Grde 7: Mixed Media Collage

Students are in the process of creating mixed media collages that are inspired by a special event, place, emotion or interest. This is a great project for students to cultivate their personal expression and give us a glimpse at their view of the world and/or themselves.

Students learned how to use Value, Texture, Repetition and Color to create unity and balance in their collage. We examined the collage works of 20th Century artists who have worked with collage and we analyzed and discussed what Principles and Elements of Art make these works successful. Check out what we reviewed in class below, which is compiled from a variety of web resources and museum websites.

 

Inspiration: Food As The Subject In Painting

I love the theme of food as a subject for grade 6 painting projects. This project can be done at any age and reinforces key skills in drawing and painting and taps into prior knowledge too. This is a comprehensive, engaging painting project!

Here is a cool website that features 15 different food artists and sculptors that use food as the medium itself, as well as being the subject. I show this to students to expose them to the possibilities and get there creative juices flowing. http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2008/12/15/food-artists-and-sculptors/food

Food can be reflective of our history and culture, it can illuminate sociopolitical issues, economics, and it can be a sign of the times. Below is a presentation that I present to students to introduce them to artists and art history around the subject of food.

Paintings and drawings of food can date back to the Egyptians, who left behind artworks that illustrated the foods and rituals of daily life in their tombs. The Egyptians were farmers and ate lots of wheat and barley, as well as meat. We can see in the Egyptian drawing above the animals used for farming that indicates how they harvested their food over three thousand years ago.

The Metropolitan Museum Art History Timeline shows the history of Food and drink from 1400-1800 and gives some good background in European Painting.

Below are some artists that I find fascinating for their style and subject.

Giuseppe Acrimboldo (1527-1593) was an Italian painter that created surreal portraits composed of a variety of fruit, vegetables and other items from nature with incredible detail, strangeness and beauty.

Giuseppe Acrimboldo, Rudolf II of Habsburg as Vertumnus, Oil on Panel, 1590

The Dutch Realists of the 17th Century created still lifes and landscapes that broke away from the religious art that dominated Europe in previous centuries.  Artist Willem Kalf from Holland is a revered Dutch master known for his realism, sophistication and compositions that often featured the opulent objects and foods that the wealthy consumed or owned. Click here to read more about him and his work.

Willem Kalf, "Still Life with Drinking Horn", 1653

During the 1800s, another remarkable artist left his mark, Spanish Painter Francisco Goya who painted portraits for the courts and Spanish royalty and was associated with the Romanticism movement in Europe. He also explored political issues in his artwork and used his imagination to capture his feelings that depicted his gloomy outlook on humanity. According to http://www.foodcultureindex.com/2010/06/goyas-still-life-butchers-counter.html, Goya painted painted "Still Life, a Butcher's Counter" around 1811-1812, a period known as "ano del hambre," or year of hunger, because of the great famine in Madrid.

Francisco Goya, "Still Life, a Butcher's Counter", 1811-12

 
One of my favorite artists of the late 1800's is the French painter  Paul Cézanne . He spanned the 19th and 20th centuries and was part of the Post-Impressionism movement that inspired many modern artists that followed him. He painted still lifes and landscapes and was known for his brushstrokes and the movement they generated in his paintings and the use complementary colors that created harmony and contrast in his artworks.

 Paul Cézanne, Dish of Apples,  1875–77

French artist Henri Matisse, a contemporary of Cézanne, also painted many still lifes that often included food with bold color and simplified brushstrokes.

Henri Matisse, Blue Still Life, 1907

The prolithic and talented Spanish artist Pablo Picasso also included food in some of his still lifes and you can see below how he departed from realism and abstracted his composotion with fragmented, geometric, bold lines and simplified forms inspired by the earlier Cubist movement he pioneered with fellow artist Georges Braque.

