March 1st

Happy March! Today we will be looking over Retna's work, who often collaborates with El Mac (who we looked at yesterday). In the slides I have included a video link, to watch the two collaborate together on a street art piece. My goal is that every student by the end of class has their stencil cut out and ready to go tomorrow. For those who are already done, I encourage you to add another layered stencil (since you have the time)!

Remember, if you want a print on a cereal box or a Winco sack, you need to bring them Friday!!

Feb. 29th

Today we will be looking at the artist El Mac and dissecting one of his pieces for our warm up. From here I will begin demonstrating the next step to our project. For those who are done cutting out their stencils, we will be doing practice paint samples to make sure we have cut out the necessary components and we align the images correctly, before we begin spray painting.

Feb. 28th

Today we will be dissecting stencil work again for our warm up, and discuss as a group. We will then look at Blek le Rat's work and compare his graffiti to his street art pieces. I will then go over my stencil in progress and we will discuss problems within my stencil (and fix them)! The rest of the class period is devoted to creating our stencils on the poster board provided. Our weekly exit slip will be given today.

Reminder, if you want to print on different paper, like cereal boxes or Winco paper sacks, don't forget to bring them tomorrow or Thursday!

Feb. 27th

Today we are going to be looking at stencils, the history of, and how they will function in this project. We will discuss methods on how to create an intricate stencil. I will be working with students one on one today to make sure they are headed in the right direction with their idea before they begin cutting the images out. 

Feb. 24th

So, we now know the difference between street art and graffiti and we know the consequences associated with graffiti. Today we will practice making stencils, look at the Banana Sprayer and discuss stencil work. After the power point and discussion we will focus on creating our own stencil based on our 'future' brainstorms.

My example:

From Drawing Two and Painting One

From Drawing Two and Painting One

From Drawing Two and Painting One

Feb. 23rd

Today we will be watching an awesome (edited version) of OutSide In. A video which looks at Graffiti artists emerging into the Gallery/street art scene. I purchased this video from ITUNES, so unfortunately I cannot post it online to watch (without paying extra). So if you are absent you need to schedule a time in which you can come in during lunch or after school to watch the video and complete the worksheet.

Feb. 22nd

Today we are starting a new Street Art Unit. We will be looking at various slides of street art and how it differs from graffiti. After reviewing all the slides and discussing street art together, we will begin brainstorming about our new project theme, the future. From here we will spend the rest of the class moving from table to table (which have books all differently themed, robots, super hero's, flying saucers etc...) and sketching different ideas of the future. These sketches will play into our projects on a later date.

The one we completed together in class:

From Drawing Two and Painting One

Feb. 21st

After going through the turn in drawer I realized that only four students have finished the insect project. So, today we will be using class period to finish these up (or any work students are behind on). Our daily powerpoint/artist will still be in the Op art movement.

Excellent student work!

From Drawing Two and Painting One

From Drawing Two and Painting One

Feb. 17th

Today, for our warm up we will be drawing fresh popcorn. If you are absent draw food from your house and glue it into your sketchbook when you get back. We will then continue looking at Op artists, and the rest of the class period will be devoted to finishing our insect/bug projects.

Today we are turning in our sketchbooks for our weekly grade. If you are absent you need to get your sketchbook to me on Tuesday.

Feb. 16th

Today we will be drawing items on our desk for a warm up, if you are absent draw any still life from your home and glue it into your sketchbook. After our 'mind boggling' warm ups these past few days, today we will look at Op art, and a popular artist from the time frame. Today we will be continuing painting or blending colored pencils to our projects. Friday will be the last in class time to finish this project!

Today's Power Point.

Feb. 15th

Today we will look at an insect/landscape photographer, who ties into our project. I will give a brief overview of the project again so students know that if your painting there needs to be five tints, and if your drawing there needs to be a warm or cool color blend throughout the piece. Today is our weekly exit slip, which can be found on the power point.

Feb. 14th

Happy Valentines day! Today we will be sketching out an optical illusion and writing down what makes it an optical illusion. Afterward we will be continuing our insect/bug project. My hope is that students will be ready to paint or color pencil by the end of today! Keep on working!!

