Quest Artists

Now it's time to say good-bye...

2011-05-26T14:14:00.000-07:00

Dear Quest family,
As you all know, today was my last day. Next week my husband and I will be flying back home to LA where he will start residency at Harbor-UCLA and I...will be miserable without Quest! It breaks my heart to leave such a talented, incredibly sweet group of students and a caring staff who would go out of their way to make me feel appreciated. Teachers, I have learned so much from you and I've enjoyed working with you. Parents, thank you for raising such lovely children! I need lessons from you when I start my own family! It was truly a privilege for me to teach them. Their creative energy inspired me everyday. Here are some photos of my last day:

Pam and Kathy had every student from Quest sign the back of this shirt. I will treasure it for-ev-er. too cool for school.Students, if you're reading this- I will never forget you guys!! Keep up the beautiful work.
Love, Ruth

End-of-the-year projects

2011-05-26T13:49:00.000-07:00

LE learned how to make a mosaic out of cut paper. The theme was dolphins.

As part of UE's Mesoamerican study, students made Aztec masks using cardboard and painted paper.

Following the Inca tradition, students sewed grave dolls out of fabric and yarn. These dolls were placed in graves and believed to carry the deceased into the afterlife.

MS students created sculptures using only marshmallows and toothpicks. They were judged on three criteria: structural integrity, originality, and aesthetic appeal. I was very impressed with the results!

MS: Wearable Paper Sculptures

2011-04-29T10:51:00.000-07:00

One of the assignments I had at RISD was to make jewelry only using books. It was a fun project so I did a similar variation using magazine paper. I ripped a bunch of paper by color and demonstrated basic shapes, like the coil and fan. Some students expanded on those while others created totally different designs. I can definitely see these on the runway!

LE: Fish Bowl Still-Life

2011-04-14T13:25:00.000-07:00

Students painted a fish bowl in the colorfully patterned style of French painter, Henri Matisse. Oreo, the class fish, was our muse:)

UE: Van Gogh Self-Portraits

2011-04-14T13:01:00.000-07:00

One of the Upper Elementary students was really inspired by Middle School's landscape drawings and asked me if they could do the lesson too. I love it when students get inspired by each other! Rather than doing the same lesson, I had UE paint Van Gogh's self-portraits. We looked at many of his self-portraits and discussed how he used color and texture in his work. After sketching the face together, I demonstrated how to layer stroke after stroke the way Van Gogh did. Small details like using the round brush instead of the flat brush was really important in this lesson. It's great seeing students carefully choose various sized brushes to achieve different strokes (putting them in a utensil tray is an effective way to organize them btw!)

Cranes for Japan

2011-04-08T09:53:00.001-07:00

MS students made lovely paper cranes for the children of Japan who were victims of the tsunami/earthquake. OshKosh is donating clothing for every crane that gets sent to them.
Click below to find out how you can help!
http://www.carters.com/Cranes-For-Kids/cranes-for-kids,default,pg.html

Community Art Project finished:)

2011-04-01T12:09:00.000-07:00

This was a collaborative mural painted by all grade levels. You can read more information about the idea here.

MS: Chinese Bamboo Painting

2011-04-01T11:25:00.000-07:00

Middle school students painted beautiful bamboos inspired by Chinese brush paintings. Although we didn't have sumi brushes, which have the flexibility to produce variations in line, students used three different sized brushes for the bamboo, stems and leaves, and learned how to hold them like you would hold a sumi brush. It was challenging and new so I had them practice on smaller paper first. Students were required to overlap and paint various shades to show foreground and background.

Exhibit Q

2011-03-18T05:46:00.000-07:00

Georgia O'Keeffe Flowers-UE
Top: Joan Miro Constellations-UE
Bottom: Butterfly Studies-LE

Optical Art-MS

Georgia O'Keeffe Flowers- MS Far left: Chess board by Cooper Cardone-UE (so sorry I didn't get a better picture!)

Bottom: Totem Poles-UE

Guitar by Cooper Cardone, UE

Skateboards-UE
Musical performances by students from Lower El. to Upper El.
Warhol Soup Cans-LE

Last week, the music teacher (Kelly House), woodworking teacher (Margery Bradshaw) and I (the art teacher!) held a music and arts night at Quest. There was artwork on the walls, beautifully crafted wood pieces and fun performances by the students. I was so encouraged to see so many parents! I loved showing off the students' work and seeing the many other artistic abilities they had. Thank you teachers for helping us put this event together and the parents for supporting the arts at Quest.

MS: Lichtenstein Portraits

2011-03-04T15:07:00.000-08:00

Middle School students drew self-portraits in the style of American Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein. They learned that by isolating and enlarging a comic strip panel, Lichtenstein was both making a parody of comic books while also elevating mass-produced visual commodities to fine art. Before the lesson, I had students bring in props and take pictures for them to trace. For their skin and hair, they colored over a sheet of Ben-Day dots, a printing process seen in old comic books. Lastly, students adjusted their facial features to look more stylized and traced everything with black marker.

UE: Totem Poles

2011-03-03T13:55:00.000-08:00

I was always intrigued by totem poles for their beautiful craftsmanship and storytelling. Students are so great at coming up with stories so I was excited to do this lesson with them. They first learned that totem poles are carved out of large trees by indigenous people of North America. Some totem poles tell legends, celebratory events or unpleasant events, while others symbolize a tribe or a family. Animals play an important part in totem pole mythology. I looked up their symbolism, typed up the information and had students write a short legend using three of the animals according to their attributes. Since we couldn't carve wood, I used recycled paper as the next best thing. Students divided up their paper into thirds, drew an animal in each section and also designed the back. Then they colored their totem poles and I helped them cut small slits for bird wings and beak. Love how they're turning out!

LE: Aboriginal Dot Painting

2011-03-03T13:50:00.000-08:00

Lower Elementary students are studying different cultures around the world. Artist and traveler, Brendan Burns, visited the class and shared about his experience in Australia and how he fell in love with the didgeridoo. Didgeridoos are hollow wooden wind instruments carved by indigenous people of Northern Australia and often decorated with dot painting. To prepare students for this visit, I had them learn about Aboriginal Dot Painting. There is a lot of mystery behind the precise meanings of these paintings because clans imparted secrets into them; the dots cover up the secrets about the location of water holes and sacred ceremonies only revealed to the people in the clan. Aboriginal Dot paintings also have an underlying reference to the Dreamtime or the Dreaming, a sacred and complex set of beliefs of how the earth and all of its creation came to be. We chose to draw a lizard since it is an Australian animal prevalent in many dot paintings along with water holes, which you need for survival in the desert. Using q-tips and paint, students applied dots along the contour of the objects. Having Brendan show us the didgeridoos with the beautiful dot paintings on them really completed this lesson for the students. I could hear their brains click! I also included photos of Brendan playing the digeridoo and students dancing along to its deep resonant sounds. Thank you Brendan!!

