Self Portraits

This may sound sort of corny but I always start off and end the school year with a self-portrait project. I'm curious to see the development of my student's skills over the period of a year. Below are selected examples created this year.


Grade 7
Media: tempera paints with color pencils on paper

Add caption

Add caption

Add caption

Add caption

Add caption

Grade 8
Media: chalk pastels on paper

Farida M.

Amr

Nadine

Hoda

Vignesh

Beginning Art HS
Media: spray paint, stencils on paper

Assem

George

Antarah

Abdo

My example

The materials

Intermediate Art
Media: ink on paper

Zeina

Sarah Luna

Noha

Farida

Farah

Say it isn't so....

As luck would have it something rather strange happened to a couple months of postings on here, they have left the building, went bye-bye in cyberspace. Instead of trying to recreate the missing months, I'm going to start fresh for the 2011-12 school year.

This year my teaching schedule looks like:
Grade 7 Art
Grade 7 Drama
Grade 8 Art
Grade 8 Drama
High School Drama
Beginning Art (HS)
Advanced Art (HS)
AP Art (HS)

Instead of keeping separate blogs I will be posting everything in one place thought I won't be including the learning objectives for every project (unless the campus is closed) If you have any questions, suggestions, or want to link your art classroom blog with mine send me an email.

Thanks for taking a look.
Mr. Bob    

Fine Arts Night

End of the year Fine Arts Celebration, hope to see you there!

Poster for the Event.

Color Pencil Skull Drawing

Assignment:

Color pencil skull drawing  

Objectives:

The student will use observational skills to draw a skull/skulls using color pencils. The student will apply color theory concepts and are highly encouraged to experiment with different types of lines. The student will demonstrate principles (unity, harmony, variety, contrast, proportion, and balance) and elements (line, texture, color, form, shape, and value) of art. 

Supplies:

Black paper, Prismacolor pencil, 2 real skulls from the Science department.  

Vocabulary:

observation, arrangement, balance, color, form, proportion, line, 

The Process
Step 1
The skulls will be set up on the table the student will choose the angle they wish to draw. The student will use a white pencil to create the initial line drawing. 
Step 2
After the student has made the  initial drawing they will choose what types of line and color combination they wish to add. Again, they are encouraged to experiment using lines and color combinations. 

Example

Farida's

Merna's

Amina's

Jomana's

Nouca's

Post project essential questions:
What was successful about your project?
What part of the project did you find challenging?
What do skulls and/or skeletons symbolize in the Egyptian society?
Did you feel uneasy sitting at a table with a real skull?

Please answer and e-mail your responses to:bmedina@schutzschool.org.eg

Skeleton Ink Drawing

Assignment:

Draw a section of a skeleton and render it with brush and ink.  

Objectives:

The student will use observational skills to draw a section of the skeleton model. They are to think in the terms of shape and form. The student will use a water base marker to outline then apply a wet brush to render the bones.

The student will demonstrate principles (unity, contrast, proportion, and balance) and elements (line, form, shape, and value) of art. 

Supplies:

Paper, eraser, pencil, skeleton model, water base marker, brush, water 

Vocabulary:

observation, arrangement, balance, color, form, proportion, line, rendering (shading), value (light-medium-dark) 

The Process
Step 1
The skeleton model will be set up on the table in a certain position. The student will choose the section they wish to draw. The student will use a pencil to create the initial line drawing. 

Step 2
The student will use the water based marker to outline the bones. 

Step 3

The final step will be to use a brush and water to dilute the inked lines for shading. NOTE: The more water applied and thiner the line the lighter the value. The less water applied and thicker the line the darker the value. 

Making the initial drawing

Step 2 and 3-adding the lines and rendering with brush and water. I encourage my students to work in sections as not to smear the lines form the marker. 

When I presented the project many felt overwhelmed by the task, but as you can see they are doing just fine.

Farida's ready to add some more lines.Working on a project upside down proved to be an abstract concept for a couple of students.  

Jomana drawing some large ribs.

Example

Nouca's

Amina's

Farida's

Post project essential questions:
What was successful about your project?

What areas of your project could you improve in?

Did you find it difficult controlling the the amount of water applied to the marker lines

What does a skeleton mean to you?

Please answer and e-mail your responses to:bmedina@schutzschool.org.eg

Intro to Photography

Assignment:

Photo session at Montazah Palace in Alexandria, Egypt.  

Objectives:

The student will use a digital camera and apply the rule of thirds to take photographs of the following subject matter: People, Objects, and Nature. The student will demonstrate principles (emphasis, unity, harmony, rhythm, variety, contrast, proportion, and balance) and elements (line, texture, color, shape, and value) of art. 

Supplies:

Digital Camera, subject matter  

Vocabulary:

Rule of thirds, grid, exposure, contrast, depth of field, cropping, DPI, image resolution, pixel, saturation  

The Process
Step 1
Discuss the compositional rule of thirds

"The rule states that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections. Proponents of the technique claim that aligning a subject with these points creates more tension, energy and interest in the composition than simply centering the subject would."

Rule of Thirds

Show students a slideshow of various photographs. 

Step 2
Take photos. 

The results:

Arpita no.1

Arpita no. 2

Merna no. 1

Merna no. 2

Nourhan no. 1

Ahmed no. 1

Nourhan no. 2

Ahmed no. 2

Sandrine no. 1

Sandrine no. 2

Jomana no. 1

Jomana no. 2

Post project essential questions:
What was successful with your session?
What part of the project did you find challenging?
What subject matter did you find most interesting?
Do you plan on using any photo manipulation software (photoshop) to alter your images?

Please answer and e-mail your responses to:bmedina@schutzschool.org.eg