View finder drawing

For this project we got a view finder with a square cut out so that when held up to a room you can see it in a certain perspective. When you hold it up to your room or a part of your desk you can see only a few select things and it is cool to not draw everthing it its full entirety. I really liked this project because it makes you look at things in a certain way you usually wouldnt.

Bug

Last class we had to cut out pieces of card stock paper and then make a bug out of the shapes overlaping the pieces then glueing them onto a piece of regular paper. After we did this
we put a piece of regular white paper over the card stock and took a crayon that didnt have any paper on it and rubbed it over the card stock. By rubbing the crayon over the paper it created the shape of the bug. After we practicing with crayon we got to use paint and role it onto are but then put it onto the paper. I thought this project was really cool. I think it was my favorite because I enjoy arts and crafts type projects.

These two pictures were part of the lesson we did with the special types of brushes and the water colors. we learned different techniques to make the leaves and trunks look like the do. We also learned how to write are name in an abstract way so when read from left to right and top to bottom you can see the name but if not it looks like chinese writing. Also in the corner or sides of are bamboo we made a stamp with are name.

Assesment

Three different forms of assement you could have would be to critque the students drawing after they have already done it. This would allow you to assess the overall product  the summative assessment and then afterwards you could tell the student your thoughts on their piece. Also you could have them take a picture of their final project and then critque that. Another form would be to have a peer assess their art work after they have completed it. If you wanted to critque during the process you could even do the same type of things. Walk around and critque, have them take pictures of their work through the process, or have them talk with a peer through the process of critqueing. "I have students display their work so every participant has a work up for discussion. I give some display guidelines for them to follow so the presentation looks good and work can be seen easily by all participants. Students who are not finished might use the time to keep working to finish. It is sometimes found that students without work on display are not as interested and they are more apt to offer negative comments. " ( An Art Teacher Guide) This could be one assesment that could go along with peer reviews. " There are rich possiblities in art and for students it is exciting and creative and is hard to critque." This quote was something said by an art teacher i had and it is true it is hard to critque a students work. " The why question is for the teacher" This quote from are book shows us that we really need to ask why a student was doing this even if we dont think it is their best work we need to critque fairly.

Self portrait

Attempt one

Attempt Two

Attempt Three

When i first heard about the assignment of a self portrait i will admit i was a little bit scared to do them but as we did each different sketch i became a little bit more comfortable with it. By the third one when we made a grid i was surprised at how well it turned out i have never drawn something this good before. Though it may not look like the best work to other people it is for me because i think i have no artistic talent at all. Many people have told me i cant draw so this is a big improvment for me! I was surprised by just doing simple things like going by a grid how much better a picture can come out. Overall i was pleased with all of my drawings.

Picasso Piece

 

We did the eight pieces art work with different textures and put them all into different parts of our picasso head.  This was kind of hard for me because we had to draw the picasso head without looking and i dont think i am very good at drawing when i look at the paper so i really am not good at it when i cant look at the paper. I thought it was a fun assignment though and i learned alot about textures and different ways you can use a colored pencil so that the patterns all look different over all i think it turned out pretty good.

Art criticism methods

One thing I think is very important is to teach your kids how to criticize the art work that they see and the art work that they do for themselves. "Art criticism involves a specific way of looking at a work of art. You can make discernment about art without being a professional artist, all you need to do is learn to look (see) and think about what you are seeing.Learning how to criticize artwork properly will allow you to better understand works of art and why they have become important. The process of art criticism involves 4 actions. They are: describe, analyze, interpret and decide." (Betsy Larson) I think this is a great way to start out explaining to your students what art criticism is. You cannot just base it off of it you like there art work or not I don't think. Also you have to know their skill level because personally I have really bad penminship and I also cannot draw very well so things I try very hard on may not come through just because as I have been told before I write like a boy. Another very interesting lesson plan I found was this one...

How to Criticize a Work of Art

Doing art criticism is like playing detective. You must assume that the artist has a secret

message hidden inside the work. Your job is to solve the mystery and find the message.

The following four steps, which must be taken in order, are description, analysis,

interpretation, and judgment. By taking these steps you will be able to answer the

following questions:

1. "What do I see?" (description)

2. "How is the work organized?" (analysis)

3. "What is happening?" and "What is the artist trying to say?" (interpretation)

4. "What do I think of the work?" (judgment)

First you will collect facts and clues. Then you will make guesses. You will decide what

you think.( Art talk by Rosalind Ragans)
By making the lesson of criticizing art something more familar with people like playing dectective I think it puts it into a whole other perspective. This way it is easier for the kids to really dig deep when looking at a piece of art work. You also get to analize from 4 different perspectives.
"The purpose of art criticism in schools is to develop students appriciation and  understanding of how visual culture reflects the larger culture. Calling for reflection on the stuents part, and bringing together the students knowledge base, diposition, and seeking strategies, art criticism is a tool for the pursuit of meaning and value in art." ( Emphasis Art) All of these I think are great examples of art criticism methods. It is very hard to give someone a grade on a piece of art because it may be something they are very proud of and you just dont see it. I think all these things should be kept in mind when critcizing someones piece of art whether it be your own or someone elses.

Why teach art?

While a lot of schools are cutting budgets and the first things to go are programs like art and music I think these are essential things to teach children. Kids need a break from school work to be able to express themselves and create a piece of art work that though while working on it they may get frustrated but when they are finished they can have something to be proud of.  " In a curriculum crowded with academic subjects and factual learning, art is a welcome means of learning about oneself and the world. " (Emphasis Art) This quote from the book is really true though most people when they get older think that art was a waste of time they did not think that back when they were in school. Art was always something that me and my class mates looked forward too I think it is necessary to be taught. " One important feature of the arts is that they provide not only permission but also encouragment to use one's imagination as a source of content. Unlike in the sciences, where imagination is also of fundemental importance in the arts there is a tradtion that does not hold the artist responsible for" telling it like it it". In the arts children, like adult artists, can pursue whimsy if they wish the man's hair can be blue, they can tell it how they want it to be." (The Arts and the Creation of the Mind) All of these quotes from the book prove even further why we should teach art. Schools would not be the same without art programs, they are an opportunity for the student to really express themself. I think it is extremly important to teach art and I think that when budgets are getting cut schools should not just automatically turn to the arts to cut. "Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." (Pablo Picasso)

My definition of Art.

The definition of art that I have is art can be anything. I think you can view every aspect of life as a some form of art. Whether it be actual paintings, sculptures,drawings or things like music, dance,food, all of these things that people dont usually think art to be. I personally love to cook and when I make a dish that has a lot of different vibrant colors and textures I see that plate as a form of art. I really think art is up to the interpreter.To me art really has no form of definition because how can you define something that differs from person to person.