LE: Cave Paintings

2011-02-24T12:51:00.000-08:00

When I think of cave men, the "it's so easy, even a cave man can do it" Geico commercials come to mind. But a look at cave paintings prove otherwise. They are breathtaking, anatomically precise, and there's nothing easy about it. The purpose of these mysterious paintings are yet to be discovered, but one theory is that shaman (communicators of the spirit world) painted animals in order to capture their spirit and ensure the success of the hunt. Students pretended they were shaman and started their mystical process. They first crumpled up a recycled sheet of paper and painted an animal in earthy colors. They also added a layer of soft pastels and colored the background. When they were done, they "signed" their painting with their handprint, a symbol of the shaman's identity.

Thank You Aaron Meshon!!

2011-02-23T16:13:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to show these photos. Last year, UE students created personal maps that were inspired by RISD illustrator Aaron Meshon. Aaron found the students' work online and generously mailed us his beautiful postcards!! I was speechless. He also included a wonderful letter for me to read to the class. The students were so awed and touched. They LOVED the postcards and couldn't stop looking at all the clever and fun details in them that make Aaron Meshon's maps so unique. I think they all want to go to RISD now! If you're reading this Aaron, my students and I say a big THANK YOU and we are your biggest fans!!

Community Art Project

2011-02-22T12:46:00.001-08:00

This year’s community art project was inspired by Wassily Kandinsky’s Farbstudie painting. You may remember that I did this lesson with LE at the beginning of the year for the sole purpose of experimenting with color. I've expanded that lesson to incorporate the symbolic significance behind the Circle. According to Kandinsky, the Circle is the most peaceful shape and represents the human soul. Other meanings are unity, nurturing, and infinite energy.

The goal of this project was for students to explore different expressions of the Circle and communicate it through rings of color. After discussing extensively as a class, each student from LE-MS painted their idea on a small square canvas. Some students painted cycles, such as seasons, planets revolving around the sun, human and animal life, or time. Others painted the emotional quality of the shape. Teachers will be participating in this as well so stay tuned for the final product!

MS: Optical Art

2011-02-18T11:22:00.001-08:00

Middle school students are finishing up their optical drawings based on the work of French Hungarian artist, Victor Vasarely. Special thanks to Mrs. Smith for inspiring this lesson! The students were really invested in their drawings and they came out great.

LE:POP!

2011-02-08T13:55:00.000-08:00

Lower El. students learned about Pop artist, Andy Warhol, and painted his famous Campbell's soup cans. We talked about how Pop art was inspired by mass produced products and that Warhol turned them into art. Was he mocking Art? I don't know yet, but I decided to leave out the controversy for this one;-) Some of the flavors students made up are hilarious. My favorite is Zoe Free Hary Soup.... I don't even want to know what that tastes like, but I love it.

Middle School's interpretation of Georgia O'Keeffe

2011-01-28T11:14:00.001-08:00

Flowers, it's time for your close-up. Middle School students also explored Georgia O'Keeffe's work using a similar method as UE's, except with tempera paint. Very lovely.

UE: Through Georgia's eyes

2011-01-26T13:16:00.000-08:00

UE studied the work of American painter, Georgia O'Keeffe. I always thought flowers were pretty, but not interesting enough as an art subject. Looking at O'Keeffe's work changed my perspective. They're more than flowers; they could be landscapes, flames, organs. Her paintings are powerful because they're huge and force you to look closer and appreciate the beauty of these small objects. That's what I wanted my students to see.. the subtle color variations and intricate forms of the flowers that they wouldn't otherwise see at a quick glance. I wish we had real ones to look at, but photos were the next best thing! Each student picked a flower reference and looked for the landscape in the forms using a viewfinder. Then they colored their drawing with oil pastels. I can almost smell their sweet fragrance.

UE: Automatic Constellations

2011-01-23T14:33:00.000-08:00

UE studied the works of Spanish artist Joan Miro. We learned that he was a Surrealist, which was an art and literature movement based on a person's subconscious. One of the techniques that Surrealists developed in expressing the subconscious was automatic drawing, a form of drawing where the hand is allowed to move randomly across the paper, thus revealing a part of the person's psyche. For the first portion of the lesson, I had students experiment with automatic drawing while also guiding their process. Without pencils and erasers, they drew random lines in various lengths not touching each other and lines that overlapped. They added elements of the unexpected like eyes and blobs. We looked at Miro's Constellation series as our reference and drew abstracted planets and stars, making sure to fill in the composition. To create an illusion of depth, students smudged soft pastels in the background before finally painting in their constellations.

LE: More Castle and Sun

2011-01-13T13:27:00.000-08:00

Triangles and circles and squares oh my! Such lovely things can come out of the simplest shapes. LE has been building their castles only using geometric shapes. They first built the foundation with rectangles and squares so that it would be stable to build upward. Then they glued down their pieces, added details like windows and doors, and colored their background with oil pastels. I love how different each castle looks! UE students also did a variation of Paul Klee's Castle and Sun in the beginning of the year.

UE: Winter Trees

2010-12-10T14:57:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it's not Winter yet, but it sure feels like it! I love bare trees and whenever I see them, I think of Harry Callahan's Chicago Lake Front photograph. This was a fun project that I also did last year with LE. You can learn the technique from Crayola's website here. Students painted a gray background first and left the bottom of the paper unpainted for the snow. Then they took black tempera paint and blew it into multiple branches through a straw. They were required to place trees in the foreground, middle ground and background.

MS: African Masks

2010-12-04T06:54:00.001-08:00

Tommy

Amalia

Julian

Daniel

Sophie

Middle school students were learning about Africa in their class so I thought it would be perfect to introduce them to the art of African masks. I felt very inadequate to teach them such a diverse and rich legacy because of how much it's been misunderstood by Western standards in the past, not to mention the variations of aesthetic criteria between each culture in Africa. The most important points that I tried to explain was that African art is intimately connected with religion and spiritual world. Traditionally, art objects, such as sculptures and masks, are used to celebrate and assist in rites of passage or other important events through ceremonies and performances. Whoever wears the mask transcends their identity and is transformed into powerful medium for spiritual communication. Traditional African art is both functional and beautiful. The assignment was for students to create a mask that will celebrate or assist in
a significant event/period in their life. It didn't necessarily have to be personal, but must serve a function. Some students used symbolic animals, like the buffalo, which stands for strength, while others made theirs about important values that they wanted assistance with. Masks were made out of a cardboard base with balls of newspaper that were coated with paper mache and tempera paint. The project was only a tiny glimpse into African masks, but I hope that students will remember the powerful meaning behind them.

