"Metaphysical" by 12th Grade Student
Artist Statement: The main idea for this artwork was to play with all sorts of different colors. I wanted to focus on placement and balance with what looks good next to various shapes and colors.
New Buffalo High School students in the Art I class began the trimester with an overview of how the Elements and Principles of Art & Design are used to create original works of art.
We looked at the continuum of abstraction from non-objective to realistic examples and how artists use the elements to create a composition.
This was the foundation of their art vocabulary as students created their own non-objective artworks that had no identifiable subject, but was more of a labyrinth of lines and colors!
Step 1: Draft a Non-Objective Design
Every artwork begins with an idea on blank paper! Students had to develop their compositions and get teacher feedback before proceeding with their plans.
We looked at a few historical and contemporary examples of featured artists that create abstracted work with overall balance in their composition.
A few students accidentally reverted to drawing recognizable subjects such as a basketball or realistic flowers in the center of their compositions so we broke those ideas down to define what they liked about those objects and then adapted those ideas into similarly curved shapes or basketball-like lines that seem to thread throughout the artwork for a more non-objective composition.
That's when the lightbulb clicked on and their ideas started to become more non-objective!
Step 2: Oil Pastel Techniques
Students took notes on the basics of oil pastels and then practiced working on color mixing.
Step 3: Pencil Outlines
Then, they drew their concepts onto lack paper with a 1 inch measured margin. This was the outline for their first layer of oil pastels.
Step 4: Layering and Color-Mixing
Once students had filled their compositions with the first layer of color, they began to blend additional colors with values from dark to light.
They kept their artworks on large white papers while working so they could test out colors or clean the oil pastels. This also helped with clean up to keep oil pastel marks off the tables!
Step 5: Titles and Artist Statements
As students completed their designs, they documented their work and reflected on their progress by writing an artist statement on their Artsonia portfolios.
Title: "The Spatial Bloc" by 10th Grade Student
Artist Statement: I made random shapes and colors to balance the space. My favorite part if this artwork are the blended bubble shapes.
Left to Right: Geometrically Ace, Un-Evocative, and Neon Night
Title: "Puddle of Eyes" by 9th Grade Student
Artist Statement: When making this art piece, I knew that I wanted to shapes that reminded me of flowers and eyes in a non-objective way. To match the curvilinear shapes, I made a curvy border. My favorite part was blending the colors together and I loved the way it turned out.
Left to Right: Anatomy, Untethered, and Portal Warp
Title: "Rainbow Eucalyptus" by 9th Grade Student
Artist Statement: My artwork was inspired by many thing that I balanced in a non-objective way including: a rose, a stack of rocks, and a rainforest. However, as I continued to add color and blend I realized that this artwork reminded me more and more of Rainbow Eucalyptus trees.
Left to Right: Ersatz Mosaic, The Virus, and Twisting Rays
Title: "Always Watching" by 12th Grade Student
Artist Statement: I was inspired by the webbing of spider webs and vines, which creates a sort of maze. They eyes symbolize always feeling watched and the lines represent the maze of life.
Title: "The Flaming Storm" by 9th Grade Student
Artist Statement: The purple reminded me of a storm while the yellow and orange reminded me of fire, hence the name "The Flaming Storm." The purple and pink are mixed to make it look like it's the vibrant color before dark. The yellow and orange are slightly mixed towards the middle where it's more of a color change between purple and orange.
This artwork reminded me of a field of sunflowers during a storm because of the yellow and purple when heat lightning fills the sky. My favorite part of my piece is the purple section which reminded me of that feeling of dread you get in the pit of your stomach before a thunderstorm strikes.
The students created a wide variety of labyrinth designs that really jumped off the page with their electric colors! I love how each person was able to think critically about the Elements of Art as the artist's tools while composing a non-objective work of art. Each design has a unique visual aesthetic and an interesting perspective told in the student's own words. Bravo!
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