Drawing from Observation

Teacher Education in Art for Primary Schools - draft

Picture drawing A thematic based arts process on “Being Together�

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Kirsten Fugl

Teacher Education in Art for Primary Schools - draft

Exercise

Theme: “Being together…”

Thematic work integrates all disciplines in a continuous flow of elements, where one element forms the starting point for the next.

It is important that the teacher reflects on the objectives and the outcome of each element in order to create meaningful and relevant teaching for the students. The teacher’s reflections must be based on the curriculum and on didactic theories.

From observation to drawing Aims/ objectives This element will: Challenge the students to observe the proportions of a human being.

Stimulate the visual, tactile and kinaesthetic senses of the students Stimulate the students’ understanding of volume in the figure by introducing modelled drawing.

Challenge the students to understand the volume of a figure by arranging them in the classroom.

Outcomes At the end of this element the students will be able to: Express the proportions of a human figure.

Express an understanding of volume and tactility through the visual expressions of the drawings Use the technique of modelled drawing to form a pictorial expression.

Show an interest in and talk about the works of others Find inspiration in the works of others

Let the students sit in a big circle and find a volunteer or a helper to be the model standing in the centre of the circle.

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Kirsten Fugl

Teacher Education in Art for Primary Schools - draft

The students each have 4 pieces of A4 paper on a hard cover resting in their laps. They hold a small piece of black crayon in their hands. The teacher instructs them to write “a” on the 1st sheet of paper in the right lower corner, “b” on the next sheet and so on, up to “d”. Then the teacher assigns numbers to the participants, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 etc., asking them to write their number in the lower left corner of the sheets, like this:

Modelled drawing

The teacher then instructs the students on how to do modelled drawing.

HOW? Modelled drawing: You hold the crayon between your fingers horizontally. You draw with the side of the crayon, not with the tip. You can press down on one end of the crayon or the other if you need to draw gradients. This is a very tactile drawing method, so imagine that the figure is a landscape that you are investigating. You press the crayon and darken if you want to go deeply into the figure and you draw more lightly if you want to explore the parts of the figure closer to yourself.

When do you need to go up in the hills and press very little and when do you need to go down in the valleys and make dark?

When giving the instruction it could be an advantage for the teacher to dramatize the feeling of walking in a landscape. It will help the students understand what to do.

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Kirsten Fugl

Teacher Education in Art for Primary Schools - draft

Tip! The model should be instructed to do positions that are both standing and sitting. The more dramatic the positions are, the easier they are to work with later on. The positions of the model should last no longer than 3-5 minutes.

Key Questions To help the student see the proportions and the volume of the figure standing in the middle, the teacher can ask: 1. How big is the head compared to the rest of the body?

2. Where is the middle of the figure?

3. How long is the arm, where does the hand end?

To develop the technique of modelled drawing the teacher could ask: 1. Where are the “valleys and hills” of the “landscape of the figure”?

2. What parts are close to you and what parts are further away from you?

3.

To develop the child’s/the student’s kinaesthetic sense of the physicality of the figure, the teacher could ask all the learners to try to stand in the same position as the model. The questions (when the students are holding the position) could then be: 1. Where do you feel you are heavy right now?

2. Can you feel any tension? Where do you get tired? Where does it hurt?

3. Try to imagine that you are a landscape. Where are your hills and valleys?

After having done 2 drawings all the students line up their pictures on the floor using this system:

Now the students evaluate the two drawings. The teacher can see if the students have understood the exercise or if it is necessary to elaborate on it. Let the students be inspired by and learn from each other. Let them each see how the others are doing.

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Kirsten Fugl

Teacher Education in Art for Primary Schools - draft

Tip! If the students cannot understand your instructions, then try to explain the exercise in another way or show how to do and understand

Key Questions Key questions the teacher could ask to enable the student to reflect more deeply on the drawings: 1. Is it possible to recognize the positions of the figure in the drawings?

2. Which drawings seem “flat” and which seem “spatial”? Why?

From elements to a bank Aims/ objectives This element will Challenge the students to observe the proportions of a human being.

Stimulate the visual, tactile and kinaesthetic senses of the students.

Stimulate the students’ understanding of volume in the figure by practicing modelled drawing.

Stimulate the students to understand the volume of a figure by arranging them in a circle in the class room.

