As a veteran art teacher, I had instructed students in charcoal portrait drawing for years but really appreciated the way Clara pulled it all together as she demonstrated each step (however small) along the way. Especially helpful was the way all of the common beginner errors were mentioned, along with ways to avoid such pitfalls - a key feature for this mixed level HS class. I played a few of the short tutorial videos a day and then set the students off to work. Then I was able to circulate and offer informal critique and encouragement (along with other classmates) citing and reinforcing steps that we'd just watched. Just take a look at the results - amazing, right?
I was so excited to receive this email from Art Prof (aka Clara Lieu, Visual artist and RISD Adjunct Professor + her cohorts)! As mentioned in an earlier post, AP Studio Art/Art II was following along with a series of Art Prof tutorials "How to Draw a Portrait with Charcoal & Cross-Hatching" and we all learned so much. As a veteran art teacher, I had instructed students in charcoal portrait drawing for years but really appreciated the way Clara pulled it all together as she demonstrated each step (however small) along the way. Especially helpful was the way all of the common beginner errors were mentioned, along with ways to avoid such pitfalls - a key feature for this mixed level HS class. I played a few of the short tutorial videos a day and then set the students off to work. Then I was able to circulate and offer informal critique and encouragement (along with other classmates) citing and reinforcing steps that we'd just watched. Just take a look at the results - amazing, right? So for fun, we participated in the Art Prof September dare and uploaded images of our work-in-progress and completed drawings to the Art.Prof instagram. That's how I came to receive the email informing me that we are the winners! The prize is amazing: Each student will receive a 1 minute video critique on a work of art of their choosing (not necessarily the charcoal portrait). I am excited for my students to have this opportunity for another pair of eyes on their work that will highlight what's working and offer strategies on how to make improvements (which is always a delicate balancing act...)!
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In Digital Photography/Advance Computer Art we have spent the last month covering basics with the goal of creating interesting, well composed images. Today, we put it all to the test with Operation Lizard Challenge! Seven teams of 2 or 3 student plus one plastic lizard were deployed - the mission was to capture the most natural, most realistic, most funny, etc. image. The original idea was from my amazing virtual photography teacher colleagues on Facebook. One had done the challenge with army men and the other with pokemon figurines. My local dollar store didn't have either but I think the lizards worked out well and the students had a blast! Hope you enjoy the pics as much as I do! Art, Design and New Media feels a little bit like a polished gem - the class runs so smoothly. The students are naturally engaged by the content and are humming along only 2 weeks in. We've covered digital citizenship, digital media types and storage and are just starting to really consider art and design. Most of the content is delivered thru itslearning (and me) but I've added a Google Classroom component. The text editor in itslearning is not nearly as robust as a Google Doc and in Google Classroom the students docs are automatically shared with me. After composing their reflections/journal entries, students then copy/paste their writing into their (itslearning) eportfolios. It sounds a little cumbersome but the results are worth it. The added feature is reinforcing expertise and flexibility in manipulating digital media. The students have also just started uploading artwork to our online gallery on Artsonia. (Parents and guardians, please register your student on Artsonia so their artwork can be displayed publicly!) Below are screen shots of the 3 online platforms:
AP Studio Art and Art II meet at the same time and there is a total of 20 students (ALL girls- a topic for another day...) in this year's class. The big push here aligns perfectly with our school UDL focus as I am really spotlighting developing Artistic Behaviors. These students are ready to think deeply about their creative choices and I am here to support that. The goal is that their interests and preferences will shape their artistic process. Building new and reinforcing old skills is a comfortable starting place for all. For the first week or so we loosened up with some exercises - blind contour drawing and kinetic drawing (a la Heather Hansen). We are now getting reacquainted with creating value and form in charcoal with an Art Prof dare! (Art Prof is RISD art professor Clara Lieu.) For this class all resources are available in Google Classroom and the students will upload digital images of their work (along with written reflections) to Weebly Blogs. Below are some images from this class over the last 2 weeks: Fundamentals of Studio Art I is a class that runs smoothly out of the gate. In my small school it's always an eclectic mix of students - from Sophomores to Seniors - from those passionate about the pursuit of artistic endeavors to those that are simply curious. Here again the focus is on Artistic Behaviors but with a heavy concentration on exposure and skill building - especially in the first half of the year. I love Betty Edwards and Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain exercises and that's were we are right now. Again, resources are available in Google Classroom and the students will upload digital images of their work (along with written reflections) to Weebly Blogs. We haven't started those yet but probably will this week. Digital Photography and Advanced Computer Art is another eclectic mix of students. But this one can also be my biggest challenge as I strive to meet the broad needs and interests of all the individuals. I further complicated things this year by starting to switch all of the resources from itslearning to Google Classroom. The unfortunate result was a complicated workflow for all and I have just decided (with relief) to remain with itslearning for this year. We will still use Google Classroom for written reflections and I know this will yield better results for my students. Another complication this year was a Weebly blog set up change. I am not entirely sure what happened but tomorrow I have to help 9 of my students RE-Do their blogs. They wound up with web pages as opposed to blogs - and that won't work as the web pages do not sort by individual post. In spite of work-flow issues, we have had much initial success as evidenced by these great first project pics: This is a quick snapshot of the Art Department at Millis HIgh School. How's your school year going? Are the routines working out well or do you need to change some things too?
