Summer Time Still Life

Students focused on value and composition for this still life of different summer time objects. Students were required to draw at least five objects within the still life, have 5-7 value changes, and have at least two objects going off the page. This is what 6th and 7th graders came up with.

Sandsculpting Competition 2014

Students in the Visual Arts Program participated in the annual Neptune Festival sandsculpting competition again this year.  The theme was Dr. Seuss, and students created a scultpure based on the theme.  Students created a book, with the cut down truffola trees on top and even one cut down on the side.  They placed rocks around the center tree to also symbolize happenings within the book as well. They then wrote part of the popular quote from "The Loraz," 'Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not.' 

Our amazing students won first place again this year in the middle school divison!

 

Surrealist Handscapes

Students in this 2-D unit lesson focused on the anatomy of the human hands.  With discussion of Surrealism and surrealist artists, students created surrealist landscapes using their hands as the main focal point.  Students studying the anatomy of the hand included them in their surreal landscape making the hands the main subject of their piece.  This assignment helped students think outside the box and into a dream-like state.  Students very much loved learning about surrealism and the bizarre quality of work produced during that period of time.

With this assignment, the focus was on the anatomy of the hands, proportion, using surrealist qualities within their art, and using value or tonal shading.  Here are some of the landscapes that the 6th, 7th and 8th graders came up with.

 

 

 

A Twist in Grid Drawing

Students for this assignment were asked to choose either themselves or an iconic person to represent.  Focus on this assignment was drawing the human face.  Working with proportion, value, and drawing techniques were a strong focus.  Student were asked, after selecting their chosen person, to create an innovative grid through their subject.  In each square of the grid they were to use a different drawing technique that was introduced in class.  Students were to choose between 6-10 different techniques.  Before getting started they were to come up with a rough draft of their ideas.  Here are some examples of students rough drafts.

 

Here are some examples of the final product: 6th-8th grade

 

 

 

 

 

The Study of Hands

Students for their homework assignment focused on drawing the human hand. Students were to research American sign language and create a word that was at least 4 letters long. Students had the option of creating a full scale value drawing or show value with color.  Focus was put on the anatomy of the hand, full value range, and originality.

 

Shoe Art

This was a two-part assignment.  The first part was a drawing assignment and the second part was a sculpture assignment.  For the first part, students created an observational drawing of a shoe that represented them.  They included 5 words that described themself as well as images that could be drawn on the shoe.  The drawing was entirely based upon them, giving it an abstract flare that would make their shoe drawing come to life.  The second portion of this assignment was a sculpture. Students were to bring in a shoe that they would like to use in order to create some type of shoe art.  The assignment was very open-ended.  They could turn the shoe into an animal, monster, landscape, etc.  It was entirely up to them how they would alter the shoe.  This is what 6th and 7th graders created.

 

 

 

 

Record Portraits

Students studied the history of music and its influence on our world today.  We examined how music evolved and, more specifically, how music was recorded so that people could listen to it.  As a class we looked at the history of the record and how it was developed.  Students watched videos on the process.  After having an understanding of music evolution and records, students chose an iconic music figure for their assignment.  Their assignment was to use this uncommon surface to paint their iconic musician's portrait.  Students were given examples of different icons, but were encouraged to choose their own, someone of interest or connection to themselves.  Here is what 8th grade students created.