creating creatures.

I shared the work of designer and artist Don Pendleton with the 3rd grade classes this week. Don has done a lot of super cool stuff within the world of skateboarding. This got the kids VERY excited about his work:)

Don has applied his figurative abstract style to skateboard decks, sunglass frames, beverage containers, and even sneaker soles. I enjoy, and so did the kids, the range of items he applies his creativity to.

We looked at a number of images from his website and then focused on the below image as the inspiration for our project.

I asked the class what creature stood out the most in this image. What they identified was-

- the one in the MIDDLE

- the BIG one

- the one with the MOST DETAIL

- the one with the MOST COLORS

A great collection of ways an artist can make something become a focal point in an artwork. By doing these things, I explained, Don had also created a foreground and a background in the image.

We then set about to create our own creatures. I emphasized that we weren't copying Pendleton's work, but only using his vocabulary and style.

Students started out by drawing the large shape for the main character. They added details to the character next, trying to limit themselves to geometric shapes. They used verticals and horizontals to break up the background and then added more simple creatures to some of those new shapes. They then traced all their lines, using mostly thick lines for the main character and mostly thin lines for the background.

How students used color to fill their designs was up to them. I said they could use warm and cool colors, or primary and secondary, or any other combination they thought would be interesting. The one thing i emphasized is that they should press hard in some shapes and softly in others, so that they would have light and dark colors in their designs.

The classes came up with some pretty interesting variations on the abstract character theme. They also did a great job staying on task throughout the lesson.

Way to go 3rd graders and thanks to Mr. Pendleton for inspiring another art project!

This guy wanted to do a picture of Albert Einstein. I think he did a great job capturing his "wild" look:)

This student had to use her opposite hand to draw and color due to her cast on her drawing hand. She didn't hesitate at all. She dove right in and did an amazing job!

a whale's tale.

A series of links from one art blog to another led me to the image by CSA  Design that you see below.

My first reaction (to self)- love this!

second reaction (to self)- 2nd grade line project!

It is such a great image. Cheerful and innocent. Rich with line and shape teaching points for my students.

Many of the images that the CSA Design firm has created (and they have made many, many of them) since 1989 have similar characteristics. Not necessarily cheerful and innocent, but rich in teaching possibilities and just very well put together. Very smart sense of composition and design. 

The students and I checked out a number of images from the company website and talked about the use of contour lines to create a variety of natural shapes. We touched upon the balance between positive and negative shapes (character and background). We also spent a few minutes talking about why the whale stood out from the background. A triple answer the class soon found out- due to its size contrast, its color contrast, and that it's right in the middle of the paper!

When we got to the hands on part of the lesson, the construction of the whale was done through direct instruction, but the whale patterning and background underwater elements were up to the students.

CSA used silver ink along with brown to stress the importance of the color of the paper in creating a striking image, but we went with white because I don't want all my silver sharpies to dry out so fast:)

The kids really enjoyed creating their own whale designs. They had a chance to incorporate a wide variety of underwater elements. The smart design of the original image really provided a great template for students to visually succeed with.

traced. trace. tracing.

One of my first artistic memories takes me back to 1st grade, when me and a friend would trace countless photos of the members of the band KISS out of magazines his older brother had. Getting lost in the details of Gene Simmons monster boots, those things were SO wicked... I then took them into class and told my teacher that I had actually drawn these pictures, not traced them. Hmmm.

Heather Hobler has done some interesting drawings by "simply" tracing images from different sources and composing and layering them on paper.

I have used her work as a project to introduce the element of line and the principle of variety in art.
Students use a variety of periodicals- entertainment weekly, sports illustrated, national geographic, home & garden, etc...

Students approach the drawing in 3 steps-
1. trace around 7 to 9 images with pencil- some of these could be the same image repeated
2. trace around 5 images with a fine tip black marker
3. trace 1 to 3 shapes with a thick black marker

Students create variety by using lines of different thickness and value.
Students create a focal point by using thick bold lines in only a couple areas, and these shapes stand out against the thinner lines throughout the rest of the drawings.