Tetra Blink 2 (2008-2009)

If you are looking for Tetra Blink it has moved and become Tetra Blink 2 (2008-2009). We will still be using some of the links and references on Tetra Blink 1 (this site) but you should get used to checking the news address:

www.tetrablink2.blogspot.com

See you in class!

Super Hero 1

The Incredibles by Pixar

Grade 8 in conjunction with your Physics class you are going to be creating a Super Hero and Side-Kick comic. This assignment will act as your Physics exam review as well as your culminating task in Art. You will be working in pairs where each member of the team will choose a role either as the Super Hero Consultant or as the Side-Kick Consultant which you will then create and present in the form of a Comic Strip or a Flip Book. You will be challenged to create costumes using a wave from the electromagnetic spectrum as well as justify your character's super power using the Laws of Physics (all on your Physics moodle).

Ms. Pak and I will be giving you a comprehensive package to work with, but you will also need to refer to this site as well as Ms. Pak's website. Meanwhile here are some links that you might find interesting and useful:

1. Writing about Superheroes - this site gives you a good list of things to think about when considering/creating your superhero, especially the bullet points under the heading: Creating a Superhero Character.
2. UGO's Heromachine - get some ideas as to how to draw your superhero.

And then just for fun:

1. Marvel Comics
   
2. The Incredibles
3. Ageing Superheroes
   

Ephesus 2 - Tiles

It has been a few weeks since we got back from Ephesus, during that time you have been assigned a number of sketches to do related to the architecture of the Celsus Library. Your next assignment in Grade 8 is to create a façade of the library in clay tiles. Each of you will be assigned a section of the library to draw and then re-create in clay as a tile. When all the tiles are completed we will assemble them into one large piece. The above photo leads to a link on Flickr where you will find a photo set called Ephesus Tiles. In that set are all the pieces (tiles) individually numbered. You will need to use the picture corresponding with your assigned tile to complete your section of the finished library.

Grade 8 Studio Work

1. Choose your tile for the library
2. Using the photocopy (I have these in a folder) sketch the essential elements for your tile
3. Check the photograph on the Flickr set - Ephesus Tiles for detail and nuance
4. Finalize sketch to size

When everybody has completed their tile drawings we will talk about how to transfer the idea to clay.

Student Led Conferences

Student Led Conferences are this Friday, April 18th. As I have explained in class, your art work is still being displayed for the art show. You will need to either start or end your conference by going for walk up to the third floor and pointing out your art pieces to the person who will be here for your conference. This will probably take about ten minutes, so plan accordingly (either come early for your conference or count on taking that time at the end).

I encourage Grade 6 and Grade 7 to share their Development Sketchbooks during the conference as well.

Grade 6
Your mobiles will be delivered to your homerooms in time for Friday.

Field Trip Work (Cappadocia & Ephesus)

Grade 7 and Grade 8 you are expected to bring your art assignments with you to class this week. I will be checking each of you for the following things:

Grade 7 Kapadokya Check List

1. Architectural sketches of interiors (x2)
2. Note the colours of the frescoes and find out about pigment
3. Sketch a detail of one of the frescoes
   
4. Find and record (x3) symbols
5. Find the chicken, draw it and find out its story

Grade 8 Ephesus Sketches

1. An Ionic Column
2. A Doric Column
3. A Corinthian Column
4. A Statue from Curetes Street

Ephesus 1

While in Ephesus you are going to be spending a fair amount of time paying close attention to the detail to be found in the architecture there. Our aim when we come back is to create a facade of either the Library or of the Temple of Hadrian in clay. Each of you will be responsible for a tile (section) of the facade that when it is put together is a recreation of the building in question.

Because we are going to be in Ephesus together discovering all that there is to see I am not going to write lots here about it, but I am going to let you know what I will be expecting to see in your Development Sketchbooks when you get back.

Grade 8 Ephesus Sketches

1. An Ionic Column
2. A Doric Column
3. A Corinthian Column
4. A Statue from Curetes Street

When looking at the various columns, think about how you will depict the using only line drawing. I will have a reference sheet for you to use when identifying your columns.


Grade 8 Ephesus Photographs (we will do these in groups)
These photographs are going to be used as a reference for our sculptural work back in the classroom. The detailed sections of the facades will be put together in a photo montage so that we have a complete and detailed reference to work from.

1. A detailed composite photograph of Ephesus Library
2. A detailed composite photograph of the Temple of Hadrain

I recommend that you check out the sites that I have provided in the links column under the heading Ephesus - there is lots of relevant information there.

Miniature 1

a Demon from the "Conqueror's Albums"

Mehmed Siyah-Kalem was an artist to the Ottoman court whose work is preserved at the Topkapi Sarayı (the Imperial Ottoman Palace Library). Miniature painting comes from the tradition of illustrating manuscripts. The works of Siyah-Kalem are collected in what are known as the "Conquerors Albums", the albums are a selection of miniatures taken from various manuscripts in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. What is fascinating about Siyah-Kalem's work (whose name in English means Black Pen) is just how dark they are in their portrayals of monstrous-like figures, usually miniature paintings are quite pastoral and show scenes of noble life or great battles being fought.

For your next assignment you are going to reproduce one of Mehmed Siyah-Kalem miniatures using fine-art paper and chalk pastel.

Found Poetry

Artist:Pam Yee

The Grade 7 is doing a Poetry unit in their English class. In collaboration with English we are exploring visual forms of poetry in Art class and are going to culminate with bringing together the poems from both classes into a bound book that the students make.

A Found Poem in literature is like a collage in art. The writer takes text from another source (essay, newspaper article, letter, or a novel to name a few) that is not their own and reorders the words to create a poem. A Found Poem in art is slightly different, and not necessarily a collage. The picture above shows an example by an artist who works with Altered Books as an art form. In art you can create a Found Poem by also borrowing somebody else's text. The difference here is that you do not cut the words away and rearrange them on a fresh piece of paper but rather that you paint straight onto the text and highlight the words that you want to use to create your poem. The underlying text becomes part of the layering in the picture. The image created can illustrate the poem directly by referring to the text or it can become an abstract juxtaposition that has seemingly nothing to do with the wording. It is a very evocative form of visual poetry.

Grade 7 Studio Work
1. Your original text should be chosen;
2. You have found your poem;
3. Start sketching and then painting your image.

Grade 8 you are also doing Found Poems and will be referring to this post for your information as well.

Reproduction Final

Paintings are overdue. Your completed Reproduction Painting needs to be handed in and assessed. If you still have not completed this project your only option is to be spending every free moment that you have in the Art Room making miracles happen.

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!

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.

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.

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