Welcome back to the new school year!!
This year has been very busy so far, in and out of the art room, which is why this is my first post of the year and I am a bit belated in welcoming you all back! With this in mind, I thought I would open this year's blogging with a various special grade....the fifth grade! The fifth graders this year are particularly significant to me because they were the first Kindergartners I had when I started at this school!
We have started out the year with a 4-week life drawing unit based on lessons in the book "Observation Drawing with Children: A Framework for Teachers" by Nancy Smith and the Drawing Study Group, (http://www.amazon.com/Observation-Drawing-With-Children-Framework/dp/0807736910). Teachers (and parents who are interested in doing some art with your children), I highly recommend this book and any others by the fabulous educator Nancy Smith!
Students started by learning
about life (figure) drawing, in which students draw a live model (Ms.
Westerberg and Ms. Ashley) from observation. Students created several studies (quick
drawings) every class, focusing on different learning each session. Because the
focus was on the figure and the various ways we could draw the position the
figure was in, students did not draw details. In order to focus on looking at
the figure and our process (instead of an end-product), students used used conté
crayon (a compressed charcoal) that enables students to work quickly. Also,
students did not use erasers in the creation of these studies, but learned to
embrace “mistakes” and work them into their drawings.
Week 1: Proportion and Gesture
Students considered the basic proportions of the human
figure through close observation, in particular big shapes and how they compare
in size to one another. Students then learned how they might re-present these
proportions in drawings based on their observations.
 |
| Aimee, 5-308 |
 |
| Ashleigh, 5-328 |
 |
| Jayden R., 5-328 |
 |
Paul, 5-316
|
Week 2: Curves & Angles
Students observed that the figure is a series of
interconnecting and interdependent angled and curved parts. Students learned to
translate these parts into contrasting, connecting shapes in their studies.
 |
| Kelly, 5-308 |
 |
| Larry, 5-327 |
 |
Lian-Wei, 5-308
|
Week 3: Mass & Weight
Students observed how the figure is an object with mass
and weight, then learned how to translate that mass and weight into lines and
shapes on paper. Students considered how they might draw heavily (with dark
marks) for weight bearing parts of the body, and lightly (with light marks) for
areas holding no weight.
 |
| Karen, 5-327 |
 |
| Liana, 5-327 |
 |
| Michael, 5-327 |
 |
| Natalie, 5-327 |
Week 4: Edges & Contours
Students looked at the edges and contours of the figure
and learned that fabric folds in different ways (depending on the fabric’s
texture) in places where the body bends. Students learned to translate these
edges and contours as various lines around the outside of the figure, as well
as lines that bend across the figure.
 |
| Crystal, 5 -328 |
 |
| Derron, 5-327 |
 |
| Emily, 5-327 |
 |
| Jaydin R., 5-327 |
 |
| Nathaniel, 5-328 |
Students are now taking all of their life-drawing knowledge and using it to create full-body self-portraits that show one way in which they help their family. Look out for a post on these drawings in the coming weeks!
