Painted Graham Crackers

The week before any break is usually a little chaotic, this week was no different.  AP Art History finished lecture a little earlier than planned and instead of moving on to a new unit before a week and a half off, I decided the students deserved a little change in pace.  So, as a treat and something fun for the last two days before break, I brought in graham crackers and frosting.  The students chose a famous painting and recreated it on the cracker.  As you can see the 'paintings' turned out pretty good!  I was happy that we got this in before the ice day on Friday.  Happy Holidays to all!

Washington's Newest Club: Photo Club

Photo club started last Tuesday with a short initial meeting and a photo scavenger hunt around the halls of Wash.  Each week members will be given a theme to photograph.  Photos will be shared via Instagram and members are encouraged to comment on the photos.  We will also be viewing the photos during the meetings on Tuesday's. 

Everyone is welcome to join and post images to Instagram using #crwashphotoclub.  I will post the theme for the week here and on the whiteboard in my classroom (room 241).

This week's theme: Black and White.  Now, go take some pictures!

2nd Annual NewBo High School Art Show

Today is the day! We are fortunate this year to be holding the show in first floor of the Cherry building.  All four of the CRCSD high schools are participating.  The space is wonderful and filled with lots of people enjoying all the student artwork.  All of the artist studios are also open for Christmas gift purchases!  There are a lot of activities happening today in the NewBo district for all ages.  

Text as an Element

Students in Design in Art were asked to manipulate text to create a unique design in which the original letters become unrecognizable.  They used Illustrator and expanded the text objects in order to manipulate the text.  I think the results speak for themselves! 

Drawing with Charcoal

Today, I introduced the Drawing 1 students to the messy, but forgiving, medium of charcoal.  I have this gigantic, white ball (on the right side of the image) that we use for shading.  This is the third time the students have had to draw this ball.  They first drew it when we started shading in graphite and then again when they learned about shading with ink.  They love the ball.  Kidding.  Mostly I get 'the ball...again?'.  Yep.  Again.  I started the way I always start.  Students get their own tin (once upon a time in Photography, I use to get 100ft rolls of film and roll film for students...it was awful, but the tins are great for drawing material storage), I hand out vine charcoal, compressed charcoal, a pink eraser, a kneaded eraser, a blending stump, and tissue for blending.  We discuss the materials and how they are used.  I start by showing them how to tone the paper, sketch with the vine charcoal, and then eventually use the compressed charcoal to add value.  I did something a little different today.  When the students thought they were finished, I had them hang their drawings on the wall and step back.  By stepping back, students are able to easily see areas that need more attention.  I talked with each student individually about what they still need to work on.  Students even gave each other feedback about areas to work on.  Most students knew exactly what they needed to work on as soon as they saw the drawing hanging on the wall.  Students then took the drawings and continued to work on them a little more, trying to perfect the drawing as much as they could.  It was a little chaotic, but it was awesome formative assessment.  This is a one day project and tomorrow students will start a white object still life in charcoal. 



Drawing 2: The Comic Project Continues

Students are hard at work perfecting their drawings.  They use Photoshop to edit the hand-drawn comics.  Students can add color, create text, outline the panels, and clean-up all the extra marks.  The University of Iowa has a great collection of Graphic Novels and comics.  I came up with the idea for this project after attending a summer workshop at the university with Rachel Williams.  She is incredibly knowledgable and teaches various workshops and classes on the subject.  If you are in the area, I would strongly suggest taking a workshop with her!  The university also does K-12 classroom visits and one of the topics they present on is Graphic Novel and Comic Art.  It makes a great starting point for a lesson on comics.  

Announcing: The Collaborative Design Studio

This morning, when I opened my email, I was greeted with some amazing news!  The Collaborative Design Studio is being funded and headed to Room 241 at Washington High School.  My classroom is going to be equipped with a classroom set of Mac Book Airs and Wacom drawing tablets.  This means even in my most traditional courses, like Drawing, students will be able to experience the technology that is used by professionals.  A collaborative element will be added to all of my courses to encourage creative teamwork.  The end goal is to increase student learning and program numbers by engaging students through the use of these technologies. I can't tell you how excited I am about the future of our art program!