ART SHOW!

ART HISTORY PARODY PAINTINGS

8th graders were challenged to research an artist from history, create a digital presentation, and then create a design including that artist's style as well as their favorite cartoon character. They used tempera paint to build a painting on large canvases. This process took several weeks to finish! 

We spent one full week in the computer lab, looking for information about the artist and then putting together a digital presentation on Google Slides or Power Point. Students really enjoyed this - many of their presentations were so well done they looked like a graphic artist designed them! This project met many of our Alabama state standards for Visual Art as well as English Language Arts and Technology. Students were required to write the information for their presentations in their own words, without copying. We had an interesting discussion about plagiarism! We also discussed reliable sources of online information vs. invalid (Wikipedia). After Spring Break, we listened to each presentation and learned about famous artists from each other. Peer teaching is fun! 

The canvas paintings were designed to be inspired by historical artists and the finished product is a "parody," with the student's favorite cartoon juxtaposed somewhere in the design. We talked about copyright, fair use, and when it is okay to use various images in our art. Students then completed the paintings, paying close attention to detail and technique. I am proud of their work! 

Kelsey contemplates his Andy Goldsworthy Parody painting

Shakira works on her Jasper Johns inspired piece

Abstract Art

Non-Objective Art (early 20th century)

Renaissance Drawing (late 1400's - 1500's)

Surrealism (early 20th century)

Op Art (mid 20th century)

still life painting (Janet Fish is a contemporary artist)

political posters (Shepard Fairey is a contemporary artist)

What is "Fair Use?"

"In its most general sense, a fair use is any copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and 'transformative' purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work. Such uses can be done without permission from the copyright owner. In other words, fair use is a defense against a claim of copyright infringement. If your use qualifies as a fair use, then it would not be considered an infringement." Stanford University Libraries

See below for assessment outlines: 

PRINTMAKING WITH GLUE AND CARDBOARD!

6th grade student with his art pieces; he holds the original printing plate turned into an aluminum foil relief sculpture and one of his prints on watercolor paper.

6th graders recently completed a printmaking unit, involving many stages of production. First, we learned about Japanese artist and printmaker Hokusai, who created the famous print, The Great Wave At Kanagawa:

Hokusai, The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, 1830

We also learned about other printmakers from art history, such as Albrecht Durer, M.C. Escher, and Rembrandt. Students watched Youtube videos about these artists to see examples of fine art printmaking and to learn the difference between intaglio and relief prints. Click on this link to see a listing of the videos. 

Then, students thought of a design fitting with the theme of "nature," brainstorming several ideas before settling on a good one to use for their prints. They used a resource picture as a drawing reference and carefully drew the image onto a piece of cardboard. Then, we used school glue to outline all the pencil lines. This took several days because we added up to 3 layers of glue. There needed to be a raised line of dried glue on the cardboard to take ink later on. 

Finally, after days of glue application, we began printing. Students used brayers to roll ink onto their printing plates, paying close attention to applying an even layer of ink. It took practice to get just the right amount of ink on the plate and spend the right amount of time printing. 

When we were finished printing our limited edition of fine art prints and experimenting with colored papers, students used aluminum foil to transform the inky printing plates into a relief sculpture! We had fun embellishing the pieces with metallic markers, and some students used markers to hand color their prints. 

I am proud of their work! These are lovely images, and we can use our work to bring beauty into the world by sharing with others! Students will turn at least one of their prints into a greeting card, and will be encouraged to give some away to friends and family. One of our super powers as artists is to find and create beauty and then share it with others! 

