Course Content of Art 1a

Art 1a is taken by seventh and eighth graders for one semester as a beginning and introductory class in art. Both two dimensional and three dimensional projects are explored throughout the semester as well as a variety of artists, styles, and cultures. The course covers basic drawing and painting using a variety of media, such as charcoal, chalk, craypas, ink, tempera, and computer art. Students learn about other art forms, styles of art, and multicultural connections. Clay is a favorite at Jordan and at least a month is spent working in that medium as well as other sculptural techniques.

Digital Portrait Link to Examples

2005-2006 Projects

First Day: The Vitruvian man and YOU!

Look at these two Vitruvian Man #1 and #2 websites and learn about the Vitruvian Man and Leonardo da Vinci's fascination with him. Study the information about the proportions of the human figure on these sites. Make a diagram of yourself in your new sketchbook and use three adjectives to describe how you wish to be thought of in Art 1A.

Chinese Brush Painting, Winter 2005


Students are first studying the style of Chinese brushpainting and learning about the "Four Treasures" of ink, stone, paper, and brush. After loosening up by painting bamboo, students will paint dogs since 2006 is the Year of the Dog. Students will also make marbleized paper to frame their roosters, and make a Chinese "chop like" print for their personal signature on their finished and framed rooster painting. See this link for for excellent information on Chinese Brush Painting.

Op Art Portfolios


Our portfolio project will be to create an optical illusion using our first names as the basis for the design. We will look at works by Victor Vasarely including Vega-Nor, and Vertigo.
Op artists, interested in the scientific properties of color and line, studied how the retina processes information and how that information is translated in the brain. They found that through the manipulation of color and line, our perception can be fooled. Thus the name Op art, which refers to optics and optical illusions. This method of art making requires careful measuring, precise drawing, and patience.

Color Wheels and Representational Flowers, Bones, or Shells

Students will study color theory, a traditional color wheel and learning how colors relate to each other. They will then create their own color wheel and use it as reference for the Georgia O'Keefe painting project. They will begin the painting project with a pen and ink drawing that is a value study of their chosen flower, bone, skeleton, or shell. It will need to be as realistic as possible before they are allowed to move toward a more representational or abstract painting. The drawing will be the preparation for the large final painting, in which students will need to zoom in and or enlarge it before painting. They will use the Chinese brushes and double loading technique to apply the paint in the style of Georgia O'Keeffee. Students will also try and express a mood in their painting through their selection of color and color relationship

Moody Landscapes: See Project Description

Students will create a digital landscape using Photoshop. After viewing, studying, and discussing American Artists, Andrew Wyeth, Edward Hopper, and Winslow Homer, students will ask themselves the following questions:

Do I want a landscape, skyscape, or seascape?
What kind of mood do I want to convey?
What will the focal point be?
What kind of images do I need to find on the web?
How must I change the images so that I am not plagiarizing?

As students begin to paint, manipulate,and create with Photoshop they will be required to continually evaluate their image and judge whether or not they are paying attention to the Principles of Art: repetition, balance, and emphasis. Students will use the Elements of Art: line, space, and color, to make decisions on what to draw and to demonstrate knowledge of perspective, and acceptable composition in their digital "Moody Landscapes."

Northwest Coast Native American Totem Block Prints

Students will be creating a group project of a totem pole using linocut. Every table group will design a type and style of a Northwest Coast Native American totem pole. Each student's "piece" of the pole will be able to stand alone as an individual block print, but each totem must fit snugly into the one above and below it when printed as the entire totem. Students will study the origins and purposes of totem poles, as well as four main styles, the Haida, the Tsimshian, the Kwakiutl, and the Tlingit. Check out the Northwest Coast Native American totem poles from the University of British Columbia Anthropology Museum and the links to video clips and totem pole legends. Also, each table group will be required to write a legend that depicts the story of their visually represented totem pole. Students will listen to many Native American legends in preparation for writing their legends and they will learn the proper story telling technique of totem poles, i.e. told from top to bottom, with the bottom symbol being the most important. See Eldrbarry's Raven Tale links for more information on legends: http://www.eldrbarry.net/rabb/rvn/rvn.htm.

Sculpture

Each table group of students will be given a poster of a famous sculptor, such as Michelangelo, Rodin, Moore, Nevelson, Oldenburg-Van Bruggen, and/or Calder. Each sculptor teaches a different style and method of three dimensional construction. The students prepare a report and maquette of the suclpture represented on the poster. They must cover the elements of sculpture, method(s) of creation, and style of their sculpture in their report to the class. Classmates listen to the reports and fill out an evaluation of each group's presentation. Students will conclude their study of sculpture in three ways: 1) they will create a clay vase that is sculpted and modeled to look like an animal, bird, or fish, 2) they will create a wire/nylon sculpture in the style of Henry Moore, and (2) they will have a HOMEWORK assignment to write a saturation report of a local piece of sculpture.

