Cashing In on Jasper Johns

Scholastic Art had a fabulous magazine with Jasper Johns, a 20th century American Abstract Expressionist painter as their cover story. He was born in Georgia, but most of his symbolic works were created in Mid-Century New York City. He broke with the trend of the Abstract Expressionists of the day, who were putting paint splatters or brush swooshes on canvas. He chose to use common symbols. My Everyday Students read about his symbols and statements, his life and his art. Then they used letterforms, and at least seven to ten letters to create a chaotic, but unified composition inspired by Johns. Below you will see works created in chalk pastel. Some students chose oil pastel or paint to express themselves. Jasper Johns used stencils, but I challenged my students to draw their letterforms either from their imagination, or to choose from fonts with styles that were college-like, a Game Of Thrones-like font, a classic serif font, and a modern san serif font. As they developed their compositions students also had to identify negative and positive space. Another requirement was that they show at least three Principles in their work. I have a background in print graphic design, so it was especially enjoyable for me to share the nuances of typography with my students.

Go Go Gestalt

My Everyday students, often take a lot of convincing. Convincing them that they can create beautiful illusions with lines and shapes in graphite, charcoal, paint, et al is simultaneously challenging and rewarding. To make my point clear . . . and believavable, I set up four stations, each with black, white or gray scale media. Students could choose, and then rotate to each. In one, I hung a striped shirt on a display board, then placed easels around it. Their goal was to focus on its form and shape, by seeing, then representing only the negative space. The result is a gestalt. My student-skeptics, a few any way...did draw some contour lines as guides, but their drawings, albeit unfinished are quite nice.

SELFYisms

High School, Drawing and Painting I students used visual symbolism through collage and drawing. My "Everyday" students had to consider how the principles (balance, variety, unity, contrast, emphasis, rhythm, movement) are combined to communicate meaning in the creation of their artwork. They also discussed isms in art. "Isms" are distinctive doctrines, systems, or theories, and in the art world they typically signify art movements or styles. The suffix (word fragment added at the end of a word to modify its meaning) "-ism" marks a word as one signifying a doctrine, theory, or system of principles; or an attitude strongly in favor of or against a given group; a distinctive or characteristic trait; an action, process, or practice; a characteristic behavior or quality; a state or condition resulting from an excess of something specified.* Check out http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/ij/isms.html.  In the pre-lessons students created paintings of atmospheric perspective to understand Value: The lightness or darkness of a color tonal range. That was to prepare them for knowing how to shade the contours of their face with various shades of grey between absolute black and absolute white. Today’s teens seem so self-absorbed with their hand-held devices. I tried to take advantage of that by encouraging them to use a selfy as the subject of their art, and called this assignment “Selfyisms”

Geometry in a Spirit Mask

I was inspired by the incredible cardboard sculptures of wrnking to teach this lesson to my students. When you click on the link you will be amazed at the work. My amazement caused me to try my hand at the cardboard sculptures, particularly the masks. Before introducing it to the students, I tried one myself. I have always taught a mask making unit. I love the symbolism, history and culture of masks as an educational experience. I gathered as much recycled cardboard I could find. Students had to employ tons of geometry concepts: properties of triangles, parallel lines and transversals, symmetry, congruent triangles, solving proportions, reflection, and rotation to accomplish, as well as wrestle with the cutting through the thick board. All of the students were required to use a Double-Bubble Thinking Map to compare thier personality and characteristics with that of a sacred animal from Native American folklore. Once they determined what their animal spirit guide was, they researched and sketched their animal so it could be translated into their cardboard mask.

Parent Appreciation for Art Program

Geometry in Portraits

My junior and senior students, were studying color schemes and cubism. After researching George Braque and Pablo Picasso's Cubism the drew portraits of one another, then traced over their lines with a triangle. In some cases they needed to eliminate information to simplify their composition. That concept was particularly challenging, but after a few drafts they got it. The transferred their drawings to stretched canvas then used acrylic paint and a color scheme of their choice to paint their portraits. I taught them that acrylics are very forgiving, so that when they felt they were painting outside of an area or that an angled shape wasn't what they desired they could simply paint over it. They are very proud of their creations.

The Mathalicious Part

The practice of using a grid to create an accurate reproduction of a subject has been done since the days of Leonardo da Vinci. My students are finding that it is an effective way to improve their perception of perspective and proportion in their drawing. A few students remarked, "The grid is easier because I can focus on one square at a time, and as each of them comes together the portrait is reveiled." - Ashley.  "Every square shows you the lines and value." --Konnadia.  "It was hard at first, but if you practice and focus on the square it helps." -- Myosha.  I employ the gridding method because of the infusion of math skills. The students use a dialation scale factor of 3, they learn how to read a ruler, and understand measurements. To take the lesson up a notch, my students paint a gray scale, and create another value scale. That should assist them to develop a sensitivity to varying lights and dark values found in their portraits which they will shade accordingly.