Learning to See

   

As an art teacher, I learned early on that drawing is rooted in perception, and not so much about motor skill.  In class, I like to spout little catchy cliches, like, "Look longer, see more" or "Art is an action of the eye before it is a work of the hand."  Or, as some people much more famous and important than me have said, "People who look hardest in the end will be good artists" (David Hockney) and "It is my contention that most people, including many artists, do not use their eyes to really see, but only to identify objects" (Fletcher Martin).  It's not unusual for me to take away a student's pencil while she works on an observation drawing and tell her bluntly, "Now draw."  Many of my students probably think I'm a little crazy (they may be right), but there is method to my madness, and it's always satisfying when a student learns to use their "eyes to really see," not simply to identify objects.

Today, a student brought in a lion drawing she created in 10th grade (above, on the left).  She--now a 12th grader--wanted to compare it to a recent lion drawing she created a couple months ago (seen above, on the right).   As I'm sure you'll notice, there is a notable difference, which is due to the development of this student's willingness to use her eyes to really see.

Class Demonstrations

Often, when I assign a new project in my art classes, I like to work along with my students in order to demonstrate techniques and development of a drawing or painting.  I find that many of my students learn a great deal from watching how other artists tackle a project. Here are a couple of recent demonstrations.  I began each of them in class, but put in some extra time after school.  Up next . . . the Snow Elf shown in my last post.

What we see depends on what we look for (18x12, acrylic on paper)

Long Voyage in a Small Boat (12x18, acrylic on paper)

Snow Elf

Today, I introduced my drawing students to the process of illustration, specifically concept development.  I have a small container of nouns and another of adjectives. My students pick one word from each container, then combine them to create a random concept, from which they must develop ten rough sketches.  I decided to work along with them this morning.  My concept? "Mad Winter".  I began with several rough sketches of a grumpy winter king, explored dragon-like ice creatures, and then wrapped up with some thumbnails sketches of a snow queen standing on a high peak overlooking a snow covered mountain range.  I then drew one more, not so angry, but winter inspired.  This one interested me most, so in my painting class I took a few minutes to put some acrylic paint on it, as seen here.  The sketch is about 4 inches tall.  And it has me hooked. I want to create a large painting based on the sketch.  Hopefully tomorrow I can prep a canvas or a board and get it ready to paint.  I'll try to post updates.

Expeditionary Learning National Conference Day 3

Today is the final day of the conference. I am looking forward to returning home. I am ready to rest and synthesize all the information and ideas produced by the classes and conversations.

Perhaps the most interesting idea I am taking home is to provide 20% of my class time for students to work freely on the art project of their choice. Many companies, such as Google and 3M, have used this "20%" model succesfully with their employees in order to promote creativity. My plan is to make Fridays available for "Personal Expeditions." Students will be able to take their art in any direction they choose, but I will expect them to create their own Guiding Questions and Learning Targets, and then to report on their learning regularly. My hope is that students will discover many of their best and most creative works of art in these self-designed products/lessons.

Expeditionary Learning National Conference Day 2

Well, I survived. No, not zombies, nor even a bad Brad Pitt zombie movie. I made it through my Master Class presentation...and I enjoyed it. Most of my nervousness abated quickly. Only a few minutes into the class I asked everyone to draw, and then I realized I was just hanging out with a bunch of fellow artists and talking about art education. I could do that all day.

Last night I finally got a decent night's sleep (7 hours). That is more than I think I slept over the past two nights combined. I even got up and ran a couple miles on a treadmill (I brought my running shoes and figured I better use them).  So with all that now behind me, I am looking forward to a new day of learning to be a better teacher.

Expeditionary Learning National Conference Day 1

I am in Atlanta, Georgia, for the Expeditionary Learning National Conference. I will be teaching a Master Class this afternoon entitled "Creating a Culture of Artistic Excellence through Cumulative Art Projects." Yeah, sounds academic right? At least, I hope it will be practical and helpful. Ironically, I am pretty nervous to teach my peers. Teaching a room full of rowdy teenagers is fairly simple. Teaching a room full of rowdy teachers is downright scary.

DaVinci Academy's Semiannual Student Art Exibition

Recently we held the DaVinci Academy semiannual student art show.  I wish I had time to show more, but here are a few entries.

Whale art by E.H., 12th Grade

A.L., 11th Grade, Charcoal

B.F., 8th Grade, Charcoal, Life Study from Skeleton Model,

H.J., 10th Grade, Acrylic, Assignment focusing on color/value shapes

M.D., 10th Grade, Charcoal, Life Study from skeleton model

S.C., 8th grade, Charcoal, drawing from still life

S.K., 8th Grade, Collage, "painting" of still life using collage technique

Supporting the Arts at DaVinci Academy

Dear Artist Friends,

On March 3^rd, from 7 pm to 9 pm, DaVinci Academy of Science and the Arts will host its annual Gala fundraiser.  This event has always served a crucial role in DaVinci’s fundraising efforts; however, I hope this year will surpass all others.  

This year, the Gala committee will devote all profits from the event toward completion of the school’s Black Box Theatre.  I can think of nothing that will benefit DaVinci Academy and its students more.  This theatre will provide space for plays, musical performances, lecture series, art exhibitions, and many other significant events.  DaVinci’s students have waited many years for this opportunity, and it’s my aspiration to make it happen.

In order to pull this off, we need help from the community, and in particular, I would like to extend an invitation to my artist friends.  As part of the event, we will be holding a Silent Auction, and we would like to feature quality artwork.  If any of you have any drawings, paintings, ceramics, or sculptures for which you would be willing to donate all or part of the proceeds, please contact me via the comments below, Facebook, or e-mail.   Those of you who know me, know I hate asking for donations, but this truly is a cause that is close to my heart.  

Thank you.  

Life Drawing

As an art teacher, most of my curriculum is founded on life drawing.  I believe it is the best way to teach perception for visual artists, and I have found that students from 7th to 12th grade respond well to the drawing sessions.  Below are some student drawings from 2010-11.  All these were drawn from observation of a live model.  Drawing time ranges from about 15 minutes to 1.25 hours.

B.B., 11th Grade

C.N., 11th Grade

A.F., 11th Grade

B.F., 7th Grade

M.D., 11th Grade