Back to the Grind

After two days in the computer lab students created some really interesting artwork. I will be posting some of these later. We had a week of testing and now the students are back in gear working on their next project. We looked at the Celtic artwork, discussed the ideas behind their imagery. Now the students are busy creating their own artwork inspired by Celtic art using interlocking lines and other designs based on the Celtic knotwork.

Computer Generated Art

On Monday the students reviewed the Mandalas and OP Art then went to work on the computers. Each student was asked to do the OP Art first. The needed to create a repetitive design that had two layers to it. We had to go over some computer skills such as opening a document, copying, pasting, grouping, and color. The students always have fun when it comes time for color because of the many options. Tuesday we will finish the OP art and move on to the Mandalas

Critique Day-Mandala & Op Art

Toady we critiqued the Symbol project, picking out the strengths, weaknesses, and creativeness of each piece. Many of the students liked their final piece but would also like to add more or make changes. We also looked ahead to our next project which will computer generated. We looked at OP Art as one approach, concentrating on repetition of design. OP is short for optical. The other options is for students to create their own Mandala. A Mandala in many ways is a design based on radial symmetry however not always. The students will be creating designs with multiple layers and based on the idea of radial symmetry. One of the more famous Mandala is the Yin Yang symbol and their many other examples throughout time and cultures.

Here is a link to practice Mandala making
http://www.girlsgotech.org/mandala.asp

IMG_0118

IMG_0118,
originally uploaded by MrSchulkeArtroom.

Students at work on their many different ideas.

Day 2 of Symbols and Storytelling.

Wow....The students are creating some stellar ideas. It seems that many of them are going with the Egyptian theme. We are learning the difference between outlining with color and coloring. Also the idea of thinking ahead to what your background color will be and how it will affect the outcome of your project. Each student will be doing a wash with watercolor with the bold crayon lines standing out against the color of their choice. Also many student are trying to create a really balanced piece by repeating images.

Symbols and Storytelling

We started a new project. We were looking at how different cultures use symbols to convey a story or express an idea. The cultures that we examined were the Aboriginals, Native Americans, and Ancient Egyptians. Our discussion was centered on symbols and the similarities and differences of the artwork that we looked at. From the Aboriginal Dream maps to the Egyptian Hieroglyphics to Native Americans Symbols from weavings and totem poles. The students were generally excited and started working on ideas. The technique we will working with in is crayon resist.