Stimulate the student to express reflections on the proportion and tactility of the drawing verbally.

Outcomes At the end of this element the student will be able to Express the proportions of a human figure in a drawing.

Express understanding of volume and tactility through the visual expression of the drawing.

Use the technique of modelled drawing to form a pictorial expression.

Express understanding of volume and tactility verbally.

Continue to draw 2 more drawings using the same method and the same classroom arrangement.

When the students have finished drawing, put up all the drawings on the wall like this:

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Kirsten Fugl

Teacher Education in Art for Primary Schools - draft

When presented like this, the system of the numbers and letters makes sense. Each student can see his or her own development from drawing no. 1 to drawing no. 4 vertically, and s/he can see the tactile spatiality of the figure horizontally, as the drawings will circle around the figure almost like a cartoon in slow motion. During the drawing session the circle of the participants was arranged to facilitate their experience with spatiality in the process.

Evaluate and discuss these effects as well as the traditional aspects of drawing human figures such as proportion, body expression, and body language etc with the students. Ask key questions in order to make them discover the results for themselves.

Key Questions Suggestions for some of the many questions the teacher can ask.

Ask both generally and specifically and with a positive approach: Where do you see examples with good proportions?

Where do you see good drawings even if the limbs are a bit out of proportion?

Are there any drawings that look funny/nice/sad/angry etc.?

Why does it look funny/nice/sad/angry etc. and how do you think this person feels?

From loans in the bank to stories Aims/ objectives This element will Encourage the students to select material from the bank to form a story by using their imagination.

Inspire the student to explore the content of the story Motivate the student to assemble pictures from the bank into a composition.

Stimulate the students’ social skills by organizing the exercise as pair or groups.

Outcomes At the end of this element the student will be able to Inspire and respect each other in pair work.

Assemble pictures into a narrative composition.

Tell a story visually.

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Kirsten Fugl

Teacher Education in Art for Primary Schools - draft

The drawings are hanging on the wall. The students split up in pairs or groups of 3-4 for doing pair or group work. The teacher reminds the students that the theme is “Being Together…”

Each pair/group takes a new piece of paper, preferably size A3, and sticks it on to a window glass so it is possible to see the sunlight through the paper.

Explain to the students how the drawings are a bank of pictures from which they can make a loan.

While looking at the drawings and being inspired by them, the students discuss in pairs/groups what kind of story they are going to tell. Being together can be both good and bad and the students decide for themselves what kind of story they want to create. Then they “borrow” as many pictures as they like from the picture bank.

The pairs discuss what story to tell. Is it going to be happy, mad or sad? How are they inspired by the drawings? They make loans from the bank.

The students then push the original modelled drawings underneath their new sheet of paper, which has already been stuck to the window glass. The sunlight shines through the drawings and makes it possible to see the drawings of the model on the front of the new piece of fresh paper. Now the pairs discuss the details of the story. How can the drawings from the bank communicate with each other? What story about “being together” is evolving when the drawings are brought together in the same picture?

Tip! At this point the teacher has a good chance to introduce traditional areas of art education, such as the overlapping of figures when creating 3-dimensional space, the attention to foreground, middle ground and background, and to the body language of the figures in the pictures.

When the students have decided how many figures they want in the picture, how they want to place them and what story they want to tell, they transfer the drawings to the front of the new sheet of paper using a black crayon.

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Kirsten Fugl

Teacher Education in Art for Primary Schools - draft

Key Questions The teacher can help the students decide on their creation of stories, for example by asking questions about specific drawings: What does this figure express?

What other figure can relate to this figure?

What is the relationship between these figures? Are they family/ friends?

What do you think this figure is saying? Who is he/she saying it to?

What mood is this figure creating? Which other figure backs up this mood?

The drawings from element 1 and 2 are being used to create a new picture.

When having finished their new picture, the students put the original drawings back into the picture bank.

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Kirsten Fugl

Teacher Education in Art for Primary Schools - draft

From stories to pictures Aims/ objectives This element will Motivate the students to select and be inspired by material from the bank to form a story.

Stimulate the students to explore the content of the story imaginatively.

Encourage the students to assemble pictures from the bank into a composition.

Challenge the social skills of the students by organizing the exercise as pair work.

Outcomes At the end of this element the student will be able to Inspire each other in pair work.