Feb. 10th

Today we will look at images from a gallery in Salem. Extra credit will be offered for anyone who goes to this gallery before the end of the six weeks (Gallery admittance is free). After looking at these slides we will jump back into creating our insect composition, prepping it for paint/colored pencil.

If you are absent, turn in your sketchbooks to me when you get back. I am collecting them and grading them every Friday.

Feb. 9th

Today we will be doing a warm up similar to yesterdays slides of MC Eschers 'mind boggling' images. Students are to copy this image and tell me why it is mind boggling. After this we will look at a biologist/photographers work, Alex Wild, and begin with our new insect project. Refer to the slides.

Feb. 8th

Today we will look at M.C. Eschers work, for it is our inspiration for our next project. Today the class will sit in groups of either painting or drawing. Depending on your section, the assignment for today varies. Drawing students will be creating a value scale using one colored pencil, and changing their pressure applied to the paper. After this is done, they will begin practicing drawing the bugs/fruit and filling in the shapes to create a implied three dimensional form. The painting students will be painting a value scale using one color and adding white at each interval. Once they have completed this step they will begin sketching ideas for their MC Escher project.

If you are absent and do not have access to colored pencils or acrylic paint, come see me the next day you are back. I can loan you a few supplies to get today's practice done and in your sketchbook before we go over the criteria for the project.

Feb. 7th

Today we will be finishing up yesterdays warm ups by shading in the value we see. For those who did this the day before, pick a new fruit at your table to sketch out and shade. We will briefly discuss form and how it differs from the past few days 'shape' topic, as well as look at Joe Fenton's mechanical pencil work. Click here for all the slides.  For the remainder of the class period we will continue working on our shape project.

Excellent student examples:

From Drawing Two and Painting One

From Drawing Two and Painting One

From Drawing Two and Painting One

Feb. 6th

We are going to draw from a still life for our warm up today. With the fruit placed on the desk, and remembering what shape is (we wrote the definition down last class period) we are going to draw the fruit in shapes. If you are absent feel free to draw fruit from your house. I would like the drawing to be as large as your palm, just shapes, no shading. After reviewing the slides we are going to continue working on our shape project.

During the last eight minutes of class we are going to put away our supplies, and complete an exit slip. This is our first exit slip and expect to have one at least once a week. Today's exit slip can be found on the last slide of the Power Point presentation. I want each student to analyze today's daily artist work and write what they feel the piece is about. Remember there is no right or wrong answer, we don't know the artist! Feel free to write exactly what you feel it means.

Feb. 3rd

Today we begin our first project. After going through the warm ups and slides, students are to place their sketchbook image onto the cardboard provided. Carefully, they will use an exact-o knife saving the positive and negative shapes that emerge. Once they are cut, students will begin by taking the charcoal and rubbing it around their image, they will take one finger (and use the same finger throughout) to move the charcoal off of the image onto the 8 1/2 by 11 white paper. To create a beautiful positive and negative shaped, abstract composition!

Because this class is a combination of drawing and painting, the option is available to complete the project in either charcoal or oil pastel, the students gets to choose.

Feb. 2nd

Today we will be completing a note card about ourselves. Throughout this semester we will be reading these and guessing who is who (for a candy bonus!). After our warm up we will look at Jean-Michel Basquiat's work (who was also popular the same time frame Keith Haring was, who we looked at yesterday). We will spend the rest of the class period finishing our sketchbooks, stapling in paper, and beginning our first sketchbook assignment. The slides and assignment can be found in the following link.

Feb. 1st

Today we will look at Keith Haring's work and base our sketchbook covers off of his style. Refer to the powerpoint for daily warm ups and slides. After reviewing the slides, what do you think Haring's style is? We notice that he painted using lines, little to no detail, filled the entire page and focused on small lines to emphasize movement. After completing the warm up, create your own sketchbook cover using line, filling the page and using little to no detail. Make your own personalized 'Haring style' sketchbook. Once you have placed the pencil lines down you can go over it either in colored pencil or sharpie.