Chiaroscuro!

In ATC class this past week we finished up our "mini mandalas," and they're absolutely BEAUTIFUL! Students titled their works, and these will be mounted and labeled for the end-of-semester Art Show.

 

Rembrandt's Old Woman Cutting Her Nails, c.1665-1660. Oil on canvas.

 We learned all about the relationship between Light and Shadow in Explorations in Art. After a discussion about the various sources of light, both during the day and at night, we toured the gallery to discuss the works on display. Students took turns using the "portable Sun" to identify the position of the light source in each work.

 

James Chapin's Ruby Green Singing, 1928. Oil on canvas.

 This was a little trickier than they thought it would be, but we had a lot of fun (and some coaching!) figuring out each work of art. We discussed the way artists use Light and Shadow in their works to convey a sense of volume and to create a mood.

 

William Harnett's The Old Violin, 1886. 

 We learned the meaning of Chiaroscuro, and talked about the mastery of this technique by artists such as Johannes Vermeer, Rembrant van Rijn, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.

Vermeer's The Kitchen Maid, c. 1658. Oil on canvas.

Once each student felt comfortable with their understanding of Light and Shadow, we set up a Still Life, turned on a spotlight, and then turned off the overhead light so that students could create their own chiaroscuro compositions. 

 Young artist who earlier declared this an "easy" project soon changed their minds! But, as you can see by just a couple of examples, their efforts were very successful . . .

 Meanwhile, in Ceramics I class, students began work on clay masks, which will be finished in the coming week. With a little leftover time and bits of clay, a few young artists spent the remainder of the class period making small works, such as the animalito featured below which was created by Olivia. She combined red and white clay to create this wonderfully whimsical little creature. So creative!

 Ceramics II students continue their "independent study" work, and I'll be sure to post photos of what they've been up to just as soon as the works have been bisque fired. Be sure to check back, because they've been doing some seriously cool stuff!

Mini Mandalas, Form, Artist Stamps, Etc

In ATC and Art in Miniature, we began a 2-week project creating miniature mandalas. After discussing some of the qualities of the mandala's design--particularly symmetry and repetition--students created detailed drawings and, afterward, began adding color. Once these are finished, each student's work will be titled and exhibited at the end-of-semester Art Show.

Form was the subject of the past week's Explorations in Art class. We talked about form in art, and particularly form in sculpture. We learned that sculpture is displayed differently from 2-dimensional art, because sculpture is intended to be viewed in the round.

Flying Horse, One Leg Resting on a Swallow, Bronze. 2nd century CE from Wu-Wani, China

We also reviewed what we've already learned about direction (vertical, horizontal, diagonal) and identified the implied movement, or lack thereof, of the works under discussion. Students learned about the "lost wax" method of creating sculpture.

Auguste Rodin's The Thinker, 1880. Bronze.

In discussing the sculpture of ancient Greece, students learned that the "ideal" of beauty was someone who appeared calm, thoughtful, and peaceful. We studied the face of The Discobolus, noting his almost expressionless face, and talked about how this is typical for the period when it was created, over 2,000 years ago, and how we can expect to see this same expression on other sculptures from its time.

Myron of Athens' The Discobolus (Discus Thrower), c. 450 BCE. Marble.

After our tour of the gallery, we spent some time creating tiny works of art from paper: Origami! The twirling bird origami, in particular, was a big hit. 

The Virgin and Child, c. 1150-1200. Walnut with paint, gesso, and linen. French.

Ceramics I students used the pinch and carve techniques to create animalitos, finger puppets, and their own artist stamps. Once the stamps have been fired, the young ceramic artists will use them to "mark" their work throughout the semester.

Artist stamps and Animalitos

Scratch Art, Texture, Spirit Balls, and A New Blog!

We had a lot of fun in ATC class this week when young artists applied their sgraffito skills to Scratch Art ATCs! Students began by brainstorming ideas and doing practice drawings on plain paper. Once they decided on a design, each artist set to work scratching away the waxy black surface to reveal a colorful, linear work of miniature art.

Sadly, the batteries in my camera died after taking only a couple of photos, so there won't be many pictures of student art this week. But the photos I DID get are amazing! Don't you just love these beautiful little masterpieces?

