Arts & Activities Magazine November 2017 by Arts & Activities

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We help you make great things!

CONTENTS V O L U ME 1 6 2 , No . 3

16 23 26 28 30

NO VE M B E R 2 0 17

IMAGE TRANSFER IDEAS

ALIVE AND KICKING: MURALS WITH MAYA Don Masse ON THE ART CAREER TRACK: DYNAMIC DRYPOINT Irv Osterer VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLARS Chrissy Leishear AN AUTUMN PALETTE Paula Guhin INTEGRATING THE CURRICULUM: PRINTMAKING WITH NATURE Matt Mazur

YEARLONG ADVANCED ART SERIES 14 AN AMPED UP CURRICULUM, ARTICLE 3 OF 10: GET BUGGY WITH YOUR ART

Debi West

SPECIAL FEATURES AND COLUMNS 10 STEPPING STONES: BRINGING PHOTOGRAPHY TO YOUR CLASS WITH

LIMITED RESOURCES Heidi O’Hanley

Glenda Lubiner

12 CHOICE-BASED ART: THE BOX Jessica Kitzman 38 TRIED & TRUE TIPS FOR ART TEACHERS: PRINTS, PHOTOS AND MORE

READY-TO-USE CLASSROOM RESOURCES

19 ARTS & ACTIVITIES ART PRINT: EADWEARD MUYBRIDGE, ANIMAL LOCOMOTION, PLATE 733 Tara Cady Sartorius 37 ARTS & ACTIVITIES STUDY PRINT: MURAL Maya Hayuk

A&A AT YOUR SERVICE 35 WEB CONNECT 36 ADVERTISER INDEX DEPARTMENTS 8 EDITOR’S NOTE 32 MEDIA REVIEWS 34 SHOP TALK

ON THE COVER

LEAF PRINT Acrylic paint on canvas. By student from Central High School in Aberdeen, South Dakota. See “An Autumn Palette,” page 28. SUBSCRIPTIONS: (858) 605-0251; subs@artsandactivities.com. AD SALES: (888) 651-7567; ads@artsandactivities.com. AD PRODUCTION: production@artsandactivities.com. EDITORIAL: (858) 605-0242; ed@artsandactivities.com. FAX: (858) 605-0247. WEBSITE: www.artsandactivities.com. ADDRESS: 12345 World Trade Dr., San Diego, CA 92128.

26 4

Arts & Activities® (ISSN 0004-3931) is published monthly, except July and August, by Publishers’ Development Corp., 12345 World Trade Dr., San Diego, CA 92128. Subscriptions: one year, $24.95; two years, $39.95; three years, $49.95. Foreign subscriptions, add $35 per year for postage. Single copy, $4. Title to this magazine passes to subscriber only on delivery to his or her address. Change of address requires at least four weeks’ notice. Send old address and new address. Periodical postage paid at San Diego, Calif., and at additional mailing offices. Printing by Democrat Printing, Little Rock, Ark. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Arts & Activities®, 12345 World Trade Drive, San Diego, CA 92128.

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e d i t o r ’s n o t e

You are going to fall for the image transfer ideas in this month’s issue. For high-school students, we present an affordable form of “drypoint.” Then there are two lessons that incorporate leaf prints— one for high-school and the other for elementary. (What would autumn be without leaves?) Even kindergartners get in on the action!

Usually, when one thinks of printmaking in K–12 art rooms, monoprints, screenprints and block/linoleum prints come to mind. What about drypoint? Not so much. In “On the Art Career Track: Dynamic Drypoint” (page 23) Irv Osterer shares how his high-school students simulated traditional drypoint by substituting expensive copper with clear acrylic plates on which to etch their designs. The resulting prints are awesome. The subject? The world’s most interesting buildings. Descriptive text accompanied each print, which ultimately were brought together in the form of a book that was printed and bound by the school district. What a great experience for these young artists.

Speaking of young, the kindergartners in Chrissy Leishear’s class certainly fall into that demographic. “Very Hungry Caterpillars” (page 26), elicited some whimsical artworks from them, created with balloons, paint and a bit of construction paper. “This lesson showed the students that there are many ways we can apply color in art,” writes Chrissy. “They had the opportunity to use three different processes—smudging chalk, finger painting, and printing with balloons. The transformation of the caterpillar to a butterfly in the story was just as intricate and magical as the process of creating these colorful critters in art class!”

Now, about those leaves ... Paula Guhin inspires her high-schoolers to create “botanical beauties, layer by layer,” in “An Autumn Palette” (page 28), and Matt Mazur brings some cross-curricular learning to his elementary art room in “Integrating the Curriculum: Printmaking with Nature” (page 30).

Digital art is represented in Don Masse’s “Alive and Kicking: Murals with Maya” (page 16), Heidi O’Hanley has suggestions for “Bringing Photography to Your Class with Limited Resources” in her “Stepping Stones” column (page 10), and Glenda Lubiner offers lots of “Tried & True Ideas for Art Teachers” for ”Prints, Photos and More” (page 38). Yep, you’re going to fall for the lesson ideas in this month’s issue.

president

Thomas von Rosen

e d i t o r a n d p u b l i s h e r Maryellen Bridge

a r t d i r e c t o r Niki Ackermann

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Cris E. Guenter Professor of Arts Education/Curriculum and Instruction California State University, Chico

Jerome J. Hausman Lecturer, Consultant and Visiting Professor, at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago Barbara Herberholz Art Education Consultant, Sacramento, California Mark M. Johnson Director, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, Alabama George Székely Senior Professor of Art Education, University of Kentucky, Lexington

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Geri Greenman Art Department Head (Retired), Willowbrook High School, Villa Park, Illinois Paula Guhin Art Teacher (Retired), Central HighSchool, Aberdeen, South Dakota Nan E. Hathaway Art Teacher, Crossett Brook Middle School, Duxbury, Vermont Amanda Koonlaba Art Teacher and Arts Integration Resource, Lawhon Elementary School, Tupelo, Mississippi Glenda Lubiner Middle-School Art Teacher, Franklin Academy Charter School, Pembroke Pines, Florida Don Masse Heidi O’Hanley

Art Teacher, Zamorano Fine Arts Academy, San Diego, California Art Teacher, Brodnicki Elementary School Justice, Illinois

Irv Osterer Department Head – Fine Arts and Technology, Merivale High School, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Debi West Art Teacher, Art Education Consultant, Suwanee, Georgia

ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT

a d v e r t i s i n g m a n a g e r Amy Tanguay

amy.tanguay @ artsandactivities.com 800.826.2216 or 888.651.7567 p r o d u c t i o n m a n a g e r Kevin Lewis production @ artsandactivities.com

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Manuscripts Subjects dealing with art-education practice at the elementary and secondary levels, teacher education and uses of community resources, are invited. Materials are handled with care; however, publisher assumes no responsibility for loss or damage. Unsolicited material must be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. For Writer’s Guidelines, visit artsandactivities.com/submit/writers-guidelines/ Address all materials to the attention of the Editor. Simultaneous submissions will not be considered or accepted. Indexes Articles are indexed in January and June issues. Issues of Arts & Activities are available on microfilm and photocopies from: ProQuest Information and Learning, P.O. Box 1346, 300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48106. (Issues beginning with January 1977 are available in microfiche.) The full text of Arts & Activities is also available in the electronic versions of the Education Index. Copyright Permissions Reproduction of any portion of this magazine without written

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Something to Say

Teens and tweens can be very demanding. Including when it comes to their arts programs. A national research report can help you succeed in attracting and retaining them.

SucceSS PrinciPleS for AfterSchool ArtS ProgrAmS From urbAn Youth and other exPertS Denise Montgomery â&#x20AC;˘ Peter Rogovin Neromanie Persaud

Something to Say: Success Principles for Afterschool Arts Programs From Urban Youth and Other Experts Download this report and other resources on afterschool, summer, and arts learning, free of charge at www.wallacefoundation.org. i

Something to Say: Success Principles for Afterschool Arts Programs From Urban Youth and Other Experts

Stepping Stones is a monthly column that breaks down seemingly daunting tasks into simple, manageable “steps” that any art educator can take and apply directly to their classroom. Stepping Stones will explore a variety of topics and share advice for art-on-a-cart teachers and those with art rooms.

BRINGING PHOTOGRAPHY TO YOUR CLASS WITH LIMITED RESOURCES

BY HEIDI O'HANLEY

hotography is a very important part of the visual art curriculum, and is often overlooked due to lack of resources. Since the development of the daguerreotype process in the 1820s, photographers have been able to capture integral moments in history and expand upon the photographic process. Fast forward to today, where due to smartphones with cameras, photography has become such a normal part of our daily lives. Photography has been difficult to achieve in many art classes at all age levels. Many schools lack the resources for students to have their own cameras (either film or digital), as well as the means to edit and produce the photographs (darkroom or printers). Even if we wanted to use cell phone cameras just to learn and practice the perspective and angles to take the shots, many schools do not allow phones while school is in session. So the question is with the challenges faced, how can we incorporate photography in our classes, especially at the elementary and middle school levels?

