Category: Process

Week Five

2/23/2018

Working

It was exciting to see student use the smART lab space this past week. I still need to organize items to best fit our needs, but this was a great start!

Students finally began to dive into their first major theme of the semester: You, Me, Everybody. In doing so, they started developing sketches and ideas of what they wanted to create for their work and using the various skill-building exercises, applied the media they deemed most appropriate for the assignment.

This is always an exciting time in the classroom because there is so much happening and so much potential for what can still happen. I am excited to see these works develop over the next week and be submitted to our online gallery for a grade.

Here are some of the works in progress below:

Panels Complete

We finally finished the larger set of panels this week. It was a lot of work to get them completed, but I think the results were worth it. These will now go into the office for display in our conference room.

Miniature Hideaways

In my 3D Design class this week, we glazed our descriptive word ceramic forms and started the miniature hideaway project. We are using celluclay to cover the forms and so far it is working out quite nicely.

I am excited to see these works finish up next week and then get photographed on location.

I am particularly excited to see how students apply the finishing touches and where they decide to photograph their work.

Meijer Great Choices

Finally this week, students were given the opportunity to participate in the Meijer Great Choices Film Festival by creating videos on topic-specific content like Celebrating Diversity and Making Healthy Choices. We had two entries for this year and you will be able to vote for them starting on March 1 by going here.

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Week Six

10/14/2017

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Working Artists

Students will often find collaborators to help them achieve works that may be outside of the normal perimeters. It was fun to see this student recruit others to help him paint his face (with a note of permission from mom, of course) to use in a digital work. Before cleaning his face, he also made sure to get a monoprint of the work.

Students spent most of this week working on their pieces which explore the theme "You, Me, Everybody." In this first challenge, students are asked to consider how individuals form a sense of self and what makes us similar as well as distinct. We have spent much of our time up until this point working on getting used to various media application so that when it came time to really get into a concept, students would be able to apply what they thought would work best to finish a work they developed on their own.

Inspired by artists of note for this assignment (Julian Opie, Frida Kahlo, and Do Ho Suh) as well as other works I show them from past students and a great TED talk by Phil Hansen, I ask for students to think about how they can use what they know about manipulating art media to say something about the theme that makes the most sense to them. Before beginning on final works, students are asked to create a series of thumbnail sketches of possible solutions as well as list the materials they think they may need to complete the work they would like to create.

This can be a big challenge for many. In order to avoid some of the pitfalls of feeling like they may never be able to come up with an idea, I saturate our Schoology page with old lessons/solutions from former students and step-by-step how-to's to help those who may be stuck with what to do. I also make sure and refer to artists that can be connected with the work they settle on doing for this project as well and use their sketchbooks as a place to explore and play with ideas. One of my favorite resources to use is the Scholastic Art Gallery of former student winners from around the country. Using student work that is both age appropriate and aspirational helps push students beyond simple or basic solutions and challenges them to think in a larger scope and to reach further than they have previously.

We will be finishing up this theme next week and I am very excited to see where we go next. There is a nice variety of materials being used and approaches to the topic that are making me think about the stories my students have to tell. It will be fun to share this work with parents at conferences next week.

Here are some images of students working:

Leaves for Sale

These leaves will be available for purchase during Parent Teacher Conferences on the 16th and 18th. 8th grade students made these on the first day of school and we took the time to glaze them this week. They were made by rolling out slabs and imprinting leaves before being bisque-fired and then glazed with one coat of a color. We rubbed some of the color off before putting on a clear coat and firing for a final time. They get that reddish look because of the type of clay that is used to create them.

I love the results and think they would make a great addition to any fall themed table scape. Any leaves not sold will be available for purchase at the upcoming Byron Center Fine Arts Boosters craft fair at the high school on November 11th. The funds will be used to help offer additional opportunities for students to perform and participate in the WMS Art and STEM program.

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Dealing with Issues

12/11/2015

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This week students finished up a shortened project where they were asked to select an issue or concern they have that could connect to a current of past event.