Ceramics I students created "spirit balls" this past week. If you want to know what a spirit ball is, ask your little ceramic artist! Photos will be posted here after the first bisque firing.

Albrecht Durer's Hare, 1502. Watercolor and gouache on paper.

Meanwhile, in Explorations in Art class, 

the week's lesson was all about:

Rough, smooth, sticky, pointy, scratchy, bumpy, soft, wet, hard, dry, silky, spikey, fluffy, scaly, slimy: These are just some of the "texture words" that students came up with. 

Edgar Degas' Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen Years, c. 1879-1891. 

Yellow wax, hair, clothes.

We talked about how artists use texture to convey feeling--how, through the use of visual texture, they create a mood for their work and give the viewer clues to figure out what's going on.

Jean-Baptiste Greuze's Broken Eggs, 1756. Oil on canvas.

Students compared various works, and discussed how the artists used texture to tell us about the lives of the people depicted in the works. Let me tell you: There are some very observant young artists in the Explorations in Art classes!

Thomas Gainsborough's Mary, Countess Howe, c. 1763. Oil on canvas.

We also identified that some artists put tactile texture right into their works of art. For instance, Vincent van Gogh is well known for the impasto of his oil paintings:

Vincent van Gogh's Landscape with Ploughed Fields, 1889. Oil on canvas.

Often, his works have such heavy impasto that the viewer doesn't need to get terribly close to see the texture!

Hans Holbein the Younger's Anne of Cleves, c. 1539. Parchment mounted on canvas.

After our discussion about texture, students did their own texture project. Some chose to draw their own unique texture picture. Other students browsed magazines and cut out samples of texture and then drew those textures on paper. And yet others chose to take crayon and paper, and go on a texture-hunting expedition, using the crayons to take texture rubbings.

A sneak peak at Miss Stacy's Blog reveals a jar full of buttons!

And finally, for all of the students, teachers, and parents who've salivated over the yummy smells wafting down the hall from the kitchen, I have some exciting news to share. Miss Stacy started a blog, called HSC Kitchen Classroom, to share news from Cooking & Sewing classes! There are already some recipes posted, and photos from Sewing class, so be sure to stop by her blog regularly. 

By the way, those "Double Lime Coolers" really hit the spot! Yum!

The Shape of Art

We had a lot of fun in our ATC class this past week. Following are some fine examples of miniature, tradable art . . .

Morgan and Anais collaborated to create the ATCs featured above. Pretty clever, huh?

Valencia made this beautifully detailed ATC featuring a woman in a long dress. It reminds me of a sari. 

And the trading card below was made by Cameron. He put lots of detail into his card, which was the main assignment!

In Explorations in Art, we continued building on our knowledge of the principles and elements of art. This past week we discussed shape. Students took a tour through Miss Robin's Art Gallery to view and discuss a number of famous works. We identified the prominent shapes in each work.

For instance, we noted that Grant Wood's Stone City, Iowa (above) is mostly made up of circles and ovals! Several students also pointed out Wood's use of organic shapes.

Paul Gauguin's The Vision After the Sermon was also found to be composed of many organic shapes, which is in sharp contrast to the following, highly geometric work by Shaikh-zada of Khurasan, titled Bahrom Gur in the Turquoise Pavilion.

In addition to shape, we discussed perspective. Students critiqued the use (and non-use!) of perspective in all the works featured in the gallery. And, for good measure, I threw in this brain-teasing work by Salvador Dali. The young artists enjoyed picking out the hidden images, and shifting their gaze between objects which appeared to change before their eyes!

Ceramics I students began work on spirit balls, while the advanced ceramics students continued work on their independent art projects.

ATCs, Color, and Pinch Pots

In ATC class, students used the full class period to create one-of-a-kind Artist Trading Cards. At the end of class, the tiny masterpieces were traded with fellow artists. 

Color was the lesson of the day in Explorations in Art! We discussed Primary colors, Secondary colors, and Tertiary colors. We talked about the qualities of Warm colors vs. Cool colors, and the meanings of Tone and Shade.

