Grade 6 Art Projects. 2D and 3D.

And, we're back. It has been close to a year since my last post...not that anyone has missed me. I do have a couple of good excuses. 
1. I'm new to the world of fatherhood as of last April. 
2. I published my first book. 

Our daughter Ximena

My book, Denvoid and the Cowtown Punks -- A Collection of Stories From the '80s Denver Punk Scene is a unique and seminal kind of localized punk oral history, for it features over 100 vivid, hand-colored illustrations alongside flyers and other artifacts from the era. Eclectic, in-depth interviews with prominent scenesters range from musicians and culture jammers to reformed skinheads and business owners. Grassroots and outgoing, Medina examines the small window of opportunity in which they impacted cultural behaviors and musical styles at large, even reached a global network desiring to know more about the isolated frontier world that sprang Frantix and Bum Kon. You can order by clicking HERE

Let's get down to business. I have returned to my former school in Alexandria, Egypt to teach Art and Drama at Middle and High School level. It's nice to be in familiar territory again. I wanted to take some time off from documenting student artwork as I felt like I over-documented at my former school in Ethiopia. With teaching IB Art, documentation of learning and growth is essential. Between projects and the student's investigation workbooks, I've accumulated 1000's of images in two short years. 

I was going through photos of student artwork during the past week and became a little sentimental. It was encouragement enough for me to dust off the camera and snap a couple of photos of what hasn't already been sent home from their year's projects. 

Below are a few samples of what I've been doing with Grade 6 students. 

1. Group sculpture work with old markers, VHS tapes, books, rulers, erasers. This project is perfect for a class with only 30-40 minutes. Variations can include with different stations, material such as chairs, etc. It is nice to see the students work together to problem solve through trial/error and discussion.   

2. Masking tape paintings (12"x18") with over lapping patterns. 

3. Obligatory show drawings (9"x12") with a 6B pencil. We made values scales prior to the shoes.

4. Oil Pastel Portraits. The main leaning objective was to experiment with blending oil pastels. Prior to this project, students made color swatches by experimenting with mixing 2-3 colors together. 

5. Book/Journal making with paper Batik covers. 

 6. Printmaking-block reduction prints on gray paper. Dia de Los Muertos theme.

 

7. One point perspective with markers.

 

Sadly all the clay projects went home along with the bulk of the other projects. 

Background results

I will admit that I liked the backgrounds better than the final product. I had students experiment with contrasting and analogous colors when creating the faces. I felt that the faces for the most part were overly cartoonish and at times crowded or crammed in the space. There objectives for the project were minimal, I was more interested in seeing how the students interpreted my ideas, being this is my first attempt at this project. In the end I felt like the students had the opportunity to try out new concepts such as cropping and managing space with the faces.

Backgrounds painting HS art

I wanted to wish any and everyone who follows or stumbles upon this blog Happy Holidays. This will be my last posting until mid-Jan unless the world ends on DEC 21, 2012…has a time zone been determined for that event yet?

Crop circles are cool as are line designs, don’t let anyone tell you differently. We are currently on step one-the background to our next painting. If you are interested in the art concepts we are using look at the labels/tags at the bottom of this posting. Truth be told a few of my kids expressed concern about painting on top of their backgrounds and are content to leave them be. Sadly, I won’t be able to honor their request. Final results coming soon.

In the meanwhile be kind to each other-stop the hate, stop the violence, and treat each other with respect...everywhere please.