As final exams wrap up this week with Thanksgiving right around the corner, I would like to take this opportunity to shine a light on some high school students who I am thankful for truly giving their all in 1st Trimester this Fall! The Art I students had the opportunity to experience a classroom environment that closely simulates the college-level and visual art center studio setting with their Still Life Drawing unit.
Students learned how to arrange a composition from a physical still life made of gourds surrounding a Star Wars themed Jack-O-Lantern. This process began with utilizing hand-made viewfinders.
The viewfinders help to break down the full scene into just one section that each person would be drawing from their angle and perspective.
In the beginning stages, students practiced making quick, light lines to fill their papers with the overall shapes that they saw through the viewfinders.
By working from an easel with their papers upright, my students worked on maintaining the correct viewpoint by looking at the still life straight ahead while working directly on the paper. This makes the viewing angle less distorted and easier to keep proportions and measurements right.
If we only ever practice drawing with paper lying flat on the table, visual distortion occurs with our viewing angle when the objects that we draw on the top part of the paper are farther away and look slightly smaller than what we draw on the bottom.
My students were also able to have more freedom of movement by standing up and using their whole hand to make marks in an expressive style instead of restricting the wrist to only lie flat on the table.
At the end of each class, students documented their viewpoints by photographing the scene. They also learned how to take down and transport their easels before the next class period. It was very important to reposition themselves in the same place with the same still life the next day so they could continue where they left off.
After their drawings were sketched in, they continued in oil pastel with blending techniques looking for areas of light and shadow as they worked in layers.
I encouraged them to take breaks and move around every now and then by taking a step back to view their drawing.
This gave them the opportunity to see their work in-progress from a distance with 'fresh eyes.'
This still-life unit was a first-time experience for these students to work from easels! They were able to practice representational drawing skills with hand-eye coordination and develop more accurate proportions by look closely for the finer details. The pumpkin was not only illuminated from the interior with a flashlight but also from the spotlights above so that students could demonstrate realistic values. I am proud of these Art I students as they continue to improve and develop as artists.
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