Still-life Collage

We began our first project continuing to discuss line, the first element of design.  Students looked at how contour lines are found on the edges of objects and practiced drawing the contour lines of various vessels in their sketchbooks.  

We then began drawing contour lines of the same vessels on old book and atlas pages.  

We cut these drawings out and traced the pencil lines in sharpie to make the easier to see.

We then arranged these on a sheet of construction paper keeping in mind foreground, middle, and background.  

We also discussed Expressive Lines found in the still-lifes of Vincent Van Gogh.  Students used crayons to add color to the table area or negative space in the background.  They added expressive lines if they wanted (or had time) to these colored areas.  

 These girls are excited about Contour and Expressive lines!

Expressive Lines?

An expressive line is a line an artist uses to help express emotions in a work of art.  Look at the still-lifes above and below.  Has the artist used expressive lines in either of these paintings?  Why or why not?  (You don't have to write anything down for these questions.  Think about them and be prepared to discuss them in class on Tuesday.)

Contour Lines and Still-life

A still-life is an arrangement of objects an artist will use as the subject in a painting, drawing, print, etc. The objects do not move like a person or animal would.  Look at the still-lifes below and answer the questions.  You do not have to bring your answers to class but be prepared to talk about them!

 Look at the still-life below.  Where do you see contour lines?  Which object is closest to you?  How do you know?

Look at the still-life below.  How is it different than the still-life above?  Are there still contour lines?

Are these two paintings done by the same artist or different artists?  

Be ready to talk about these in class!

Introduction to Lines

First day of class and we discussed our first element of design- line.

We created "Zentangles" using vertical, horizontal, diagonal, curved and wavy lines.  These are unplanned designs that require students think about spacing, craftsmanship, and types of lines they are using to fill spaces.  I enjoyed getting to know some of these kids better by seeing the way they draw and a small window into how they think.  Good work!

Welcome to a New Year!

Welcome to a new year with TEAM!  I am very excited you will be in my art class this year and looking forward to seeing your work.  This year we will be working on the Elements and Principles of design.  What are the Elements and Principles of Design?  I am glad you asked!...

Please watch this short YouTube video I put together....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiMmVGRkoH4

(Okay, I totally made this for a teaching class I took this summer but I am glad I can use it for our class too!)

Then,  look at the work of art below.  Using this image, please respond to my question in written form. Bring your responses to class.   I am going to hold these until the end of the year.  After exploring the elements and principles in class, we will answer this question again in May and compare our answers.  I am looking forward to hearing what you have to say and please don't worry.  The only way you can get this wrong is if you don't try!

The artist who painted this image, Piet Mondrian, is communicating to you.  Based on what you see in the painting, what do you think he is talking about?  

Illusions

The painting above wowed and amazed the people of Renaissance Florence.  It is a fresco (a painting completed on wet plaster) by the young artist Masaccio and is the first painting to use the newly discovered linear perspective.  Many people saw this painting on the wall of a church in Florence and thought that it was an extension into another room.  Masaccio used linear perspective and shadowing of light and dark on the figures to create his illusion of depth.  Masaccio was such a talented artist that it is rumored that he was poisoned!  The competitive art world of Florence, Italy may have been too jealous of his talent.

Our class worked on a scene that created the same illusion of a deep space.  Using different values and complimentary colors, we added shadows to flat circles to make them appear to be round spheres.

We then drew checkerboards using linear perspective, painted the background black, and added stars to make the illusion of infinite space.

Finally, we arranged the spheres so the largest were the lowest on the page, also adding to the illusion of depth.

Ghirberti and Figure Drawing

Continuing our study of Renaissance artists, we looked at the life and work of Lorenzo Ghirberti.  Ghirberti was a trained goldsmith who entered a contest to design a set of doors for the Baptistry at the cathedral in Florence, Italy.  His design won and he spent years completing the doors. 

When Michelangelo saw the completed set, he named them the "Gates of Paradise".  

The panels on the doors show scenes from the Old Testament.  However, the sculpted human figures are proportional, realistic, and Classically dressed.  Ghiberti, like other Renaissance artists, merged the ideas of the Medieval period (Christianity) with Greek and Roman ideas (humanism and an emphasis on the human body).

We began our project by discussing the proportions of the human body.

Students also took turns posing for one another and doing figure drawing.

We took our drawings and created scenes using textures (rice, beans, pasta, dried glue) to build images using a human figure on foam board.

We covered the foam board with foil and carefully pressed the foil around the textures until you could see the image in the foil.

Finally, we covered our foil wrapped images with India ink and used steel wool to buff away the ink from the raised places on the image.

In the end, we got some pretty cool relief sculptures!