Not So Boring After All!

"Our school is so boring!"

Do you hear this all the time?  I know I do, and I challenge my students to take a more positive approach.

In the first photo unit, I teach students that one of the most important parts of being an artist is to learn how to see more clearly.  In today's face-paced world, we tend to abbreviate everything...including what we observe.

I start by having students read a short article called "Looking vs. Seeing" by Ben Long in a great resource, titled Complete Digital Photography. (I highly recommend this resource to any teacher using photography in the art classroom!)

After we discuss the themes in this reading, I have them go out and try to show the school in a new way by composing it within the camera frame.  We talk about trying out new points of view and to get in close to find areas that others may normally overlook.

Autumn G.

Jordan F.

Marlee D.

Noah T.

Promise W.

Saige A.

Stop-Motion Animation

This year I have a very small Video Production class and I was able to bring them up to the traditional art room setting and work with claymation.

Before students begin planning for their individual 30-45 second stop-motion animation, I give them a group challenge to complete the task in two class periods.  This year, I was able to have them work over a period of 3 days.  The challenge was to create some type of creature that would interact with something they found in my art classroom.

Day 1: Create the creature and plan the action
Day 2: Take the pictures using a digital still camera
Day 3: Place the pictures on a video track in Sony Vegas and time out where to add sound/music

Working With Shutter Speeds

Right before a four day weekend (Labor Day Holiday) I figured it would be a good time to have my Photo students switch over to the manual settings and crank up the shutter speed to stop action.

It had been very warm out this week and I figured water balloons would be a great subject to capture.  I prepared enough water balloons so each student had one and they worked in pairs.  One student would hold the water balloon and pin, while the other manned the camera.  In pairs, they each had two chances to capture the shot and could experiment with bubbles after they went through the two balloons.

We are currently using only point-and-shoot Sony brand cameras.  Some students brought their own digital SLR or hybrid cameras.

Here are the some of the results:

Stop-Motion Animation

My Video Production students are about to embark on the journey of stop-motion animation.  They seemed a little hesitant to create their own animations after watching a few professional examples in class.  On my way home from school that day, I decided to stop at the dollar store and pick up a few toys/items. 

When I got to class the next day, each row (group) of students received a mystery envelope with one of the toys inside.  They had one period to create a stop-motion animation while using this mystery item.  Some students had time to add sound to their works as well. 

This video represents the stop-motion animations that were made in class just this week.  The students are just finishing up their planning and each will create a 30-45 second stop motion that revolves around the theme of process or struggle.

Heroes and Self-Portraits

In my 3D Art and Design class, students are currently finishing up their clay self-portraits.  They have already worked with clay material during 1st semester and in this project they work with both additive and subtractive methods in clay.

Students first practice by looking in the mirror and becoming familiar with their features and the proportion of the face.  They will then journal about a hero they have and collect visual references of this hero.  Students can choose to depict their hero, or blend characteristics of themselves with the hero as a means to "follow in their footsteps."  Some students may choose just to work more expressively with their own features or symbolically through fictional characters that they have brought to life.

Each student receives a 25 pound block of clay to begin the subtractive process.  They use large loop tools and wire cutters to carve out the head.  Some students start with the coil method to build up shoulders and then attach a head later.

After the piece has dried to just before leather-hard, they use the wire cutters to cut the head in half (top of head behind ears, to shoulders/neck) and then hollow it out and score and slip it back together.

Here are photos of works in progress:

Plastic Tape Casting

As a method to learn casting and work with life-size sculpture, I have my 3D Art & Design students work on packing tape casting.  This is less expensive than plaster and much easier to clean up, not to mention a lot faster!  The tape is a great medium because the transparency allows for interior experimentation.  I have had students place lights, colored paper, and objects within their forms to portray different concepts and ideas.

Students can create the sculpture piece by piece and attach once finished with a limbs.  They wrap the sticky side out first, twist the tape around, and then complete an additional 3-4 layers of tape sticky side down.  Tape is then cut off of the body using scissors and taped back together.  When completing the head, I recommend students to place a grocery bag over their hair or use a shower cap.  Of course, they leave the nose open and add that in later.

Students use the school's library as a place to display the work when finished.

Fun with Photoshop

I challenged my students to use the school as their environment to capture multiple compositions to help them understand design and camera functions.  After we imported these photos, they were then asked to practice using Photoshop to enhance or modify value and color.  Their work was pretty impressive!