HAVE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY. Even if

the process and production isn’t there, talk about how photography is art. Talk about how photography changed the world, or how it documents history. Talk about perspective, angles, lighting, and space. You can even create a game of identifying photography vocabulary with images. Having students know the photography vocabulary when taking their own photos is better than not knowing how to use their eye when capturing a moment in time.

PLAY WITH SUN-SENSITIVE PAPER. This type of paper can be found in many art supply catalogs, and is an easy way to explain the exposure process to your students. Since the paper creates a positive/negative images in a small amount of time, you can have students design their exposed spaces to demonstrate elements/principles, such as patterns, balance/symmetry, value, etc. You can also play with different light sources and the effect that various exposure times show in the process. Since water is used to help process the finished exposures, it’s the simplest process for elementary students.

EXPLORE MORE OF THE CYANOTYPE PROCESS. You

know the sun sensitive paper you just read about? The paper is used for cyanotype prints. There is also a more intense process involved that, depending on the materials available, can be accomplished with middle or high school students. I recently came across a blog called obscura-works. com that shared a class project. The author had created a 10

large queen-size bed sheet cyanotype by soaking the sheet in cyanotype solution at home, then having volunteers help in covering the sheets before exposing it with students lying on top for a selected time. The finished result was an amazing sheet with student silhouettes hung for display!

CREATE A PINHOLE CAMERA. There are many web-

FIND A USE FOR YOUR OLD FILM CAMERA. Do you

TABLETS AVAILABLE? Explore the camera options. If

sites you can search that share how to create your own pinhole camera using shoeboxes or Pringles cans. You may not be able to have a photograph product, but in making the pinhole camera, you can have students observe how the exposure process is achieved. If you teach middle or high school students, you may have resources available to be able (such as a school darkroom or local photographer) to process photo paper for show box pinhole cameras!

still own a film camera that you no longer use? Why not have your students see what it’s like to snap a photo with film? Load a roll of film or two and have each student snap a photo. This is only an option if you have the camera lying around and no longer wish to use it. You can also purchase a disposable camera for this option as well! After taking the film in to be developed, share the photos with your students and have a critique about their captured moments.

you have access to tablets (but not for digital cameras), consider experimenting with the camera option. Tablets are more portable, so students can move more around the room or school. Tablets could also contain apps that can manipulate photos that have been taken and can teach more about the editing process.

WHEN IN DOUBT, LOOK FOR USED. There are many digital cameras that are still in good, working condition and sold for resale. In purchasing digital cameras, you can gather some that are even a few years old, find memor y cards at an affordable price, and keep them in your classroom for student use. Older digital cameras can still connect through USB ports and print out in your classroom printers, if available.

Even with no darkroom or access to top-notch cameras and printers, you can still bring elements of photography to your students at the elementary level! n Arts & Activities Contributing Editor, Heidi O’Hanley (NBCT), teaches art at Brodnicki Elementary School in Justice, Illinois. Visit her blog at www.talesfromthetravelling artteacher.blogspot.com. n o v e m b e r 2 0 1 7 • 85 Y E A R S

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Choice-Based Art

Edited by Nan Hathaway

Choice-Based Art classrooms are working studios where students learn through authentic art making. Control shifts from teacher to learner as students explore ideas and interests in art media of their choice. This concept supports multiple modes of learning to meet the diverse needs of our students. Learn more at teachingforartisticbehavior.org.

THE BOX BY JESSICA KITZMAN

hen I moved into my new classroom two years ago, I found a box labeled “special ed.” It was full of finger paint. I had just left my first teaching job after six years at a small charter school serving middle school and high school students with autism, and would now be teaching elementary students in a large public school. Since then, that box has stuck in my mind. It’s not because I imagine the person who labeled it and stored it away was acting out of malice. I give that person the benefit of the doubt and assume they were unaware of the separatebut-equal kind of injustice created by this action. It was a simple label on a simple box, forgotten about in the back storage room.

I FIRST HEARD ABOUT TEACHING FOR ARTISTIC BEHAVIOR

(TAB) at our state art education conference. The concept could not have been more different from what we were offering. The seed was planted though, and two years later, I presented my first “choice” assignment to students: Make an artwork about something you learned this year. I will never forget what one student made. He was a theatre buff and an improvisational actor, but fine motor skills were difficult and he struggled to finish projects. For this one, though, he made an entire Cyrano de Bergerac costume in just two weeks. He worked on it at school, at home, and even had his grandmother teach him how to sew. I distinctly remember how proud I was at the end. Not proud because I had finally planned the perfect project, but proud because I got out of his way and trusted him to learn something important to him. It was the first time I really put the students’ goals before my own. That project was about art.

TEACHERS LIKE THINGS TO HAVE THEIR PLACE, but not all

things fit into predetermined categories. I think this box is a strong metaphor for how we, as a greater public-education system, treat kids and their needs within our classrooms. These needs are not simple, they do not fit in a box. And, no, they cannot remain on a back shelf, neatly stored away for someone else to find years later. In my first years working with kids with autism, our strategy was to provide as much str ucture as possible. Kids with autism succeed in a predictable environment, so we worked hard to make ar t class predictable at ever y turn. We created step-by-step packets for each project, including pictures with short prompts so students could move at their own pace. I spent hours scouring my brain and the Internet for that “perfect project” that would engage all unique interests. No matter what I presented, it was never smooth sailing. I was adamant that if only students would follow my directions, they could learn the very important art skills I had to teach them. Without realizing it, my class had become all about compliance and not at all about art.

FIND OUT MORE • teachingforartisticbehavior.org • groups.yahoo.com/group/TAB-ChoiceArtEd/ • facebook.com/Teaching-for-Artistic-Behavior TAB-144118082280049/

IN TRYING TO HELP, I had been putting my students in the

same box the rest of the world had put them in. Help is a tricky thing between a teacher and student. Offer it too late and trust may be damaged. Offer it too soon, and you may snuff out the natural curiosity and resourcefulness we want students to carry on long after school. It is far too easy to unintentionally foster learned helplessness. We assume that students receiving special education services need our help. But what if we could do more good by trusting them to take the lead? What if all our help is doing is making them helpless? I am finishing my third year as a TAB teacher now, and I am no longer striving to be the one with perfect plans. I answer questions with questions and I go into each day not yet knowing what students will do with their time in their art studio. I believe in teaching kids of all ability levels to be their own artist. I believe in empowering them to find out how. TAB allows me to act on those beliefs. If helplessness can be learned, then I believe the opposite is also true. Through TAB, I am able to embrace abilities and strengths for all kids who need the experience of feeling like the expert. This way of teaching gives kids a powerful voice in a world that labels them for their various needs and deficits. I want them to know they can trust themselves and that their ideas are important. With that compass, they can go wherever they choose. n Jessica Kitzman teaches K–5 Art with Edina Public Schools in Minnesota. She is also a practicing artist who loves painting, drawing, woodburning and embroidery. n o v e m b e r 2 0 1 7 • 85 Y E A R S

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AA1711

Yearlong Secondary Advanced Art Series | AN AMPed UP CURRICULUM

Get Buggy with Your ART! by Debi West

think one of the most important things to consider when creating your advanced visual art curriculum, is how to propel the technical while keeping your students completely engaged. This can be tricky, so years ago as I was organizing my lessons, I put myself in their shoes. I took myself back to 1985 and considered what art lessons I enjoyed, appreciated and those that helped push my portfolio. I also did something that educators often forget to do, I actually asked my students what they might be interested in learning about! I handed them each a half sheet of paper and I had them write me a list of the top five art techniques or prompts they were most interested in. By doing both of these things, I found that I was able to come up with an exciting curriculum that my students helped me design. THIS LESSON is one of my student’s all-time favorites, “Get-

ting Buggy.” It came directly from my students. I was surprised to see several students write that they were interested in insects. And of course, most high school advanced artists want to become more proficient in their portraiture work, so I thought it might be a fun idea to combine the two and see where they went with it … and WOW, they didn’t disappoint!

I started the lesson by borrowing several large trays of insects and arthropods that our science department used to teach entomology (below). Immediately I could see the excitement on my students’ faces as they realized they were going to be sketching these insects from “life.” Each of the bugs was on a stickpin and could be handled carefully, so this had our students looking ver y intensely at the objects they were drawing. This is always a key component to getting students to draw what they SEE as opposed to what they THINK! Students loved having a couple of days to work in their visual journals sketching these insects. ON DAY THREE, I had them take a break and gave them a

new prompt to add to their insect work: Portraiture! Now students were challenged with combining their insect drawings with their self-portrait work. I didn’t completely limit their choice of media, but I did narrow it down to graphite or acrylic. Since I considered this to be a breadth piece it was important to have students show mastery of a specific media. If they choose to combine the two, I asked that they emphasize one or the other, so 80

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Abby

Steph

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ARTICLE 3 OF 10

Abigail

Alfredo

percent might be painted with 20 percent being drawn in graphite. They could use any surface they wanted to and it could be any size, although not smaller than 12" x 14". I also introduced them to the portraiture work of Alice Neel (American; 1900–1984) and had them consider her use of exaggerated lines and the emotional aspects of her paintings. They didn’t need to copy her style, I just wanted them to be familiar with her work and perhaps find inspiration in her painting technique. I also had them use their Pinterest and pinned images of portraits they found challenging and interesting. I do this with every lesson that I present in that it continues to help students realize the importance of research. I often say, the best artists are the best researchers! After a day of brainstorming and sketching portraits, I found it so exciting to see where my students took their works! Several combined the insect characteristics into their portraits while others took a more emotional approach and showed facial expressions that captured their feelings about their chosen bug.

