Grade 6: Drawing Cupcakes!

Students have been working on their cupcake drawings over the past few weeks to reinforce the techniques and skill sets involved in drawing a 3-D Form on a 2-D surface. The majority of my talented students have not learned this skill yet! This is a great drawing project to follow up with after learning how to draw spheres and cylinders. Students really enjoyed this project because who doesn't like a tasty cupcake! It also makes a great connection to careers in the culinary arts and the creativity and science that goes into cooking and designing cupcakes.

Grade 6 Sstudents transformed their cylinder shapes into cupcakes for this drawing project that used oil pastels and/or colored pencils. Students are in the process of completing these colorful drawings that will be due at the start of 2013!
Check out students at work in art class.

Shading a Sphere and Drawing Forms and Solids

Grade 6 students have been learning how to draw 3-Dimensionally and have done a series of exercises to build on their fundamental drawing skills.  Students learned about Value and how to blend their pencils to create a sphere that looks 3-Dimensional on a flat piece of paper. We learned about looking at light and the importance of highlights and shadows.

Next, students learned how to draw a cylinder and the basics of drawing in One-Point Perspective and practiced techniques demonstrated in class in their sketchbooks.

Abstract and Nonobjective Art

Grade 7 students are learning about Abstract Art and are experimenting with The Elements and Principles of Art to create work that is driven by Line, Shape, Color and Texture. Below are some of the points and art literacy terms discussed in class so students have a better understanding of the different art movements and genres.

Call for Grade 7 Artwork: Scholastic Art Awards 2013

The deadline is fast approaching and students must have artwork submitted by January 8th, 2013.
This is open to all Grade 7-12 students and artwork created in the 2012 school year.

To read more about the contest and guidelines go to
http://www.artandwriting.org/the-awards/how-to-submit

To read specifics about the steps and New York City region click here.

Portraits with Personality

In Grade 7 Studio Art, students recently completed portraits of someone they admired or inspired them or they had an opportunity to create a self-portrait. Students studied Proportion and how to draw the face and its features more accurately that used measurement techniques learned in class.
Here is a handout students used to guide them in learning Proportion.

 Additionally, students learned how to create depth and volume by using a range of Values in their portrait drawings and emphasized highlights and shadows. We surveyed a variety of artists and their styles like Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer to Symbolic portraits from Frida Kahlo. Students used a variety of drawing mediums that included, Conté Crayons, charcoal, pencils, and erasers, which students experimented with and used to create rich values and textures in these portrait drawings.  These final drawings have wonderful use of line and likeness to their subjects and have come along way from their first portraits drawn in class.

Woody Allen by Jesse G.

Steve Jobs by Brian I.

Abe Lincoln by Mae C.

Michelle Dockery by Ava H.

Regina Spektor by Lauren M.

Taylor Swift by Shruthi V.

Usain Bolt by Alex D.

Charles Darwin by Max L.

Self-Potrait by Miki M.

Cristiano Ronaldo by Zachary S.

General Patton by Benny H.

Self-Portrait by Julian D.

Studio Art Class on 12/12/2012 at 12:12 pm

Before 12:11 pm

12:12 pm

Artwork in Response to Hurricane Sandy

It has been a difficult few weeks at Nest+m with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy that hit the region on October 29^th, 2012. We missed a week of school because of the storm and students returned on Monday, November 5^th, to have no heat in the building, cold temps and a mid-week, post election day snowstorm that wreaked more havoc in the New York area. Dressed warmly, we made some art upon our return and students created artwork in response to an experience they had with Mother Nature. Despite the storms impact, students were resilient and demonstrated strength and curiosity in Studio Art class that stimulated students to use the recent current events as a theme in their artwork. This was a great art exercise in that let students communicate through their art about a difficult experience. Students were encouraged to explore their personal expression and draw upon prior knowledge to make an artwork in any style they choose. Drawing materials, collage materials, newspapers, oil pastels, and charcoals were reviewed and students created a 2-D artwork that could be Abstract, Representational or Realistic. Here are some of the artworks from Grade 6 students created last week in class in response to Hurricane Sandy.

Notan

Here is a great instructional video on the subject of Notan Art and how to create an artwork using this technique. Click here to check it out.

The Principle of BALANCE

What is Visual Balance? This is what Grade 6 students are exploring this week as they create  Abstract collages that explore Positive and Negative Space.

Grade 6: Space and Shape in Your Composition

During the first two weeks of October students reviewed The Element of Space in a work of art for their upcoming collage project.  We defined and examined positive and negative space and looked at a variety of 2-D examples. Additionally, we discussed The Principle of Balance in a work of art. Below are some of the notes from class.

Visual Illusion known as "Rubin's Vase"