student shows off his print and aluminum relief sculpture made from the printing plate

student shows off her print and aluminum relief sculpture made from the printing plate

here is a series of prints along with the glue-line cardboard printing plate

aluminum foil relief sculpture made from the glue-line printing plate

aluminum foil relief sculpture made from the glue-line printing plate

aluminum foil relief sculpture made from the glue-line printing plate

“From the age of 6 I had a mania for drawing the shapes of things. When I was 50 I had published a universe of designs. But all I have done before the the age of 70 is not worth bothering with. At 75 I'll have learned something of the pattern of nature, of animals, of plants, of trees, birds, fish and insects. When I am 80 you will see real progress. At 90 I shall have cut my way deeply into the mystery of life itself. At 100, I shall be a marvelous artist. At 110, everything I create; a dot, a line, will jump to life as never before. To all of you who are going to live as long as I do, I promise to keep my word. I am writing this in my old age. I used to call myself Hokusai, but today I sign my self 'The Old Man Mad About Drawing.” Hokusai

7TH GRADE PAINTINGS

Social Media Chase, Painting by Trinity, grade 7

Paintings! We recently completed a painting unit where 7th graders learned about 20th century Pop artists Andy Warhol, Claus Oldenburg, Roy Lichtenstein, and Wayne Thiebaud. These artists wanted to celebrate everyday popular culture! Andy Warhol painted celebrities as well as product logos, and Roy Lichtenstein made huge comic book style paintings. Wayne Thiebaud and Claus Oldenburg made art pieces based on food! 

Whaam!, Roy Lichtenstein, acrylic and oil on canvas, 1963

Profiterole, Claus Oldenburg, aluminum, 1989

Marilyn, Andy Warhol, screenprint, 1967

7th grade artists brainstormed a list of images they see regularly on television, in stores, or on the Internet. We talked about how the Pop artists were making a statement about the way we are constantly bombarded with images in the media! 

Then, students drew thumbnail sketches to experiment with their ideas before carefully drawing their final design on paper. Students were inspired by various popular video games, sports, music, comic books, social media, cartoons, and fashion. This painting assignment gave students a lot of freedom of choice, allowing for a tremendous amount of creativity. However, they were also challenged to paint their designs with a limited color palette!  

Some of the painting techniques they practiced were the "clean edge technique" and the "color gradation technique." Paint can be a difficult medium to conquer because it is liquid - it doesn't always behave predictably! I am very proud of my students and their hard work! 

Sponge Bob and Nike Parody by Rhett

Popular Music Album Parody by Whitney

Sports Logo Variation by Bryceson

Various gaming symbols by Victoria

"Animated Splash," by Brianna

Instagram/Cartoon Parody by Chloe

Doughnuts by Maggie

Nike and cartoon character parody by Kelli

"Fashion Design," by Ta'Mya

Sponge Bob and Music Artist Parody by Lesly

Rubric/Checklist for the Pop Art Style Painting

Written Reflection for the Pop Art Style Painting

Hokusai; One Sentence Summary

6TH GRADE PAINTINGS

Flower with Water Drop by Kayla 

6th grade students recently completed a painting inspired by the work of 20th century artist, Georgia O'Keeffe. O'Keeffe was famous for painting both abstract and realistic images of both bones and flowers! She loved to show "zoomed in" versions of flowers to emphasize line, color, and value. O'Keeffe is known for this quote: "I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for." 

Pelvis, by Georgia O'Keeffe

Poppies, by Georgia O'Keeffe

For this painting assignment, students could choose to draw a flower, a deer skull, or pretty much anything they wanted as long as it was a "close up" view. They worked hard to create a detailed drawing of the image, then they chose just a few colors to complete the painting. Along the way, they practiced various painting techniques as well as color schemes. The problem solving aspect of this assignment came into play when they had to use a very limited palette of colors! All students had to choose only one, two, or three colors from the color wheel plus black and white to make tints and shades. 

Blue Flower by Audrey

Human Eye by Gabriel

Close Up View of a Dog by Kaelin

Close Up View of a Light Bulb by Makayla

Abstract Flower by Corey

Flowers by Cori 

Deer Antler by Carson 

Abstract Flower by Nicola

Flower by Brooklyn

Leaf With Water Drops by Jasmine

Rubric/Checklist for Georgia O'Keeffe Style Painting, Grade 6