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85 Y E A R S •

Preliminary sketch by Allison.

This was a truly successful lesson, not only because students were technical and creative, but also because each student was authentically engaged. They enjoyed the process and they were beyond excited with their final works. Next Up: “Game On.” n A&A Contributing Editor Debi West, Ed.S, NBCT, was an art educator and department chair at North Gwinnett High School in Suwanee, Georgia. She is now involved with her two businesses, WESTpectations Educational Consulting and Crystal Collage Children’s Art Studio in Suwanee.

november 2017

ALIVE

and kicking

During this project, students collaborated with one another and were fully engaged in exploring shape and digital tools.

ne of the most important qualities that a teacher should practice, exhibit, and model is flexibility. We should strive to be flexible in terms of multiple facets of teaching—being open to variety in student problem solving, opening ourselves to different ways of sharing content with our students, and being willing to make changes to our curriculum when necessary, among other things. The reason I bring this point up is because the following exploration of shape, collaboration, and digital tools would not have occurred in my classroom unless I was willing to make changes to my curriculum without being sure of the end product, but knowing that the process would be highly engaging for my students. LAST YEAR, BEFORE ATTENDING the NAEA convention in New York, I was planning on having my second-graders continue to explore the element of shape with a cut-paper collage project. While at the conference, I went to a makerspace session where I saw the head designer of the app, “Morphi,” demonstrate how you could take a virtual 3-D solid and drop it into an image from Google Earth to create a site-specific virtual sculpture. Boom! I loved that idea, but wasn’t fluent enough in Morphi to teach it to my kids yet. Then I realized I could do something similar with the “Assembly” 16

by Don Masse app. The previous year, I had a number of grade levels experiment with Assembly and found that there was a lot of student success and high engagement while working. SO, ON THE PLANE RIDE HOME, I put

together my new digital lesson that still allowed students to continue exploring properties of shape, while also providing an opportunity to practice collaborating throughout the design process, and an opportunity to experiment with digital technology in art class. I turned to the work of Maya Hayuk for a contemporary art connection (see page 37). I have shared her work with students before and my students are strongly attracted to her use of bold colors, geometric shapes, and how she turns bare walls into stunning, largescale murals.

When we looked at Maya’s work I emphasized her use of layered, overlapped geometric shapes. I didn’t expect the kids to copy her work, but I did want them to focus on geometric shapes and layering, like they would in a cut-paper collage. We also noticed that some of her murals have a strong sense of symmetry while others do not. I wanted them to be able to recognize this principle in their designs as well. After I introduced them to Maya’s work, I shared a short how-to video for the Assembly app, as we prepared for using it in class. We viewed the video in a couple chunks, after looking at Maya’s work. I REALLY ENCOURAGE PLAY with this project. Since it’s a digital collage, they can erase shapes and delete parts they aren’t digging with the touch of

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES Elementary students will … • collaborate throughout the creative process to create a visual design. • demonstrate an understanding of geometric shapes and symmetry while completing a design problem. • show respect for the ideas and feelings of a partner while involved in collaborative work.

NATIONAL STANDARDS

•

CREATING: Brainstorm collaboratively multiple approaches to an art or design problem (grade 1). • CREATING: Discuss and reflect with peers about choices made in creating artwork (grade 3).

MATERIALS

• • • • •

iPads or other mobile devices with cameras The Assembly app Color printer Pencils, small-sized paper Images of Amaya Hayuk’s work

Students created some great designs, prompted by this question: What would they do, if they could, to make an empty wall look cool at school?

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Students found the “Assembly” app fun, easy to use and engaging.

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the screen. Assembly is a very user-friendly app. It’s easy to add, flip and rotate shapes, and change sizes and colors. It also offers the option of using a blank collage support or importing a photo to build your digital collage on. For this project, the photo background option added another layer of design and meaning for the students. Before I met with any classes I went around with a bunch of iPads and took photos of several blank walls on campus with the idea that students would choose one to make more beautiful. As we started, I asked them what would they do, if they could, to make an empty wall look cool at school. Students selected one photo from the iPad camera roll to serve as the background of their Assembly creation. Then, the

85 Y E A R S •

november 2017

teams of two started to experiment. There were many choices to make with this project in terms of shapes, colors and subjects. I did set up a few constraints to challenge them: no natural shapes, include overlapping shapes, and all of the design must be on the wall. (This last one is key because a muralist cannot paint on the sky in real life!) ONCE A TEAM HAD CREATED a satis-

fying composition, they saved it and continued to play. They could choose see

MURALS

on page 18 17

Visit our website and find even more inspiration ... Fu n k y Frog World

student work.

