6th Grade Underwater Linear Drawings

Objective: To create a linear design, while also learning about positive and negative space.

Elements of art: Line and Space

Materials: Pencil, 12 x 18 inch white drawing paper & black fine tipped pens

1. Draw an underwater scene on white drawing paper in pencil. All shapes should be drawn with a basic hard edge outline, no details on the inside. Leave space in between each shape. Keep the drawing balanced.

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2. Outline the shapes with a black pen. Erase all left over pencil lines.

3. Fill the negative space with lines contouring the objects. The lines should be very close together - creating the linear design. All positive space should remain white with no detail. The linear design should be highly detailed with the lines very close together, but not touching.  Clean crisp lines - not sketchy messy lines!

Sugar Skulls

Dia de los Muertos - Day of the Dead

October 31 - November 2

The Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico, in particular the Central and Southern regions, also by Mexican ancestry in other places of the world. Day of the Dead is observed by the Hispanic population and it is significant in the remembrance of friends and family who have died. The multi-day holiday focuses on friends and family praying for and celebrating the lives of those who have passed, many families celebrate by creating sugar skulls for their loved ones.

The Sugar Skull

Sugar art was brought to the New World by Italian missionaries in the 17th century. Mexico, abundant in sugar production and too poor to buy fancy imported European decorations, learned quickly from the friars how to make sugar art for their religious festivals. Clay molded sugar figures of angels, sheep and sugar skulls go back to the Colonial Period 18th century. Sugar skulls represented a departed soul, had a name written on the forehead and was placed on the gravestone to honor the return of that particular spirit during Dia de los Muertos. 

Self Portraits in 8th Grade Art

The Selfie

Objective: To understand that self portraits are a reflection of oneself & learn the correct placement of features on the face.

Materials: cellphone template, mirrors, pencils, colored pencils

Vocab: design, self portrait, shading, blending, highlights

Directions:

Begin the lesson with a short video: The Art of the Selfie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ontgK-_zBfQ&t=36s

In pencil, draw a self portrait within the screen on the template. Use the mirror or a photo "selfie" to learn placement of features.

Be creative with the pose and the background, you may also use a filter.

Discuss shading, highlights and blending colors.
Shade the portrait with colored pencils.

Design and shade a cell phone case with the colored pencils.

Ceramics from the Pumpkin Patch

One of my favorite pastimes in the summer is gardening. I love being outside and working in my yard and garden. Growing pumpkins has become a fun hobby of mine. I started growing pumpkins as a small child, so long ago that my first pumpkin pictures were in black and white! I planted my seeds a little late this year and wasn't even sure if I would get them in, but it has been a really successful season!
 I started with one packet of seeds and planted them in their usual spot on the north side of the house. It seems to be the perfect spot, with just enough morning and evening sunlight. I tend to my pumpkins daily after they are planted. When they are small plants, I water them once a day, early morning. As they start growing and forming flowers, I water twice a day and also monitor and adjust the vines allowing them space to spread and grow. With luck, the flowers begin to turn into baby pumpkins. Unfortunately, not all baby pumpkins develop. It is so disappointing to come out in the morning and find a little pumpkin gone. Squirrels love to eat the pumpkins, and can be a major pest! As the pumpkins form and grow, I adjust them every other day. This allows them to develop on all sides.

This year I thought I would take one of my pumpkin leafs and design a ceramic dish from it. I wanted to create a piece to remind me of my love for gardening all year round.

June 7

June 15

July 14

July 21

August 2

August 16

August 22

August 29

September 7

 This summer, I decided to take a leaf from my vines and try to create a dish from it. 

I didn't realize that once I picked the leaf, it would instantly become very limp and it shriveled up within a very short time. This made the process a little more difficult than I had hoped.

September 10th