Butterflies and Weaves

2010-12-03T11:47:00.000-08:00

Here are some beautiful pieces for you to enjoy! UE made weaves using colored paper and LE learned about butterfly anatomy and created butterflies out of clay and tempera paint. Key terms were symmetry, hind wings, fore wings, abdomen and thorax.

Getting to know our ABC's

2010-12-01T05:44:00.000-08:00

Yay, the Letter Project has officially been posted on the playground! Go to this link and click on "new" for each letter. If you click on Quest Montessori, you'll find all of our letters. A few (J,O,P,Q,U,) are still in the making, but will be up very soon! Thanks for taking a look:-)

UE: Starting The Letter Project

2010-11-16T17:50:00.001-08:00

Students in the middle of a critique
JordanEmmie

Kyle

Remy

Jack

As you may know from a couple of posts ago, I started a project with my UE students on letters. Kids are so imaginative and clever that I knew they would flourish with this assignment. I treated this project like a real illustration job where students had to sketch multiple designs, present their strongest sketches to the art director (in this case, the class and me) and receive feedback. In real life, the AD would choose their favorite, but I had the artist be the final judge. Students loved the critique, especially after I assured them that constructive criticism was positive and helpful feedback. After the critique, students started working on their final designs, which are on 8x8" watercolor paper. I can't wait until they're all finished so I can contribute each student's letter to the playground.

Sketchbooks

2010-11-16T17:36:00.000-08:00

one-eyed monster by Logan

one-eyed monster by David

make-your-own invention by Remy

For almost every project, there are always a few students who finish early. Since I can't start a new lesson, I usually have them do "free art", a time where they can draw/paint whatever they like. However, this is only enjoyable for students who are naturally imaginative and limiting for those who flourish within guidelines (like myself!). It also makes the rest of the class feel behind. As a way to keep finished students occupied, I had everyone make their own sketchbooks. Students selected different types of paper that I had cut down, designed their cover, and I bound them all together. It's funny because I required all the students to buy their own sketchbooks last year, but they weren't nearly as excited as they are about their handmade ones. That personal touch goes a lot way. Using a wonderful resource called The Drawing Lab, a book with quick and fun drawing ideas, I give the class specific activities to work on when they're done with their project, leaving no student struggling with artist's block.

LE: Van Gogh's Sunflowers

2010-11-16T17:00:00.000-08:00

It was so difficult narrowing down the beautiful sunflower drawings that LE did so I'm showing twice as many as I usually do! These were based off of Van Gogh's sunflower paintings and actual sunflowers in a vase that I set up for the students to look at. We talked a lot about texture, paint strokes, and how Van Gogh layered his colors to achieve his signature thickness. We drew together as a class, but I love how each student produced very different drawings. I required students to draw large, overlap some of their shapes (I remember I got big kudos from my art teacher when I overlapped these balloons I had painted-she freaked out), create texture on their flowers, and color their whole paper. I love it when some of the "canvas" peeks out.

LE: Coil Cups

2010-11-05T10:57:00.000-07:00

Maeve and Eleni forming coils for their cups

Stefy

Xavier

Max

LE learned how to make pots out of air dry clay. The first step was to roll a clump of clay into a ball and rub it between two hands to form a long snake-like cylinder. Students formed these into multiple spiral shapes and held them together with a coil on the top and bottom. Then they filled in the gaps with smaller balls of clay, attached the ends together and added a base. When the cups were dry students painted the inside and outside with acrylic.

LE: Animal Collage

2010-11-01T13:24:00.001-07:00

Sarah

Miles

Maeve

Zac W.

As a continuation of our zoo trip, students made a painting of an animal they saw using collaged pieces. Of course, I referenced Eric Carle's beautifully textured paintings. Students first painted separate sheets (one for the background, a few for their animal) with acrylic and experimented making texture with forks, q-tips and sponges. Once the painted paper were dry, they drew their animals, cut them out and glued them. If I were to do this lesson again, I would use a more liquid paint like tempera instead of acrylic. These are the last animal-based projects for LE, I promise!

UE: Apples Still-Life

2010-11-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

David

Billy

Emma

Today we did a one-day lesson on drawing round shapes three-dimensionally and used apples as our reference. I demonstrated on a large paper while they followed along, making sure to teach what all the different parts were called. Some of these terms included: deep shadow, core shadow, highlight spot and half-tone shadow. I only do step-by-step lessons for projects that are very technique-based and therefore require a thorough demonstration. After we drew one apple together, they completed the set on their own. I love how they turned out!

The Letter Project

2010-11-01T05:53:00.000-07:00

I heard about this website from the artsy grapevine a while ago where anyone can design a letter and post it online. I found it recently and thought what a fun idea it would be for all students to design a letter and get it out there. It's very imaginative and makes you think outside the box, which I think will come naturally to many students. I can't wait to see what they come up with! They're so much more creative than I am:-) Stay tuned...

Brilliant solution!

2010-10-29T11:03:00.000-07:00

I was super excited when I read artprojectgirl's post on using Comic Life as a way to teach and assess her students' learning. How much more fun would learning be if your notes were presented in comic strips? And why did I never discover this on my mac until now? I am definitely going to apply this tool to my own teaching! Thanks artprojectgirl! :-)

MS: Escher Eye Drawings

2010-10-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

Mallory

Daniel

Amelia

Max L.

If your eyes were the window to your soul, what would people see? This is what we discussed as we looked at Rene Magritte and M. C. Escher's work. We use our eyes to communicate how we feel, to look at someone or something we love, to fixate on a goal or a dream we hope to accomplish one day. Whatever it is we're looking at, it (literally) reflects a significant part of ourselves. Students asked themselves this question as they thought of what to draw in their eye. We first sketched out an eye as a class. While I was demonstrating on a larger sheet of paper I did my best to explain the reason behind each step. Shading was key in order to give the illusion of three-dimensionality. After students got a good sense of how to draw the basic shapes of an eye, they each got a mirror and added more detail and also adjusted their drawing according to their own eye.