It was interesting to see students narrow down ideas and explain them to classmates before selecting materials and creating their works.

With all that is happening in the news, students ideas and art works ranged from athletic injuries to terrorism to climate change and how people engage with technology. Students started by brainstorming lists of issues they deem important, then they turned to PBS LearningMedia to research and find articles, videos, or images that would inform their topic; once they gathered their information they sketched out ideas, presented them to peers, and then they got to work with their final pieces.

We had a shortened work time, so students were limited to working with 2D materials and I introduced them to the concept of Artist Trading Cards as a possible solution to the time crunch. I was happy to see many students take the opportunity of the limited time to try something new and push themselves with concepts and ideas.

The images below show students works in progress as well as some of the completed works.

Trever: For this piece, I chose the topic of the Paris attacks. There is black and white around everything, except for the french flag. This represents that while everything seems bad, people will pull through it.

Paige: In my piece of art, I can show that my work connects with the school subject S.T.E.M. This is because S.T.E.M has technology and possibly social media. Overall, S.T.E.M has technology in it, and so does my artwork. In my art, I am showing how technology and the internet can affect people’s relationships and how it is separating some people’s special connections and friendships. When two people are married, for instance, the internet can get in the way of spending time with each other. For example, if two people were married and they decided to go out for dinner one night, they would most likely be on their phones checking their social media instead of talking to each other and having a conversation. I chose this issue because sometimes when I see people in a restaurant, they are on their phones the whole time, instead of talking to each other. In my opinion, I think that instead, people should be talking to each other instead of being on their phones. This is why I chose this issue. My art overall shows how technology is separating people’s love and relationships and is stopping people from getting to know each other better and having a real conversation without technology getting in the way.

Ana: In my project I decided to choose the issue of Global Warming and how humans have impacted the earth for the negative which has increased the chances of global warming. I decided to choose this topic because it is a pretty big current event right now and most of the audience should be able to recognize the message that is being shown in this piece of art, quickly. In science class we actually studied Global Warming and debated about it in class, with group presentations and we learned about the greenhouse effects in our ecology Unit. My work does reflect the the issue of Global warming, because when I think go warm, I think fire. So my art is a depiction of a man roasting the earth, in the fire, sending a message that humans are warming or killing the earth itself. I decided to have my art in a gray scale because it show the dullness and the negativity of the issue of Global Warming at hand. Saying if we don't stop this warming, then we shall cease to exist, and that we are the only people who can decide whether or not to stop this. Because the life on Earth and the Earth itself depends on our decision to stop or not to stop.

Cameron: In this piece, I chose a variety of different issues that impact the world today. I decided to choose these issues because they are things that I think are problems that could lead to bigger things. The global warming and deforestation cards relate back to science class and what we are learning about. My art represents the problems I chose in more of a funny way, but in all seriousness these are major issues. I gave the cards a point value on how I serious I thought the level of these problems are. I really enjoyed making this piece of art and hope we can do it again.

Eli: For my issue, I chose to do the issue of concussions in sports. I chose to do this because it is a big problem, where you will be fine one moment, then on the ground with a concussion the next. This could connect to science class, because of how it shows how if the brain is shook back and forth violently can cause bleeding and a concussion. We learned this in science class, which helps me relate to my project. One reason sports concussions are bad is "Concussions cause head injuries, which can lead to brain diseases."-(wgvu.pbslearningmedia.org) Another piece of evidence is "Highest risk of concussion sports-Football -Ice hockey -Lacrosse -Soccer"-(wgvu.pbslearningmedia.org) This shows the problems of concussions that we face in our world today, and how concussions are dangerous and should be stopped in order to stop injuries and deaths.

