PAINTERS
Below is a sampeling of units and lessons I have done with my students. In the classroom, artists are typically given questions to deal with and then are allowed freedom to explore and work within the presented themes and ideas.
All the work presented here is done by high school students and is not of my making.
In this unit students are introduced to a variety of skills and techniques pertaining to drawing from observation. The emphasis is on growing the students skill and confidence over time while challenging them and how they draw by incorporating new materials as well as new ways of working.
Students started the unit by drawing and pre-instruction drawing to establish where students are at. From there we explored blind contour drawing and modified contour drawing. Continuing on students worked in charcoal, white charcoal on black paper, and finally white and black charcoal on a toned paper. In addition to the main pieces students also explored other drawing strategies such as drawing on a toned paper with an eraser, creating cut portraits out of black paper, and even drawing by touch and feel.
Most of the images here show the development of their work over time.
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PORTRAIT EXPLORATION & DEVELOPMENT
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In our second unit of the year, students expand upon the idea of what a portrait can truly be. Students were asked to create a portrait that dealt with an important transformation they are going through, have gone through, or are approaching in their own life. The prompt was to ask students to communicate their ideas through imagery including elements of the body and their own self, as well as through experimentation in mark making and compositional choices.
Students worked through several thumbnail sketches and discussed ideas about composition with their peers before starting work on their piece. They were then prompted in different ways to draw on and manipulate their paper in a way that that eventually toned their piece. This process is meant to complicate their transition to their final drawing as well as increasing the depth of their mark making. Students had to then deal with and transform their piece into the piece they wanted it to be.
"TRANSFORMATION" EXPERIMENTAL PORTRAITS
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In this unit students are introduced to a variety of solutions towards image making. Over the course of the unit we cover everything from simply using color media to incorporating collage both from image sources as well as textured and colored paper they make themselves. We cover printmaking and stencil making, use paint and spray paint, and even touch on medium and solvent transferring.
While students are being encouraged to try new materials and new ways of making they are constantly being asked to "respond." The crux of the project is to reflect the idea of independent art making and the idea of responding as an artist. Students are encouraged to start with an idea or a word that is important to them and simply continue to respond to the ideas and images that that idea generates. Once students complete one piece they are immediately asked to move on to another and to keep making. Through this process they are supposed to work intuitively and continue to respond to the imagery they are using, as well as the ideas and mediums they are exploring. Ideally their responses should showcase intuitive, and authentic art making.