Michelle Garrison

6th Grade

We are still on our Career Elves unit, but have also began to study Greek Gods and Goddesses.  Greek mythological figures were usully shown with accessories or props to let the viewer know who they were and what they did.  This connects to our Career Elf concept of choosing props to give information about a figure.

7th Grade

We began our Culture Watercolor.  We began by defining culture, and how it has to do with more than one’s heritage or ethnicity, but includes any group that influences their values and personality.  The students are learning about how artists such as Romare Bearden, David Ellis, Guy Eddie, Shazia Sikhander, and DoHo Suh represent their cultures through their artwork using symbols and references.  The students are choosing three symbols that represent different cultures that they belong to, and combining those symbols to create a watercolor painting.

High School Graphic Arts

We are continuing with our package designs, and beginning to consider how package shape is as important as the lable.  The students were also introduced to the process of digital painting, or creating images with a “painterly” look by using drawing tools in Photoshop.

On this site, you will find printable box templates.  Resize them in Photoshop to the size that you want, then print them out on the paper you want (anything that fits through a printer is good)!

http://www.ruthannzaroff.com/mirkwooddesigns/takeout.htm

6th Grade

We are still working on our Symmetrical Career Elves.  We will be studying the work of various artists who use symmetry, such as Peter Max.  We will also be learning some colored pencil techniques to show shading.

7th Grade

This week we will finish our 1-Point Perspective Names by coloring the letters and background.  We will then begin to glaze our fired ceramics, and continue learning about ceramics from various artists and cultures, such as China, India, and the artists David Gillholey and Jeff Koons.

High School Graphic Arts

The students are putting any last finishing touches on their CD cover design, and moving on to their package design.  The students are bringing in examples of packages that demonstrate good design.

6th Grade

We are continuing with our symmetrical career elves.  To help the students think of the unique details of their elves, they studied examples of character concept art, and learned the process by which video game, comic, and movie animated characters are created.

7th Grade

We are continuing 1 Point Perspective names.  The students learned about how perspective was invented in ancient Rome, then lost during the Dark ages, and then rediscovered in the Renaissance  The students also practiced identifying perspective problems and mistakes in other drawings.

High School Graphic Arts

The students are finishing up their CD cover designs, and begining to brainstorm for their package designs.  They must make a label to affix to an actual container for a product of their choice, ranging from soup cans to water bottles.  They are also printing and preparing their work for display in the hospital student artwork display case.

After reading the article on Package Design, answer these questions based on what you would like to do with your own package design project.

1)  Choose a product that you can affix a new label to, such as a bottled drink or canned good.

2)  Will you create a new product, or redesign an existing product’s package?

3)  What is the target market of this product?

4)  What types of visual elements would appeal to this demographic?

5)  How will the label relate to the container/package?  (You may sketch your answer to this).

6)  What text needs to be on the package, both for legal and informative purposes?

6th Grade

This week, we will brainstorm for our new “career elf” project by creating our characters.  Since the holidays are coming up, the students will be designing an elf, and since the 6th grade just finished Biz Town, their elf must be depicting a specific career.  We discussed how for the North Pole to survive, there would have to be a thriving economy, complete with diverse careers other than the stereotypical toymaker.  This project is a fun take on reviewing careers, and communicating an idea using visual clues.  For example, what visual clues let you know that someone is a doctor?  Or a construction worker?

Note:  Any students who have not finished their watercolor still lives need to finish them before or after school.

7th Grade

We are learning about 1-Point perspective.  We will identify perspective in the real world, and how to re-create it in a drawing.  We will do several practice exercises, find perspective errors, and learn about the development of perspective during the Renaissance.

Note:  Any students who have not finished their clay container must come in before or after school to finish before the end of this week.

High School Graphic Arts

We are continuing with our designs of CD covers, as well as critiquing other student-designed album cover art.  Later in the week, we will begin discussing labels, and start work on a design for a drink label.

6th Grade

The end of this week concluded our watercolor project.  We learned about the still life paintings of Juan Gris, and reviewed the artists and information that we had studied during the unit.  The grades for the still life should be online within the week.

7th Grade

We worked on finishing up our clay containers.  Majority of the students finished this week, and have set their projects out to air dry before the first firing.  We studied the ceramics of the ancient Chinese, and also reviewed and took a quiz on clay vocabulary terms.

High School Graphic Arts

The students are working on designing a CD case.  We studied differnet contemporary trends in album art, from vector art, hand illustration, and photography.  The students are to design a front and back cover to an album that relates to the album’s style and target audience.

6th Grade

We are continuing to practice watercolor techniques through our pumpkin and gourd still life.  We have compared and contrasted watercolor paints to oil paints in their appearance, and studied the work of the still life painter Wayne Theibaud and the trompe l’oile style painters.  We will complete our still lives and move on to the next unit next week.

7th Grade

This week we began working with the actual stonewear clay.  The students are creating a container using primarily the coil-building clay method.  For a better grade, the students should show some creativity in their approach to the container via including handles, lids, feet, or other creative approaches to making pottery.  We have also studied the clay work of the ancient Chinese and the Nigerian Nok culture.

The students completed a worksheet of clay vocabulary terms, and will have a quiz on this vocabulary Tuesday Nov. 11th.

High School Graphic Arts

The students are studying illustration through looking at the works of different contemporary illustrators and historical illustration styles, such as Art Nouveau.  The students are making an illustration to be applied to a tshirt, either with hand or vector illustration styles.

Look up the following illustrators:
Marco Zamora            Lee Hasler
Sage Vaughn            Mar Hernandez
Cole Gerst                Meomi
Shepard Fairey            Colorblok

Answer these questions in your sketchbook:

1)  Write a sentence for each one that describes the style and/or content of their illustrations.

2)  Which one do you like most?  Explain why.

3)  Which illustrator most closely aligns with your existing drawing style/ability?

4)  List a few traits about your favorite illustrator that you could incorporate into your own illustration.

6th Grade

We are still working on our still lives of pumpkins and gourds, and also studying famous still lives by Roger Shimomura and the trompe l’oile artists.  The students learned how to identify a watercolor painting from other types of paint, and also learned to apply watercolor techniques to their still lives.

7th Grade

We have started our clay unit.  The students have been practicing clay modeling and building techniques, especially coil building, with the non-drying plastacine clay.  The class is also reading and researching clay and sculpture techniques and vocabulary.  They will begin brainstorming for their project: a coil built construction with a creative and unique use of coils and pattern.

High School Graphic Arts

This week begins our illustration unit.  We are studying contemporary illustrators, as well as historic illustrators and printing techniques  The students are brainstorming ideas for an illustration-style tshirt design.