Topic outline

  • General

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  • Virtual Field Trips through Art

  • "What's in a Name?" - Abstract Line Design

    Geometric Line Design.  Students use their own name as the framework for an abstract line design.  The first letter of the name needs to touch three sides of the paper and can be set diagonally.  The other letters need to touch other letters and/or the side of the paper.  Fill the paper with concentric shapes.  Try to keep up your oncentration.  Draw your lines as close together as possible without touching.

    Table Talk:  Why is craftsmanship highly valued in art and other products? 

    Due: Friday, week 1. 

  • "Mirrored Names" - Line and Symmetry

    Do you know how to write your name in cursive?   If you dont, now is the time to learn.  Use the letter charts in class or find your own font on line.  Practice.  Then fold a large sheet of manilla paper in half vertically and write your name ON the line.  Go over the pencil line heavily.  When the lines of your name are thick and dark  reclose the paper and rub the letters to the other side.  Open it up and take a good look.  What does it make you think of?  Create a boarder and look for ways to float your design inside the frame.  

    Table Talk:  What shapes do you use to define the empty spaces?  Why did you choose those particular shapes?    

    Due:  Wednesday of week 2.

     

  • "Yin and Yang" - Positive and Negative Space

    Yin and Yang is the famous Japanese symbol for light and dark, good and evil,  man and woman.  Students create their own symbol or shape for which white and black construction paper will take up half of the space.  The design needs to be balanced from all directions.  Do the empty spaces make good shapes?  Is there a tension between the shapes and the boarder of the page?

    Table Talk:  Why would a balance of negative and positive space be important in all forms of art? 

    Due: Friday of week 2

  • "Shishkebab Shapes" - Balance and Contrast

    Students study abstract art.  After examining works by Kandinsky, students choose their own shapes from brightly colored paper.   On the first day we make circles.  Then traiangles and squares are added.  Overlap the shapes.  Do the spaces made from the overlapping make good shapes too?  Is the design well balanced and not too heavy on one side.  Does the work look good upside down?

    Table Talk:  How can the concept of balance be so important in a drawing or a painting when the actual pencil lead or paint weighs so little?    

    Due: Friday of 3rd wk.

  • Sonoran Desert Habitats

    Represent the habitat of a Sonora Desert creature.    What is their size?   Do they live alone, in groups, or colonies?   What plants are in their habitat?   Have you ever observed this animal?   What other animals do they "hang out" with?   Are they active in the day or night? Where do they sleep?   What do they eat?   Who might eat them?    Research and represent your chosen creature in their familiar desert surroundings.    Emphasize the foreground.   Use colored pencils. Finish with a partial watercolor wash.  

    Table Talk:  What benefit do we receive when we study and observe the habitats of other creatures?

    Due:  Due Friday week 4.

  • Cars

    lowrider

    Use the wheel of the car as a unit of measurement.  How many wheels long is the typical car?  How many wheels high?  How much do you slope the hood and the wind shield?   How does the back door wrap over the rear tire?   What details make your car look more realistic?  

    Table Talk:  Why are is the car, both old and new, highly valued as a work of art as well as just for transportation?   

    Draw a pre-assessment car first and see how much you can learn!

    Due:  Friday of week 5.

  • Portraiture and Figure Drawing

    Draw portraits and figures based on ratios and proportions.  Use the eye as the basic unit when drawing the head. Use the head as the basic unit when drawing the body. How far apart do you draw the eyes?  Where does the nose stop?  How wide is the mouth?  Where do the ears go?  How do you add a neck?  Shoulders?  How many "heads" tall is a person?  How long is the torso? Arms?  Feet?  

    Table Talk:  How have portraits changed since the invention of the camera?  How do portraits record what is happening in a society?

    Due:  Portraits    -  Friday of week 5

               Figure Drawing  -  Thursday of week 6

               Wire Sculpture   -  Friday of week 6

               Skeleton - Block 2 only      MardiGras - Block 4 only

  • Color Mixing

    Create a color wheel.  Mix primary and secondary colors to make the the teritary colors. Create grey using red, blue, and yellow.  Then mix brown using only red, blue, and yellow.   Paint a monochromatic picture.   Paint a picture with complimentary colors.  Which colors are analogous, warm, cool?

    Table Talk:  How do color patterns affect your perception?  How do colors affect mood?  

    Due:  Color Wheel -  Wednesday of week 7

               Monochromatic Painting - Friday of week 7

  • One and Two Point Perspective

    Learn the basics of drawing landscapes in perspective.  Starting with the horizon line, students learn the power of their own perspective.  Each person's point of view is unique. Learn how your view point can be put on paper and how to appreciate the unique perspective of others.  Explain horizon line, vanishing point, and perspective.  

    Table Talk:  Why is everyone's perspective different? 

    Due: One-Point Perspective  - Wednesday of week 8.

             Two-Point Perspective -  Friday of week 8.

             Architecture  -  Wednesday of week 9.

  • Snowflakes and Sunflowers

    snowflake

    End the of semester projects brings students in touch with the outdoors and seasons.  Semester I  features crystals, hexagons, and the classic snowflake before winter break begins.  Semester II features the flower family Composite, the largest group of flowering plants, and the most familiar.

    Table Talk:   Look for examples of radial symmetry in the things around you.  Share examples of symmetry you find them.  

    Due:  Thursday of week 9.