My grade 10 class just completed some figure paintings. This was an extension from their figure drawing unit and for some, it was their first time painting! Students did this independently researching colour, brush techniques and the human form. You can click the photo below to view slightly larger.
You can view the small set on Flickr here.
In my quest to do art daily, I came a little short in 2011. It was a busy and crazy year. I planned and painted a smaller and larger mural in my school library, which took the majority of January. There was also the Tohoku earthquake here in Japan on March 11, which literally shook the world (doodle video) and finally in October, I also had my biggest work of art ever with the birth of my first child named Noah. With all this I still tried to do art daily resulting in 207 seperate sketchbook pages. To be honest, I missed several days and tried to do catch-ups on others. Perhaps nothing truly outstanding, but still worthwhile to keep the creative juices flowing. My goal for 2012? Perhaps delve into visual journaling and create larger pieces.
(cross posted on iLoveFrank’sDrawings)
“Teachers at every level should be addressing the requirements, possibilities and limitations of the digital media that now structure our lives.”
Global Consciousness: How does the World Wide Web change our responsibilities in and to the world we live in?
Design: How is information conveyed differently, effectively and beautifully in diverse digital forms? Aesthetics form a key part of digital communication. How do we understand and practice the elements of good design as part of our communication and interactive practices?
Affordance: How do we assess all of the particular network features, limitations, and liabilities of a particular technology in order to know when and how to use it to our best advantage?
Narrative/Storytelling: How do narrative elements shape the information we wish to convey, helping it to have force in a world of competing information?
Procedural (Game) Literacy: What are the new tactics and strategies of interactive games, wherein the multimedia narrative form changes because of our success or failure? How can we use game mechanics for learning and for motivation in our lives?
Critical Consumption of Information: Without a filter (editors, experts and professionals), much information on the Internet can be inaccurate, deceptive or inadequate. How do we learn to be critical? What are the standards of credibility?
Digital Divides, Digital Participation: What divisions still remain in digital culture? Who is included and excluded? How do basic aspects of economics and culture dictate not only who participates in the digital age but how they participate?
Ethics: What are the new moral imperatives of our interconnected age?
Assessment: What are the best, most fluid, most adaptive and helpful ways to measure progress and productivity, not as fixed goals, but as part of a productive process that also requires innovation and creativity?
Preservation: What are the requirements for preserving the digital world we are creating? Paper lasts. Platforms change.
Sustainability: What are the metrics for sustainability in a world where we live on more kilowatts than ever before? How do we protect the environment in a plugged-in era?
Learning, Unlearning & Relearning: Alvin Toffler has said that in the rapidly changing world of the twenty-first century, the most important skill anyone can have is the ability to stop in one’s tracks, see what isn’t working and then find new ways to unlearn old patterns and relearn how to learn. How is this process especially important in our digital world?
Love this find that Dan Pink posted on his blog from an ad campaign for College for Creative Studies in Detroit. Very funny. Intervention required?
What a busy last few weeks as the majority of all my classes conclude their first unit. That was a lot of marking.
Grade 6 students have finished their portrait drawings. You can view the unit outline here and see student work by going directly to Flickr here. Included are students’ first drawing and their final one.
Grade 7s have finished their unit on Visual Journals. Students were required to create a summative journal on their Field Studies trip. The unit outline may be found here. The Flickr set is mammoth and the ability levels all ranging. Two strong examples may be found here and here.
Grade 8s have also finished their first unit on abstract art. You can view the week by week breakdown of the lessons here. Student work may be viewed here.
Grade 9 just finished their first unit on observational drawing. Students were asked to focus on composition, proportion, tonal range and gradation. Student work may be viewed on Flickr here and if interested, you can view the unit lesson breakdown here as well.
I recently finished reading Just My Type by Simon Garfield. I usually don’t read books like this, but I’m glad I did. It’s entertaining and really interesting. Simon Garfield provides insight into the history of fonts as well as providing interesting stories that accompany them. Of course, there’s stuff like Helvetica vs. Arial & Comic Sans etc. and a mention on how the Obama campaign used Gotham. If interested, feel free to read my notes via a GoogleDoc here, but I’m not convinced you will find it useful. Pick up the book instead.
My grade 7 students are continuing with their visual journals. For their first main task, students were asked to journal and answer “Who am I?” Below are some strong examples, which utilised composition, layout, colour scheme etc. Underneath the pictures you may read the task outline. Click the photo to view larger.
The task was described as:
Who am I? This seems like a very easy and straight-forward question, but when was the last time that you really tried to articulate an answer? You may have thought that you figured that out a long time ago, or perhaps you feel like you are still figuring it out. What better way to start this challenge. No matter what type of art you make it is always a reflection of you. The journal is no different. Heck, it might even be more true of the journal.
Take some time to ponder and journal about all the aspects of your “self,” and create a response that introduces you to the world.
Who are you? What is important to you? Where do you come from? How does your inner identity compare to your outer identity? Do you have a hidden identity? If you are not who you want to be, what is stopping you? Feel free to brainstorm or mind-map your ideas to help yourself out.
Your page must include imagery, text and colour. Imagery can consist of collage or hand drawn elements, or both. Your text could also be done by hand, by stencil or through recycled resources. Try to vary your lettering techniques and styles so as not to simply use your normal handwriting. You may use any type of drawing style done in class or combine elements.
(Task taken from the Journal Fodder Junkies site)
(Cross posted on the YIS Visual Art blog on Oct. 3, 2011)
Yet more ammunition on the power of doodling. From TED: “Studies show that sketching and doodling improve our comprehension — and our creative thinking. So why do we still feel embarrassed when we’re caught doodling in a meeting? Sunni Brown says: Doodlers, unite! She makes the case for unlocking your brain via pad and pen.” Watch the 6 minute presentation here. Did you know doodling assists all four modalities of learning? 
If you do anything art related that requires your students to create thumbnail sketches to develop their ideas, check out C.S. Neal’s website illustrating his thumbnails and developmental sketches for a book cover he designed. Well worth a look to show students that 1-3 simple thumbnails are not enough to really explore your ideas.
