the process of observational drawing. It was also neat to read some personal connections about why they selected various areas of the skeleton. You can see the full gallery here.

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Skeletons in the Art Room

10/28/2014

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Students are continuing to work on their observational skills as we transition through different media while exploring skeletons. This project fits in perfectly because these same students are being tested on the layout of the skeleton in health class and it is only a few more days until Halloween. I also got to join in the fun and make art, too! Check out the way fab work below:

Here is another skeleton I made, using watercolor this time...

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Environments - Final Thoughts

10/27/2014

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For project theme two, we worked on the concept of Environments, Spaces, and Places. It has been a rewarding experience for me to see the amount of creative ideas and variety of outcomes based on student interested and interpretation of the assignment. Before we move on from this completely, here are some final images created and posted to our online gallery on Artsonia.

Anna P: I chose to create a 3D perspective piece based on the ArtPrize 2014 entry "Michigan in Motion," by Dominic Pangborn. I was very intrigued by the illusion of depth and perspective created by his piece and wanted to create something similar. While this piece may look flat, it is actually 3D and as you walk the perspective changes. I used images from several different angles here. The center rectangle is supported up by the walls. I used cardboard, hot glue, and paint to make my composition because they seemed like the most sensible materials to use to make this easily and realistic-looking. I chose to checkerboard the floor and ceiling to make the illusion harder to see through by making them look like they are going back into space. There are two other sections, or hallways, to this composition that I was unable to finish in time. At the end of the middle hallway was going to be a city and the last panel was to depict a destroyed city. This progression is meant to represent the past, present, and future. I hope to be able to complete these panels with as much success as I did this first one.

Keegan D: In order to build this project I used Photoshop and some images from Google. It has many elements of design. One of which is the rule of thirds I tried to place my fav pictures in the places where the would be more noticeable. After doing this it is supposed to show that our environments are a reflection of us. I also alternated the way that the faces were pointing to try to create a small variation between each.

Jon Z:This piece was created out of silver wire placed on a rock and a pair of pliers (along with the mind of me, the artist). I choose this bright white rock as my base because it would contrast with the dark, spooky, and twisted, eery trees. The concept of halloween and the deforestation of trees to make this work. The piece communicates how ugly, and dead it would be without nature.

Harrison K: I Made this mask for two reasons- one is because I love masks, and the other is to show that the environment you are in can change who you are and your identity, and depending on the different environments you are in, your personality or behavior itself may change. Again I chose to use the idea and create it into a mask, because mask are the easiest way to represent identity, which was an important role in the idea.

Kat w: This projects theme evolved around our environment (space and place). As one of my projects I decided to do two clay faces. One face represents what nature would look like if we if we constantly took care of it and kept it clean. Therefore the other face represents what happens to nature when we treat it like trash. I wanted to use clay because I felt it makes it easier to show the textures and small details of the faces. I also thought that by using faces it would make the viewer realize that when we don’t take care of our outdoors it also affects us. If we keep harming the organisms that give us oxygen, food, water, and shelter…then what’s going to happen to us if they all go extinct, because of how poorly we took care of them. I used a new technique to give this face color. I used oil red, orange, and yellow oil pastels to color the face, and then I used, watered-down, black tempera paint to give the face a dirty, antique look and feel. I wanted the other face to, not be perfect, but look more clean and elegant. I used glaze and followed the carvings in the face. I wanted the messiness to portray that there are going to be things wrong with nature, but if we take care of it it’s still beautiful.

I used pen do draw this piece. I used pen because I wanted to be able to get all of the little details into my drawing. I used crosshatching to shade the shirt and the arms. I used lines to shade the tree and the roots. I think that this represents people as one with their environments. People need to get off of their phones and computers and go outside and enjoy nature sometimes.

Jordan C: For this project, I used photography and a window cling I created to represent the environment and how it can impact a person. I decided to use the window cling because it added a twist to my pictures. My mom and I drove around Byron Center and placed the cling on the car window so it appeared to be on signs, barns, and in so many more locations. This project was a lot of fun because I was able to explore different compositions and angles. I also had to experiment with the rule of thirds and many different perspectives. The window cling had to be placed in a certain way, so it fit into the picture just right. The techniques I used included using different positions and camera angles. When I was taking these pictures, I had to pay attention to space and unity. The window cling is reminiscent of where I’ve been and how Byron Center has impacted my life. In conclusion, this project made me realize how blessed I am to live in a town with so much scenery and such a small town atmosphere.

Nolan B:This perspective drawing of the front door of my house represents environment in a variety of ways. I decided to use a pencil to create my work because it allows me to make more of a realistic and dramatic effect on my art. When people think of old they think of black and white. The black and white of my pencil helped me show that houses are environments that go back to the beginning of human kind. A home is an environment that should be it's owner's safest place to go. Since the place you sleep in at night is your house, you better trust that it will keep you secure. I used value in my art to show the places in the image that aren't exposed to as much sun as others. This gives a real look to my drawing. Also, I put emphasis on my front door by making it in the center of my piece and slightly darker than the rest of my art. Overall, this image of my front door represents environment in many ways.