Is it ever going to rain again? Here in Massachusetts it is dry dry dry - as well as HOT. But I am not complaining. It is perfect "sit by the pool and relax weather." The past few summers I immersed myself in all things art-teacher-y (taking the AP Studio Art class, re-writing long over-due curriculum, getting Google Educator certified) and this summer I was determined to take a B-R-E-A-K. Refresh - recharge - engage in some personal art making.
I had a friend visit at the beginning of the summer and we discussed how important it is to keep your mind free of what you're NOT doing when you're NOT doing it. For him it was building furniture - for me it's planning for my classes (and obsessively thinking about planning). The point is that sometimes it's difficult to step away but - here it is the end of July - and so far I've been somewhat successful. I have been enjoying yoga classes, playing with clay, painting and printmaking AND (among other things)...CATCHING POKEMON!
This isn't going to be a long post about the pros and cons of playing Pokemongo (plenty of experts weighing in on that)* but I can't help but embrace so much about it. At the beginning of the 2015-16 school year I discovered Augmented Reality (in the form of an app called Quiver) and we even spent the first day of class (when everyone gets shuffled around) talking about the future of this technology. In my classes I aim to foster creative thinking, exploration and expression. We talk about the art of possibility. I cannot predict what's next but I know my students will be a part of it. I hope in some small way I can help them be prepared and I hope they take me along when the time comes!
While you're here - click the tabs up top - all class descriptions have been updated and enhanced with current photos from last year's classes.
And rest assured, I've scheduled plenty of time for my planning and organizing before school begins but for now I must go in search of the elusive Dragonite!
We just hit "submit" on our 4 freshly painted VANS - the student artists did a fabulous job. The 4 teams each received a brand new pair of shoes to customize using Music, Action Sports, Art and Local Flavor as the theme. The result is a creative collection to be sure! In addition to this being a fun exercise, the students learned a lot along the way of this very independent project. Enduring take-away lessons include what it means to collaborate toward a common goal and the value of getting an early start ;)
Kehinde Wiley has WON!Did your favorites advance?? Vote today!
This year our AP Art Students nominated their favorite artist for March Art Madness. We started with 16 and here are your final two! It's a close race - every vote counts!
In August 2015 Kelly Marie from Royal Oak, Michigan posted the following message on a social media site comprised of nearly 9,000 art teachers from around the world: “I'm wondering if anyone is interested in participating in an art teacher print exchange? Make an edition of ten hand pulled prints (5"x7") in the method of your choice, then get ten different prints back-all made by art teachers from the group!! “ By September, there was a separate group of 20 art teachers and a nature theme was decided upon for the prints. Art teachers sometimes put off their own creativity during the busy school year and this seemed like a perfect outlet. Showing our students different interpretations of the same theme would be another fun outcome. In the end I received 14 prints and they will all be on display at the Millis Public Library! This exhibit will also feature pieces from other area art teachers! Hope you can make it! Art Teacher Print Exchange - The Exhibition
(And other selected works) Opening Night - Thursday, February 4, 2016 Millis Public Library, Millis, MA 6:30 - 8:00 PM
2. This Weebly website has grown to become the face of the Art Department at Millis High School and I love sharing it with colleagues, parents and students. I use it for posts like this and for general class information (syllabi and curriculum) as well as links to student blogs. In line with the goal of this website I also ventured out to learn how to use Twitter for the art department. It's been useful for keeping up to date on current art/education trends and also to share what we are doing. You can follow us at https://twitter.com/MillisArt. 3. The National Art Honor Society is up and running. We graduated 7 of our 9 members and look forward to adding several this year at our February Empty Bowls event. The candidates are active participants and, so far this year, have painted a large mural and made the decorations for the Senior Citizen's Holiday Party. It's a great group and going forward I hope it becomes more and more student driven as they embrace the mission of Scholarship, Character and Service (and raising awareness of arts education in the community).
I vividly remember thinking deeply about this goal just over a year ago and I am pleased with the outcome. The core underlying intention (that arts and art education are vital to being human) gave shape to much of what went on in the art room which, in turn have become ongoing practices that will continue and grow.
If you create something, whether it's a painting or a company, I think if you care about it, you have some obligation to go out and tell people about it. Daniel H. Pink |
AuthorCarol Haggerty, Archives
November 2021
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