I can't believe we are already a month into school! Those first few weeks felt like a roller coaster. With the heat and all those early outs, it was hard to get a normal routine in place. And it definitely didn't help that the Art Room was one of the hottest in the building...4 loud fans going constantly...and I still felt like the melting wicked witch at the end of the Wizard of Oz! Not to mention the fact that I was losing my voice from always having to yell over the fans to be heard...I almost started to "cackle."
That said: I've never been so happy for autumn weather in my life! :)
I have really enjoyed getting to know the students, even in just this short time! It has been very interesting to notice and adjust to the different atmospheres creates by the unique personality and characteristics of each grade and class. Occasionally, I have had to totally switch gears from my original plan to best meet their learning needs.
So here's what we've been learning!
6th grade:
Both 6th and 7th grade students are being introduced to the "Elements of Design", and are working on projects that correlate with certain elements. So far they have learned about line, shape, form, value and space. The 6th grade's first project was a 1 Point Perspective Drawing of boxes. I had them draw their feet/shoes onto one of their larger squares to create the optical illusion that they are standing on some tall buildings. Perspective is a great tool artists use to "trick the eye" (tromp l'oeil) into seeing a 3-dimensional space on a 2-dimensional surface.
I will now be seeing each rotation of 6th grade for a week straight. So now that I've finished the first rotation, I won't see them again for two more weeks.
That said: I've never been so happy for autumn weather in my life! :)
I have really enjoyed getting to know the students, even in just this short time! It has been very interesting to notice and adjust to the different atmospheres creates by the unique personality and characteristics of each grade and class. Occasionally, I have had to totally switch gears from my original plan to best meet their learning needs.
So here's what we've been learning!
6th grade:
Both 6th and 7th grade students are being introduced to the "Elements of Design", and are working on projects that correlate with certain elements. So far they have learned about line, shape, form, value and space. The 6th grade's first project was a 1 Point Perspective Drawing of boxes. I had them draw their feet/shoes onto one of their larger squares to create the optical illusion that they are standing on some tall buildings. Perspective is a great tool artists use to "trick the eye" (tromp l'oeil) into seeing a 3-dimensional space on a 2-dimensional surface.
I will now be seeing each rotation of 6th grade for a week straight. So now that I've finished the first rotation, I won't see them again for two more weeks.
7th Grade:
Students have also been learning about the Elements of Design, but on a deeper level than the 6th grade. Students have practiced drawing forms (cube, sphere, cone, cylinder, pyramid) 3-dimensionally and then shading according to the direction of the light source and value scale. To put their new knowledge to use, their first big project was to design a 3-D castle and shade it in. I loved seeing the unique ideas students came up with to create their architectural designs. The students enjoyed learning a little about castles, and I loved being able to show them a slideshow of pictures I had taken of castles and old architecture from my college semester abroad in London, England!
The first week of school, 7th graders also played a fun game I like to call "Monster Mash." It teaches students collaboration, and that sometimes when you work together, you can create even cooler drawings!
7th Grade's first quiz is coming up this Tuesday on the vocab and Elements of Designed that we've covered so far in class!
Students have also been learning about the Elements of Design, but on a deeper level than the 6th grade. Students have practiced drawing forms (cube, sphere, cone, cylinder, pyramid) 3-dimensionally and then shading according to the direction of the light source and value scale. To put their new knowledge to use, their first big project was to design a 3-D castle and shade it in. I loved seeing the unique ideas students came up with to create their architectural designs. The students enjoyed learning a little about castles, and I loved being able to show them a slideshow of pictures I had taken of castles and old architecture from my college semester abroad in London, England!
The first week of school, 7th graders also played a fun game I like to call "Monster Mash." It teaches students collaboration, and that sometimes when you work together, you can create even cooler drawings!
7th Grade's first quiz is coming up this Tuesday on the vocab and Elements of Designed that we've covered so far in class!
8th Grade:
The 8th grade class as a whole has often led me to take a step back, reevaluate, and then change my original plan. I have discovered that this class has the shortest attention span out of all the grades I teach, so although they should be learning more challenging material, "how well they can listen" often poses a problem. So...we have been slowly getting into more "meat" as time has passed and they've gotten used to how I do things compared to what they know from the last two years.
To this date they have completed three projects:
1. 3-D Robots - this kind of doubled as a pretest, so I could see what they already know about shading and drawing forms.
2. Zentangle Names - this project focused on the use of line and patterns. In each section created by the letters of their name, students had to draw different patterns. This week I am laminating the finished "Zentangles" and making them into sketchbooks for them to use throughout the rest of the semester.
The 8th grade class as a whole has often led me to take a step back, reevaluate, and then change my original plan. I have discovered that this class has the shortest attention span out of all the grades I teach, so although they should be learning more challenging material, "how well they can listen" often poses a problem. So...we have been slowly getting into more "meat" as time has passed and they've gotten used to how I do things compared to what they know from the last two years.
To this date they have completed three projects:
1. 3-D Robots - this kind of doubled as a pretest, so I could see what they already know about shading and drawing forms.
2. Zentangle Names - this project focused on the use of line and patterns. In each section created by the letters of their name, students had to draw different patterns. This week I am laminating the finished "Zentangles" and making them into sketchbooks for them to use throughout the rest of the semester.
3. Sea Creatures Watercolor Paintings - students drew at least 3 different fish or sea creatures, traced their lines with a crayon, and added watercolor with a wet on wet and salt techniques. The crayon was used for a "wax resist" technique. The students really enjoyed how the wet on wet technique created a cool tie-dye effect on their paintings.
For their next couple self-portrait projects, students will be studying Pop Art, specifically the work of Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol. They spent a couple days using Pixlr.com to edit photos I had taken of them during class. On Friday they started to trace their printed images onto drawing paper, so it looks like a cartoon. Next, students will paint in benday dots similar to Lichtenstein's work and the dots used in printing graphic design.
Be Smart and Make Art!
~Ms. Holcomb
P.S. - I will be adding photos to the gallery soon so you can see the projects discussed here. :)
For their next couple self-portrait projects, students will be studying Pop Art, specifically the work of Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol. They spent a couple days using Pixlr.com to edit photos I had taken of them during class. On Friday they started to trace their printed images onto drawing paper, so it looks like a cartoon. Next, students will paint in benday dots similar to Lichtenstein's work and the dots used in printing graphic design.
Be Smart and Make Art!
~Ms. Holcomb
P.S. - I will be adding photos to the gallery soon so you can see the projects discussed here. :)