Branford Festival T-Shirt Design

Creative Opportunity

Branford Festival is one of the most celebrated events in our town. People of all ages and from all over come to visit our town to participate in the Father's Day Road Race,  listen to music,  and indulge in food made by our local restaurants.  Children love the rides and games, as well as the cotton candy and fried dough!

The event always has a commemorative T-shirt that showcases something in our town.  What comes to mind when you think of Branford and the festival?  Branford is known for it's shoreline and it's green.  Think of ways to represent Branford in a simple way, preferably using a line drawing.   Block in colors, up to six, but you can use a very limited palette if you choose.   View all the guidelines in Branford Festival Document.

Pinch-Pot

Ceramics

Creating a pinch pot is one of the most basic hand-building techniques.  Read the Pinch-Pot hand-out to familiarize yourself with this ancient technique.  Also view the Pinch-Pot video on creating a hollow form by assembling two pinch pots together.  Try to create a pinch pot with walls that are even, you will check to see if they are even by slicing it right down the middle. 

Pinch-Pot Handout  Pinch-Pot Video

Activist Art

Advanced Drawing and Painting

What political, social, or environmental issue is important to you?

Your next assignment  requires you to communicate a message about an issue you feel strongly about.  Artists have been expressing their views on everything with their art for centuries. Take a look below to see a few examples.

 To view details about getting started view the Activist Art Document



Advanced Drawing and Painting

Artwork from: From Ordinary to Extraordinary by Ken Vieth

I came across this lesson on another teacher's website (thank you Mrs. Briggs).  It connects with the artists and styles we have been studying.  Start by perusing magazines until you find an image that jumps out at you.  Take a portion of that image and place it in your sketchbook (don't glue it down yet).  Extend the images by creating an interesting composition.  Think of the negative and positive space and how both define your sketch.  Create a few different examples of how you can complete this drawing.  After you have a solid composition and creative idea start planning your color scheme.  What mood are you trying to create?  Use either colored pencil, watercolor, and/or ink (or a combination of all three).  Remember to layer your materials to create depth in your piece.  Be thoughtful, creative, and invest yourself in you work!

Robert Rauschenberg

Advanced Drawing and Painting


Rauschenberg, a relevant Pop-Artist and Abstract Expressionist, gave us some very unique works of art.  You will be creating an Activist Art piece this semester, it would be beneficial to take a closer look at his work. In your sketchbook write about your reaction to one of the pieces below.  What do you think Rauschenberg is trying to say?  Does his work appeal to your aesthetic?  Look carefully at the materials he uses to create his art.  Describe them.  Discover more about the work of art.  When was it created?  Did the artist reveal what the work was about? Please do some additional research to learn as much as you can about the work of art.  We will discuss your findings in class on Friday March 8th.

Bed

Retroactive 1

Canyon

Factum 11

Rubus

The Art of Critique

Advanced Drawing and Painting

The four steps to critique are describe, analyze, interpret, and judge. 

We will be critiquing our own artwork, as well as, some famous works of art as the semester continues. Artists' style evolve over time and can be influenced by the artwork of others.  Maybe the way you view art will evolve as we begin studying the works of Picasso, Matisse, and Chagall.  Complete the following Journal Entry (below images) to help you better understand the following paintings and the art of critique. 

In you sketchbook follow the steps to critique a painting by Marc Chagall.  First you must discover the name of the painting and the year it was painted.     

1.   DESCRIBE:  What do you see?  What are the most obvious elements of design? What is going on or what action is taking place?  Elements of Design:  line, texture, shape, color, space,  (there are more, but refer to these)

2.   ANALYZE:  How have the Elements been arranged into Principles? What are the principles doing?  Is there a storyline?  Principles:  Balance, contrast, emphasis, harmony, movement, rhythm, pattern (there are more but refer to these)

3.   INTERPRET:  What are the ideas, emotions or aesthetics being communicated to you? What do you think the meaning of the ART is, what is it trying to say to do or say to you?   Context of Art: Time and Place; Social/Economic/Political/Spiritual Setting; Mood or Emotion qualities; Life and expertise of the Artist.

4.   JUDGE:  Is the art work visually pleasing/aesthetic?Would you say the art achieved its goal for you or the artist?  Is the work well crafted?

(modified excerpts from,  “The Art of Seeing”)

Creating a Unique Creature

Designing for the Web

There are tools in Photoshop that can make elephant skin look like lizard skin. In this lesson you will delve deeper into the magic of photoshop. Take a look at your next lesson to find out more.

Creating a unique creature in Photoshop

Drawing Faces

Intro to Drawing and Painting

People are the most challenging and exciting subjects.  To become familiar with the features draw a self-portrait for your next sketchbook assignment.  Make sure you are drawing the features in proportion and include value changes to help create the form.  Take a look at the pictures below for some initial guidelines.