Pablo Picasso, Still Life with Skull, Leeks and Pitcher, 1945, 28.75 x 45.6 in., Fine Arts Museum of SF

 
During the 1960s, American artist Wayne Thiebaud exploded onto the art scene with his whimsical paintings of cakes, pies and sweets that had a distinct style with cool shadows, rich brushstrokes and use of the color white. I am a huge fan of his work and many other artists have been inspired by his subject and approach over the past 60 years.

"Three Machines" (1963), by Wayne Thiebaud. De Young Museum, San Francisco.

After countless Internet searches, I have discovered many American Contemporary artists who continue to be inspired by food and make art about it. Check out my compilation of artists below and read more about them by clicking on their names to learn more.

Kevin Inman, San Diego, CA
Pink Bunny Easter Peeps

6 x 6 inches, oil on canvas on board

Pamela Michelle Johnson, Chicago, IL
Hostess Cupcake II

52"x 34" inches, oil on canvas, 2009

Debbie Miller, Barrington, RI
A Little Sushi

6 in X 6 inches, oil on masonite, 2009

Ralph Goings, California
Double Ketchup

 22 x 32.75 inches, edition of 30, 2006

Elizabeth Fraser, Portland, ME
Avocado, My Favorite

6 in X 6 inches, oil on canvas, 2011

Sarah Sedwick, Eugene, OR
 Steak and Eggs

10 in X 8 inches, oil on canvas, 2012

Still Life Painting Video

Here is a short, informational time-lapse video that documents the process of painting in Richard Robinson's Masterclass video. He makes it look easy, which it is not. Watch how his brushstrokes come together to create 3-D forms rich in color with important highlights and shadows.
Click here to watch the video.

It's that time of year again ... Doodle for Google Competition!

The competition is open to students K-12 nationwide from January 15th through March 22nd.

This year’s theme: ”My Best Day Ever...”

From their website:
Doodle 4 Google is an annual contest that invites students in the United States to use their artistic talents to think big and redesign our homepage logo for millions to see. This year, we ask students to exercise their creative imaginations around the theme, “My Best Day Ever...” Fifty state finalists will get an all-expense-paid trip to New York City for a final awards ceremony. One lucky student artist will see their artwork appear on the Google homepage, receive a $30,000 college scholarship and a $50,000 technology grant for their school.

Click here to get all the official details and template.

I have taken the liberty to create a page on this site and posted the Educator's Guide for reference. Click here to access. It includes a template and activities to guide your inspiration.

Entry Guidelines

Title and Supporting Statement

In addition to creating a doodle, students also need to:

• Title their doodle

• Write a supporting statement no more than 50 words long. Students should explain how their doodle portrays the theme “My Best Day Ever...”

• Students do not need to draw their doodle on the Google template, but the Google logo should be clearly visible.

Submitting Entries

All entries must be received by March 22, 2013.

 

Congratulations to Scholastic Art Winners!

NEST+m Students Win 19 Honors in 2013 Scholastic
Art & Writing Awards

Every year Scholastic has its national Art and Writing competition, which is highly competitive. This year three middle school students have been recognized for their achievements in The Arts. Congratulations!

Art Awards:

Stina Trollbäck (grade 7)  - 2 Gold Keys and 1 Honorable Mention

August Trollbäck (grade 8) - 1 Gold Key, 1 Silver Key, 2 Honorable Mentions

Anders Getz  (grade 8) - 3 Honorable Mentions

Click here to see the complete list of Scholastic Awards in New York City.

Here is the breakdown:

New York City students submitted over 4,000 works to The Scholastic Art Awards this year.
Of those:

• 304 Gold Keys were awarded to the most accomplished portfolios and individual submissions. Gold Key writing has been forwarded to the National-level of The Scholastic Writing Awards where it will be judged alongside the Gold Key works of other young artists from across the country.
• 355 Silver Keys were awarded to distinguished portfolios and individual works from New York City.
• 582 Honorable Mention awards were bestowed on students whose work showed promise.
• 5 American Visions Nominations were awarded to outstanding Gold Key artworks. This award honors the best in show, from any category and age group.