species are a that many 200 on their frogs, is the fact approximately a matt finish least of which g to experts,renaissance available. those wishing since 1980. RECYCLING Accordin zes was also applied. For disappeared endangered. diluted acrylic of undergla aware of completely were well frogs have similar selection using watercolor and/or paint remained species of my students ns could as the n populatio science studies, A third option, ated. As long l texture s From their in amphibia LEARNING OBJECTIVES also demonstr the wonderfu this decline planet’s ecosystem paint, was many layers, nces to the the fact that Lower-elementary students applied in le conseque will… uncompromised. of their frog thin and was lead to irreversib • learn to see the art-making possibilities in everyday the eyes surface remained an of the clay to glaze only • be able to repurpose objects into finished pieces objects and to humans. produced a Powerstudents chose color, which rst viewed by Tammie Some fi • learn and participate in the papermaking process.of artwork. matt Clark class with of the rest WOrK, the • create a sculpture. different kinds and finished of ideas BeFOre sTarTING that profiled many colors and lar fusion visual effect. ion a spectacu frog interesting g the shapes, Point presentat frogs were whimsical large bullam aexaminin collector oftree Gilhooly’s oddfrogs spent time itemsto(hoarder, some say); The resulting place— NATIONAL ART STANDARDS I see oks, frogs, then THeand by David POsT own with the smallest d potential made from one art projectsinintheir by nature BIrD-HOUse their was special the sketchbo ■ folded sheet most mundane objects inspired frogs had (trash, students’ yet another problematic area of drawings textures associatesomeseveral • CREATING: Conceiving and developing new artistic which was scrunched into a tube-like the process. The of newspaper, made say). So, when ideas and work. shape show. universe. some clay.a friend told me about PRESENTING: birdhouse and art • the I then Interpreting our from frogs. Students ideas attached on folded and sharing artistic work. for the posts to the cartons with hot in half. This double thickness she saw in a craft the frog forms their hands glue. Stumagazine, at helped add I knew I could pond, created dent volunteers helped by holding e to create before getting birdhouse before a develop a strength to the posts.e Arts and Technology, the posts in the glue until project for their sculptures pinch techniqu and an out my students. nt Head–Fin it set. Each student was then given We used a Beginning Canada, at the Ontario, hollowing fold, students To kick his or her milk carton, things off, I asked students to rinse Irv Osterer is Departme clay, tightly wrapped masking e MATERIALS which they held upside down—to in Ottawa, tape around white stonewar their milk their posts, pulling and scrunching the kiln. from lunch shown a vari- out and save prevent any glue dripping High School were(I also collected some in the newsbe placed in cartons • Milk cartons ing Editor. extras paper on them—until it dried completely they could for additional • Newspapers, foam board a shiny Merivale firing, students Contribut forbisque strength. They wrapped the tape the “unexpected”). wantedmy For materials, rst • White drawing paper & Activities about second- Arts and thirdor cardboard After the fi graders es. For those who Students then used acrylic paint half way down so it resembled to cover the posts, being would use these and carefully • Double-stick, masking and techniqu a crude feather half-pint chosen milk cartons, • Hot-glue gun and glue sure to paint a bit of the fanned-out ety of finishingnewspaper, duster when finished. The biggest glazes were duct tape portion at the base as • Acrylic paint, watercolors, brushes challenge appropriate masking tape and foam board to create well. Watercolor was used to paint • Wool felts, towels, sponges finish, the students had with post-making decorative birdhouses. the paper-wrapped carDeckles/molds, drying screens • was wrapping • Green paper scraps tons. Short pieces of drinking straws the masking tape tight enough. • Blender, dish tubs Instead of using papier-mâché were hot-glued to the to cover the • Clothespins birdhouses to serve as perches, • Straws, black circles Students then pulled and fanned cartons, I precut 10" x 4.75" and black paper-punched white drawing out the OBJECTIVES circles glued above became the loose newspaper so the bottoms paper, which we would wrap around entry “holes.” LEARNING of their the car... posts would lay as closely as possible Birdhouses prior tons, creating smooth, blank canvases. students will d WITH ART to the High school of endangere to painting. ERED SPECIES base. I told them if it wiggled like TO MaKe THe “Grass” to more aware To do this, each student completely to participate ENDANG cover a joystick, are invited • become focusing on frogs. opened SAVING their students 10th annual it wouldn’t hold the milk carton the bases, we cleaned out my scraphis or her carton’s top, then placed apply color species, part of the teachers and up correctly. clay frogs, a length of The pulp was an integral high school and create They placed the fanned-out newspaper paper box of all the green, and made double-sided tape vertically along middle- and Art Contest, • Design , glaze or paint. May 15, 2015. of the Elementary, the center poured into a tub on Species Youth celebrated with underglaze is a celebration Endangered their foam board, securing their of one of the sides. One edge paper. My students were amazed to which will be Species Day in the Saving of the white of water and a d Species Day, Endangered with an opportunity RDS post to the base with paper was then laid on the tape, at the process. The green paper national Endangere by the U.S. Congress, provides K–12 students contrast through artwork. deckle and mold ART STANDA LEARNING OBJECTIVES the natural and support Started in 2006 wild places. The contest four strips of maskNATIONAL then wrapped around the was torn into small bits, soaked knowledge schooled and Employing stuImagitheirhis developing elementary students and colors, horses.who were both dipped and cool are home express and with wildlife done also warm and had are between will ... nation’s : Conceiving ing tape. species Children milk carton (be sure they in water and made into a pulp in Shields d Marc by Sue endangere • learn about Impressionism, to use in youth groups reserved. also be drawn on illustrated • CREATING underneath the and work. All rights could which color ideas family learn about patterns who participate their art. Claude Monet and explored Jenkins and native dents chose Species Coalition. sharing It worked best crease the paper at the a blender (about two thirds water new artistic and • learn to see the simple Vincent van Gogh. use y fifth-grade students unique 2001). Photographs courtesy of the Endangered which to water’s Interpreting G:and surface shapes in the objects to add creative, eligible to submit cool col- (Candlewick, for their•chameleons, PRESENTIN • understand good composition. for the masking corners). being drawn. to one-third paper bits).What a at sketching the chameleons Another the world of warm and outlined Learn more and then pulled • be Next, students began g The children then ing and artistic work. introduced to pointillism/stipp ciesday.orfor the backgrounds. tape to be placed Chameleons.” piece of doublefun (and wet) way to recycle! paper, as details. ngeredspe NG: Understand frommeaning. permanent ors by creating “Colorful coming ling and how to straight up, letting the pulp chameleons on white with black,www.enda this method. light sourcethe settle on the deckle/mold shade using right next to the base of arts convey With •theRESPONDI by looking at their stick tape is used create their sketches as the how their pastels We began the activity evaluating water drained. • learn about watercolor about how they could think about what artistic ideas the post, pulling the maskmarkers and began to above, the children sorted techniques and color Blue Horses we talked ING: Relating to secure the loose themes. meaning and Franz Marc’s The Large and impact in their pictures • CONNECT The deckle and mold were flipped to explore. dark and began personalcoloring ing tape tightly across the upside down onto a piece from light to used cool colors emphasis edge of the paper to Franz colors they wanted and work with (1911), to see how he the reptiles large, as of wool felt (I found an old army blanket at the top of their value context. fanned-out newspaper and the lightestexternal and cut it up). A sponge for the back- by drawing the milk carton. values for his horses and warm darker was used to remove more water andNATIONAL around to the bottom of the compress theART reptiles. Progressively how artists STANDARDS fibers. After students ALSway ground. We then discussed The deckle was removed worked their • CreatInG: andConceiving base. It should look like a then theand were added as they MATERI mold. The felts balance, drama, carefully refolded the pastels from new artistic ideas PresentInG: Interpreting developing • top use color to create were then stacked on pencils, oil and work. of one another, wrapped the bodies. Oil s,pastels tic-tac-toe down work. colored and board their the sharing in when in tops a towel finof their artistic work. contrast and beauty and compressed even further to kiln for could be used • Sketchbook family work. ished. If the masking tape is remove more water (I stand the book, opposite color stoneware clay, bodies milk cartons, I Gilhooly’s I then read to the class • White clay tools on the on the towel). The paper was then by artist David small details es, glaze, not rightbynext emphasis•of Underglaz removed from the felts in to and written by Martin secured them at the nature the base of paint 13 drawings acrylic Chameleons are Cool, inspired and and placed several on ideas wished. screens their of did to dry flat. (I acquired old window sea Turtle. the post, it will act like a joystick, if the students top edge students • Watercolor with were a fusion hot getting Kemp’s ridley ks before > screens from a thrift store for this Our frogs sketchboo grade 4, Zaharis their > purpose.)MATERIAL Taylor • Brushes glue, using ariz. clothespins the clay. Hailey Boiarsky, Bryanna I hung the felts •from click on hands on school, Mesa, 9" xa12" Macie clothes-drying y 2015 drawing paperrack and reused ities.com and elementary to hold them closed while > februar Mackenzie and links related ears • • Black, fine-tip Go to artsandactiv them when dry. I made • Heavy 7, ❘ 82 y my9.5" for resources ownx 12.5" deckles watercolor es.com and molds the glue nhardened. Litynski, grade this button from markers permanent ctiviti paper foam meat trays by simply Ocelot. Brenna tsa da led, Maryland. to this article. www.ar a rectangle from don’t mix, and 16-color • the home-schoo cen- watercolor sets • Jumbocutting pencils, tape 2015. Oil and water truly 1, ter of com versatwo . a trays s are e and i duct-taping t fasi pastels v Oil plastic screening to Paintbot• the trays, paintbrushes ndacti RKED BY MarCH this technique in action .artsa each student seeing tom of one tray for the deckle (also BE POSTMA ❘ www ears tile material for children created a unique acquired from the thrift They enjoyed • 82 y ENTRIES MUST y 2015 cinated the students! store screens). The mold dictates februar the shape of the paper, in to use. They offer brilliant and personal the watercolors bead up on watching this case, a rectangle. Both trays and sculpture. are upside down, with the color, blend easily, their chameleons. mold being placed on top of the 12 enjoyed deckle. allow for beautiful valueThe children thoroughly In my test-run, I tried white glue overand craft glue but, in the shading as students pleased and proud this project and were end, hot glue worked best to adhere lap the colors. the “grass” to the bases. were impressed of their results. They The end products were whimsical, turned Once their chamefun, and the colorful the projects students were so proud of their colored, with how were by Sarah Hemendinger leons birdhouses. From the to compliment each or out and were quick other students in the school, we primarily with warm heard, “How come we pieces. other on their finished didn’t get to make those?” I think and warm cool pastels, students of this recycling world effort Exploring the their is worth a repeat! Miranda prepared to paint a great way to experi■ abbey > Nathan the cool colors is families, backgrounds with Mckenzie Kirsten with contrasting color Tammie Clark (NBCT) is an art teacher 24 They wet their ment watercolors at Somerville Road opposite color group. using oil pastels and and Decatur Elementary Schools in may 2015 • 82 years LEARNING OBJECTIVES and sponges in and of conDecatur, Alabama. ❘ www.ar tsandactivities.com the importance papers with water the design principle of www.ar tsandactivi projects with reinforces n ties.com students will… ❘ 82 years • may 2015 filling the paper. Upper-elementary order to complete their through materials. If warm and cool colors watercolor tech- trast, 25 • explore the use of create contrast and their drawings the “wet on wet” are in their artwork to wet paint on the art at too small, it would nique. Applying the Hemendinger teaches balance. in them to explore Sarah be more difficult resist properties of Elementary School wet paper allowed to • experiment with the pastels. by Holly Stanek paints Hopkins Hill watercolor and stipblending the watercolor watercolors and oil think a challenge Coventry, Rhode Island. for teachers is to and dark values ple later on. We develop or find lessons together in a new way. • create light, medium, that are successful also neers who started for using oil pastels. discuss enlarging gives room to challenge all of our students. A lesson that with the artwork of a movement that your most gifted • familiarize themselves a single flower as create an opportunity students as well or Franz Marc. showcased their for all ability levels having several in to have success. This project has a been a staple in unique styles and composition. These my third-grade lum, and I have curricu- ways always felt satisfied of painting. I NATIONAL ART STANDARDS could be the same with the results. past, I approached In the realized that the project thinking applying media, all of type or a group my students would be more successful • Understanding and of if I kept it simple, my simplification techniques and processes. different flowers. with fewer options. I figured, this gave assessing the them less to think was actually creat• Reflecting upon andmerits of their work I suggest changabout, which would lead to better results. characteristics and ing an atmosphere ing the angle of Sunflowers were a and the work of others. that was hindering always the subject between visual arts flower or to show simple shapes, because of their • Making connections and students find my students’ abilities them easy to draw. different stages— and other disciplines. color scheme was to explore their The unique with warm colors in ideas and to be their style and approach. the background from buds to fully opened—to create colors in the foreground, and cool more interest. the freedom they or vice versa. Less We discuss making now have to express flowers different easier, and more to think about, the MATERIALS their individuality. heights and sizes. successful, right? At the start of the WHILe I sTILL The stems could straight, bent over Use MONeT aND project students Then I started be examine a variety VaN GOGH in Marc’s, The Large silk flowers, noting or wavy. Students to think about now emphasize the intro, I of flowers to • Reproduction of Franz the shapes of their the Impressionist might overlap the two artists’ ers such as Vincent create more depth, the petals, their centers, paint- approaches unique styles and the stems and leaves. van Gogh and Claude Blue Horses (1911) or have their flowers fearless to their work. I the paper, letting We then practice featured in the Monet, who are go off make sure students a viewer’s drawing the flowers. introduction to • White 12" x 18" paper is no doubt in know there this project. They markers, oil pastels, They consider whether imagination finish the rest. were pio- to challenge my mind that they can handle what • Pencils, permanent IN THe NeXT their compositions 34 CLass, I DIsPLay I am about them with. They be in of an watercolors flowers outdoor a variety of well-composed will are always quite setting, in a vase flower pictures, water excited about and we talk about inside, a collage, tern, or windblown Morgan • Sponges, brushes, composition. Because a pat17 april 2015 in a specific direction, dents sometimes • 82 y e a r stu- lot to think have a tendency s • Visuals of chameleons and so on. With x www.ar tsandact about, they start to draw small, I a ivities.co emphasize their final drawings. june 2014 m m x 81 y e a r s • (This was www.ar tsa activities.co ndactiviti www.ar tsand es.com see IMPRESS on com x 82 y e a r s • a p r i l ndactivities. page 42 Makayla 2015 x www.ar tsa years j u n e 2 0 1 4 • 81

