Preparing for Chaos

This is what my art room looks like the day before we set up for the art show.  Normally I am not this prepared, but this year we will have exactly 30 minutes with each advanced class to put up our work.  So I am ready to go at top speed this year.

Did I mention that these panels are 5 to 6 layers deep

And each panel has at least 6 to 10 works on it.

I figured I have at least 50 students and each student had to bring in 5 of their best works of art.  So that is about 250 works of art.
Now some will set on tables, but I think I have hung about 150 works of art.

Spoof the MasterK

I gave the assignment to my Art 2 class, to either recreate a masterpiece or to spoof it.  Most chose to spoof, but I had a few that tried to figure out new ways and new mediums to remake a classic.

Carolyn H.

Courney M.

Demi H.

Sydney Hau.

Karly N.

Kelsey C.

Kiana K.

Meghan H.

Realism

My Art 3 class was given the assignment of creating a realistic picture from any medium that they wanted.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Jon C. - Kennedy

Olivia M. - Parrot

Ryan S. - Drew

Sabrina L. - Jennifer

Sammy K. - Watercolor

Op the Cube

Well from Pop art of the 1950s you can only go one place, but Op art of the 1960s.  I have art one look at some really fun op art images from Bridget Riley and a few others like that.  We then talk about how to create them and to even try to create your own.  I tell them from the get go that I will give them more points for attempting one of their own then copying something they found off of the internet.

I was really impressed with what I got.  I have them put it into a cubed pattern with 6 different sides.  I usually ask them to try to make one pattern circular, one squarish, one with triangles/diamonds, and one with just lines.  That gives them two more to just play with.  I know that usually these overlap but it gives them a place to start.

Sorry, I don't remember who these belong to.

Three times the fun

Tritychs are becoming a very popular art form, especially for decorating homes, but I wanted my students to try it out and see how easy and fun they can be.

I let them do it anyway they wanted in any medium they wanted.  I was really happy that they all tried to do them different and didn't keep them all the same.

Carolyn H. - paint and splatter on canvas

Courtney M. - Pencil drawing

Danica H. - Colored pencil

Sydney Hag. - Chalk

Sydney Hau.  - Watercolor

Jozlynn P. - Pencil

Maggie H. - Clay with watercolor paint

"Mask" the junk

Do you have junk in your house? In your Art room?  Maybe you have an incredibly clean lifestyle, but I am an art teacher and we are known as hoarders.  I try not to be, but even I have a large amount of junk that I saved.

For instance, while cleaning my house last summer I picked up everything that was broken or lost and threw it into a garbage bag, but not for the garbage.  No, I brought that garbage bag of junk to my classroom to use as inspiration.

I inspired my Art 3 class to create a recycled mask.  I pretty much let them use anything they could find in my classroom, including my bag of garbage.

I was pretty impressed by what they came up with.

Brandon S.

Jon C.

Kamber L.

Ryan S.

Sabrina L.

A Licht and a Stein

I had Art 1 keep going with the pop art theme by looking at Roy Lichtenstein.  We looked at the colors he used, the simple ways he made action appear on the paper and the way he created a story in one frame.

I then had my Art 1 students look at ways to create interesting actions out of everyday activities.  So for instance someone blow drying their hair or cutting an apple, how can that look interesting and appealing.  We talked about the fact that we don't need to see the whole vehicle or the whole person.  Try to focus on the action and how to accentuate it.  Also if they had room they could add a word.  I also tried to encourage them to use dots, lines and other designs that he used.

After they created a plan, I had them draw it on 18x24 paper and outline with india ink and quill pens.  I know that sharpies would work just as easy, but I wanted them to experience how to use the ink and pens.  My goal in Art 1 is for them to touch every medium I have in the room.

Here are some of the better projects.

Adan M.

Bridget B.

Mykah W.

Jaymon L.

Sam S.

Carter H.

Mikayla R.

John M.

It's a Circus in here

Like most teachers, I too have an extra duty.  I am also the Junior class advisor and last week was Prom week.  So needless to say, i am exhausted this week and trying to put everything back where it belongs.  I am not sure how we manage to loose so many things, but we do.

Anyways, this year the theme was "Under the Big Top."  It was meant to be a vintage circus from about the 20s.  We made our biggest change this year by getting rid of chairs and walking the entire floor with six stops. Overall it was a huge success.  I had more compliments this year than any other year.  So even though the kids complained I will be doing that from now on.

This is my son Myles testing out the cutout images.

The cannon and horse are both made out of cardboard.  The horse was over 10 feet high.

This is a tiger jumping through a hula hoop.

In the center of the gym was an elephant that was over 13 feet high.  We made all of these animals the day before.

Pop a Print

I have never really done a lot of printmaking lessons.  I don't know why, maybe because I have never really done any or have ever taken a class on how to do it.  So it is one of those mediums and lessons that kind of scares me.

But I decided to not only face my fear but to go overboard with it.  So I decided I wanted to do a double print.  I am not even sure if that exists but I wanted to do a simple print with styrofoam and then a more detailed print with linoleum carving sheets.

So first we started by looking at Andy Warhol's prints.  We looked at how he took simple themes and then played with the color of the paper and the color of the ink to make each one look different.  I then had the students come up with a plan for their project.  They were instructed to make a background by using the styrofoam boards.  They could do landscapes and street scenes and underwater scenes, etc.  I then told them they would have to carve a small linoleum piece that would have to fit into their first stamp.  Compared to the ideas that I came up with I think they had some great projects come out of this lesson.

Mikayla R.

Jack G. 

Riley H.

Mykah W.

Emily H.

Sam S.

Bella J.