McDonald's French Fry Paintings

Ever wonder how much oil there is in McDonald's French Fries? Here's a video that shows an artist using french fries to blend his drawings and create values in his art.

http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=1790948

More Choices for 7th graders

"I dreamed that I was Flying" is the theme of the 7th grade expressionist paintings. Students have been studying moods, color and painting techniques for the past few weeks. Now they need to make their choices for their Expressionist paintings.

They must choose:

What expression of flying do you want to portray?

What mood do you want to show?

What color scheme will best show that mood?

What type of line quality will express that mood the best?

Students will be working with tempera paint, concentrating on mixing the exact colors they feel will express their painting and using the best brush for the line quality they wish to express it with.

It's all about Choices!

I often ask my students to brainstorm before a project. There are so many things they can create, but they first need to think of them. I find that most students go with the first idea that comes to their minds. And that idea is often one that they've seen before or is a classic symbol of what I've asked them to think about, like love = hearts. But by brainstorming as a class, we make a list of hundreds of variations on an idea and this gives the students choices.

For instance, the 7th grade is now doing paintings on the theme: I dreamed that I could fly. What does flying mean? Most often I get responses such as birds, airplanes, wings and spaceships. But with group brainstorming, we came up with kites, being shot from a cannon, jet packs, red bull has wings, floating like a snowflake, meditative flying, flying on a magic carpet, flying in a dream, air balloons, aliens, flying high as a mood, swimming as flying through water, flying on rollar skates or ice skates, flying into someone, flying as a butterfly or a dragonfly or a fly....

By looking beyond your first idea, artists can find new meanings in old themes, expand on a personal interest, look for double meanings in a word or image, surprise the viewer, give a subject more complication and delight the viewer with new interpretations. Making good art is all about choices. Taking the time to make those choices makes all the difference in your art.

Lines in Art

Did you know that lines in art can make you feel a certain way? Artists know this, and choose their lines carefully. Vertical lines are very orderly and rule based. They make you feel safe and organized. Horizontal lines are quiet and peaceful. They make you feel calm and sleepy. Diagonal lines are active lines. They show excitement and draw your eye right to them.

Mondrian was very concerned with how his lines were used. In this picture, Rhythm of Lines, he uses vertical and horizontal lines to create peaceful harmony in his picture. Your eyes follow the lines up and down and back and forth across the picture as if you were following roads through a city.

Because there are no major surprises, the regular patterns it creates are pleasing. How would it be different if one of the lines suddenly bent? Would it draw your eye to it? Would it interupt the pattern of following the lines around the artwork? How would it be different if there were no horizontals at all? No verticals?

Lines do make a difference.

Message from Ms. Ropple

It seems I have too much technology to play with these days and find that I am posting the same information in several places -- on the ParkerArt web pages, Edline, and PTO Newsletter, and here. For the remainder of the year, info will be organized a bit differently. Current project descriptions and homework deadlines will be posted under the Assignments section of students' Edline class pages to keep parents informed of what's going on. Photos will be added to the ParkerArt class pages and lined to edline as often as possible.

Art Studio 6 Update

The last few weeks we have been making quilts. We've made collages with fabric and sew it to a backing. It is really fun. A lot of us learned how to sew. I can't wait to finish the quilt.

JS

Narrative Art: Art that tells a story

The sixth graders are working on NARRATIVE ART, art that tells a story. How do you tell a story without words? We need to consider the same things that a story does. Who is the main character? How do we know that? Where are they? Who is the antagonist? How do we know that? What is the action happening in the story? What do you think is going to happen next? How can you tell that?

Reading a picture is called VISUAL LITERACY. The artist must leave enough clues in the picture so that the reader can figure out the story. If he artist isn't clear on what is happening and in what order, the reader will be unclear as well.

Look at this picture of the three little pigs. How do we know the pigs are the main characters. See how they are right in the center of the picture? They are painted a bright color and they are walking, so they have an action to them that draws your eye to that spot. Where are they? We can see trees and grass and a river and a bridge, so we conclude that they are walking through the countryside. Who is the antagonist? The wolf. How do we know? He seems to be hiding behind a tree. What is he doing? He is trying to get some food. How is that going. Poorly. He must be the bad guy because the worms are cutting his fishing line and the fish are hopping out of the frying pan. What is the action here? He is looking at the pigs and licking his chops. We assume since he is hungry, that he sees the pigs as a much better and bigger meal than the tiny fish trying to hop out of his pan.

All this information is in the picture. What can you do to make your pictures read like a story?

A new kind of illustrated novel: The Invention of Hugo Cabret

The invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick is a new kind of novel, at least one I haven't seen before. The author/illustrator writes and draws this book as the mood strikes him (at least that is what I've been told) so that when he thinks it is more appropriate to show a scene in images, he draws the story and when he thinks it is more appropriate to use words, he writes it. Thus the book starts with 21 double spreads of the most stunning pencil illustrations, then breaks into words as the story continues. Throughout the book we see movie stills, pencil illustrations and photos in black and white, making this a 524 page book that you can easily read in an afternoon.

I find this book fascinating as I am teaching narrative art (art that tells a story) and visual literacy (reading a painting) in my classroom right now. Here is an example of "reading" a picture in a more literal way. Not only can we read the clues that an artist puts into his/her work, but we can read the story as it continues through each picture and see the subtle changes as the action/plot changes. I find this type of novel very exciting!

Graphic Novels- American Born Chinese

Graphic novels aren't new. They'be been around for over 25 years. But they've been primarily in the sci-fi adult world. Now graphic novels have reached down to the young adult and middle grade crowds, giving them age appropriate books with a stunning visual compliment.

Graphic novels aren't exactly comics or novels, though they do tell an entire novel in a comic form. Pictures and text are so related, that people used to just reading have to slow down with graphic novels, in order to get all the infomation in the pictures as well as the words.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen is a story in three parts. The first part relates a Chinese traditional story about the king of the monkeys wanting to be other than who he really is. The second section is about a Chinese-American boy trying to fit into an all white suburbian school. And the third section ties the first two story threads together with the theme of fitting into your own skin and accepting and liking who you are.

Through the illustrations we see the emotions of the characters, the changes in how they are thinking and their reactions to situations, all without words. Through the words, we understand the plot, the themes and details of the story.
Graphic novels aren't for everyone. But they are a quick read with all the joys of reading a traditional novel, in less time.

Guest Blogger: Arianna

What I like most about art is drawing. My whole family thinks I'm a fantastic drawer. My mother even wants me to make her a book of all my drawings that I can think of. I also like clay , model making, and every kind of art especially drawing.That is what I like about art.

Guest Blogger: Travis

Chrismas Tree

In art class the best days are when you can make what ever you want. Today I made a chrimas tree. My tree has two ornamants. One is fancy, and one is not. Those are the best days in art.

Happy 2008!

I love new years. It's like a new beginning to get something right. It's a chance to do over what didn't go right before. The new year gives me energy to try new things and finish all the old things that I had put aside. This year my goal is to make more projects for myself. I always make things to give away as gifts. But I've got a large piece of rock in my office just waiting to be carved, and a square of clay under my desk that is dying to be pulled out and shaped. Take time to make something for yourself. Something not for an assignment, or a gift, or from a kit. Make something from the heart. Believe me, you'll be thankful later. It feels so good to make something just for yourself.