by Irv Osterer

ago, any years while a student Colat the Ontario in Toronto, lege of Art by a lecture I attended David Gilhooly ceramicist of a product (1943–2013), funk ceramics the California student work. of the 1960s. talk movement a spirited Gilhooly gave “Frog was and his His work he created. about ceramics Queen ceramic universe in her 100th Year as World,” the FrogVictoria s.onlinemac.com/ outstanding—withmy favorites (www.site ria.jpg). (1976), among and joie de ythhisjpg/FrogVicto Gilhooly’s spirit at cchang/fm remembered ceramics course to I have always to teach a in homage I was asked a frog project vivre, so when I had to do knew I our school, meanfrogs are connection, David Gilhooly. not the the Gilhooly of other reasons, Aside from for a number ingful subjects

these Wat erc olo rs make Quite an Imp res sIon

each

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a different wall and go, or simply clear the shapes and work with the same wall. I have done collaborative projects with all of my grades for several years, and it is very interesting to see my students develop more skills with it. They are learning to speak about and listen to ideas, to demonstrate skills to one another, and to be respectful of each other. To publish their images, I transferred them to my computer and then emailed them to the kids’ classroom teachers, so they can look at them on their smart boards back in class. I know this wasn’t the smoothest or most efficient way to do it, but I was not savvy enough at the time to do it any other way and I didn’t want that to hold me back from giving my students this digital design opportunity. I also printed a bunch of the images out to include in our annual student exhibit and for several other real world exhibition opportunities that students took part in.

MURALS continued from page 17

MY STUDENTS CONNECT strongly with murals because our campus is covered with them and because we had a local muralist create one on campus that they got to witness as it was being made (see “Local Love” in our Jan. 2017 issue–Ed.). If your school does not have murals on campus, you can share any number of murals that have been made by artists in your community, so that students relate more to the process. I think this project is a great way for students to think about designing with a purpose. In this case, it was making something that would turn their playground environment at school into something more beautiful and enjoyable. When planning this lesson, my intent was for these designs to remain digital, but after seeing many of the results, I do believe it would be a missed opportunity to not develop the lesson further and to create a number of student designed murals for permanent display on our campus. I’ve got to stay flexible in my thinking! n

Arts & Activities Contributing Editor, Don Masse, is a K–5 visual arts teacher at Zamorano Fine Arts Academy in San Diego, California. n o v e m b e r 2 0 1 7 • 85 Y E A R S

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A&A Art Print: Respond and Connect Eadweard Muybridge (English-born American; 1830–1904). Animal Locomotion, Plate 733, 1887.

“We think the representation to be unimpeachable, until we throw all our preconceived impressions on one side, and seek the truth by independent observations from Nature herself.” Eadweard Muybridge

MAIN VISUAL ART CONCEPTS: Shape • Pattern • Movement • Rhythm • Contrast

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MYTHOLOGY: Muybridge used the pseudonym of “Helios” when signing some of his photos. Helios is the name of the ancient Greek mythological persona of the sun. Born Edward James Muggeridge, he changed his last name to Muygridge, then finally to Eadweard Muybridge and Helios.

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BIG ELEPHANT FACTS: Elephants can weigh as much as 14,000 lbs. or 7 tons. To maintain such a weight, they may need to eat as much as 300 lbs. of food each day. They can grow to be up to 13 feet tall. They are the largest land mammal. Compared to a blue whale, however, an elephant is tiny: about 25x smaller!

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BIOMECHANICS and KINESIOLOGY: Do all four hooves of a horse ever simultaneously leave the ground while it is galloping? This question was what led Muybridge to invent a system of 12 cameras with trip-wires, spaced 21 inches apart, that would take photos of the horse (and later, other animals) as it moved across their paths. This happened in 1878, nine years before he photographed this elephant, and 10 years before the first official surviving “movie” was ever made.

GEOGRAPHY: Africa (African Savanna and African Forest) and Asia have different types of elephants. You can tell the differences by the shapes of the head, ears, and trunks. African elephant ears are larger, and shaped like the continent of Africa. The head of an Asian elephant in divided into two bumps, and African elephants have only one bump. The trunks of Asian elephants have one “finger” at the end; the African elephant’s trunk has two “fingers.” The two types of elephants are so different that they cannot be bred. HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Joseph Nicéphore Niépce created the oldest surviving photograph in 1826. He eventually partnered with Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, the inventor of the first commercially successful type of photography, the daguerreotype.

BOTANY: Elephants may carry seeds long distances: up to 40 miles. They are second only to migratory birds, which can fly up to 186 miles. Elephants are partially responsible for plant propagation and the development of tree diversity on the African savanna.

PHOTOGRAPHY AS AN ART? The painter, Thomas Eakins (1844–1916), used Muybridge’s photographs of the galloping horse to study for painting horses. Then, Eakins used photography to study athletes in motion for another series of paintings. Conversely, sculptor Auguste Rodin (despite using photos to document his own work) believed photography had no place in art: “... it is the artist who is truthful and it is photography which lies, for in reality time does not stop.”

HISTORY OF FILM: To us in the 21st century, this image looks like four rows of film stills. In some ways, that is exactly what they are, but the artist captured these images before movies were ever invented. They can be animated, but Muybridge was more interested in capturing various stages of motion as it was happening.

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ZOOLOGY: The word “pachyderm” comes from the Greek: “pachy” means thick; “derm” means skin, together they mean “thick skin” and refer to various mammals having thick skin such as elephants and rhinos. SOCIAL STUDIES: Elephants live in communities as a matriarchal society: the herd is led by a female, or cow. The males, called bulls, move apart from the herd. A baby elephant is called a calf. FAMOUS FICTITIOUS ELEPHANTS: For the younger set, here are some of the star elephants: Horton (Dr. Seuss), Dumbo (Disney), Babar (Jean deBrunhoff), Hathi (Rudyard Kipling), and Tantor (Edgar Rice Burroughs). EUPHEMISMS: • White elephant • The elephant in the room • An elephant never forgets • Seeing pink elephants

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NOVEMBER 2017

Eadweard Muybridge (English-born American; 1830–1904). Animal Locomotion, Plate 733, 1887. Collotype photograph; 8.18" x 15". National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Gift of Mary and Dan Solomon and / Patrons’ Permanent Fund. Public domain ©

In the Studio: Create and Present Annotations and lessons on these pages by Tara Cady Sartorius, Program Director, Alabama Arts Alliance

GRADES K–6

GRADES 7–12

GREENER SHADES OF GRAY. A good art teacher brings to stu-

MOVEMENT MADE IMMOBILE. Photography can be elusive and deceiving. The light, the exposure, the point of view, and the eye of the artist might still add up to unexpected results. There is a continuum between the intent to lose complete control while still making careful plans to achieve a “look” or a mood in a photograph. In the photos below, action is the core concept and yet these are “still” photographs. The students were likely asked to capture motion in some way. According to teacher Jonathan Maki, “ … this was a 35mm film photography project where students were learning about shutter speed and recording action. Each student had to create a photo with slow shutter speed, fast shutter speed, and an attempted pan shot.”

dents a form of expression they can make all their own. Visual art teacher, Jessica Hughson, says that her lesson is “a combination of two lessons” she adapted from two sites for art teachers: Deep Space Sparkle and Kinder Art. She was quick to credit her outside inspirations, and yet her students’ art has a liveliness of its own that distinguishes it from her two sources.

Photographs by ninth- and 10th-grade students of Jonathan Maki, art teacher at Minnetonka High School, in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

Elephants by fourth-grade students of Jessica Hughson, art teacher at Patronis Elementary School in Panama City Beach, Florida.

