Unusual Mediums for Usual Subjects

Portrait drawing...ugh.
Most students have this reaction when they learn of our unit on portraits because they feel incapable when it comes to drawing a human face realistically. So...we practice...and practice some more. We draw together, we draw with YouTube videos and we use step-by-step drawing portraits tutorials. Never mind the fact that most students have practiced portraits one way or another since 3rd grade. Still, it's not a favorite subject of most kids. Even when I mix up the mediums we use, students are still timid and unsure of their work.

This quarter, I was reintroduced to the work of Cheeming Boey. Although his cup drawings have been around for a while, I felt like his work was being pinned liked crazy lately and the more I dug into researching him, the more I wanted to connect his style and medium choices to our portrait unit. Videos showcasing his work distinctly encompass the 8 Studio Habits of Mind, and I had to share with his process with 8th grade art students.

Great videos of Boey here and here.

We began these works with sketching entire portraits using the typical method (head shape first, draw lines to mark the middle of the face, add eyes, etc). However, once we felt OK with drawing portraits in the typical way, we moved on to starting with just one eye. Boey mentions in his interviews that he doesn't necessary start with the large shapes first. We decided to do that same. We began with a detailed eye on the cup and then rest of the portrait (what we could fit anyway) fell into place.
A bordered band completed the top of the cup. We found some great inspiration here. 
So much fun...

The stands were created with a dowel and a small wooden circle to act as the base.  We basically punched holes in the cups and strung them on. Tissue paper adds a pop of color.

Come back soon to check out our next installment of "unusual materials for usual subjects"- Picasso Pop Can Portraits!

Day of the Dead Paper Mache Egg Skulls

During the last week of quarter one (of 8th grade) we had a little fun creating something unexpected- Paper Mache Egg Skulls for Day of the Dead.

A wonderful community member had donated hundreds of little brown paper mache eggs to our classroom this summer and I was stumped on what we were going to do with them. Day of the Dead was fast approaching at the end of the quarter  and it just made sense to turn them into mini 3D works. We had a blast with this and it was a great review on symmetrical, asymmetrical and radial balance...especially when we watched So Craftastic's YouTube video on clay roses. She is a hoot! (We made our roses out of Model Magic).

Day of the Dead Calaca Collage Collaboration

In our middle school course scheduling, 8th graders take both Spanish and Art as quarter classes during first semester. Since the classes are offered back to back in the fall, we (Mrs. Einerwold, Mrs. Peroddy and myself) organized a collaborative project that combined both a Dia de los Muertos iMovie video project with a paper collage artwork.

Check out the entire project outline and resources below.  Of course, we were initially inspired by this fabulous project: Día de los Muertos Calavera Collage from Modern Art 4 Kids. Mrs. Einerwold started things off with the 8th grade students in Spanish creating informational videos about Dia de los Muertos. Students were asked to follow a simple outline to ensure the most factual information about Day of the Dead was presented in their work.

The videos were then viewed by the 4th grade art students as an introduction to their Calaca Collage project. A student example is posted below.

 

The double-sided collage was then started by our 4th grade partners (Mrs. Peroddy's video demo below). See Mrs. Peroddy's introductory blog post here.



Once the 4th graders finished their sides, the artworks were delivered to the middle school where 8th graders began creating the other half. Students were asked to complete a worksheet with the following questions to begin this process. 

You will be choosing a 4^th grade Day of the Dead calaca as the starting point for your artwork. As you look through the artworks, take note (in your brain) what features of the artwork catches your eye.  Then answer: What do you like about it? Why did you choose this artwork? Be specific.

  

Your calaca will be the “big brother” or “big sister” to  the existing one in the work. Your calaca doesn’t have to match the other one exactly, but we should be able to see correlations between the two. You are creating features that enhance what the 4^th grader already did. What features are you going to highlight in your own work? Again, be specific and list at least three ideas (these could be color, pattern, line design, characteristics of features or accessories, etc). How are you going to add your own twist in your addition? How can you build upon what the 4th grader did to create unity in the work?

8th graders were encouraged to use a variety of materials for their collages. Options were colored construction/patterned paper, colored masking tape, Sharpies, glitter glue, squeezable puff paint, metallic sticker paper, sequins and embroidery floss.

Now...for 8th grade progress at this point:

These works will be displayed in our hallways at the end of this week. Please check back for a final view of our Day of the Dead Calaca Collage Collaborations soon!

STEAM Collaboration- Periodic Table Sculpture

BMS students are so excited to begin this new STEAM-infused project happening this quarter! 

Overview of the project-

During Q2 and Q3, some STEAM classes (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) are planning a multi-grade, multi-subject Periodic Table sculpture project that will tie in with a mural being planned in the media center. The Periodic Table Sculpture will be a permanent piece of art for our building.

Students in 7th grade tech and science as well as 8th grade science and art students are all going to invest in parts of the planning, research and/or creation of the table sculpture.

In order to kick this off this multi-grade, multi-subject collaborative project, 7th and 8th grade students will be watching Nova's Hunting the Elements documentary this Friday afternoon.

Today in 8th grade art class, we are matching the 10 groups of the periodic table to our 10 material choices. Mirror, leather, granite, glass tile, shiny and burnished metal, Plexiglass, stone tile and two wood species will make up our giant table of elements sculpture. We'll be posting the results of the material survey soon.