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!  

Art From Scratch and More Portrait Work

Last week I asked students to find their favorite 

Native American artist, and four students 

really came through! ATCs were given to 

John-Luc, Tavia, Hunter, and Morgan, four young artists who are well on their way to winning some very cool art prizes at the end of the semester!  If there was a special prize for best drawing of a kachina, it would definitely go to Morgan! She did the most amazing drawing of a kachina that I've ever seen! Great work!

Students in our Drawing and Painting and 

Drawing and Printmaking classes all had fun with scratch art this past week! Just like magic, they put their wooden stylus' to the scratch art paper, and revealed wonderful artwork through the process of "taking away."

There were many more works than you see here, 

but (sadly) my camera shots were mostly a little blurry. 

This gives you a really good idea, though, of the 

talented artists who attend HSC! 

Explorations in Art (I and II) students began work on some small sculptures, which will likely be finished in the coming week. They're off to a GREAT start, so be sure to check back for a peek at the finished works!

Fiber Arts students continued with their current works in progress (a surprise to be revealed later!). 

And students in all Ceramics classes spent their class time glazing pinch pots! Glazing ensures that the pots will be food and drink safe, and the kids already have plans for sipping cocoa and eating snacks out of their hand built pots. When all of the pots have been properly glazed (3 thin coats of glaze), the wares will return to Woodrow Wilson Academy to go through their final glaze firing--a temperature of 

nearly 2,000 degrees! Wow, that's hot!

Artists in Portraits class continued their work on the human face. This past week, we concentrated on drawing the mouth, and there was some spectacular work to behold! Following are just a couple of examples . . .

After getting through that exercise, we drew various facial features on small bits of paper, and moved them around on the background drawing of a head. This gave the young artists a chance to see how the face looks when features are properly placed, rather than, for instance, drawing the eyes too high up on the head, or putting the mouth too close to the chin. It became a kind of "portrait game." 

I absolutely love it when students continue their art studies at home! Whenever they do, and bring in a sample to share with the class, they're eligible to receive the very coveted 

Vincent van Gogh Award for Dedication to the ARTS!

This week's award goes to Kaylyn in Evergreen for the stunning work featured below. 

Great Work, Kaylyn!

And now for the coming week's web challenge! Inspired by last weeks' challenge to find a favorite Native American artist, I'm asking you to do a little research on one of my own faves, Maria Poveka Martinez! Please do a search* and find out:

1. The type of art that she was so famous for creating,

2. The pueblo (reservation) where she lived and worked,

3. Your own drawing that depicts a favorite work of Maria's

(I've seen your art, so I KNOW you can do this!)

*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!  

Copying the Masters, and More Great Art!

Quite a few students participated in the web challenge last week, and I'd like to take a moment to recognize them before recapping the work we did in class. Special thanks to:

Valencia, John-Luc, Hunter,

Parker, Morgan, Tavia, 

Keith, Delaney, and Ivy! 

Each of you found your favorite Canadian artist. Great work! 

Drawing and Painting students finished their modern masterpieces this past week, and I'm sure you'll agree that these photos were worth waiting for!

We learned a lot about the artists' work we copied. Each brush stroke, each decision about placement, and each color choice opened a window on that artist's mind. 

While this wasn't necessarily an easy exercise, it was very rewarding when finished! 

In Explorations in Art (4th-6th), River finished a magnificent work that he's been laboring over for the past several weeks. It's a pencil on paper work which he calls Nighttime Jazz (below). He's proven that talent, patience, dedication, and time can work together to make something incredible! 

Great work, River!

Students in Explorations in Art (1st - 3rd) learned all about the element of Texture, and how texture can make a work more interesting and approachable! After discussing several famous works of art, the young artists put together collages (and a drawing!) of various textures . . .

Students in Portraits class continued their work on the human face. We discussed the boney structure of the face--the nose in particular--and set to work on portraits of each other. Though we've only been in the class for a few weeks, young artists are already making great strides and improvement in their portrait work!

In Drawing and Printmaking, 

we finished up our unit on stencils . . .

. . . and several students in the class brought in work that they'd done at home! And because of this special dedication to the ARTS, the van Gogh award goes to 

. . . (drum roll, please!) . . .  

Kelton, Nathan, and Kaylyn!

Great work!

And now for the coming week's web challenge! For the week of February 23rd through 25th, search* for the following:
Look for a Native American artist whose work you particularly enjoy. The work can be in any medium (paint, ceramics, weaving, sculpture, photography,etc). Bring me the name of the artist, the tribe and area/region where they come from (example: Hopi tribe from the four corners area), and a print out, or your own drawing (if printing isn't a possibility) of a work of their art which you like. This should include the title of the artwork.

*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!  

Paper Portraits, Haniwa, Whistles, and Origami . . . and the Two Modern Day da Vinci's!

I'd like to thank Miss Elona for leading the Thursday classes this past week. Thanks, Miss Elona! I've been a bit under the weather and, as a result, this weeks post is running late. 

 

In Art from Paper, students finished their self-portraits (above). Can you guess who each one is?

Ceramics II students finished up work on their Haniwa figures (above). Each one has its own personality, and we're looking forward to seeing them again after they've been fired.

And speaking of things being fired . . . we got lots of fantastic stuff back this past week! Among them were the whistles made by Ceramics II students. After finishing the wet clay work on their Haniwa, students finished work on their whistles by painting them in acrylics.

Following are photos of some of the Origami work we did. 

 

Because we had so much fun, and want to do lots of origami projects, we'll be working in this art form for the next few weeks.

   

Be sure to check back for updates on this fun and interesting form of art! Did you know that "Origami (折り紙^?, from oru meaning "folding", and kami meaning "paper") is the traditional Japanese art of paper folding. The goal of this art is to create a representation of an object using geometric folds and crease patterns preferably without gluing or cutting the paper, and using only one piece of paper." (Thanks, Wikipedia!) 

Artists in several classes continued work on 

The Butterfly Project . . .

 

Before we move on to this week's web challenge, I'd like to take a moment to thank a couple of very talented students, Parker and Keith

who will hereafter be thought of as: 

Parker da Vinci and Keith da Vinci!

Parker's representation of La Giaconda (more commonly known as the Mona Lisa) above, and Keith's rendition below, are stunning examples of great portrait art. 

The Mona Lisa is one of the most easily recognized (and copied!) works of art in history. Thanks, guys, for your hard work! 

For the week of 

November 10th through 12th:

This week's web challenge* has to do with an artist and illustrator who is famous for his cover art for 

The Saturday Evening Post 

Bring me his name and, if you wish, a print out of your favorite cover. To give you a hint, he's an  American painter whose success with the Post led him to do work for The Literary Digest, Look Magazine, and Life Magazine (among others!). However, his work and name is mostly synonymous with 

The Saturday Evening Post :)

Bring me this information and you'll get an ATC to add to your collection! 

Whoever has the most assignment-related ATCs by the end of the semester will win a REALLY COOL PRIZE. A 2nd place prize will also be awarded. There will be a first and second prize for each school day, so get busy! Go find that artist!  

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