VBCA Student Art 2005-2006

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Students create artwork using mixed media. For some projects, students are required to choose a small section of the still life and draw a contour or “outline” of the objects in correct proportion just as they are seen. This type of project teaches students how to focus and improves hand eye coordination skills. Students also learn how to think with the right side of the brain. The right side of the brain is the creative half—it is also nonverbal. In order to tap into the right side successfully students must take a break from conversation in order to concentrate silently on the actual curves and angles of the objects.

The portfolio name design project is required of all students to attach to their laminated portfolio folders, which hold the students’ artwork. Each student uses a variety of symbols and images to represent his/her unique identity.

For the line design project, students are asked to choose an animal of their liking and create an expressive line design in the background that represents a characteristic of the animal’s habitat. Students use a various mediums, including oil pastels, watercolor and charcoal.

Sometimes students create artwork on their own including free-hand drawings of comic characters, paintings, and sketches such as those created this year of the Spiderman villain “Venom.” This artwork is a free-hand drawing rendered using colored markerMonday, November 6, 2006ion projects. Students learned that there are three ways to transform an artwork: to add, to rearrange, and to subtraMonday, November 6, 2006colors. The image was not important because students had to create a grid and cut the picture into even squares, then rearrange it to create the first transformation. Students then took the image and enlarged it on a poster sized piece of paper to create a mosaic color study design using pieces of scrap paper and wallpaper. The last transformation was to subtract. Students did this by changing the outside shape of the square mosaic design into an object of their choice in order to bring the picture to life as a “mosaic masterpiece!”

Other students create color scheme designs. The students learned four different color schemes: complementary, analogous, monochromatic and warm/cool colors. The students were required to create a design of their choice across the picture plane and then break it up into fourths in order to paint each color scheme. This project taught students how to mix colors. They also learned about design quality.