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First Marking Period is Flying

10/27/2014

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I cannot believe how quickly these first nine weeks of school have gone by! It seems like only yesterday that students were first entering the school and getting their hands dirty with clay and paint.

I am really excited with the progress students have made so far this year, but also sad because we are to the half-way point of our time together. Rather than start to cry over it now, here are some great process pictures from Friday and today along with some finished examples.

8th grade Environments, Spaces, and Places

Kollan is finishing up his room sculpture this week. You can see that much more detail has been added to the once empty space.

Ava adds additional value to her painting after conferencing about the overall value in the composition.

Andrew creates another shelter form for his project.

Jon uses wire and a found rock to create this imaginary landscape.

8th grade Skeleton Extension Activity

8th grade students worked on this extension activity once all other work was completed. Not only does this fit into the season, but students are currently learning about the skeleton in Health class, so this is a nice way to study.

After sketching the skeleton in four ways, students selected one to advance into a pastel drawing. Nolan is focusing on the hand.

Here is mine so far...

7th grade Movie Making

7th grade students are working on movies and animations. We start by watching some videos on the topic before writing stories and scrips. From there, students work on storyboards before filming or animating.

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Enacting Plans

10/8/2014

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When you look at a work of art, can you see the amount of thinking or prep work that goes into it? This is something we are working through as students move from the planning stages of their assignments and into applying their ideas to their projects.

This student is working on a sketch after viewing the clay demo today that explained the difference between building with plastic or leather-hard clay.

The student in the back is working with foil pieces to create a mosaic image, while the other student works with creating a slab form.

This student is creating a time-lapse video of his drawing and planning to use both works for his environment themes projects.

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Surrounded by Scholastics

10/7/2014

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Students moved from their sketchbooks and into the Scholastic Art Magazine Archives to research and interpret work cataloged there for their viewing pleasure. I cannot fully express how thankful I am for this resource as a result of the funding from our last DonorsChoose project! It was great to share the online content with students today and watch them search through the archives to find artists that spoke to their interests and then share that with the class via our Artist of the Week Schoology Discussion board. I am so thankful to those who helped make this resource available to my students! Students are also starting to think about The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards and seeing past winners showcased in the magazines is very inspiring to those hoping to achieve winning works this year.

Check out the progress of Emma's Cootie Catcher Dress that she is working on for this year's Scholastic Art Award's competition. I think she has a great chance of achieving recognition in the Fashion Design category. This will be the first time I have ever entered student work in this category during the 8 years of entering this competition!

7th grade students also worked on their Artist of the Week posts using Scholastic Art Magazine. Once done, they completed their knots by turning their designs into a symmetrical image after transferring the first quadrant onto the other three across the horizontal and vertical lines of symmetry. We will use these papers to transfer the image onto a heavier weighted paper and add color starting tomorrow!

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Sketching and Planning

10/6/2014

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One of the points of emphasis I am trying to spend more time on in art this year is the amount of time needed to think about and plan art. When you look at a finished piece it is easy to get wrapped up on the product and notice how the finished work looks as a whole. It is harder to see that the artist probably took photos, made sketches, experimented with media, and went through a lot of research before enacting their plan.

Today was spent working through the Design Thinking Process as students documented ideas through words and sketches in their sketchbooks. We also made sure to do a gallery walk and review what others are doing, find common themes/images/trends, and peer critique to get a fresh perspective. Tomorrow we will start working on enacting our ideas through various media.

We reviewed perspective last week as a way to document and explore the concept of environment and space; Kollan decided to create this sketch to explore how to transform the space with value and light.

As a part of working out ideas in the sketchbook, students worked in smaller peer editing groups to critique each other's ideas and find the best solutions.

7th grade students are moving into creating knots on paper, so we used today to draw some knots from observation first.

Students then used their imagination to create a more complicated, overlapping knot design.

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Various Things

10/4/2014

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Lauren is working on her entry for ArtStart, which is due on Tuesday. She decided to create ArtPrize shoes influences by the work we saw on our field trip September 25th.

This week has offered a lot of things to unfold as students worked on competitions, community projects, individual works, and class projects. Every year is the best year ever and I always wonder how my students are going to out-do the accomplishments and fun already accomplished. Even though we are only a month into this school year, this year is already becoming the best year ever and sure to blow any other experience I have had in my classroom out of the water.

Caiden and the other 7th grade students glazed their bowls for our Empty Bowls Fundraiser that will take place on March 19th. More details to come as we get closer to the date.

Aleena is working on a piece in After School Art class that looks to how we interact with logos. She is using felting materials to create this composition.

Virginia is also working on an individual project in After School Art. It will be fun to see how this mask transforms from now until it is finished.

Olivia finished up her Identity project this week. She used printmaking and paper cutting technique to create this layered image and explore the theme.

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Like a Blur

7th grade happenings

Hallway Drawings

Name Drawings

Photoshop Hallways

Happy Halloween!

Skeletons in the Art Room

Environments - Final Thoughts

First Marking Period is Flying

8th grade Environments, Spaces, and Places

8th grade Skeleton Extension Activity

7th grade Movie Making

Enacting Plans

Surrounded by Scholastics

Sketching and Planning

Various Things

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Janine Campbell

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