 

Past Projects

Color Wheels and Sunflowers

Students will study color theory, a traditional color wheel and learning how colors relate to each other. They will then create their own color wheel and use it as reference for the sunflower painting project. Students will study several styles of art as inspiration for painting and discovering their own unique style. We will look at Impressionism, Expressionism, and Fauvism and study the differences of the styles of Monet, VanGogh, and Matisse. They will begin the painting project with a pen and ink drawing that is a value study of a sunflower. It will need to be as realistic as possible before they are allowed to begin the large final tempera painting in one of they styles we have studied.

Digital Portrait Project


Students are re-creating a digital photo of themselves on the computer in Adobe PhotoShop. They draw inspiration from famous artists and their portraits such as Vincent VanGogh's   Self Portrait,  Andy Warhol's  Marilyn Monroe,  Henri Matisse's Fauvist portrait of The Woman with a Hat,  and Ed Paschke surreal digital images. The one requirement in the portrait project is a value study of the skin tones on their face. They may choose any hue but needed to paint in the light and dark values accurately. Before beginning to change their image students were asked many of the same questions that were asked in the mask project, such as: Who do you want to be? What purpose do you want to portray? What color or special effect best represents you now or in your future? How would you like others to react to your image? What feeling or emotion would you like to portray?

Digital Portraits
2nd Period Fall 2002 		Digital Portraits
7th Period Fall 2002 		Digital Portraits-
2nd period Spring 2003		 Digital Portraits-
2nd Period Spring 2005		 Digital Portraits-
7th Period Fall 2005

 

Chinese Brush Painting, Impressionism, and Expressionism


Students are first studying the style of Chinese brushpainting and learning about the "Four Treasures" of ink, stone, paper, and brush. They are imitating the style of famous genius, Yani. After loosening up by painting bamboo and monkeys, students will draw and paint flowers of their choice in either the style of Impressionism or Expressionism or Fauvism. They are studying the differences of Monet, VanGogh, and Matisse, and looking at influences of Asian art. They will begin the painting project with a pen and ink drawing that is a value study of sunflowers and a preparation for the large final painting.

Tree Transformations on Portfolio Covers


Students are studying value and emphasis by creating imaginative drawings in pen and ink. First a worksheet will be completed that demonstrates an ability to show lightness and darkness with pen and ink patterns, cross hatch, and pointilism. Students then draw a free form tree shape that is filled with imaginative representations of animals, birds, fish, dragons, or monsters. The finished drawing should have a focal point and several different values of pen and ink. Students will merely begin this project and then work on their portfolio transformations throughout the semester.

Figurative Study and Collage in the Style of Jacob Lawrence and Romare Bearden


Samples of Projects from Spring 2003:

Students will study the paintings of Jacob Lawrence and Romare Bearden and learn about their backgrounds and artwork founded in Harlem during the 1920's and 1930's, a time of artistic explosion within the African-American community known as the Harlem Renaissance.Students discover that there are a lot of visual clues in these paintings and collages that help reinforce a theme as can be seen in these Jacob Lawrence Paintings from the Image Gallery of ArtEdNet. Students are learning about the viewpoints, limited color choice, movement, emphasis, and story behind the visual elements. Students will learn to draw a figure in motion using the Vitruvian proportions. There is an online Bearden slide show from SFMOMA that includes the posters we have been studying for the collage project. Students are creating collages with a theme of family friends, or some group that they would like to illustrate similar to the style of Romare Bearden. The unit will conclude with a self evaluation in poetry after reading about the Harlem Renaissance poet, Langston Hughes. The students will write a poem using the same style as Hughes, then put their collages up on the wall. Mrs. Goldman will read the poems and students will try and guess which poem belongs to which painting.
While they paint, students will be listening to music of the time period such as the jazz of Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong.They will also listen to the Jazz of Branford Marsalis, whose latest album, Romare Beardon Revealed is a series of new versions of the jazz classics that inspired Bearden, as well as original compositions in his honor.

See the Romare Bearden Exhibition at SFMOMA until May 16, 2004.

Masks

Students will be working on Plaster Masks. See a student having a mask made of his face click here.

Retablos

Retablos (re-thab-los) are small religious icons that have used for worship in Latin American countries before the 1880's. They have now increased in popularity and are still used on altars for worship but also are used for adornment, good luck, protection, good health and prosperity. Students will work in groups to design and create a retablo of their choice. They will work in miniature with plasticene clay figures installed in cigar boxes to replicate true retablos. The retablos will be displayed during the Dia de los Muertos Celebration.

 

Painting like Wayne Thiebaud and Continue Digital Portraits


Wayne Thiebaud first gained national and international acclaim in the early 1960s with his food paintings such as Salads, Sandwiches, and Desserts. Critics allied his paintings common objects of the Pop Art of Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Tom Wesselmann, and Claes Oldenburg. However, Thiebaud preferred to consider himself a realist. Prior to painting posters of food, students will study line and form and make value drawings of real fruit. They will then have the opportunity to select a food item to paint. They may bring in the actual food or a realistic photo.

Who Am I? A Study of Picasso, Chagall, and Me!

