Mixed Media | Thematic Weaving

Below are more examples of the watercolor backgrounds with acrylic stamps created by Mixed Media students. Next week they will choose 2-4 of their designs, cut them into strips and weave them together. They will then add words or phrases that all stick to a certain theme chosen by the student. 

 Before cutting up their actual projects, students are practicing weaving techniques using 2 magazines pages that they have selected. They cut the first page into 1/2 inch strips and taped them to a piece of paper. Next, they cut the second page into strips and started by going over one strip, under the next, over another, under the next. It is important that they alternate where they are starting on the strip, so that none of them are the same as the one directly above or below the strip. A few students are trying designs other than the traditional "over/under" for each strip. 

Animals in Art | Zentangles

Animals in Art students are beginning 3rd Quarter with their Zentangle Project. This project will include lots of repeating patterns used to show values and create designs. So far, the 8th graders have practiced drawing the patterns as well as learned how transition from one to another gradually or combine multiple patterns. This will help them when they add patterns to their projects so that they can use more than one pattern in a single space. 

Below are images of our first animal drawings. As a class, we drew seahorses while following a video tutorial as well as a handout with step by step directions and images to match these steps. This will be one of their choices for the drawing that they will develop more and submit as their Zentangle Project. 

 

Black and White Photography | Composition Notebooks

Black and White Photography students are beginning the semester by creating their "Composition Notebook" Project. This assignments looks at specific areas of composition are requires students to identify examples of each by gathering images in magazines. A few of the topics covered so far include silhouettes, reflections, framing, and concepts focused on light such as low light angle and high light angle. They have also thought about the position of the photographer in comparison to the subject, as well as compared textures, subjects, and shapes.

Mixed Media | Thematic Weaving

To begin, students practiced a series of 10 different watercolor techniques. These techniques included adding cling wrap, creating a watercolor wash, painting wet paint on dry color, painting wet paint on wet color, and rolling the brush. Students also created gradients, splatter painted, painted segments of color, and filled their space with repeating lines (both straight and curvy).

 

Each student created 4 square watercolor paintings to use as the backgrounds for their weaving project. They will cut at least 2 of these into strips to use in their assignment. 

Most students have gotten to the next step which is adding "stamps" using acrylic paint. We are using pop bottle caps, yarn, crayons, and packing peanuts to create shapes of color on top of the watercolor paintings. 

Drawing A | Watch Drawings

Drawing A finished the semester by completing their "Post-Drawings" or a watch. Each student used the same image that they looks at when the semester started to create their drawing of a watch. After completing their Post-Drawing, they received their Pre-Drawing back from the first week of the semester. They compared values and proportions, looking at areas that had improved and also completed a peer critique activity to analyze all of the changes made throughout the semester.