UE: Calavera Necklaces

2010-10-28T07:17:00.000-07:00

To commemorate The Day of the Dead coming up on Nov. 2nd, students made calavera (skull in spanish) necklaces out of clay. We first discussed that The Day of the Dead should not be confused with Halloween. It's a special day where people in Mexico celebrate and honor lost loved ones. They believe that the spirits of their lost loves ones visit earth on this day and they welcome them with festivities, food and prayer. Sugar skulls and skeletal sculptures are popular decorations. Although skulls and skeletans are normally associated with Halloween, Day of the Dead calaveras are adorned with colorful clothing, flowers and bright festive patterns. After our discussion and a quick demo, students made a basic skull shape out of clay and painted it with acrylic.

LE: Art at the Zoo

2010-10-19T12:27:00.001-07:00

Miles

Eleni

Aidan

Gabe

Max

LE went to the zoo today and I joined them for art class. We were only able to draw the giraffes and Harbor seals, but it was a wonderful experience to be right in front of the action! I tried (more like failed) to teach students about gesture drawing since we were looking at moving subjects, but eventually I just stopped talking and let them draw however they wanted as long as they were observing the animals and not forgetting to draw key details (like the giraffes' spots and the seals' whiskers).

UE: Lines and Patterns

2010-10-18T13:59:00.000-07:00

Remy

Kevin C.

Jordan

Palmer

This was a preliminary lesson on lines and patterns that I'll be applying to other projects throughout the year. We first discussed what lines and patterns were and students came up and drew examples on the board. They were squiggly, zig-zag, straight, swirly, etc. Students drew nine different patterns in pencil and traced over with pen before gluing them side by side. For references, we looked at a collaborative drawing done by Quest MS students in the past as well as objects in the room. I hope this lesson broadened students' understanding of the potential of lines.

LE: Leaf prints

2010-10-14T13:01:00.001-07:00

Eleni

Zach R.

John

I got this wonderful lesson from Deep Space Sparkle. It was perfect for combining nature and art and also very quick, which isn't usually a priority but it was today! Students painted the back side of the leaf where the veins stood out, pressed them down on black paper and filled in the background with oil pastels.

UE: Castle and Sun

2010-10-06T13:14:00.000-07:00

Palmer

Megan

Logan

Kevin C.

UE drew their own castle inspired by Paul Klee's Castle and Sun painting. We first discussed what made his painting Cubist and Expressionist, like his flat geometric shapes, intersected surface, and lack of depth. Students were already familiar with Cubist work from their abstract still life lesson and applied the same technique of dividing up their castle and using bold colors.

MS: Van Gogh Landscapes

2010-10-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

Maxx B.

Oli

Amelia

Daniel

Middle school's first project was based on Van Gogh's field paintings. He was a Post-Impressionist and to better understand what Post-Impressionism was about, we looked at Impressionism and discussed the similarities and differences between the two. To put it in a nutshell (and I'm no expert BTW!), Post-Impressionists still applied thick brushstrokes, but were not limited to capturing light like the Impressionists were and used color more expressively. Van Gogh was a great example because in some of his work you can sense the psychological turmoil he was going through just by looking at his vivid color palette. After our discussion, I showed several different references of Van Gogh's paintings and encouraged students to take different elements into their own landscape drawing, but I also gave them the option of focusing on one specific painting. I demonstrated how to color multiple layers of oil pastels as the foundation and then how to add strokes on top of that. When they were done, I had students go outside and do their own interpetation. I think every student was successful with this project and I hope they'll submit these for the Original Works fundraiser!

LE: Kandinsky's Color Study

2010-09-23T13:34:00.000-07:00

Stefy

John

Aidan

I used Wassily Kandinsky's Color Study of Squares as an exercise on mixing color. Rather than having them paint any random color, I had students think of the painting as a math chart but instead of adding numbers, they were adding color. The first two circles within a square were two numbers that they were going to add together to equal the third circle. The third circle would be the "sum" of numbers 1 and 2. That way, if they forget how to make the color turquoise, they can look for that color in their chart and see that they used green and yellow to make that color. The background color was their choice. I drew the grids in advance and demonstrated how to add just the right amount of water to their paint since some students were struggling with that.

UE: Hiroshige's Mountains

2010-09-15T12:39:00.000-07:00

Emmie

Emma

Cooper

Jordan

Kevin B.

UE's first lesson was based on Ando Hiroshige's
print, Lake By Hakone. Hiroshige was a ukiyo-e artist, a general name for Japanese woodblock prints or paintings, but the English translation means "floating world". I told students to think of this description when choosing their colors so their painting would express the beauty of a surreal place. After students sketched out their landscape, they painted the mountains gradationally, going from dark to light. The last steps were to add trees and outline everything with black pen.

LE: The American White Pelican

2010-09-14T14:55:00.000-07:00

Zac R.

Sara

Nick

LE is continuing their animal theme this year so I thought of starting off with John Audubon's bird paintings. He had a great sense of composition, capturing the natural movement of birds in their habitat and utilizing the entire space of the page. While we discussed basic facts about pelicans, students followed along with my demonstration. They first drew a large "S" curve on their page, then drew specific features. When they were ready to paint, we briefly discussed why we needed brushes in different sizes and how to mix dark colors so the white feathers of the pelican would stand out.

MS: Crankin' out those gestures

2010-09-10T11:31:00.000-07:00

It's good to be back:-) In preparation for the middle school field trip on which students will be documenting birds and nature in their journals, they learned how to quickly capture the motion and basic form of different birds looking at photo references. In other words, gesture drawing. It was initially awkward and uncomfortable since students were used to drawing the outline of a form rather than first breaking it down into shapes. I demonstrated how to start with a single curve of the spine depending on the bird's posture, then added circles and ovals for the different body parts using my arm to move the charcoal rather than my wrist. This helps keep the form fluid and not too tight. I timed the students starting at 5 seconds and progressively gave them longer periods.

After multiple sessions of gesture drawings, students drew a more detailed version using paint and colored pencils. I'm excited to see the students' journals when they come back. Really hope these helped!

Last Class

2010-06-16T12:02:00.001-07:00

Lori and the girls posing as Greek sculptures... or at least some are

looking cool

It breaks my heart that Violet and Amelia won't be returning next year

Mitch evaluating Charlotte's lovely portfolio

Last week, I had students display all of their artwork and evaluate each other. I gave each of them a little crit book where they were encouraged to write specific and positive comments about their peers' portfolios. I was pleasantly surprised at how seriously students took this assignment, it was the quietest class I've had so far! The very last day, Lori and I combined classes and we threw a party. You might have noticed your son or daughter coming home with various colored tongues and sticky fingers;)

Thank you parents for following this blog and taking interest in your children's artwork. It has been an adventure. They are the kind of students teachers dream of having and I'm always so proud to post up their pieces. I love each student and I'm excited to teach them again next year!

