Tuesday

Today, we finished up our drawing of Mr. Stravinsky. Students found the project difficult but helpful in improving their drawing skills. Usually we watch an art history video on Mondays. However, since our DVD player was not working yesterday, we pushed the video back to today. The video today is on the first great artist of Western Art, Giotto. After answering the video guide, we discussed the concept of positve and negative space in a design. Finally, we started planning our first large drawing (a line drawing of shoes). Students are expected to use their new knowledge of positive and negative space to create a good design for their shoe drawing.

Monday, August 30

Were does the weekend go? We started class this morning drawing Mr. Stravinsky, a famous line drawing by Pablo Picasso. The line drawing was coverred and I only revealed part of the drawing at different times. This teaches students to only draw what they see. And since the areas that are revealed often don't touch students stop trying to see and image and only try to see the lines that exist in the retangle that is visable. This is a great project for training the eye to see and training the brain and hand to work together.

The drawing of Mr. Stravinsky with only parts of the image exposed.

Line drawing of Mr. Stravinsky with all of the image exposed.

Friday, August 27

We have started our first unit on line, the most basic element of art. We completed our first line drawing, three keys, in class on Thursday. Below are a couple of examples of students' line drawings of keys.
We also worked on our first design project. Students were given the challenge of creating an interesting design using only 3 sheets of paper, a pair of scissors, and a glue stick. The students were very creative and came up with some great projects. Below are several examples of their solution to the challenge.

First Day of School

Back to school. Oh, how quickly the summer passes. Today was the first day of the 2010-2011 school year. The day went really smoothly. I am looking forward to a great year with a great group of students. In class today, we drew a prelininary drawing of our hand holding an object. This drawing allows me to see where our drawing skills are as individuals and as a class. Next, we introduced ourselves and discussed our classroom rules, procedures, and expectations. Students were given an August newsletter to take home and return signed by a parent. They were also given a materials list. The goal is for everyone to have the supplies they need by next Friday, September 3rd. I know time are tough and money is tight. Please let me know if you will unable to purchase the supplies for your son or daughter.