Perhaps it is the paper, possibly the brand of water-soluble black marker, maybe the quantity of water used in the washes, but none of those factors accounts for the outstanding personalities of these adorable elephants. Each one has a distinct attitude and posture: lonely, calm, humorous, grumpy, worried, resigned, exasperated, noble, and more. You name it, these imagined elephants seem to reflect the plight and condition of real elephants in the world today. NATIONAL ART STANDARDS: Grades K–6 CREATE: Explore and invent art-making techniques and approaches.

Explore and invent art-making techniques and approaches.

Enduring Understanding: Artists and designers experiment with forms,

structures, materials, concepts, media, and art-making approaches.

How to use the monthly A&A Art Print: Carefully unbend the staples at the center of the magazine, pull the print up and out of the magazine. Rebend staples to keep magazine intact. Laminate the pulled-out section and use it as a resource in your art room. — Editor

In this selection of works, each evokes some of the same questions: What happened before, and what comes next? How and why did the artist select this exact photograph to print? What types of collaboration were required to achieve these results? These are some of the same questions Eadweard Muybridge was addressing, and answering, in the 1800s during his photography sessions. For those engaged in teaching digital art-making, below are two standards that could be addressed in a lesson similar to Maki’s. Technically, however, because his students were using 35mm photography, his lesson falls squarely into visual arts standards. NATIONAL ART STANDARDS (Media Arts): Grades 7–12 CREATE: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.

Enduring Understanding: Media artists plan, organize, and develop

creative ideas, plans, and models into process structures that can effectively realize the artistic idea. CONNECTING: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding Essential Question: How does media arts relate to its various contexts, purposes, and values? How does investigating these relationships inform and deepen the media artist's understanding and work? NATIONAL ART STANDARDS: Grades 7–12 CREATE: Conceive and develop new artistic ideas and work.

Essential Question: What conditions, attitudes, and behaviors support

creativity and innovative thinking? What factors prevent or encourage people to take creative risks? How does collaboration expand the creative process?

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on the

ART CAREER TRACK

Dynamic Drypoint by Irv Osterer

Tori. St. Basil’s Basilica, Moscow, Russia.

the great Rembrandt Van Rijn. The Dutch master also created prints without using an acid bath to etch his lines. He did this by incising lines directly into soft copper plates—a technique called “drypoint,” which renders a softer, less aggressive line than the etching process.

ines the portraits on our paper currency, the skill of the engraver is immediately apparent. Our class studied two postage stamps created by Canada Bank Note engraver Jorge Peral under high magnification to reinforce this point. As a preliminary exercise, students fill in a series of small squares, using only line with their hi-tech markers, to create similar illusions of value. Since our class had students from diverse ethnic backgrounds, a more international project was in order: Each print was to feature an aspect of one of the world’s most interesting buildings. Students were to research the structure they wished to use, and complete several preliminary sketches. They were also asked to supply some descriptive text, as all the finished prints would be used to illustrate a short book.

IT IS POSSIBLE TO SIMULATE the drypoint

ONE OF THE ADVANTAGES of using clear

process quite effectively by substituting inexpensive plexiglass or polystyrene plates for the more expensive metal alternatives. Before attempting this printmaking unit, the important thing to impress on students is the full range of tone that’s possible with careful cross-hatching and Etching and inking the plates takes a steady hand, other linear techniques. patience, and a penchant for neatness. If one carefully exam-

acrylic plates is that accessing preliminary drawings as reference is much easier. The image can be effectively traced, circumventing the need to transfer the image. It is best to bevel and sand the edges of the plastic plate before beginning. Beveling the plate prevents it from ripping the paper and compromising the image in the printing process. Once the master copy is secured, the plastic plate is placed on top with the beveled areas face down. The drypoint process in then ready to begin.

ealth and safety factors preclude most high school art departments from attempting traditional printmaking. The absence of adequate ventilating hoods, maintenance issues with acid baths and the purchasing of grounds, resists and expensive metal plates make etching a process that most likely can be experienced only by watching instructional videos, and admired through the inspired works of

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Lauren H. Highclere Castle, Hampshire, England.

A ceramic needle tool works very well for this process, although drill bits and nails might also prove useful. While there is no grain to plexiglass, you most definitely need to use some pressure to draw and the process is time consuming—a commodity that many of our students are not accustomed to nowadays. To render a large back area for instance, a very deliberate series of close crosshatched lines have to be made on the plate. The process was very interesting to watch. As students carefully incised their linear compositions, it was hard for them to envision how the final product would turn out. After all their work was completed, they were left with a ghost like image on a clear plexiglass plate, that one could only see by holding the plate against a sheets of black paper, and at the right angle. For the printing process, oil-based etching ink is rubbed into the lines created on the plate. The excess ink is then carefully wiped out off the surface using tarlatan cloth. When all the unwanted ink has been removed, the plate is ready for printing, using our art department’s intaglio press. For best results, we use BFK Rives paper that has been soaked in water for about 20 minutes and then carefully blotted dry.

Amberlee. Vidhana Soudha, Bangalore, India. 24

IT CAN SOMETIMES TAKE a few attempts for students to navigate the inking process, but once they do, they’re surprised n o v e m b e r 2 0 1 7 • 85 Y E A R S

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NATIONAL ART STANDARDS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES High-school students will … • be introduced to the etching/drypoints of Rembrandt, Dürer and Canada Post’s Jorge Poral. • research the assigned topic and find source material for their images. • create plexiglass drypoint engravings. • be able to simulate value in their prints through the careful distribution of line. • learn how to ink, wipe and print plexiglass plates with the intaglio press. • be aware of the health and safety issues associated with oil-base ink. • scan their prints and create files suitable for desktop publishing. • each complete a two-page layout in the class book. Go to artsandactivities.com and click on this button for resources related to this article.

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CREATING: Conceiving and developing artistic ideas and work. • PRESENTING: Interpreting and sharing artistic work. • CONNECTING: Relating artistic ideas and work with personal meaning and external context.

MATERIALS

• •

Plexiglass/polystyrene printing plates Needle-point clay tools, styluses for scratching/engraving into printing plate Oil-base ink, Tarlatan cloth Odor-free Varsol™ or other odorless mineral spirits/turpentine Intaglio press Computer, access to Internet, desktoppublishing/image-editing software, digital scanner

Tiana. The Caryatids, Port of Erecthion, Athens, Greece.

by the results. The acuity of the printed drypoint line—as exemplified in the Notre Dame Gargoyles, and Highclere Castle—is impressive. Since the prints are created with an oil-base ink, Tori was able to successfully tip her efforts on St. Basil’s Basilica with a modest watercolor wash to create a bit more contrast. WHEN THE PROJECT WAS COMPLETED,

prints were scanned, retouched in Photoshop and placed in an InDesign® document. Each student then added the text that was to accompany his or her print. The completed book file was exported to PDF and sent to the Ottawa Carleton District School Board’s Print Services for printing and binding. Even though today’s desktop publishing environment makes image creation and text assembly relatively easy operations, a love and respect of craft is returning to the communication and design industry. There’s no denying that these drypoint images that are printed on damp premium rag paper using oil-base ink and an intaglio press have a unique linear quality and character. It is imperative that we continue to provide these learning experience to our students. n

Lauren S. Gargoyles, Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France. Her etched and inked plexiglass is seen above left. Below, she proudly shows off her finished product.

Arts & Activities Contributing Editor Irv Osterer is Department Head – Fine Arts and Technology at Merivale High School in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. www.ar tsandactivities.com

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES Kindergarten students will … • learn about author/illustrator Eric Carle. • create a caterpillar inspired by his story The Very Hungry Caterpillar. • blend colors of chalk. • create overlapping shapes by finger painting. • make prints with balloons.

NATIONAL ART STANDARDS

•

CREATING: Conceiving and developing artistic ideas and work. • PRESENTING: Interpreting and sharing artistic work. • RESPONDING: Understanding and evaluating how the arts convey meaning. • CONNECTING: Relating artistic ideas and work with personal meaning and external context.

Mikaella

hen my kindergarten students entered the art room, they were surprised to see balloons sitting on the tables next to the paint. I told them that instead of using a paintbrush to apply paint for this project, we would be using balloons! They were excited, but curious—a great way to start any project!

SESSION 1 (40 MINUTES). I began the lesson by reading them the classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle. In this story, a caterpillar eats his way through the pages as we are taken through each day of the week. At the end of the story, he builds himself a cocoon and emerges as a beautiful butterfly, whose wingspan stretches across the last two pages of the book. Wow factor? Accomplished! To begin their masterpieces, I instructed the students to draw a horizontal line across their paper to separate the ground from the sky. I demonstrated how to use the side of a chalk pastel to apply color to the top part of their paper, and then use a tissue to smudge it across the space and give it better coverage. As if that wasn’t fun enough, they had the opportunity to choose two or three colors to blend in. They referred to the color wheel to decide which colors would look nice together when blended, and then completed their sky by smudging them together with the tissue. When they finished their chalk sky, they moved on to finger painting the bottom par t of their paper. The inside cover in the book features an arrangement of several colored circles that inspired the design for our ground.