LE: Wire Sculptures

2010-05-28T12:25:00.000-07:00

Cooper

Max

Miles

Stefy

Zac R.

LE students learned about Alexander Calder's sculptures. We compared them to his contour drawings and discussed how contour drawings were similar to wire in line quality. After my demo, I had them choose a reference of an animal, draw the contour and trace their drawing with wire. Several students had difficulty with the wire so in the next class, I had them follow each of my steps in sculpting a bird and then finish their previous sculpture.

Meshon Maps part 2

2010-05-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

David

Hannah

Jordan

FloraMitch

I couldn't help but post these up too. I love how each student really personalized their map and added so many quirky details that keep you looking.

MS: Shoe Designs

2010-05-19T12:07:00.000-07:00

Daniel

Julian

Katherine

Jack

As their last project, MS students designed shoes inspired by places they like to go. We first discussed the purpose of shoes and what they tell us about the person wearing them, such as what they do and where they go. Students then sketched or traced a basic shoe outline and drew a design based on their favorite place. The entire surface had to be activated and saturated with color using colored pencils. I got this idea from Hope Chella, a fellow teacher and friend, and modified it for middle school.

UE: Meshon Maps

2010-05-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

Charlotte

Kyle

Emma

I got this idea from an illustrator named Aaron Meshon who designs amazing maps, along with children products and editorial illustrations. I love that his maps aren't only informative but really fun to look at. I had students analyze Meshon's maps and the design choices he made to make it quirky and welcoming, like his bright colors, imaginary creatures, and banners. I asked students how Meshon interacted all the space while not making it too busy and they said that he balanced it with a giant person to draw the eyes, which I totally agreed with. After our discussion, students designed a map with all of their favorite places taking design cues from Meshon.

LE: Planet Prints

2010-04-30T14:13:00.000-07:00

Zac R

John

Xavier

LE's theme this year is space. As a way to make their planet reports more visually exciting, they incorporated illustrations of all the planets into their reports using various media. For these prints, students carved their planet on a styrofoam sheet using visual references to inform the surface design, and stamped it on black paper. As an option, they flicked white paint to add a starry effect. When students were done, they glued their illustrations and text in an accordion fold book and designed covers out of poster board. The top photo shows the finished products, which Jennie displayed beautifully for their space presentation.

MS: Word Portraits

2010-04-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

Tommy

Daniel

Amelia

Robbie

Middle school students drew their self-portraits made of words that reflected their identity. We first looked at how different artists used symbols, color, or mark making to communicate a message about themselves. Then we focused on John Sokol, an artist who draws famous people out of their own words. We discussed how text, whether it's a book we read, a poem we write, or lyrics we listen to, can reflect who we are. Students laid tracing paper on top of their photographs and gave their portraits form with carefully chosen text (a brilliant idea from Megan Ellis who did this project with Hope high school students!). To give the portraits dimension, students divided a strip of paper into thirds and practiced going from the darkest value to the lightest value, layering text for the darks and using little to no text for the lightest. They really didn't need my help after this point. I am so impressed by their drawing skills and personal investment in their work. I heart all of them!

LE: Impression of Light

2010-04-27T13:08:00.001-07:00

Stefy

Nathan

Miles

Max

Last week, students learned how to draw light from the Impressionists. It was good timing for this lesson because many of them were involved in building a kayak with Margery and were excited about drawing Renoir's boats. They looked at paintings by Renoir and Monet and identified how the artists showed sunlight through layered colors and thick dabs of paint for the reflection. After, we drew the image together as a class. Techniques that they learned were layering colors to show depth and applying strokes in one direction to show the light from the sun.

UE: Painting with Scissors

2010-04-22T14:26:00.000-07:00

Hannah

Max

Sofia

Logan

Palmer

This week students have been designing dynamic compositions inspired by Henri Matisse's paper cut-outs. What I love about his work is the energy and rhythm that he captures through his organic shapes dancing across geometric landscapes. He called them "painting with scissors". The goal for this lesson was for students to understand how to make a strong composition. They first analyzed how Matisse achieved balance and movement in his paintings and then made color swatches out of tempera paint. When they dried, they cut out organic shapes from nature and arranged it in a way to make the eye travel across the picture.

Raffle Items

2010-04-13T13:23:00.000-07:00

Lampshade design with UE1 wire portraits. They were arranged digitally and printed on a semi-transparent fabric.

MS students designed a Chinese Zodiac themed chess board. They made the characters out of clay and painted them with acrylic paint. I'm amazed at how well they turned out! The photos above only show in-progress work; I never got to document the final completed board.

Josef

Katie

Ella

Amelia

For the past couple of weeks, students and I, as well as other teachers and parents, have been collaborating on art items for our Top Hat raffle fundraiser. Each class did their own project. UE2 students painted portraits of themselves in the style of Amedeo Modigliani, a French artist who was known for his elongated and pensive faces. When they are complete, they'll be transferred to wooden coasters. We first discussed how Modigliani stylized his paintings with the abnormally yet elegant long necks and noses, their calm and tilted postures. I taught them how to mix a basic peach color that they adjusted to their own skin color. For the background, students mixed earthy tones like Modigliani's palette. I love how they're turning out!

One of LE's project was to make animal pillows. Students traced an animal stencil onto a fabric of their choice, cut them out, and designed the animals' features with buttons and other fabric. They needed a lot of help sewing, but thanks to the parents and Quest staff they turned out beautifully! Their other project was to decoupage wooden birdhouses out of tissue paper~ lovely:)

UE: Abstract Still Life

2010-04-02T12:29:00.000-07:00

Brooke

Kata

Kevin

Jordan

I have heard of Cubism, but I've never heard of Orphism. I came upon Robert Delaunay's paintings recently and was drawn to his color palette and abstract shapes. I thought students could understand his work better in the context of Cubism, the greater movement that Orphism stemmed from. We first looked at Georges Braque's Woman and a Guitar and discussed characteristics of Cubism, such as intersecting planes, multiple viewpoints, and monochromatic colors. Then we looked at examples of Orphism and saw that they were abstract but much brighter and colorful. I thought this would be an interesting way of drawing a still life since it required students to perceive the objects from different angles. I set up different objects on each table that students drew. After, they divided the composition into several planes and visually pulled apart the object, looking at it from different perspectives and repeating elements of the shape. It was a fun variation from the standard still life.

