Studio Art: Unit 1, What is Art?

Over the summer, I did manage to do a little revamping to my Studio Art units.  Last year I had them categorized as the following:

Unit 1: What is art?

Unit 2: 2-D Art

Unit 3: 3-D Art

Unit 4: Ceramics

Unit 5: Zentangles

This year, I have shortened the units in order to break up the information a little more.  I have also rearranged a few of my projects.  This is what my unit order will look like this year:

Unit 1: What is art?

Unit 2: 2-D Art: Drawing

Unit 3: 2-D Art: Painting

Unit 4: 2-D Art: Printmaking

Unit 5: 3-D Art: Sculpture

Unit 6: 3-D Art: Ceramics

This post is basically a quick recap of what we have accomplished for the first unit in the first two full weeks of school.  Much of my original unit is still the same...I use the Art Talk text book (ugh!) to do the first half of the note packet, which is about why artists create art (to be functional, for express oneself, for religious purposes, etc.) and where artists find inspiration from (the person paying them, their culture, world events, past artists, art media and styles, etc.).  Once this was accomplished, I assigned a sketchbook assignment for the weekend.  A fellow art teacher in my county suggested this book at one of our last staff developments.  It has some awesome ideas!  

Unfortunately, this was assigned after two days of school...a time period when a lot of students didn't have their sketchbooks yet (even though it was on their supply list...sigh).  Quite a few were completed on lined paper or computer paper and have already been lost. :(  Here are two though...sorry for the bad pictures!

Mine is the unfinished one on top. :(  The weekend I gave this assignment, my mom's dog was hit by a car and I wasn't thinking...I ran out to the road to scoop her up and she bit me.  I was out of commission from being able to really do any drawing or typing for about a week until it started to heal up.

For the last week and a half, the students have been working on infographics...one for the elements and one for the principles.  I am really trying hard to use sketchbooks EVERY DAY in Studio Art.  Last year I dwindled off on assignments in them and it was virtually pointless to ask students to use them.  (Stay tuned for future posts about how I am using sketchbooks every day!)  If you've been following me for a while, you'll remember the elements of art infographic I had students do last year.  They did these on a separate piece of drawing paper and eventually lost them of threw them out.

This year, I required the students to build them right into their sketchbooks so that they would always have them!  I also required them to make one for the principles of art.  Last year my students did not know these and when we tried to do critiques, it was very difficult to talk about the art.  Here are a few examples, including my own!

My examples of the two infographics.

The second sketch assignment I had students do was a non-representational line design.  This was assigned after their introduction to the elements and principles infographic project.  Again, this is a repeat assignment from last year.  Students were asked to use only one color and line to create an interesting design.  Some students strayed outside the project parameters and used more than one color, but in all honesty, their designs ended up being more successful than some of the single colored ones, so I didn't dock them on the rubric.  This sketch assignment then opened the door for the final project of the unit...zentangled master's paintings!

 I use a standard rubric for sketch assignments that is worth 16 points.  Students are assessed on following assignment criteria, using the elements and principles, creativity/originality, and craftsmanship.  I try to write a comment on all rubrics before passing them back...another one of those things I can check off my Marzano checklist!

The zentangled paintings is something I did last year at the end of the year, sort of as a wrap up.  I decided that this project was an awesome way to reiterate the elements and principles so I moved it!  I expect that it will take the students about a week and perhaps a few days to complete these drawings, making unit 1 a total of about three weeks.  We started off the zentangles by making one 3 1/2" tile during a single class.  I always find it amazing that the students who rush everything else complain when you tell them that this should take less than 20 minutes!

Check back again this weekend and I'll share how I'm using sketchbooks to perform bell ringers EVERY DAY!  Also, if I have time, I'll delve into some Common Core unit plan writing that my district is enforcing this year to replace our lesson plans.  It's a good thing, and a pain in the butt thing all at the same time...  Give me another week and I will be able to start sharing some finished elementary projects too!

Studio Art: Ceramic Unit Part 2: Pinch

In hindsight, I supposed I probably should have done this project before the slab project...next year.  For this project, I was first looking for perfection.  I know, I know...perfection in art class?  For this, it was doable and every single student succeeded in my opinion!  For this two-part sphere challenge, students were asked to create the most perfect sphere out of two pinch pots.

The first step was to make two pinch pots of about the same size and score and slip them together.

Next, students used a ruler to slap and shape their hollow ball of clay.

Some rolled their spheres on the table to help smooth the surface, others used a wooden rib tool to scrape and smooth the edge.  I did not encourage the use of an elephant ear sponge and water to smooth the spheres.  The only students who used that as an option were students whose clay started to crack towards the end.

 Once everyone completed their spheres...we invited the administrators into the classroom to judge them.  This is the challenge part.  I offered, to the winner, the choice of being able to opt out of a quiz, a homework assignment or for me to buy them a king size candy bar.  Amazingly, I think both winners opted for the candy bar!  Since all of the students did such an awesome job, I did buy some bags of candy and planned on giving them a free day before February break (of which we ended up having a snow day...go figure!).

Students lined up their spheres on a number so the administrators could pick the winner from each class.

The "part-two" of this project is this: students had to carve a non-objective line design into the surface of their sphere.  We will glaze these using the glazes I have specifically for red clay. ***It's also really important to note that before these were set out to dry, students had to poke at least one hole with a needle tool through the surface of the sphere.  This way, the air inside as a route to escape so the spheres don't all blow up in the kiln!***

Part three of the ceramic unit has not been started yet...upon return from February break, students will glaze these projects for firing and then we will work on the last project of the ceramics unit, coils!