the eyes STILL have it.

Almost all of the 5th grade classes have now done the Tom Lane inspired eye project. Below are a few more of the stellar drawings that students completed.

the eyes have it.

I found the work of Tom Lane, aka Ginger Monkey, on pinterest recently and thought the older students would appreciate the creativity and work that go into his designs. Tom is a self described illustrator, designer, and typenut.

We looked at a few of Tom's branding and typography projects on his website and the students really liked how he played with letters and words to get a certain meaning across. We then looked at the illustration that first caught my eye...

This was a personal image that Tom created. The students liked the play on word/letter contained in the image. We also looked at sketches Tom had done for the project, so students could see some of the work involved with going from and idea to a finished design that is conceptually strong and visually striking.

We then looked at a close up of the eye.

We all agreed that this was quite cool. Most of the students felt that even though the image was broken up into closed shapes, it still had a sense of 3d depth. This was due to Tom's use of light and dark colors and tints and shades of those colors.

I wanted to focus on this close up of his design because it would allow the students plenty of space for detail and large areas of bold colors.

We drew a contour line drawing of an eye based on Tom's design. There was a lot of, how should I say, WHINING, at the beginning. Many students were feeling intimidated by the complexity of Tom's image.  I emphasized that as long as they tried their best, things would be all right. Sometimes you need to challenge yourself. And you know what? These kids rose to the challenge and so many of them did a great job with the drawing. I was a bit surprised at the number of students that rocked the assignment.

Once they drew it out, we added color together. They made their own decisions about color choices, but I asked them to create light values and dark values in certain places, so that the light and shadow effects would make sense.

Kudos to you, 5th graders!

Thanks for the inspiration Mr. Lane!

out and about with jolby

I thought it would be nice to revisit the work of Josh and Colby at Jolby one last time this year with a different grade level, so I introduced the 2nd grade classes to their work. The kids, of course, thoroughly enjoyed the collaborative efforts of the Jolby team.

I gave the classes the lowdown on Josh and Colby with the help of their website. We talked about how even though the two of them looked silly (they have a photo of the two of them on their about us page) and had fun creating their work, they took it seriously and always tried their best.

To introduce Jolby's work I shared a commercial they did for the college they graduated from that features a character and other artworks that they created.
Then I shared a video the duo put together as a preview of a show they recently had in San Diego. The kids loved seeing both.

We then looked at a couple more images from their San Diego show, Shapes and Smiles. Both of the images I selected had their basis on memories that Josh and Colby had. One of the 2nd grade standards is to explain how artists share experiences or communicate ideas, so these images offered up good discussion points for how and what Josh and Colby were trying to share with us. Next to both images on the Josh and Colby shared in writing what the basis for the work was, so I could share that with the kids too.

The first day of classes I focused on this image, titled Ready to Go.

We approached the drawing in 4 steps, pencil drawing, marker tracing, colored marker scribbling, and wet brush blending. I asked the students to draw things that they would want to take with them if they were moving or going on a trip. They were asked to connect some of the shapes together with line patterns since patterns are a key element in the work of Jolby.

When they added colors,  I had them choose between warm and cool colors. I said that cool colors could give the image a sad or calm feeling, while warm colors would give it a more happy, upbeat flavor. They chose their colors based on what feeling they would have as they were going on that journey.

The above results were great, but I felt like too many of the students were not having enough success compositionally and with color execution. I decided to focus on another image for today's classes. I still focused on the same standard, but instead of also working with warms and cools, the students had another opportunity to practice recognizing and creating symmetry in art. We did the drawings with colored pencils, sharpies, and pencils.

The second image was titled Escaping the City.

For this lesson, the class and I identified what showed symmetry in the image and where it was not present. I pointed out that even though some things did not perfectly match, things on opposite sides were about the same size and shape, so there was still a strong sense of balance.

I asked the kids to think about what they would bring with them if they were heading out to the country or out into a more natural setting for a few days. Oh, and since Josh and Colby added fictional touches to the image, I also said they could add little characters or take other liberties with the things they were going to include in their drawing.

We started by folding the paper to create a line of symmetry and then drew the basket and blanket together. After that it was up to them to add their personal things in a symmetrical way.

When students were ready to color I said they could approach it in a couple different ways. They could make shapes look 3d like they did in their Pearl Fryar inspired drawings or they could color things flatly like Josh and Colby do so often in their work.

I think that more of the students had a better time with this lesson today. Much more of them were in control of the media. The marker and water approach was too messy for the other lesson. 

Great job 2nd grade team!

Thanks for the inspiration Josh and Colby!

all star artist

Today I had the pleasure of sitting down with my all star girl artist for March to ask her a few art related questions.

Her name is Dhamar Jaimes and she is a 3rd grader in Ms. Kidwell's class. Dhamar always does an excellent job with her art projects in class. When we do more directed lessons, she renders things very well, and when the projects call for more creative problem solving she always rises to the occasion and comes up with something cool and original. When Dhamar finishes a project early, she will quietly assist others or create a "free" drawing and apply what she learned from that day's lesson.

It is things like this that made it easy to select her as one of my Artists of the Month.

So, Dhamar, how was your rainy weekend?
It was okay. I collected hail and put it in the freezer.
Cool!

What do you like most about making art?
I like to get all creative and I like to make funny characters.

Is there a media that is your favorite?
Pottery. You can make fun stuff with it, like I made a slipper, but it's actually a holder. 
I love that about clay too. To be able to make something and use it for something too makes it even cooler.

Is there a cartoon or animated movie, that when you watch it you think "wow, that just looks so cool"?
Looney Tunes. Bugs Bunny.
Wow! Pretty old school, Dhamar. What do you like about it?
He likes carrots and he says "what's up doc?"

Are there any people that inspire you to make art?
My mom. She made a picture of a woman that I really like.

Out of the art pieces you have made, which is your favorite and why?
The one I made with Miss Danielle. It was a clown done with oil pastels. I like it because the clown is silly.
I'm beginning to see a trend here. You really like to make humorous artwork. I think that's great. Not all art has to be serious.

What do you want to do when you grow up? Why?
An artist.
Can you be more specific? There are lots of things you can do as a professional artist.
I would make prints.
Oh, like we did for the Jolby project, where we used styrofoam to make a stamp.
Why?
Because I could reuse it any time to make more of them and I could make more money that way.

Great interview, Dhamar! Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule and thanks to Ms. Kidwell for excusing you from a few minutes of social studies instruction.

This is part of a series of twice monthly posts that features the work and words of one of our many talented student artists at Zamorano Fine Arts Academy. To be selected, students must be models of respect, engagement, and creativity in the art room. A boy and a girl will be showcased each month.

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!