Superhero Cape Design

2010-03-05T12:09:00.000-08:00

John

Elizabeth

Stefy

This project was about recognizing real superheroes in our community and in ourselves. I showed students work by Dulce Pinzon, a Mexican artist who photographed immigrants in their work environment dressed as superheroes. Her idea was to raise questions.. "of both our definition of heroism and our ignorance of and indifference to the workforce that fuels our ever-consuming economy." While showing students these slides we discussed what heroic traits each one possessed for their particular job and the broader question of what makes a person a superhero. Students thought of their own heroic traits and made a list of them, accompanying each one with a symbol. They sketched out their cape design, cut their symbols out of colored paper and glued them onto the cape. Lastly, students added more designs and details with oil pastel.

Special thanks to the families of these students. When I asked them to think of real superheroes in their own lives, they thought of you. I also thank my friend Megan Ellis with whom I collaborated on this project during our student teaching at RISD. Your kindess and brilliance are inspiring:-)

LE: Long live the Fauves!

2010-03-01T15:39:00.001-08:00

Nick (kudos to this student for painting so beautifully, even with a broken arm!)

Miles

Cooper

Jack

Poor Fauvists- their movement only lasted for a few years, but last week, my students paid homage to Andre Derain with their own Pont de Charing Cross paintings. Students first analyzed Derain's paintings, such as how he used brushstrokes to add texture to the landscape and unrealistic colors for the road and trees. As I demonstrated, students drew a horizon, a road in perspective, and skyscrapers in the background. I encouraged them to be daring and imaginative with their colors. Instead of using black for pavement, why not red? I hope this lesson broadened the students' expressive vocabulary. I think Derain would have been pleased to see these.

Matryoshka Dolls

2010-03-01T12:36:00.000-08:00

Palmer

Nicky

Logan

Emma

I've been wanting to do a lesson on "family" and I thought Russian nesting dolls, or formerly known as, Matryoshka dolls, would be perfect. They're a collection of dolls that belong together not only by physical design but by one common element. Using this theme of belonging, students designed a group of nesting dolls that were somehow linked together, whether they were characters from a story, their actual families, or a type of food. Students drew and painted on strips of watercolor paper and glued them together. The cylinders are hollow inside so each piece stacks on top of the other.

MS: A Painter's World

2010-02-12T11:59:00.000-08:00

Tommy

Amelia

Robbie

Ella

Middle school work at last! This is a project I designed during my student teaching at RISD. The goal for this lesson was to study a painting and recreate it in a three-dimensional model, applying the artists' painting technique and color palette. It was also to understand scale and construct models. We first looked at a slideshow of different landscape paintings and analyzed them using elements and principles of design while also answering a worksheet that required students to look closely at their piece. Students then cut out the main features of their painting out of paper, traced them onto illustration board, and cut them out with x-acto knives. Before painting their model, students practiced painting certain elements separately and then painted their final boards with acrylic. They all came out am-az-ing! I was also happy to find out that a RISD professor has been assigning this project every year with the foundation students. It's a great way for students to expand their painting skills.

Chinese Gate Gods plus New Year Celebration Pics

2010-02-10T04:51:00.000-08:00

Lanterns and dragons

Posing with Emma and Desiree

Gate god protecting the UE door from evil spirits

Students collaborating

It is Chinese custom to place a print of a gate god on the front of your home or temple to ward off evil spirits. This week, every UE class collaborated on three different drawings of gate gods in preparation for the Chinese New Year. Before dividing students into three groups, we talked about what it meant to work as a team and how important it was that we respected everyone's ideas and feelings. It was inspiring to see students compromise with each other and I'm so proud of how well these turned out!

LE: Let Them Eat Cake

2010-02-09T13:20:00.001-08:00

Cooper

Joseph

Jack

Max

Wayne Thiebaud's Cakes painting was used to teach students how to draw three-dimensional cylinders. They first correctly guessed that the repetition of cakes was supposed to be a commentary on popular culture. Then we sketched out a single cake and made it look round and voluminous by adding shading on the cake and table. For the final, they designed a delicious cake they would sell at their own bakery and colored it in oil pastel. Bon appetite!

LE: Kimonos

2010-02-02T13:30:00.000-08:00

Stefy

Nick

Max

I wanted to expose students to different painting techniques that went beyond the paintbrush. I was drooling over Eric Carle collages and thought it might be interesting to use the same technique for fashion. Kimonos, in my opinion, are the most beautiful garment that anyone can wear. So. I gave a brief cultural lesson on kimonos and students created their design Eric Carle style, by using different tools like sponges, forks, and q-tips to add texture and then gluing the kimono and obi (sash) together. I really want to wear these!

UE: New Year Dragons

2010-01-28T13:55:00.001-08:00

Logan

Sofia

Palmer

Ella

Emma

Here are the majestic Chinese dragons. I found a neat craft online where you use an egg carton as the body of the dragon and paper for the rest. I love the waves that Logan added and Ella's extravagant color palette. Thank you parents for providing the cartons!

LE: My Wild Thing and I

2010-01-27T16:19:00.000-08:00

John

Zachery W.

Cooper

Miles

Stefy

It's not a surprise that there are Maurice Sendak fans and followers all over the world, particularly of his most popular book, Where the Wild Things Are. One artist made a blog of different interpretations of Sendak's beloved characters at www.terribleyelloweyes.com. The illustrations are absolutely stunning and so creative. I had to get in on the action, at least vicariously through my students! I first read them the story and they roared and stomped along. I then gave a demonstration on how to draw one of the wild things. For the final piece, students had to imagine what they would do if a wild thing were their friend. There are other great pieces in progress so stay tuned!

UE Chinese Lanterns

2010-01-23T07:36:00.000-08:00

Nicky

Amalia

Kirstyn

UE students are preparing for their Chinese New Year celebration. We're making lanterns, money envelopes, mini dragons, etc., etc., etc. It's going to be a lot of fun.

LE: Tree of Life

2010-01-23T07:16:00.000-08:00

Zachary Raymond

Elizabeth

John

Jack

Gustav Klimt is one of my favorite artists. I love his sinuous lines, curvy women (which the students didn't get to see!) his use of patterns, and gold gold gold. We looked at the Tree of Life and The Kiss paintings and discussed the similarities in style. Then I gave a quick demo on how to draw a tree with spiral branches and students filled them in with gold tempera paint. Since it was their tree of life, they adorned their tree with people or things that were meaningful in their life, as well as other patterns. I always enjoy seeing a glimpse of students' values and personal life. They loved pretending that the paint was real gold!

LE: Birds of the Rainforest

2010-01-15T11:54:00.000-08:00

Nico

John

mysterious artist who never claimed his piece..hmm..

Since animals were LE's big theme, I did another zoology-based lesson that focused on tropical birds. We briefly discussed basic facts about the rainforest before looking at Henri Rousseau’s paintings and examples of rainforest birds. Students drew colorful birds out of their imagination and filled the entire composition with color and foliage to create a dense atmosphere. Students drew with oil pastels and painted the background.

