Portraits, Wood Sculpture, and Experimenting with Oil Pastels!

I'd like to thank all the students who chose to learn about one of my favorite potters, Maria Martinez! 

Great work, and "high five" to: 

Morgan (Evergreen), Ivy, Hunter, Joel, Dillon, Morgan (Westminster), John-Luc, Tavia, and Parker!

Things are really ramping up in Portraits class! This past week, we opened up our fresh new boxes of "multicultural" crayons, and set to work on practicing shadows and highlights on the face . . . 

. . . clearly, we have a number of very talented portrait artists in our class! One great thing about doing portraits is that, as long as you have a mirror, you have a subject to draw! With this kind of talent at HSC, I strongly encourage all the portrait students to practice self-portraits in their spare time! 

Fantastic work, Everyone!

Students in Explorations in Art (both I and II) spent the past two weeks discovering wood sculpture. After discussing several famous sculptural works, the artists set about making their own sculptures out of wood. There was one caveat, though: They had to work with existing materials! This is sometimes easier said than done . . . 

. . . but not for this group! River (Exp. in Art II) put together the above Dragonfly very quickly, after putting the finishing touches on his current work in progress (photos of THAT next week, I promise!) . . .

. . . And while a number of (Exp. in Art I) students were out sick, the ones who did come to class wasted no time putting together a variety of works! 

KloeAnna, Kaylyn, and Chole, 

you did an amazing job! Great work!

In Drawing and Printmaking class (I and II), students explored the use of oil pastels to create vibrant, colorful works. Above are a couple of 

gorgeous pastoral scenes by 

Morgan and Nathan.

And in Drawing and Painting class, we used the class time to play "catch up," and finish up works in progress. Students who were already done with their works picked the medium of their choice to do new work. For instance, Stefan made the very whimsical mixed media drawing (above) of an underwater snowman! What a great imagination!

This week's van Gogh award is shared by 

Kaylyn (Evergreen,below left) and Parker (Westminster, below right), for doing art above and beyond the call of duty! Each artist brought in artwork to share with the class. Thanks so much to both of you for your dedication!

And speaking of van Gogh . . . this week's web challenge is all about the artist, himself! Do a search on 

Vincent van Gogh* and look for a picture that really appeals to you. He was one of the most prolific artists in art history, so this search will be incredibly easy! During the week of March 9th through 11th, 

if you want to earn an ATC, bring in:

1. The title of the work you like best

2. a print out (it doesn't have to be in color), or YOUR drawn version of the work (this does require color!)

3. Your name MUST be on the assignment, please!

4. Be prepared to tell me what you like about it!

Vincent van Gogh's works almost always have a very heavy impasto, so try to search for large images to see the wonderful, delicious texture of his work!

*Remember: Anytime you're doing an online search, your parent or other responsible adult must be present. No exceptions!

When I receive your completed challenge**, 

you'll receive your ATC!

**Because this is a WEEKLY (and completely optional!) assignment, the information must be presented to me the week it is due. This keeps things fair for those who work hard to find the answers and turn them in on time. Whoever has the most assignment-related ATCs by the end of the semester will win a REALLY COOL ART PRIZE. A 2nd place prize will also be awarded. There will be a first and second prize for each school day, so get busy!