Zinachidi

The students painted using ver y power ful tools—their index fingers and some paint! I poured a few colors of tempera on a tray and they used their fingers to stamp many circles with one paint color, then repeated the process with the other colors until most of the white space was filled. To prevent the colors from smearing and getting muddy, I told the students to stamp with only ONE finger, their index finger, and they could wipe it of f in between colors. We allowed the projects to dr y until the next class session. SESSION 2 (40 MINUTES). I demonstrated how to create the caterpillar’s body by stamping a balloon in green and yellow

by Chrissy Leishear 26

n o v e m b e r 2 0 1 7 • 85 Y E A R S

www.ar tsandactivities.com

MATERIALS

• Book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle (Philomel Books; 1994) • 12" x 18" white paper

• • •

A chalk sky was made on the top part of the paper, and tissue was used to smudge it across the space, giving it better coverage.

Red and yellow construction paper Chalk pastels Tissues or paper towels

By stamping a balloon in a tray of green and yellow paint and gently pressing it onto the paper, the caterpillar was created.

paint and gently pressing it onto the paper. It was important to remember to stamp the balloon gently so it didn’t slip and smear across their paper. The students worked on top of their chalk background and stamped away. Some chose to stamp the body in a straight line; others wanted their caterpillars to have a curvy body so it looked like they were moving. The final step was to create the head and legs. We used red and yellow construction paper for the face, like the iconic critter gracing the cover of the book. They used a marker to draw the eyeballs, mouth, legs and antennae. This lesson showed the students that there are many ways we can apply color in art. They had the opportunity to use three different processes—smudging chalk, finger painting, and printing with balloons. The transformation of the caterpillar to a butterfly in the story was just as intricate and magical as the process of creating these colorful critters in art class! n

Red and yellow construction paper was used for the face, and the eyeballs, mouth, legs and antennae were drawn in with markers.

Gemma

Madeline Ryan

Chrissy Leishear teaches K–8 Ar t at St. John the Baptist School in Silver Spring, Maryland.

www.ar tsandactivities.com

• Tempera paint • Balloons • Markers

85 Y E A R S •

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rs. G, I’m pretty sure we did this in elementary school.” My student was right: They probably did print leaves as youngsters. I immediately launched into the reasons that this would be not only different from grade-school efforts, but also suitable for high-schoolers. First, they would be producing an acr ylic painting in a color scheme of their own choosing. The substrate would not be constr uction paper, although that’s a fine background for the lower grades. My class would be creating advanced, more complex pieces that I was sure would be satisfying.

by Paula Guhin

BEFORE BEGINNING, ask your students

to bring in fresh leaves in various sizes and shapes. Leaves with prominent veins on the back are best, of course. I always gather a variety of species in September and press them in old books for later use, but dried leaves are very brittle and I prefer fresh, pliable ones. Acrylic or mixed-media papers work well for this activity, as well as canvas panels. Have students sign their names on the back, and then cover the front surface with paint, using two or three dark or medium-dark colors that they like together.

> >

A finished print.

NATIONAL ART STANDARDS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES High-school students will … • understand and apply media, techniques, and processes. • reflect upon and assess the characteristics and merits of their work and the work of others. • make connections between visual arts and other disciplines.

A blended background painting in low values, before printing.

•

MATERIALS

• •

Leaves (fresh or pressed) Canvas panels (or sturdy multimedia paper) • Acrylic paint, palettes, paintbrushes, water containers • Paper towels • Paint shirts

n o v e m b e r 2 0 1 7 • 85 Y E A R S

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Tendrils and stems can be added with fine brushes or paint writers.

When the background paint is dry, demonstrate the use of white and lightcolored acrylic paint on the veined side of a leaf. Show the class how to dip a wide, flat brush into slightly thick paint and then run it over the texture lightly to bring it out. Remind students that the paint dries quickly so they must print the leaf promptly. Lay scrap paper over the (paint-side-down) leaf on the canvas, and press well to achieve a good imprint. Use of a brayer is optional. www.ar tsandactivities.com

Overlapping leaf prints ties the piece together.

Colors that harmonize with the background shades are best. Overlapping leaf prints helps tie the piece together. And it’s okay to add a few pops of a bright color, too! Sometimes there will be enough paint left on a leaf to print it again, producing a “ghost print.” Encourage the wise use of negative space and variety. DEVELOPING THE PIECE. When the leaf

prints are dr y, provide small, slender brushes—such as liner brushes— so the students can enhance their acr ylic paintings. Refining the artworks, adding interest and definition where needed, will take them to a new, more mature level. I displayed a finished piece that included a few

85 Y E A R S •

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grasses, vines, and branches in and around the leaves. One of my students found my stash of paint writers, perfect for adding tendrils, stems, and evergreen needles. Teachers of large classes in the lower grades might simplify this project with white tempera stamped onto black paper. When that’s dry, they could color in some areas (such as parts of the printed leaves) with bright oil pastels. So even if you don’t teach at the high school level, be sure to get your leafy greens—and purples, reds, and more—with this project. Build up some botanical beauties layer by layer. Celebrate the loveliness of leaves with nature-print paintings. n A&A Contributing Editor, Paula Guhin, taught high-school art in Aberdeen, S.D. She is now busy with her art, photography and writing. Visit her blog: mixed mediamanic.blogspot.com. 29

INTEGRATING

the curriculum

s an art teacher, I am always looking for new and interesting ways to bring core subjects into the art room experience. While browsing through Pinterest, I came across a project titled “Old Bear” from www.deepspacesparkle.com. Instantly, I thought of how well this lesson would work with cross-curricular connections in science and narrative writing. My lesson begins with a scientific focus, bringing students out into nature to observe the anatomy of leaves and the changing of seasons. Later, we read the story, Old Bear, and connect storytelling with art to enhance comprehension. The results are visually striking and get students excited about learning and connecting subject areas to create beautiful works of art. LEAF PRINTS. We began this lesson by walking outside and

collecting leaves. I took each class to an area with lots of different types in a variety of shapes and sizes. Students were given two minutes to collect several leaves.

Nadia Sierra

It is important to give some guidelines for size, as well as warning the children to avoid any dried up or frail leaves that would fall apart during printing. I also make sure to grab a good supply of extras just in case some students need them. When we returned to the classroom, I demonstrated how to create the leaf prints: Paint the leaves with metallic tempera, making sure to apply it evenly over one side of the leaf. Then, place the leaf paint-side down on 12" x 18" black construction paper and lay a piece of scrap paper over it. Carefully rub the leaf through the scrap paper, making sure not to slide or move the leaf, or the print might smudge. Once a successful print has been pulled, students might try different techniques, such as printing leaves in multiple colors or printing one color on top of another. I gave my students the choice of printing with one leaf repeatedly or using a variety, stopping when they have a good balance on the paper and there isn’t too much empty space. OLD BEAR. This project was inspired by Old Bear, written

and illustrated by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow Books; 2008).

n o v e m b e r 2 0 1 7 • 85 Y E A R S

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by Matt Mazur

LEARNING OBJECTIVES Elementary students will … • create a variety of relief leaf prints. • identify and demonstrate the use of texture in art. • arrange elements to create a balanced composition. • recognize how artists use narrative in works of art.

Rye

NATIONAL ART STANDARDS

•

CREATING: Create personally satisfying artworks using a variety of artistic processes and materials. • PRESENTING: Interpreting and sharing artistic work. • RESPONDING: Understanding and evaluating how the arts convey meaning. • CONNECTING: Relating artistic ideas and work with personal meaning and external content.

Anna

MATERIALS / RESOURCES

•

12" x 18" black construction paper • Leaves in a variety of shapes and sizes • Metallic tempera paints and brushes • White scrap paper

• • •

Pencils and erasers Black and brown tempera paints 3" x 18" white construction paper • Scissors, glue • Book: Old Bear, by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow Books; 2008)

Once the bears were drawn in pencil, students painted in the shapes with brown tempera. The texture of fur can be created by using rough brushstrokes. To finish, students applied thick black outlines—just like the bear in the stor y had. Students added small black lines within the bear to further emphasize the furr y texture. SWIRLING SNOWFLAKES. The final class was used to com-

In the story, Old Bear wanders through beautiful illustrations of falling leaves and snowflakes. So, during the next class, I read the book to the students, pausing at an appropriate time to ask, “Why do bears hibernate? Where do they hibernate?” Some children may not know that bears hiberThis project was inspired by the endearing story of Old nate in a cave or den durBear, written and illustrated ing the winter months by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow to escape the cold and Books; 2008). because food is scarce. As we observed the illustrations of the bear carefully, I made sure students noticed the bold and dark outline around the bear, and the texture of the paint that creates the illusion of fur. I demonstrated how to draw a bear shape and put up some pictures of real bears walking, so students could draw from observation. www.ar tsandactivities.com