UE: Children's Book Illustration

2010-01-13T12:01:00.000-08:00

Kyle
The Gingerbread Man

Mason
Little Red Riding Hood

Amelia
The Princess and the Pea

Kaite
The Velveteen Rabbit

Palmer
Princess and the Pea

Jack
Little Red Riding Hood

I wanted to do a lesson on illustration because as an illustrator, I have a small experience in this field (although I'm very clueless most of the time!). I showed students my paintings and they analyzed them, guessing from the mood and action what the story was about. I showed them several other illustrations by different artists and we discussed how they used visual tools to communicate the story. We talked about colors, gestures, compositions, etc. Then students picked a classic story out of a hat and designed their own illustration, using whichever medium they wanted. During the sketch phase, we had a critique where each student showed their sketch to the class and received constructive criticism. I was really impressed by their positive feedback and loving how the finals are turning out. There are many more to come so stay tuned!

LE: Intergalactic

2010-01-13T11:51:00.000-08:00

Jack

Elizabeth

Miles

As a way to tie into LE's space theme, we drew planets in oil pastel on black paper, and splattered white paint for the stars. Students had just gotten back from the Planetarium so they were really excited to do this lesson, so much that one of them interrupted me while I was talking and asked if they could just start, lol! Note to self: stop lecturing.

LE: Paint What You Feel

2010-01-09T08:50:00.000-08:00

"Sunrise" ~Nathan

"Calm" ~Nick

"Happy and calm" ~Alden

If you see my art work, you'll understand why I didn't feel like I was the best person to teach students about expressive colors and abstract shapes, but why deny that opportunity to my students? I love Mark Rothko's paintings because to me, they don't ask you to analyze the content, rather they invite you to rest your eyes and let the colors wrap around you like a blanket. I wanted my students to think about the emotional qualities of color and choose the appropriate ones that communicated what they felt at that moment.

LE: The Art of Sound Part II

2010-01-09T08:46:00.000-08:00

Jack

Max

Sometimes when I run out of ideas, I think back to my RISD education. My freshman foundation year was particularly memorable, mostly of long nights when I would sleep at 4am or not at all, drawing on paper larger than my dorm room wall and having conversations about God with my friends. One professor, who looked like Einstein and always had black fingernails from drawing with charcoal, turned on some music, had us close our eyes and let the music guide our fingers. I was initially uncomfortable because it required me to relinquish control of the drawing, but that was the point. What resulted from those sessions were raw and beautiful Jackson Pollock like charcoal drawings as well as a small feeling of liberation.

I turned on some classical music, had students close their eyes and draw what they heard. They were surprisingly very attentive to the activity and weren't as conscientious of how it would turn out as I thought they would. Parents, if you're reading this, I apologize if your child came home with dirty clothes! I completely forgot to email you and warn you in advance.

LE: Art of Sound

2010-01-05T17:08:00.000-08:00

Nathan

Nick

Stefy

I was always amazed at Wassily Kandinsky's paintings and how he bridged the connection between art and music. He had the ability to literally hear color, a quality known as synaesthesia. The color red was like a drum beat and green was the sound of a violin. He also believed that shape, line, and color had emotional properties to them. With the help of my husband, a musician, we picked out songs that were distinct either in the instrumentation or the mood they expressed. I first had students fill in a "glossary of sounds", where they listened to samples of different instruments and drew the shapes, colors, or lines that came into mind. Then I played full songs while students cut and glued a final collage of sounds. In retrospect, I think I should have used a different medium that would have been faster to register and eliminate any potential for technical problems! Each song took 3 minutes to upload, which was not expected but did hinder the process. It was really interesting, however, to see students turning sounds into forms.

LE: Winter Trees

2010-01-05T16:53:00.000-08:00

Nico

Zachery

Cooper

As a short winter themed project, I was inspired by Harry Callahan's photograph Chicago. It was a very simple lesson and the only challenge was to show the range of dark, light, and mid-tone, as Callahan so perfectly captured in his photograph. Students painted the gray sky first and then used straws to blow black paint into branches. I thought they came out beautiful in a creepy way.

UE: Self Portraits

2009-12-04T14:47:00.001-08:00

Sofia

Max

David

Brooke

UE: Wire Portraits

2009-12-04T13:59:00.000-08:00

Max

Matthew

Palmer

Jordan

Julia

Violet

I wanted to teach students how to do portraits in wire because it was a different medium from graphite, but similar in line quality. We first drew our faces while I demonstrated on the board. It was difficult without mirrors, but they used their hands to feel their features and I think it was helpful to draw them as a class. Then, I showed them Alexander Calder's work as inspiration and students sculpted their portraits in wire. As a way to transition from drawing to wire, students traced their portrait with wire (see Violet's in-progress work) while figuring out how to connect them so that it was all in one form. I think they look really Neat! (BTW, students used colorful wire, but the colors came out awful with my camera so I'm showing them b/w).

Alexander Calder

LE and UE: Skyscrapers

2009-11-25T07:37:00.001-08:00

Sofia UE

Ella UE

Kyle UE

Stefy LE

Elizabeth LE

Nico LE

As a one class lesson before Thanksgiving break, students who were done with their scrolls drew a nighttime or daytime city scene with skyscrapers. They had the option of making up buildings, adding monsters and rocketships, etc, as long as the focus of the drawing were the buildings. I thought LE drawings came out just as well as UE's. I loved the window patterns because they added a cool design element.

LE: Chinese Animal Painting

2009-11-25T07:32:00.001-08:00

Nathan

Cooper

Zachary

Alden

Artist Statements for Chinese Animal Painting

2009-11-25T07:16:00.000-08:00

"I did the tiger and it means I am brave. I chose it becaues I am daring. I would probably hang it in my room because my room is a jungul." Desiree

"I chose the carp because it symbolizes perseverance and great intelligence. I chose it to express myself because I keep trying at things and I'm really good at math. I would hang it in my room because that's where a lot of books are because I get a lot of information from them."

