Art class - Drawing with Shadows

This week's art class was on adding shadows to our art.  I kept it as simple as possible for drawing.

First we reviewed our pencil numbers.  The difference in hard and soft lead.  And then we talked about the patterns they could use when shading.  I made each of them a worksheet to keep in their sketch books so they could refer back to them.

These are the shapes that I used.  I also had a small flashlight on hand to allow them to see a shadow.  They would put the shape on their sketch page and shine the flashlight down the see the shadows change in color.



Here are a few of our finished projects.

Some added color.

And we always have at least one Minecraft drawing each class.  Love it!

Next class we are going to work on blending lines, and we'll keep adding shadows to our drawings.

Art Class - Grid Line Drawing

This year in art class we are working on our drawing technique.  We are also going to learn shading, blending, motion, and shadows.  I am trying to blend artists in with the techniques we will be working on.  There will be some fun projects thrown in along the way!!

This week, we worked on grid drawing.  Or the use of grids to break down more complicated drawing.  I chose to also introduce the kiddos to Pop Art, particularly the works of Andy Warhol.

In prep for this lesson, I printed two works of Andy Warhol's art pieces for the different age groups.  We had kids in the class from pre-k through ages 13/14.  So a wide age group and skill level.  I printed in both color and black/white (to save on printer ink).  A black/white copy was printed for each student.  On those copies, using a ruler I drew grids.  The colored prints I laid a couple among the student levels so they could see that Pop Art doesn't have the typical color.  (As you can see my ink was already getting low.)

At class, using a laptop (we meet in a local coffee shop), we looked up and discussed what Pop Art was and then looked at examples of Andy Warhol's artwork.  We discussed how the colors Pop out at you.  How everyday objects that are laying around the house can really become works of art.  And you are only limited in colors by your own imagination.

So then it was down to business.  I talked with the kids about what the numbers on their drawing pencils meant and they chose pencils.  Next we drew grid lines on pages in their sketchbooks, and it was time to get down to drawing.

The benefit of grid line drawing is to allow your eyes to focus on just one section at a time in order to get the full detail drawn.  (I really tried to pick an easy project for them to draw though...don't want frustration.)  ALWAYS draw your grid lines though in a lighter pencil.  So lower number pencils are best for this and harder leads.  You don't want your lines smearing as you move your arm across them.

 Some of the kids found it helpful to number and letter their grids to keep track of where they were.

The Mickey was a little tough for the younger kids.  But they had fun trying to draw Mickey Mouse.  I missed pics of their artwork.

Here is Joey and Lydia's finished work:

Lydia didn't didn't hold back on color.

 Joey got a little frustrated.  His attention span allows him for short periods (and it was a bad day).  But the nice thing about grid drawing, he can easily find where to pic back up.

This project helps with control and looking at detail.  It works with shorter attention spans.

Next art class we will be working on shading!

Painting on Cloth

I haven't done an art class post in a while.  Last art class we learned about tapestry art.  We talked briefly about how elaborate the weaving is.  We didn't actually "weave" though.  If you are interested in learning more...Here is some information.

Designs told a story or a tale.  

I found a link about how they made the "rugs" as Caty called them:

A word of French origin naming a fabric in which the two processes of weaving and embroidering are combined. The woof is not made in the usual way by throwing the threads with a shuttle, but is added to the warp by the aid of a needle carrying a short thread of the colour called for by the design. The fabric produced by this method of work, in which richness of colour and exquisite gradation of tints are easily obtainable, is a mosaic made up of dyed threads. It is used for wall-hangings, floor and furniture coverings.

Our group used cotton cloth that I found at Hobby Lobby, and cut in into small 5X7 squares.  The kiddos do better when we have smaller pages to fill, and I make sure they have multiple chances to create.  They used oil pastels to draw on the fabric.  Much simpler than trying to teach 15 kids of various ages how to weave.  I will tackle that next year :)

Their assignment was to create a life scene..

Caty just loved drawing lines because the oil pastels were very easy to use on the fabric.  I called it "My Life of Craziness".

 Lydia re-created her favorite artist Mark Rothko...

And of course, Caty's favorite subject of art....Rainbows 

 Lydia also re-created Starry Night.

This was another popular art project with all the kids.  We are going to miss the class on Stain Glass, so I hope the kids like that as much.

Shapes and Art

For art class this week, we learned how you can draw almost anything if you really look at the shape of the object.  Using a sketching pencil you can sketch the shapes and then fill in the details.

First we looked at this piece of art by Diego Rivera....Flower Day.

The shapes are flat, but you can see the shapes and how easy it would be to draw the flowers.  We talked about what shapes we could use to draw the flower.  One student said a heart, and we drew the flower using a heart shape.

Then after discussing all the various shapes, I turned them loose to "create":

This was such a fun topic, that I think the girls and I may do another project next week....If we weren't taking a month off from classes, we would've covered this area of art for one more week.  Next art class in January we will be working on Form.