Explain and reflect on the chosen composition.

Communicate their story verbally and visually.

The students hang their new pictures on the wall or put them on the floor for everyone to see. The teacher asks the different pairs to each explain their story and has them comment upon each other’s stories. The teacher asks key questions to help the students reflect upon the pictorial choices that they have made.

Key Questions The teacher asks elaborating questions in relation to the students’ stories, such as: What is in the background/ middle ground/ foreground of your picture?

What age/sex are the persons in the story?

You say these figures are related. How can we see that? How are they dressed?

You say that the woman is crying. How can we see that?

You say that it is an old man. How can we see that?

You say the story takes place in the evening. How can we see that?

And so on…

Etc.

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Kirsten Fugl

Teacher Education in Art for Primary Schools - draft

The story of the picture is being told, discussed and enriched with suggestions for improvement.

Tip! The black and white composition can be used in different ways. If you want the students to work individually you can make copies of the composition of the story and let each student develop the story individually by choosing colours to underline his/her interpretation of the story. The choice of colours is very individual. Therefore‌ If you let the students continue to work in pairs you will strongly challenge their ability to cooperate. Be aware of the difficulty in doing this and the expressive possibilities opened by different coloured versions of the same composition.

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Kirsten Fugl

Teacher Education in Art for Primary Schools - draft

From drawing to painting Aims/ objectives This element will

Outcomes At the end of this element the student will be able to Inspire the students to understand and Express and support the narrative flow apply the compositional effects of colour of the story through the compositional into their drawings: and contextual use of colours. o Complimentary contrasts Inspire each other through pair work o Cold/warm contrasts o Graduated colours (adding either black or white) Stimulate the students to understand and apply the symbolic and contextual effects of colour into their drawings.

Encourage the social skills of the students by organizing the exercise as pair work.

The students now use crayons to further investigate their stories. The colours will add to the expressions of the students and open up for the possibility of talking about colour theory.

Tip! At this point it is relevant for the students to be introduced to the use of colours. It could for example be the use of complementary contrasts, cold/warm contrasts and graduated colours.

What are the effects of all these and how can they be brought into play?

The teacher asks key questions to help the students reflect on their works and develop their stories further by discussing more details before they begin.

Key Questions 1.

2.

3.

4.

What is the time of year in your story? Is it summer, winter, spring or autumn?

What colours fit your season?

What kind of weather is relevant for your story? What colours fit for that kind of weather?

What time of the day is your story taking place? Is it morning, evening or‌? What colours support this 5. How is the atmosphere and mood in your story and how do you support this by your choice of colour?

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Kirsten Fugl

Teacher Education in Art for Primary Schools - draft

What story do you think is being told here? Do you recognize any of the figures from the 1 st element?

The teacher lets the students discuss their stories, what colours to use, what props to add, what background to make, and so on. The students work individually or in pairs, and they finish their pictures by adding colours and extra props.

Exhibition of group pictures.

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Kirsten Fugl

Teacher Education in Art for Primary Schools - draft

The Vietnamese artist Vu Thi Trang has depicted “Ordinary life in Vietnam today� in paintings, exhibited the paintings worldwide and made them accessible in a little book.

She was born Dong Cao in the Pho YEU district in the Thai Nguyen province.

Find local or national artists and integrate their work in your lessons where relevant.

Let the students/students enjoy and discuss these pieces of Vietnamese culture like the 3 persons in the picture.

- The wife earns the money; the husband spends it, 2005 - He wants to do karaoke because his wife is from the countryside,2005

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From small scale to large scale Aims/ objectives This element will: Stimulate the student to develop his or her sensory and bodily-kinaesthetic capacity when making larger sized pictures.

Encourage the student to explore a story through the creation of a larger picture.

Motivate the student to use the technique of brushes and wet colour.

Outcomes At the end of this element the student will be able to Experience how perception changes when working with large sized pictures.

Express her-/himself and tell a story visually through the use of wet colours.

Collaborate and inspire each other.

The students transfer the black and white contour lines of their picture on to a transparent piece of paper.

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Kirsten Fugl

Teacher Education in Art for Primary Schools - draft

The teacher can choose if the students should either continue in groups or work individually. If they continue the process alone, they will need a transferred copy of the picture each. If they continue in groups they just need one copy per group.