"I chose the carp. I chose it because I am doing pretty good in school and I persevere at getting good grades in school. I would hang it over my bed so that every time I go to bed and wake up I can always remember my goals." Sean

"I chose the goose because it is orderly and responsible. I think I am orderly because I finish my work and hand it in on time. I enjoyed this project because you get to express yourself and show your feelings." Nicky

"My drawing is of a dragon. I chose this animal because it means good leadership. I think I am a good leader because I am kind, a good role model, and I have great determination. My personality has these things in my personality and I have more fun things too. I would hang this picture in my room because a lot of my friends come in there and always come out looking at one piece of artwork." Brooke

UE: Chinese Animal Painting

2009-11-19T13:24:00.001-08:00

Violet

Phoebe

David

Ella

Hannah

Oli

Brooke

Desiree

Andrew

Sadie

Students in upper elementary recently began their study on Ancient China and as a way to tie into their curriculum, I taught a lesson on animal painting, one of the oldest subjects in Chinese art. What's very interesting about this subject is that in Chinese culture, all animals are believed to have specific meanings and roles in the universe. For example, artists often depicted a Chinese ruler or emperor as a dragon, or a soldier ready to fight in battle as a tiger. Students learned what characteristics each one represented and chose an animal they identified with. I provided them with visual references and they sketched it out, painted in tempera, and chose an attractive paper for the background. They also created a seal with their name translated in Chinese. Lastly, I had them write an artist's statement explaining what animal they painted, why they chose it to express themselves, and based on its meaning where they would hang it. This was a fairly long project that I hope improved their drawing and painting skills as well as empower their confidence in themselves. I was very impressed by the attention students devoted to their paintings and their thoughtful written responses.

LE: Hybrid Creatures

2009-10-20T15:14:00.001-07:00

Zachary R.

Cooper

Elizabeth

Students are still finishing up their final touches, but I was too excited to wait, so here are samples of finished pieces! As a way to tie in the Zoology theme in lower elementary, students drew and sculpted hybrid creatures. We looked at references of Greek mythological sculptures, a painting that one of my RISD professors had done, and identified the different body parts. Students then drew their own while looking at photos of animals for reference. After giving them a demonstration on modeling and painting, students brought their drawings to life out of clay and painted it with acrylic paint.

Quest photos that make me feel warm and fuzzy inside:)

2009-10-19T19:06:00.000-07:00

Kata and Amelia enjoying the rainy view.

The prettiest campus!

Happy Birthday Gary:-)

These walls are craving to be decorated.

MS- Have a Little Perspective

2009-10-19T18:20:00.000-07:00

Nathan

Robbie

Max

Tommy

As a follow up the students' recent study on the Renaissance, Lori (the art history teacher) and I collaborated on a lesson on perspective, one of the key characteristics of the Renaissance. Using the horizon line and vanishing point as reference marks, students drew a city block in perspective. It was a challenging lesson and I was concerned that they would become weary of the tediousness in the line work involved, but many students were actually engaged and invested in their drawing. I am delighted by all the details they added in their architecture.

UE: Haunted Mansions

2009-10-14T14:13:00.001-07:00

Sofia

Harry

Palmer

Phoebe

For the month of October, I thought it would be appropriate to have students draw haunted mansions in the style of Victorian architecture. We first looked at references and discussed the common characteristics of the Victorian style homes. When they started their drawing, I challenged them not to include any ghosts, witches, R.I.P tombstones, or other iconic Halloween symbols for the purpose of focusing on the design of the house. Their intricate line work, pointy roofs, and moody colors, effectively achieved a haunting mood. I was very impressed by the details they put into their surface patterns and their patience in tracing over them in pen. It was entertaining to see their reaction when I brought in coffee for them to use as a wash over their drawing!

LE: The Exquisite Corpse

2009-10-10T04:27:00.001-07:00

LE: Underwater Sea Creatures for OA fundraiser

2009-10-02T12:01:00.001-07:00

Max Rome

Steffy Andreev

Cooper Cardone

This was another lesson for the Original Art fundraiser. I gave students the theme Underwater Sea Creatures and showed them a technique where they paint over oil pastel to get a bubbly underwater effect. Now that students know how to draw patterns, from the previous portrait lesson, I encouraged them to design a pattern on their creature to make it extra interesting.

MS: What Would Warhol Do?

2009-10-02T11:39:00.000-07:00

Mallory Dale

Tommy Cross

Ella DiPippo

As a follow up to the fish prints that MS students made for their Odyssey Trip, they made prints influenced by the Pop Artist Andy Warhol. When it comes to trendy products, teenagers are one of our biggest consumers so I thought they were the perfect age group to make art based on what is popular in our culture. I gave a brief background of the Pop Art movement and as a class, we discussed questions like, Why did Warhol print his images in a repetitive pattern? What culturally trendy or iconic products would Warhol make prints of today? Students thought of Apple products, hip fashion trends, Starbucks coffee, YouTube, etc. For the execution, students first drew their idea, carved the reverse image on a styrofoam sheet and painted over it with acrylic before stamping it on their paper.

UE: "I and the Village"

2009-09-30T11:38:00.000-07:00

Violet Anderson

Sofia Watson

Megan Ramos

Kyle Clark

Students and I were inspired by Marc Chagall's "I and the Village" painting. We first discussed the meaning behind the piece, which was Chagall's recollection of his childhood village in Vitebsk and their mutual relationship with the animals and their link to the universe. Students analyzed how Chagall expressed that relationship in the context of the Elements and Principles of Design. For the execution, students drew their own profiles and an animal they felt a connection to as well as other important aspects of their life, such as their home and something they were attached to. Students first followed my demonstration of drawing their profiles and I was pleased to see that a few basic techniques went a long way! They looked so professional sitting with their clipboards and diligently recording each step. This lesson was also for the Original Art fundraiser (www.originalart.com). I will post more work as students finish them!

UE: Fall Trees

2009-09-23T06:12:00.001-07:00

Mason Barrett

Harry Valentine

Kirstyn Rice

In preparation for Fall, students learned the basic skeleton of trees before going outside to see them in detail. After this warm-up, students painted the foliage in warm fall colors and created the branches by blowing out of a straw. I think some students may have blown too hard because a couple of them came up to me and said they were lightheaded! They happily continued their painting, but next time I'll warn them!

UE: Remembered Landscapes

2009-09-23T05:50:00.001-07:00

I was inspired by one of my RISD professors, Thomas Sgouros, who paints beautiful large scale landscapes with billowing clouds based on memory after progressively losing his eyesight. There wasn't a single cloud outside to look at for this lesson, but like Sgouros' own process, students painted them out of memory.

LE: Patterned Portraits

2009-09-23T04:59:00.000-07:00

Steffy Andreev

Nick Kosco

Elizabeth Thompson

Cooper Cardone

Jack and Cooper

This lesson was about patterns and how the patterns we wear can reflect our personality and style. Students pretended to be detectives and carried magnifying glasses to identify patterns in the classroom and practiced drawing them in a repeated design. Then students chose patterns that expressed their personal interests and drew them on their own portrait. I think they came out very well! I see some apparel designers in the making...