Oil Pastel Self Portraits

For our second project in 8th grade we are working on oil pastel self portraits. I am having them use the 12 x 18 paper. They feel overwhelmed, some of them. But I am trying to get them to let go of the "I can't do that" and just TRY!!!! So, I took pictures of their faces close up. Then I used photoshop to desaturate and turn up the contrast. Then we looked at SouthColonie Central High School Art Gallery's of portraits by drawing and painting classes.

Oil Pastel Self Portraits

We just started a new semester after Christmas vacation. So, this is the beginning of 8th grade with art. We started with some Name Tangles, or Name Zentangles - whatever you want to call them. I know I stole this assignment from a couple of different art teacher bloggers and mashed it into one assignment, but I can't find who I got it from. If I find it, I will repost.  (I found it here at The Bees Knees Cousin)

So, I altered the assignment a little. First, the students needed to find a font that they liked, but also a font that left the inside white. Then draw it vertically on their papers so their name touches top, bottom and both sides - turning their letters to ensure this. They outlined it with a Sharpie. Next they used the Sharpie and went right to zentangling. They were not allowed to repeat any zentangles. In the end, I introduced watercolor pencils for the inside of their names.

Overall, I loved how they turned out. Not everyone followed the directions exactly, but that's what happens in art sometimes - we get inspired to change.

Where do I start?

No, really..... where do I start? How do I start to prepare for this school year? I feel so overwhelmed.....with the depth of "stuff" in my classroom. I've tried cleaning in out, all summer. I have cleaned house, so to say.... emptied my room of some of the stuff  I thought I needed to keep because I might use it someday. Ok, then there's curriculum, benchmarks, lesson plans, core curriculum, adding reading and writing to my curriculum, and oh my, seems the curriculum could use some revamping. Intervention, I Can statements, posters, paint, grant writing, I need more cameras for photography class, PBIS, my brain hurts. I have been thinking about all of these things all summer, and working in my classroom maybe once a week. I still don't feel ready. But!!!!!! - tomorrow is almost here, and it's open house. So....... I wanted to share some of the things I am incorporating into my room this year. I found some I Can statements for the High School Art classroom for Michigan Department of Education Benchmarks - Thank You Mrs. Combs' Art World. Wow,THIS TEACHER IS AMAZING!!!! I feel so much like this is my first year teaching after looking at this blog. Amazing! I also found some "I Can" statements for the Middle School. I found these at "Art at Becker Middle School" middle school art blog. So, get ready, get set, plan, plan and plan some more - a new school year is HERE!!!! Let's make some ART!!

8th grade

In eighth grade we worked on one point perspective. I try to make this project more interesting every year I work on it with students. I love the project, I just don't know if they all do. This year we worked on one point perspective with watercolor pencils. Some students had some pretty awesome backgrounds to go with their city buildings. I especially love the trees some of them painted.

Look at these clouds, love it! This student claimed he could already do one point perspective because I taught it to him in 7th grade and wanted to work in two point perspective. Humph. Who am I to argue with a student that claims to remember what I've already taught him. I see this one in  my future high school art classes. 

8th Grade Radial Designs

In 8th grade we discussed radial designs. We discussed symmetry. We discussed geometry and art.
Some of the 8th graders really got into this project. It was awesome seeing some of them really trying to figure out how to recreate the radial designs they found on the internet using geometry. We even had one of the math teachers come in and help us figure out how to create the correct arcs, to intersect with other arcs, to get midpoints. Some of the students really did a great job!
Here are some of their masterpieces.

 

 

Stacked Name Project

To start the year the eighth grade began with reviewing line and pattern using Sharpies (LOVE SHARPIES). They had to research a font they liked and stack their name from top to bottom of their paper vertically. They could add letters from their name if they needed to fill more space. They were to keep the letters solid and fill the connecting space with patterns.

Van Gogh Style Landscapes

In eighth grade we took a look at van Gogh's landscapes. We discussed his style of painting. Students researched his landscapes on the internet and chose one to recreate, but with colored pencils. They needed to try to use his short brush stroke style using only colored pencils.

Next, we went outside and drew our beautiful landscape with the awesome fall leaves on the trees and drew what we saw. We tried to draw what we saw, not what we know. This is a very difficult concept for my artists to try to work around. We "know" what trees look like, so we try to draw them this way, instead of drawing what we see in front of us.

So, they drew the landscape then, using van Gogh's short brush strokes, colored their landscapes this time with oil pastel.
Here are a few of the beauties!

Stained Glass Project

This project was an oil pastel project that was supposed to replicate the look of stained glass. The students viewed varies images of stained glass and we discussed how it is created. They then sketched images they would like to create as a stained glass piece of work. They needed to remember to connect the lines to each other because a piece of glass cannot be floating in the middle of the work. They outlined with sharpie marker first then filled in with oil pastel colors.