The Power of Line

My students are loving artist Gabriel Moreno.  What a great way to show them how to take the simple idea of line and transform it into a dynamic and evocative artwork.

Matthew Cusick

If this artist doesn't get your lesson plan gears turning, I don't know what will!  Matthew Cusick creates these beautiful artworks made entirely out of collaged maps.  This would be a great way to teach students about color, value and plane changes.  The idea of using maps or found materials also gives them the opportunity to tell a story and add a new layer of meaning to their work.  I can't wait to try it out with my kids!

Kehinde Wiley

Morpheus

My students have really been enjoying Kehinde Wiley.  For those of you unfamiliar with his work, he takes paintings from art history and recreates the poses using modern African American men.  Lots of lesson possibilities with this artist.

Mona Makeover!

For finals I have my level one painters choose an artist from a list to research independently.  The take home final project requires that they prepare a presentation on that artist for the day of the final as well as to create a painting of the Mona Lisa in the style of their artist.  This allows them to not only show off their best painting skills to me but also their ability to transform style and concept into a new interpretation.

Edmodo

For my A.P. Studio class I wanted to find a way for us to collaborate outside of class and to stay in communication. I did not want to do this on facebook- it is just too problematic from a professional standpoint. After doing some research online I ran across Edmodo- It is an online classroom designed with an interface similar to facebook. Edmodo is designed for education alone, your classroom account is password protected and private- there is no social networking going on except between your students. On Edmodo my students can post about problems they are having with a project (and post pictures of it), they can share information about artists, and can even post a question to me about a project. I have my account set up so that Edmodo sends me a text message(opt) if one of my students posts something to me - a great way to stay in touch without friending them on facebook or handing out your number. My students love our little online classroom and some of the quietest students feel the courage to collaborate and share in ways you never thought they would. I most definitely recommend checking out this online gem!

Matt Held Portaits

Getting students to break away from the typical mug-shot style self portrait can be difficult. For this project I introduced them to artist Matt Held, who paints other peoples' facebook profile pictures. As an artist he is interested in why people choose the pictures they do to represent themselves to the world and how telling it is of their personality. While Held uses others' profile pictures, we wanted this to be our own original expression and so took our own "profile pictures". I had the students draw them on a large square piece of paper and complete them using paint sticks. Finally, they had each moved from timid artists to students who boldly expressed themselves.