Jewel: I decided to create this set of artist trading cards because of the limited time that we have and the ideas that sprouted into me. I selected the topic about how some people think the government has been brainwashing us into different ideas and taking control of us. The United States is crumbling and we can't do anything to stop it unless we try to not give into the words of the powerful. This could connect to my history class, in which we learn all about the mistakes that the US has made and how we can't change it. Now, everything is being recorded, written down and labeled as one of the United States darkest times. Parts of my piece shows this problem by using the human hand and the gloved hand, aka the governments hand, controlling the others and how the lady is knitting her brain or making the decisions of the brain or how my work shows the different body part such as brain, eyes, mouth, ear. It also shows this theme by the use of the dollar bill which represents the US and how it is crumbling.

Adam: I made this piece to show paris peace. I used a video from the PBS site, and that was the only source they had about it. It told me about the pain, and that made me want to make something. This made me very happy to make art for a cause like this. I used the colors of there flag, and the peace symbol, to combine to make a great art work. The stars show the dead looking over the world, making sure it is ok!

Cari: For the art piece I used value and shading to make it. This art is based off the 9/11 tragedy that deviated many peoples lives. In Science we are learning how different body parts and how they connect to the brain so I drew and eye with the New York reflection in it.

Ethan: This is a picture of an American Flag, I made this to represent the issue of Terrorism, and to show that no matter how bad it may become, the flag will always stand, and we will stand with it. This can also be connected to our history class where we are currently talking about the Americas, and how they want to remain strong and proud.

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A Week Full of Printmaking

11/17/2013

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7th grade Greek Inspired Prints

7th grade students learned about how contemporary artists Karen Lamonte and Michael Stuts draw inspiration from ancient art from Greece and Rome. After comparing their work to the originals, students were asked to create action poses inspired by what they found in Greek Red and Black Figure Pottery. You can see the results on our online gallery and follow along in the process by watching the slideshow below:

Students also learned interesting facts like why the Parthenon no longer has a roof, that Nike is not just a great shoe company, and the ugly truth about those classical white statues everyone thinks look so elegant. We are currently in the process of working on our plaster casting of fingers based on our exploration of Pompeii and should be complete by Thanksgiving with that. Below is a little preview of where we are at so far:

8th grade Self Expression Prints

8th grade students also got in on the printmaking action this week by creating a two-color reduction print using Wondercut and Linocut tools. We looked at the work of Swoon, Kathe Kollwitz, Andy Warhol, and Banksy before editing our images in Photoshop and transferring them to our printing plates. Reduction printmaking is always a little tricky because you have to think in reverse and make sure to get your registration just right. You can see the results on our online gallery and the process below:

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More printing

12/3/2012

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8th grade students started to finish their second color print today, once they had completed their additional carving. As you can see, students really made their work pop out with their color choices.

For the first print, they used complementary color sets. The final print could really be any other color of their choice. It was fun and interesting to see students experiment with this as they worked. I also liked how many made additional prints on different papers, even magazines.

We should be finished with the project tomorrow. I am thankful we were able to do this project and give much credit to that for the funding granted by the National Art Education Foundation.

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Making a Print

11/29/2012

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Yesterday students worked on creating their images to turn into prints. Today, we transferred the pictures and began to carve out the designs. It is really fun to see how students are getting into this project. This project would not have been possible without the funding from the National Art Education Foundation, who awarded a $200 grant for printmaking supplies like the blocks being cut into for this project.

I am excited for the next step in this project, which is finishing up the first cut away, inking, and printing before moving onto the next phase of carving, inking, and printing.

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documenting the process

10/9/2011

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One of my goals this year is to do a better job of documenting the process students go through when they are creating a work of art. Whenever there is an art show, you only see the final step of the journey and not the path that got each student to that point. So, here is a first (out of many, hopefully) that captures the process of creating the clay projects from last week. Once the projects are fired, students will get a chance to enhance with color and embellishments. Thanks again to the Byron Center Fine Arts Boosters for their support in purchasing the clay for these projects!

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Week Five

Working

Panels Complete

Miniature Hideaways

Meijer Great Choices

Week Six

Working Artists

Leaves for Sale

Dealing with Issues

A Week Full of Printmaking

7th grade Greek Inspired Prints

8th grade Self Expression Prints

More printing

Making a Print

documenting the process

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Janine Campbell

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