Category: Sketchbook

Week Three

2/12/2017

Demos for Days

This week was spent planning and going through a lot of different demonstrations. Because students are selecting their media, it is important to me that they are exposed to a variety of tools they could use. I go through several different ways to demonstrate materials to students and this week was a perfect example of the trio in which they experience this.

First is the "I do" method that basically involves me showing students what to do and then everyone taking notes on the basics of that I showed. We did this for clay stages and strategies using armatures and various molding tools. Then there is the "I do, you do" method, where I do something and then the students do the same thing. We did this for watercolor techniques. The last is something I have started toying with this year, which is more of a "you do." This is also referred to as "Speed Dating Materials" in my classroom. This allows students to be able to experience a wide array of tools in a short time to see if they like working with them. I did this for printmaking this time around.

This is always the hardest part for me because I am anxious to see what students will make and I am excited to see the end result.

MAEA Region 9 Highlight Show

We had an awesome showing at this year's MAEA Region 9 Highlight Show at the Grand Rapids Art Museum. It was a packed house filled with artists, parents, and other members of the community to celebrate the accomplishment of these artists. I am very proud of the students who received recognition at our school and cannot wait to see how their work does as they move onto State.

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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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First Week, Again

1/30/2015

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7th and 8th grade students worked with clay on the first day to create bowls from soft slabs and paper molds.

Started second semester this week with a new batch of students. It is always fun to get a chance for a fresh start in the middle of the year with kids who are ready to get their hands mixed up in media. Just like every other first day, we made sure to spend it immersed in clay as we created bowls for our annual Empty Bowls event which is held on March 19th.

We also started working in our Sketchbooks this week, planning out our name designs before applying them to portfolios. We went through the basics of Schoology, how to check grades, and other intricacies that will help students keep on top of the fast-moving art making environment that is the art classroom.

Although I am sad that I will no longer see the amazing students I had from first semester, I am super excited about all of the learning that is going to happen this semester with this new group!

Students shared their progress of their portfolio names through a small group critique. They gave each other feedback in the form of "stars and wishes" to help improve their work.

Students used their sketches as reference before applying them to their portfolios. This is a great chance for me to better learn about my students and memorize their names.

Ana may only have three letters in her name, but she came up with many possibilities in her sketchbook before making decisions on what was going to work best for her portfolio.

On a Side Note...

Two exciting announcements were made this week:

First, I have been awarded the 2015 National Art Education Association Western Region Middle Level Art Educator of the Year. I was up against teachers from various states (like illinois, Ohio, Arkansas, etc.) and will get a chance to celebrate the recognition at a ceremony during the National Art Education Association Conference in March. I am also presenting at this conference, so I am very excited to share the success of my students with others during this professional development.

In addition to that, I also found out this week that this classroom blog received recognition in the Art of Education Art Education Blogs of the Year. This was nominated and voted on by other Art teachers from across the country and world. I am very flattered for the recognition and happy that others find the posts I write and the work my students make useful for their own classrooms.

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Objects, Artifacts, and Things You Leave Behind

11/4/2014

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For this next theme, 8th grade students are being asked to examine the objects and items they interact with on a daily basis. We started this yesterday by looking at a selection of work from artists like Wayne Thiebaud, Audrey Flack, Jim Dine, Janet Fish, and Mitchell Feinberg before watching this video today:

We discussed how objects can be used to symbolize or represent other ideas (is a watch just for telling time, or is it saying something about how time passes or how life passes) and looked at some examples of that from previous Scholastic Award winners. We also looked at my Pinterest page full of different ways objects can be created through the manipulation of various materials.

After going through all of that information, we spent the rest of today sketching out ideas and materials that could be used to communicate ideas and understanding around the theme.

Students will continue to work on sketches through Thursday (since tomorrow is our Lewis and Clark adventure) before beginning their final works.

Based on today's conversations, I am really looking forward to seeing how this theme is interpreted and represented by my students using the materials of their choice.

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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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Sketching and Applying

9/4/2014

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I am completely overjoyed with the progress students are making in art class! In just the three days we have worked with clay, painted, made portfolios, and implemented our sketchbooks as a part of the creative process! This is the first year I have used sketchbooks as a tool in my classroom. In the past, I had students use newsprint or other scrap paper. This year I worked with our STEM teacher, Mr. Dennett to implement the use of sketchbooks as a part of the design process in both of our classes (since we share students throughout the year). Using design thinking to develop a process, we were inspired by this chart (which I can no longer find the link to):

7th and 8th grade students are using this process to come up with solutions for their portfolio names. It is interesting to see what they come up with and how they work it out in their sketchbooks before applying it to their portfolio.

Sketchbooks are an exciting tool to use in the classroom and I am excited to see how my students utilize the space to generate and work through their ideas. Here is a great video on using sketchbooks to help with learning how to draw: