Reproduction 3

Van Gogh, Boats on the Beach of Saintes-Maries

Grade 8, if you have not handed in your Development Sketchbooks (see announcements and calendar) that should be weighing heavily on your mind... Meanwhile, the expectation is for you to have started work on your final piece for the Reproduction assignment.

Grade 8 Studio Work
1. Sketch Paintings should be completed;
2. Transfer your image to the final large paper;
3. Paint!

Periodic Table Final

All 1st Elements should be completed, cropped and ready for mounting. If you are still working on your 1st image, remember that the art room is open during lunch times for you to be able to complete your work. We are compiling the first section of the Periodic Table to display at the Science Fair this coming Friday, December 7.

Grade 7 Studio Work
1. Choose second Element from Periodic Table.
2. Report your choice to me, so that I can record it.
3. Complete a Sketch in your Dev. Sketchbk.
4. Complete a Sketch Painting.
5. Paint Final on 15 x 15 paper.

If You Have Completed Your 2nd Element
1. Start working on your Life Map (see me for details).

Final Fingerprint

Just about everybody has completed their Fingerprint Paintings so, this week we will be getting ready for the Science Fair on Friday by mounting and displaying your art work.

Grade 6 Studio Work
1. Mount artwork;
2. Write Artist's Statement;
3. Complete grading RUBRIC;

In Your Development Sketchbook
Write a reflection about the Fingerprint Paintings describing how this project developed. Remember to connect to Science and what you were learning while doing your Forensics Unit.

Think of these questions when you are writing:
1. What did you know about fingerprints before we started this project?
2. What have you learned about fingerprints since completing this project?
3. What is the single most interesting fact/idea you have discovered while working on this project?

Reproduction 2

At this point the Grade 8 has chosen and sketched an initial design for their Reproduction piece. This week you are expected to complete a Colour Map and a Sketch Painting of your design. Please make sure that you see me with your both your Colour Map and your Sketch Painting.

Grade 8 Studio Work
1. Create Colour Map;
2. Complete Sketch Painting;
3. Transfer completed and approved drawing to a larger piece of art paper to complete the actual painting;
4. Mix all colours using the basic 5 (white, black, red, blue, yellow) and refer to Colour Charts for Value and Intensity levels.

Periodic Table 3

This past week the Grade 7 finalized a graphic design for their element and made a colour map as well as completed a sketch painting of their Element.

Most of you have started working on the final copies of your Element for the Periodic Table. This week is dedicated towards getting all the colour problems worked out and completing that final copy.

Grade 7 Studio Work
1. Figure out any adjustments for colour choices that did not work in Sketch Painting.
2. Complete a final painting.
4. Document everything in Development Sketchbooks

If You Have Completed Your 1st Element
1. Choose second Element from Periodic Table.
2. Report your choice to me, so that I can record it.
3. Complete a Sketch in your Dev. Sketchbk.

Fingerprints 3

This week the students were able to trace their fingerprints on large A3 or A2 sized paper and have started working independently on their paintings.

Nearly all of you were able to use the projector to trace an enlarged version of your fingerprint. Your assignment now is to choose how to represent your fingerprint using colour. You are supposed to decide which pairs of complementary colours to use (Red & Green, Yellow & Violet OR Blue & Orange + the tints and shades of those two colours). Remember to be imaginative with your colours

Grade 6 Studio Work
1. Complete tracing of print.
2. Using Acrylics to paint your fingerprint using complementary colours.
3. Don't forget to use tints and shades.

While waiting for the projector
1. Complete Subway Car contour drawing in Development Sketchbook.
2. Complete a Short-Brush Stroke painting in Dev. Sketchbk.

Reproduction 1

Painting from photographs is a technique that the Impressionists put to good use. They aimed to accurately record light and colour in their paintings. In this next project the Grade 8 are going to put their own colour mixing skills to use.

They will be creating a reproduction of a photograph, drawing or painting and applying their understanding of colour and value as they determine how to reproduce the picture using a limited colour palette. They will paint using only Complementary Colours + the tints and shades of those colours to create their own impression of the image they choose. This project will challenge the students to apply what they know and understand about the Elements and Principles of Design as they choose which details to incorporate into their design and which to change or lose.


Grade 8 Studio Work
The students will be asked to:
1. Choose a drawing or painting to work with;
2. Sketch interpretation of the drawing or painting into Development Sketchbook;
3. Keep a copy of the original artwork as a source and document the process throughout the whole assignment on a regular basis;
4. While sketching choose to simplify the image or add relevant detail;
5. When sketch is completed decide on colours and lightly mark in pencil where those colours will be placed (colour map);
6. Transfer completed and approved drawing to a larger piece of art paper to complete the actual painting;
7. Mix all colours using the basic 5 (white, black, red, blue, yellow) and refer to Colour Charts for Value and Intensity levels.

Periodic Table 2

After completing 3 designs using only the Symbol + Atomic Number the students started to play with images and ways of using them to represent their Element.

In their Development Sketchbooks they each researched the following about their assigned element: What is it? Where is it found? What is it used for? Once they understood more about the element they started to gather facts which they put into list form. Beside each fact they then brainstormed images/ideas that were provoked by those facts. From this list they chose one main idea to play with and then together on the computer we researched for appropriate images for them to work with.

This coming week the Grade 7 will (1) finalize a graphic design for their element in a 15 x 15 cm format. They will then (2) make a colour map (like paint by numbers) where each student will decide what colours to put where. The colour map is a sketch of the final drawing where areas are marked in pencil stating which colour to use and which value level to use. The students are restricted to two complementary colours + their tints and shades. Once the mapping is complete the students will make a (3) sketch painting. The sketch painting is a first draft of the design in colour form, this way the students can see if their colour mapping works and make adjustments before embarking on the final piece.

Grade 7 Studio Work
1. Finalize design for element.
2. Make a colour map using only two complementary colours.
3. Complete a sketch painting to test colour choices.
4. Document everything in Development Sketchbooks

Fingerprints 2

This week Grade 6 successfully researched about fingerprint patterns. In their development sketchbooks they did an initial sketch of one of their own fingerprints. After sketching the print on an A4 size page they identified what kind of print they each have by naming the characteristics of the print patterns. It was fun to see kids holding their fingers up to each other and asking, "But do you see that loop there? Does that mean it is arched or just regular?" All of the students were very discerning and showed great observation skills as they explored their own prints. The final sketches in their Development Sketchbooks were impressive, both for their size and detail.

Grade 6 Studio Work
1. Complete large fingerprint drawing.
2. Identify characteristics of fingerprint pattern.
3. Label print (which finger is the print from, what kind of print is it).
4. Choose colours for painting.

Periodic Table 1

Inspired by some art work by Kris Shanks (above) that I found on Flickr pertaining to the Periodic Table; the Periodic Table Print Making Project the Grade 7 is going to design their own Periodic Table. They will emulate the challenge that the printmaking artists on Flickr have taken and create their own images for the elements. Each student has been assigned to research an element for Science class. The end goal is to create a complete table that is a unique art piece and to get the students thinking about Science in a creative and dynamic way.

The students have been asked to research their element and to start sketching ideas of how to represent it in visual form. As a start in the design process they are creating three designs that are based on the Symbol and Atomic Number only. They are looking at font options and how to arrange the fonts within a square that is 15cm x 15cm in size. They will then colour their designs using only complementary colours.

7th Grade Homework (see Calendar for due dates)
In your Development Sketchbooks:
1. Explore different fonts for your Element's Symbol and Atomic Number using a word-processing program, choose 3 that you like, print them and put them in your sketchbooks.
2. Create 3 designs using your font research. Your designs will be square (15cm x 15cm), coloured in complementary colours and made using just the Symbol + Atomic Number.

Fingerprints 1

The Grade 6 is doing a Forensics unit in Science class and so their next art project is going to be a large painting of one of their own fingerprints. The students will paint using only 2 complementary colours + the shades and tints of those colours. These paintings will be a unique portrait of each student.

This week the students explored what a fingerprint is. Some of the words they used to define a fingerprint are: identity, visible, recordable, unique, incriminating, code, password, everywhere, skin, oil, useful, forensics, DNA, everybody has them and they are everywhere.

The students also experimented with how to record a fingerprint in their Development Sketchbooks. The three types of prints made were an ink print, an acrylic paint print and a cocoa and oil print. There were varying degrees of success but by far the most difficult one to "capture" was the cocoa and oil print.

6th Grade Homework (see the Calendar for due dates)
In your Development Sketchbooks research the following vocabulary for fingerprints: Arch, Loop, Whorl, Accidental, Composite. For each word write a definition in your own words and draw an example fingerprint. The size of your drawings can be quite small but 3cm x 3cm should be the smallest.

Complementary Colours

As a continuation to learning about Colour we talked about Complementary Colours this week. Complementary colours are the colours that are found directly opposite each other on the Colour Wheel.


So, for example, Yellow and Violet are a complementary pair, as are Red and Green, Blue and Orange. The students learned that the complement of a Primary colour is always a Secondary colour. They also discovered that all 3 primary colours (yellow, red, blue) are present in any 2 complementary colours. Let's take Yellow and Violet again, Yellow is a primary, Violet is made up of Red and Blue, thus all 3 primary colours are present. Using this idea the students were then able to deduce what a complement of a colour would be without looking at the colour wheel. If I asked them what the complement of Orange is they know that Red and Yellow make Orange, therefore Blue is its complement as it is the only remaining primary not named yet.

Colour Charts

Grade 6 and Grade 7 have completed colour charts to use as a reference for future painting assignments. Each student was asked to make a chart using only their Primary colours (Yellow, Red, Blue) + Black and White. These five colours are all they will be working with for their next painting project and so they were asked to create a chart representing the following Hues: Yellow, Orange, Red, Violet, Blue, Green, their Shades and Tints, as well as a Greyscale.

The aim of the exercise was to teach the students how to mix their own colours successfully while they got to know the properties of their particular brand of acrylics. It also showed them in a practical manner how to determine Value (the lightness or darkenss) and Intensity (the brightness or dullness) of a Hue.

Supply List

Middle School Art Supply List:

1 set of Water-Color brushes
1 set of Acrylic paints
1 set of Water-color paints
1 Sketchbook 33 x 47 cm or larger
1 Development Workbook, blank, bound, approximately 30 x 22 cm
1 set of Water-Color pencils
2 each of 2H, HB and 4B pencils
1 box to hold all the supplies in

Welcome

Welcome to the 2007-2008 school year at BUPS/BIS. We have just completed week 2 and I feel that we are off to a good start in the art department. The Middle School art room is newly painted and waiting for art work to start cluttering its walls and filling the spaces.

This blog is intended to be a place for students to be able to refer to information that we have shared in class. It is also a place where we can document our progress throughout the year with photos, links of interest and anything else that peaks our interest throughout the year.

What is this?

Future site for Grade 6, 7, 8 Art at Bilkent University Preparatory School, Ankara, Turkey.