Art Lessons
Below you will find a small sampling of descriptions, student examples, and instructional supports for art lessons that champion critical-thinking, problem-solving and loads of student choice.
*Lesson plans included below are specific to my school site, more universal lesson plans will be provided (when time allows) if fellow educators are interested.
Found in Translation
In this project students explored cultural differences through the power of language, specifically through “untranslatable words.” Untranslatable words are words that exist in other languages that don’t have a direct equivalent in English.
Students chose an untranslatable word then created an art piece that captured the concept behind the word. To further challenge students, they were required to use a non-traditional surface as their substrate, and were encouraged to choose a substrate that would add meaning to the concept their word embodies.
Theme
Thinking Conceptually
Grades
11-12
I did this project with Level 2 students
Get Wired
Bent-wire portraits on painted paper collaged backgrounds.
This multi-step project began with a continuous line portrait using wire and pliers using a self-portrait photograph as a reference and base.
Students then entered a study and practice of painted paper collage artists Eric Carle, Romare Bearden, and Njideka Akunyili Crosby. Students played with paint, paper, hand-made brushes, texture and patterns for a couple of sessions.
Using the painted paper, students created a background with the painted paper to represent their personal “background” and house their self-portrait sculptures.
Inner Beast
Digital Art or Visual Art | Students explore cross-cultural symbolism while learning introductory Adobe Illustrator skills, symmetrical compositions, and building limited color palettes.
The lesson begins with students brainstorming and researching animal symbolism across various cultures. They then choose an “inner beast” as their animal symbol and sketch multiple compositional ideas using simple shapes to create the animal. From here they move on to creating their inner beast using the shape tool in illustrator, and creating a palette with Adobe Color. Students finally write an artist statement reflecting on their inner beast’s personal symbolism as well as that same animal’s symbolism across at least three different cultures.
Me x 5
Character Design Portraits
In this learning segment students learned the stylistic traits (line quality, color, shape, proportion, feel) that character designers use to create effective and appealing characters. Students created character self-portraits in their own style then, using a choice board, they researched and investigated four additional character designers and created self-portraits after those character designers’ styles. The result was a series of five self-portraits that showed diversity in use of the stylistic traits of character design.
As students worked on their portrait characters each day we focussed developing techniques for each stylistic trait. See the “Line Quality Worksheet” below as an example.
Conceptual Art
Visual Literacy and Art Appreciation | Students explored the ideas of conceptual art through guided discussion and an activity in which they recreate one of Sol Lewitt’s wall drawings. LeWitt’s wall drawing series was a set of instructions of how to create a work of minimalist art, accompanied with a certificate of authenticity. Students followed the direction and were then asked “Whose art is it?" Yours? Or Sol LeWitt’s?” You can take this lesson further by having students create their own conceptual art instructions for another student. Slide show and activity instructions below.
Lesson Plan | Slide Show, Discussion Supports, and 2 Activities
Oversized Food Sculptures
3D ART | Students create over-sized food sculptures inspired by Claes Oldenburg and contemporary sculptors. Students exercise choice and problem-solving skills in creating a sculpture with these criteria: must be at least 1ft or 3x scale, use local color, and be as realistic as possible.
The lesson begins with students brainstorming and sketching their favorite foods. They then choose one and find 360 degree references photos and draw a full-page sketch of the food from different angles as well as making a plan for what materials they may need. Students then build their 3D sculptures out of materials of their choice. In the examples below you see cardboard, paper maiche, epoxy, newspaper, foam, spray foam, and acrylic paint being utilized to construct their sculptures.
Designer Trading Cards
As an introduction and “hook” for our 2D character design unit, students created a fully inked and colored artist trading card of a character designer of your choice. Students brought these to class to share and analyze the stylistic traits their character designers used with a classmate.
Instructions | Slide Show | Discussion Prompts and Worksheet
Personal Monograms
Design | Students made a series of three personal monograms using their initials. They chose from a list of options to help them explore new concepts and ways to combine letterforms to create meaning and visual interest. This lesson was part of a larger unit on graphic design, logos, and leads up to a final project in which students branded and designed the visual identity for their own food truck. Throughout the monogram design process we explored examples of effective monogram design, then focussed on the use of negative space in logos and monograms. You can find a lesson plan for the negative space lesson below.*