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plete their compositions. Students cut out white strips from 3" x 18" paper for a snow-covered ground. The had the option of cutting straight for a flat ground or creating hills or snowbanks with swooping cur ves. The bears were then cut out and placed as if walking through the snow. Students could use black crayon to clean up the outline of the bear or add more texture lines. The final touch was adding snowflakes to the drifting leaves by cutting up white paper. A writing exercise would make a great evaluative conclusion to this project as well. You could have students continue the stor y into the spring, or have them write a prequel detailing how the bear prepares for hibernation. This entire project was great for learning several key aspects from the elementar y science curriculum. Narrative in art can also be explored while learning fun ways to use printmaking, texture and balance. Trust me, your students will love this fun twist on classic fall leaf printing! n Matt Mazur is an elementary and middle-school art teacher at Dealey Montessori Vanguard and International Academy in Dallas, Texas. 31

media reviews

AUDIOVISUAL BOOK/PRINT Jerome J. Hausman • Paula Guhin

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SKETCHING PEOPLE: An Urban Sketcher’s Manual to Drawing Figures and Faces, by Lynne Chapman. Barron’s Educational Series, Inc., $19.99. Are you comfortable drawing strangers out in the world, through direct observation? In her Sketching People: An Urban Sketcher’s Manual to Drawing Figures and faces, Lynne Chapman provides ways to build confidence doing just that—and tactics to avoid offending them, to boot. Even the author’s introductory pages are filled with a thorough assortment of tips, suggestions and exciting illustrations. Then, in the “Getting Started” portion, she discusses sketchbooks, papers,

Photo courtesy of Gail Zaier, Certified Zentangle Teacher

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and dry and wet drawing materials. In addition, there’s information on facial features, hair, clothing and those banes of the inexperienced: hands. Body proportions are given short shrift, but perhaps that’s not what drawing on location is all about. The third section, “Different Styles and Approaches,” promotes exploration, experimentation, and self-expression. A sidebar, “Things to Remember,” appears frequently with pointers that are true gems. The multitude of examples—many small but nonetheless excellent—just might induce you to sketch people both indoors and out. To tell the story of your surroundings. The Urban Sketchers movement is based on sharing, so post those drawings proudly on social media! See www.urbansketchers.org for even more tips and tools.–P.G.

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101 TEXTURES IN GRAPHITE & CHARCOAL: Practical Drawing Techniques for Rendering a Variety of Surfaces & Textures, by Steven Pearce. Walter Foster Publishing, $21.95. The artist/author of 101 Textures is avid about pencil drawing, and he’s adroit in executing surfaces, whether grained, patterned, rough, smooth, shiny, you-name-it. His book is for the middle school artist eager to learn, the high-schooler who adores sketching, and adults enthusiastic about drawing realistically. After the “Getting Started” preamble, the first three subject categories are people, animals, and fabrics/textiles. Pearce covers hair types, curly and coarse fur, eyes and noses, even leather and basket weave. In the next section, “Glass, Stone, Ceramics, Wood & Metal,” the beveled glass page is a knockout, and the demonstration on rust is great too. Most of the illustrated steps run to about two or three, and they are smallish but adequate. Anyone following them can readily proceed, and there are plentiful sidebar nuggets. Teachers will pick up many ideas for sketchbook work; the food and beverage pages are sure to be emulated in many classrooms. The final category, “Nature,” is followed by an artist’s gallery, comprising four pages of the author’s works. See more of his well-done pencil drawings at www.srpearceart.com. This hardcover measures about 6" x 9.5" and the binding is an enclosed spiral. 101 Textures will be a true asset to scores of book collections.–P. G.

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shop talk

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SPEEDBALL ART Block print on both fabric and paper with the Ultimate Fabric & Paper Block Printing Kit from Speedball®.. Included are: 4" × 5" linoleum block; 3" × 4" Speedy-Car ve block; four linoleum cutters with one handle; bench hook/inking plate; 4-inch hard rubber brayer; baren; printing paper; two 1.25-oz. tubes of ink (black and white); Pink Soap (1 oz.); plus an instructional booklet and DVD.

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Paragon introduces a new touch screen controller

A.W.T. WORLD TRADE The Versa-Rack™ has many of uses for drying or storing rigid or semi-rigid objects. The tabletop model features eight shelves, which can hold objects up to 12" x 18" with a 3-inch clearance. The floor model has 13 shelves plus casters that permit tilt-and-wheel mobility for easy movement. Use the Versa-Rack for storing or drying items such as silk-screen print frames, canvas boards, stretched canvasses, cardboard, heavy felt, construction paper, poster board and more.

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fter subjecting the new Sentinel Smart Touch controller to ruthless testing, we are proud to add this to our family of kilns. Easy to install

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STUDY PRINT

Mural: Chem Trails NYC (2014) by Maya Hayuk. Houston Street and Bowery Graffiti Mural Wall, New York City. Â© Maya Hayuk 2014. Photograph courtesy of Garrett Ziegler.

Detail

“The silhouette says a lot with very little information, but that’s also what the stereotype does.” — Kara Walker

appy November! We have almost made it through the first half of the year, but before you take a nice long rest over the Thanksgiving holiday, here are some brilliant tips and ideas on printmaking, photography, image transfers and digital media to get you through the month.

tip #1

MONOPRINT MADNESS. Monoprints

can be done by using gelatin pads with acrylic paint. I have my students do at least four layers of printing using different colors and textures per layer, and masking items to let the layer of color below show through. Even though they might look a bit messy when done, after trimming the edges and matting or mounting them, they look fabulous. If you don’t have gelatin pads, use a foam tray from

they often end up with more ink spots than they had intended as their workspace becomes messier. She has learned to have a separate location for the inking process. The students roll their ink on a brayer and ink their wood block at Station 1, then they carry their inked block to their table (Station 2) and print it onto their paper. This also keeps individual students from monopolizing the ink tray when they’re sharing, because they must step away from the ink tray to print! A tub of wet wipes at each table also saves time for cleanup.

tip #3

ALTERED PHOTOS. Altered photos is

a dynamic way to see photographs differently. Whether you have a dark room or not, digital cameras or not, this project can be done with firstgraders up to college students. I usually have my students bring in two identical photos printed on photo paper (I tell them to get 4" x 6" prints at a photo kiosk) in black and white.

Glenda L

ubiner

construction paper characters and backgrounds. It was a little choppy in some cases, but overall a fun experience.

tip #5

TRANSFER THAT IMAGE. All you need to

use for some spectacular image transfers is gel medium, a brush, and a tub of water. Find an image (magazine images usually work well) and coat it

Prints, Photos and More the grocer y store and do the same technique. The outcome will be a bit different, but still beautiful in the end. And when all else fails, get a smooth metal cookie tray, flip it over and use the bottom as your matrix. Students can finger paint, use brushes or textures to create their image. For the little kids, printing with objects—from vegetables to LEGOs— always makes a great print.

tip #2

TIME IS ON YOUR SIDE. In the past,

Keeli Singer from John Evans Middle School in Potosi, Missouri, put the ink on the students’ tables, the same place they do their printing, but she noticed

ATTENTION READERS If you would like to share some of your teaching tips, email them to: tipsforartteachers@yahoo.com

The students can decide when they want to glue the photos to the cardboard or mat board during the creative process. I explain that I do not want to see a photo with a decorated frame around it. They then alter the photos, by cutting, scratching, sandpapering, folding, painting with markers or Sharpie paint pens (these work beautifully). Some choose to weave their photos or make them 3-D, others choose to add alternate items like beads, raffia, fabric or just plain hot glue for a raised surface.

tip #4

DIGITAL ART FOR BEGINNERS. Even

if you don’t have computers in your classroom, hopefully you can sign out a few tablets. I have used iMotion with my students who had no experience and we had some very successful 30second movies. I had the students come up with a theme and then create it with cut-out

with anywhere from four to 10 layers of gel medium. Make sure each layer dries completely before doing the next (you can even add a little pigment if you want). When completed let dry for another 48 to 72 hours. Your end result will be better if it is completely dry. Once dry put it in a tub of lukewarm warm water for about 15 minutes and start scrubbing off the paper. Until the image is totally dry again, it might appear a bit milky. Once completed, add the image to your art piece. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Hannah Hoch (Nov.

1, 1889), Robert Mapplethorpe (Nov. 4, 1946), Louis Daguerre (Nov. 18, 1787), Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (Nov. 24, 1864), and Kara Walker (Nov. 26, 1969). Thanks Keeli for your helpful tip! n Arts & Activities Contributing Editor Glenda Lubiner (NBCT) teaches art at Franklin Academy Charter School in Pembroke Pines, Florida. She is also an adjunct professor at Broward College.

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Print a Patch! Lesson Plan for Grades 5–12

Blick Studio Acrylics and Golden GAC 900 Fabric Medium Customer-Rated!

A personal statement you can wear on your jacket, jeans, anywhere at all! These iron-on patches are a hit for students of all ages. The linoleum blocks are easy to carve, and the printing process is quick and fun. Make multiples to share and swap with friends — use colored pencils to make every patch unique!

DickBlick.com/lessonplans/print-a-patch NEW lesson plans and video workshops at DickBlick.com/lessonplans. For students of all ages!

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Alliance for Young Artists Writers

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