They discuss in groups or consider individually how they interpret the story, and they do not have to see the same story. Maybe they each see a completely different story in the picture.

They discuss or contemplate if the new story means that they have to leave out some of the figures, if they have to add props or rearrange the background.

Key Questions To assist the process, the teacher can ask: 1.

2.

3.

4.

What story do you see in this picture? What are the figures doing/saying?

What do you need to add to tell your new story?

Do you need to take any of the figures out? Do you need new figures from the bank?

And so on‌

The group is discussing which parts of the picture to keep and which to leave out.

When the new story is ready, the students enlarge it on a very large piece of paper or wood or a wall by using an overhead projector.

Enlarging a picture by using an overhead projector.

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Kirsten Fugl

Teacher Education in Art for Primary Schools - draft

Painting can start individually or in groups.

They can use water soluble paint, brushes, sponges, sticks and even their fingers. Again they will consider how they use the colours, which is a very different experience than working with the dry colours of crayons. The teacher will explain how the students can use the materials and the techniques. The teacher should also encourage the students to work intensely and in a concentrated manner on their group paintings. They should be encouraged to cooperate, which can be very difficult when they are to work this closely together to create one unique piece of art.

This group is painting their picture together, but the exercise can also be done alone.

In the process the teacher should move around between the students, asking them key questions to qualify their expressions. The teacher will guide and support the individual expressions of the student and help them reflect upon their work.

The students should be given a lot of time for this part of the process. It takes time, reflections and in-depth discussions to make a good picture.

Finally the students hang their pictures on the walls of the classroom for further presentation and inspiration.

A poor family in Vietnam, Vu Thi Trang, 200

They need help, Vu Thi Trang, 2005

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Kirsten Fugl

Teacher Education in Art for Primary Schools - draft

From presentation to exhibition Aims/ objectives This element will Inspire the student to reflect upon his or her own picture in terms of: - Materials - Form - Meaning - Function Encourage the student to interpret the pictures of others in terms of: - Materials - Form - Meaning - Function

Outcomes At the end of this element the student will be able to Present his or her own picture for the rest of the class referring to idea, form, and process.

Reflect upon and evaluate his or her own picture and the pictures of others through a varied use of pictorial analytic terms.

This element of the process concerns itself with evaluation of the works and reflections on the process.

During a process there will be as many different pictorial expressions in class as there are students.

The teacher will consider what standards and goals are relevant for the evaluation of these expressions.

The teacher can begin the evaluation by asking the students to present their paintings.

The teacher must also make sure that the students also learn about the language of art.

The teacher can offer knowledge and experience when guiding the students during the process.

Looking at the walls filled with large paintings, the teacher can ask questions about the process and the results. But what is the teacher going to ask? It may be helpful to look at the aims and objectives set for this element. What were the students supposed to learn?

Try to develop some key questions to ask!!!

Key questions Look at the pictures, contemplate and ask the finalizing key questions: 1. ‌.

2. ‌.

3. ‌.

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Kirsten Fugl

Teacher Education in Art for Primary Schools - draft

Presentation of the picture. Can you interpret the picture? Do you recognize the clothes of the figures?

The picture is being presented and the audience give applauds.

Reflections of the teacher Evaluating the process and the results: 1. What goals did the teacher have and what are the results compared to that goal?

2. Is there a difference between the goals of the students and that of the teacher?

3. How did the students react to the exercise?

4. Is the exercise relevant to this group of students?

5. Should any changes be made before the next time the exercise will be used?

6. Could the evaluation be the beginning of the next process?

Tip The process does not have to end here. There are many ways of proceeding. The class could: 1. Dramatize the painting by making a Tableau Vivant Tableau Vivant: and create a drama where the scene of the picture is “A scene presented on stage by the starting point or maybe the ending scene. costumed actors who remain 2. Continue to work on the pictures after they have been silent and motionless as if in a interpreted. Having received productive feedback, the picture.” students know what to improve.

3. Write down the stories of the pictures and create a small reading book for the whole class.

French 4. Or start a process with 3-dimensional expression Tableau: picture nd to strengthen the spatial experiences from 2 element Vivant: living above…

So this process could continue with elements like…

From painting to drama From drama to sculpture From ………….?

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Kirsten Fugl