Elements of Art

Students learned about the Elements of Art through a digital scavenger hunt activity. To apply their knowledge of the elements, students are in the midst of creating a composition of their choice that somehow displays all seven elements. This is a great project because it allows students to show their creativity because it is the only project where students are given complete freedom of what their artwork looks like. Students are coming to realize that the elements work hand-in-hand with one another and it is easier than they originally thought to include all of them within one artwork. Yesterday students engaged in a TAG critique to share ideas before starting on their final artworks. TAG is a great critique to give thoughtful suggestions and allow the artist to think about the direction of their artwork.

T - Tell the artist something you like.
A - Ask the artist a question.
G - Give the artist a suggestion.

Next week students will finish up their artwork using any dry medium of their choice (marker, colored pencil, pencil, crayon, or chalk pastel). We will also be reviewing the definitions for each Element of Art so students can study for a quiz.

First Full Completed Project!

This was a spectacular week! Students successfully completed their kaleidoscopes, took part in a critique, and wrote their first artist statement. As I explained today, artist statements are written for two important reasons: 1) for the artist to be able to explain their intent to the audience, 2) to show what they have learned throughout the unit. I am looking forward to reading the artist statements this weekend so I can discover more about their beautiful artwork. I will be taking photos and updating the virtual art show sometime this weekend. For now, here are a couple images of completed kaleidoscopes:

This is a reminder that the February Doodle Calendar due date is quickly approaching - Monday, March 2nd! 

Kaleidoscope Name Design

This week was filled with a lot of art-making! On Monday we looked at examples of Islamic art and learned about radial balance - a type of balance where elements are radiating from a center point and the weight is equally distributed around the center. Each day this week the warm-up prompts related to radial balance to reinforce the concept. Students demonstrated their understanding of radial balance by creating a kaleidoscopic image of their name by tracing a stencil of their name as a flipped tessellation. I've been sharing in-progress photos this week of this fantastic project - each name kaleidoscope looks completely different!

Now that students have created the image, they are working on coloring the artwork using a combination of harmonious colors - colors that have a pleasing appearance.

I will post more pictures all next week and add completed artworks to the Virtual Art Show! The Virtual Art Show is where I showcase student work. There is a tab at the top of my blog where you can click to see the slideshow for my current classes and also the slideshows from all my previous students. Students can look at the slideshows from last semester/last year to preview some of the artworks they will be able to complete while in creative arts. The first thing I am going to upload to the Virtual Art Show are the class flags. It is great to have so much artwork on my walls!

Happy Valentine's Day & enjoy the three day weekend!

Class Flags & First Week Activities

I am thoroughly impressed by all the creativity my new students have been expressing! Last week students were given their first Draw Something activity, where they have to create a drawing using provided lines and shapes. Honestly, this was the first group of students where I received COMPLETELY different drawings and I was in awe! Below are a few of the fantastic artworks I received. I cannot wait to pass out the next one!

For most of the week, classes had been working on their class flag. First, we voted for an overall shape for the flag and the winning silhouettes were Kobe Bryant, rectangle, Baby Yoda, Squidward, and the Vineyard Vines Whale. Next, students brainstormed and shared what was most important to them, realizing that so many students had similar interests and values. We compiled a class list and then selected a topic for each table for students to create an icon for and add to the flag. Each artwork is unique, creating a flag that shows off the class' shared valuables and their artistic talent! Below are works-in-progress. We will finish up the flags next week (a few more students need to complete their contribution) and I will be able to proudly display the flags.

This week I also introduced the Doodle Calendars. Each month students will have a calendar to complete. They have prompts for each day, and students have the option of completing one square each day or as they choose throughout the month. These calendars vary by month as to what the topics are. Usually they will consist of content-related prompts where students are practicing skills, but this month students are drawing pictures of their favorite things so I can get to know them better. Below are a few works-in-progress.