Observation Drawings 7th Grade

Predicting vrs. Observing


By the time they get to middle school, kids know a lot. Their minds are constantly filling with information. In order to move to the next thing quickly, they learn to predict. What is the teacher really looking for? What is going to happen next? What is the story trying to tell us? Their minds are dealing with facts and figures and calculating what the next question will be.
But this makes learning to draw difficult. The mind, in its hurry to move on to the next lesson, tries to anticipate what you are seeing. If you look at a vase, your mind registers that it is a vase and drops in a symbol of a vase in your mind's eye. But in art, we can't work with just symbols. Sometimes we need to draw a specific vase, this one right before you. We need to rely on observational skills to get that right.

One of the lessons we try to teach students is to observe. In order to do that, they need to look carefully at details, slow down their thinking (so the symbols don't replace what they are looking at) and draw slowly. We teach them to move their hand in sync with their eye, following the outline of an image as a contour line drawing. By learning to observe, students not only become better drawers, but they learn to notice more, to see what others are doing and feeling and to be better witnesses when the need arises.

Welcome to the New Year- First Units

Sixth and Seventh grade will start the year with learning about the language of art. It is very difficult to talk about art, when you don't have the right words. By learning the elements of art (the tools you use to draw with) and the principles of art (how we put those down on the paper to get people to see what we want them to), we have a better way to talk about the art we look at and make.

Clay students are reviewing the basic vocabulary of clay, and learning to recycle clay that has dried out. Soon they will be working on their first extended project.

Art Studio 7 is begining a project on Super Hero Vegetables and Fruits. They will be creating giant paper mache sculptures to hang in the cafe.

Art Studio 6 is beginning a poster series, creating "READ" posters for the library.

Art Studio 8 is working on a classroom mural of elements and principles of art, and beginning their individualized contracted projects.

New! Art Club!

New at Parker. The Parker Art Club!
Mondays: 2:30-3:30

Do you want more art time? Do you need a place to do projects for other classes? Do you want to enter the scholastic art contest, but don't know what to do? Do you want to experiment with different media, outside of the regular curriculum?

Come to the new Art Club on Monday afternoons in room 202. We're here for you!

Welcome Back!

It's so good to see you all again.
We are looking forward to a wonderful year of creativity, time to find out who we are and how to express ourselves to the world. Sixth grade will be examinging art cultures from around the world, and looking at how we express our culture and ourselves through art. Seventh grade will be looking at how art is a reaction to literature and society around us by examining American artists and art styles in the 19th and 20th centuries. Ceramics will be examining the techniques of hand clay building, as well as learning to express our thoughts and feelings through the medium of clay. Again, welcome! We love our subject, and hope you will love it as much as we do.

Final Project- grade 7

the 7th grade is working with clay, converting what they know about proportions and faces into 3D. They are to imagine they are casting directors, producing a new movie. What will it be? A comedy, a tragedy, a romantic comedy, a hero adventure?
They must figure out what assumptions people make about these type of characters so that they can cast an actor for the part. How do we think someone evil looks? Or someone funny? By using what they know about proportions,beauty thorugh the ages and styles of art, they will adapt a face design to clay. Students will create characters that will play the main part in their movies. It is up to them to create a character that the audience will instantly react to.

Open House This Thursday- May 15th

Open House is Thursday Night. Come see artwork from the entire year decorating the school. We have artwork everywhere. This is our opportunity to have a school wide art show. Come see what's new!

Arts Fest 2008

What a wonderful showing at the artsfest 2008. Hundreds of pictures and sculptures lined the walls and panels from one side of Main St. to the other at the High School. We were able to show all the fine work from Parker Middle School as well as track what some of our best artists were now doing in High School. As a viewer, it was fantastic to see the level and quality of the work these students produce. As an art teacher, it was a thrill to see what the other art teachers were doing in town. We shared ideas and built on lessons already produced. It was such a joy to spend time among all this work. And the music! How awesome to have a jazz ensemble playing while you look at art. The programs from elementary through High School were superb. We really appreciated all the rehersal work that students did to put on such fine performances.
For another look at the day, see the Superintendent's Blog http://superintendentblog.blogspot.com/ for a great understanding of why the arts are important in all our lives.