Students will produce a self portrait chalk-painting that demonstrates knowledge of Realism, Cubism, and theme. Paintings by Picasso and Chagall will be studied and evaluated for inspiration and thought will be given to combining both realism and cubism in the final chalk painting. Students will learn the technical skill of applying and blending chalk colors (often referred to as "pastels") to create their own skin color. Students will need to divide their paper up as a cubist and then create a composition that demonstrates knowledge of several principles of art: emphasis, repetition, balance, and harmony. By using the basic art elements of color, shape, and line they will discover how easy and exciting it is to produce a visual masterpiece like the Modern Art masters, Pablo Picasso and Mark Chagall. The project will be completed with a concrete poem that will describe in writing the theme and appearance of their visual art. Each chalk painting will be displayed, poems will be read, and finally classmates will need to be able to match the poems with the artwork.

Masks

Students will be working on Plaster Masks. See a student having a mask made of his face click here.
Prior to beginning the project students will perform the tasks in a Mask Webquest about masks. They will complete a slide presentation to inspire their classmates to create inventive, personal masks that demonstrate knowledge of the history and culture of masks around the world.


Clay Frames or Clay Shoes

Students will be creating clay frames and etched mirrors for their first clay project. The design theme for both the frame and the mirror must be cohesive so that the mirror and the frame match and reflect a unified idea. For instance, the frame might be shaped like a flower and the mirror in the middle could contain an etched bumblebee. Students frequently like to use images that they are familiar with such as sports logos or smiling faces. These will be discouraged as students should be able to create their own unique designs for this project.
Click here for clay shoe examples

Sculpture and Totem Poles

Students will be creating a group project of a clay totem pole. Every table group will design and build a type and style of a Northwest Coast Native American totem pole. Each student's "piece" of the pole will be able to stand alone and each totem piece must fit snugly into the one above and below it. Students will study the origins and purposes of totem poles, as well as four main styles, the Haida, the Tsimshian, the Kwakiutl, and the Tlingit. Check out the Northwest Coast Native American totem poles from the University of British Columbia Anthropology Museum and the links to video clips and totem pole legends.
In addition to the clay creation, students will write a legend explaining the purpose of their totem poles. Students will also be required to visit the two totem poles on the Stanford campus. See Haida style totem pole, Stanford Legacy by Don Yeomans.

Samples of Clay Totems from Mrs. Goldman's Art 1A, Spring, 2002
Table 1 Totem Table 2 Totem Table 3 Totem Table 4 Totem Table 5 Totem Table 6 Totem Table 7 Totem

Color Wheels, and Fantasy Painting


After making a color wheel and learning how colors relate to each other students will be designing and painting a fantasy landscape in the style of Joan Miro. He was a surrealistic and abstract painter who filled his landscapes with figures and signs that were elements of a highly personal language. Click on these images to see examples of his painting: Carnival of Harlequin and Dutch Interior . Students will be studying other Abstract Expressionists and Ancient Cave Paintings to make connections about figurative and symbolic painting and the messages that they convey.

Realistic Pencil Still Life Drawings


Students are drawing realistically based on the paintings of William Harnett, a Trompe l'oiel American artist from the nineteenth century. See his painting, Music and Literature that students have studied in class. Students learn the rudiments of contour drawing and use a pencil to apply values from black to white. They also need to be concerned about layout and balance of their pictures, composition and framing.

Linoleum Block Printing


Students will create a block print that emulates the style of Keith Haring's art. After viewing slides of his work and discussing the popular style of his work students must draw a design that includes a moving figure, textural background, and positive and negative space. Students then transfer the drawing to a piece of linoleum, carve, and print.
See some examples of Keith Haring artwork and comparisons made by students in Multimedia Art:

Laura's web page Dora and Bella's web pages Ana's web pages Andy and Andrew's web pages

Sculpture in the Style of Louise Nevelson

After completing the mask and clay frame projects, students will learn that they are already experienced sculptors and ready to delve into the varied worlds of Michelangelo, Rodin, Moore, Nevelson,and Calder. Each sculptor teaches a different style and method of three dimensional construction. More time will be spent looking at Nevelson's style since her art is what they will be emulating. Students will conclude their study of sculpture in two ways: 1) they will create a bas relief sculpture out of wood similar to Maquette for Night Wall I and (2) they will have a HOMEWORK assignment to write a saturation report of a local piece of sculpture. The report will have two parts, one will be a sketch of the piece and the other will be a paragraph that accurately describes what the sculpture looks like; its size, mass, color, material used for construction, positive and negative space and how light flows around and through the piece.

Blockprinting and Totems

Students are working in groups to produce a blockprint that looks like a totem pole. They learn to use the design elements of Northwest coast Native Americans including the Haida, Tsimshian, Tlingit, and Central coast Kwakiutl. Students will carve a linoleum blocks that will be printed singly for themselves and then in juxtaposition with the other prints from their table group. The final product should replicate a totem pole of a particular tribal style and have a purpose and story for its intended use. Students will be evaluated on the elements of shape, color, line, and space. Their final totem print must have unity, repetition, and balance. Click in box below for a sample.

Projects to Share
Computer Art Totem Block Prints Plaster Masks Ceramic Shoes   Jacob Lawrence Project
Digital Portraits
2nd Period Fall 2002 		Digital Portraits
7th Period Fall 2002 		Digital Portraits- 2nd period Spring 2003      


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Last updated, August 18, 2006