Pinata by Diego Rivera

And because this class is all about Exploration, we explored some very famous paintings, three of which are featured here. Our journey around the "gallery" was full of discussion about the palette of the painting, its title, and observations about the colors used by the artist. We spent some time exercising the 3 Cs of Art Class:

• Compare (how are they alike?)
• Contrast (how are they different?)
• Critique (what do we like/dislike about the work?)

Arrangement in Black and Gray by James McNeill Whistler

(This is commonly called Whistler's Mother)

We talked about the artists and their influences. Students learned about the use of color in works characterized as: Impressionist, Minimalist, Fauvist, Cubist, Primitive, and Naive. We talked about the relationships between such artists as Picasso & Matisse, how Cezanne influenced the artists who followed him, and how many artists were heavily inspired by Japanese woodblock prints.

Tulips in Holland by Claude Monet

We looked at color from many angles, and through the eyes of a great number & variety of artists. Next week our focus will be on LINE :)

Ceramics I students learned how to make the most basic of pottery forms: The humble little Pinch Pot. Next week we're going to learn all about wedging clay, which makes it "workable and plastic."

Ceramics II students began work on their independent pieces, each using a method appropriate for the project (pinch, slab, or coil).

Reminder to ALL Ceramics Students:

If you haven't already brought in your work shirt, please remember to bring it with you next week. Clay can and DOES permanently stain clothing.

First Week of School

We had a very successful first week of school. It was nice to see so many familiar faces from last year, and meet quite a few new ones!

This week, in recap:

ATCs, ACEOs, and Art in Miniature

Students made mini-portfolios to store this semester's artwork. Afterward, we had time to make a few ATCs and then trade them at the end of class. Remember: ATCs & ACEOs are ALWAYS 2-1/2" x 3-1/2". It's the law :)

 Explorations in Art (6-9 and 9+)

Our first project this week was creating portfolios (medium size!) to store the semester's artwork. Once this was done, each student completed a Color Wheel by filling in the Primary Colors, Secondary Colors, and Teritary Colors.

Afterward, students used color paddles to experiment with some good old fashioned Color Theory!

This was all in preparation for next week's lesson on COLOR. We'll be discussing (critiquing, comparing, contrasting) several famous works of art, with the focus being on color.

Ceramics I

In the beginning Ceramics class, we took a field trip to check out the clay traps in the bathroom, learned all about the tools we'll be using, and assigned work boards and board storage for each student. 

• Remember kids: Bring your work shirt to school next week. You'll need it to protect your clothes!

Ceramics II

In Ceramics II, students helped to organize our materials, were assigned work boards & storage, and then we spent some time talking about our goals for this semester. 

Students in Ceramics II have a weekend assignment:

• Do some serious thinking about what you want to create. Find or sketch a picture of your idea, and bring it to class with you next week for our first "wet clay day."
• Bring your work shirt to school next week. You'll need it to protect your clothes!

Welcome Back to School!

Welcome back everyone! I hope you've had a fun and interesting summer, and have fully recharged your creative batteries. Summer went by incredibly fast!

I was traveling last week, and look forward to seeing everyone the first day of school.

To get us started, here are a few things that you should know:

ATCs, ACEOs, and Art in Miniature is all about creating small scale works. We will have "trading time" built into each class.

Explorations in Art (6-9 and 9+) will follow the Core Knowledge program. The focus will be on learning:

• Elements and Principles of Art
• Studying the works of Masters
• Comparing & Contrasting great works
• Creating art inspired by the works discussed

Ceramics I and II require far fewer things from home. This year you need only bring:

• An old shirt to protect your clothes (adult size shirts make great art smocks!). Clay WILL stain your clothes! 

All Ceramics classes are "hand building" classes, which means that we will be working in the traditional methods of pinch, slab, and coil. A "clay calendar" will be posted later on in the semester, so be sure to check back for important dates!

Don't want to miss anything from our Virtual Classroom? Be sure to subscribe (link to the right)!

A Note About Web Challenges

Last year I posted weekly web challenges and gave away prizes. This was a lot of fun for me as well as the students. While this year's schedule won't allow for a challenge every week, I will do my best to offer as many as I can. More about this later!