sunnyvale middle school arts

Book Autopsys

2012-01-20T09:36:00.000-08:00

Gory title but great idea. Lately, it seems like a lot of text books and old encyclopedia sets are being discarded and I saw Alexander Korzer-Robinson's work in Juxtapose and thought we should give it a try.

The project practices reuse by developing coherent scenes with the use of back, middle, and foregrounds. Students gutted the books, made a window in the front and concertina folds for all sides and then began excavating the books for images to help build their scenes. Students then placed the cut-out images between contact paper and glued them into the folds at different depths. Here are some finished pieces:

Painting Unit

2011-01-19T13:08:00.000-08:00

Here are a few finished paining projects from the painting unit:

Students will choose one of the following projects for their painting unit:

1. Making Shape with Positive and Negative Space: The Silhouette
2. Historic Reinterpretation
3. Landscapes re-imagined: Impressionism and Pixilation

1. Silhouettes:

Students will view the artworks of Kengo Nakamura, historic examples and James Bates.

Project: Choose an historic figure/ object and create a silhouette of him or her or it. Fill the silhouette with design elements that compliment the silhouette. Students will then create a poem about their piece.

You will be graded on:

1. Clear use of principles of design
2. Effective use of color to convey meaning
3. Integration of figure in a complex background to surface an untold story
4. Participation in group critique
5. Written reflection

• 1
Find a photograph of your subject. Make sure the image has clear edges and if it is a person, you may want to consider profile.
• 2
Have the photograph printed to correct size for your piece (11 x 17), and then carefully cut out the profile using scissors.
• 3
Trace the profile onto the colored construction paper or your choice. Paint in the silhouette and once dry, use paint makers to draw additional images in the positive or negative space.

2. Historic Reinterpretation:

Historic Reinterpretation: Artists re-tell, re-shape, and re-imagine historical narratives. Create a history painting of your own! Choose an historic event and illustrate it from the perspective of a person whose opinion/contribution is missing in the original version (because of differences in race, nationality, religion or sex). Then write the story of what happened in the historical event from the new person’s perspective.
Students will look at the works of Kara Walker, Jacob Lawrence and Picasso.

You will be graded on:

1. Clear use of principles of design
2. Effective use of color to convey meaning
3. Integration of figure in a complex background to surface an untold story
4. Participation in group critique
5. Written reflection

• 1
Choose your subject and conduct research on the event. Choose a perspective that wasn’t previously addressed in historic accounts.
• 2
Create a drawing study that shows plan for composition. Consider: focal point, background, middleground and clues to help identify the event.
• 3
Paint using color blocking with acrylic paint (kind of like paint by numbers and then layer over with additional colors one dry. Don’t forget highlights and shadow to help identify focal point as well as add depth.

3. Landscapes re-imagined: Impressionism to Pixilation

Students will be introduced to impressionism, pointillism, cubism, modernism and pixilation. Students will choose one of the styles to re-imagine a landscape. Students will learn how the camera affected the history of art and creativity. Students will bring in a picture of a landscape and then work with the materials of their chosen style to re-create their landscape. Students will then create an act from a play that would take place in their landscape. Students will look at the work of Van Gough, Seurat and E-Boy.

You will be graded on:

1. Clear use of principles of design
2. Effective use of color to convey meaning
3. Effective use of style to communicate landscape
4. Participation in group critique
5. Written reflection

• 1
Choose your style and your landscape image you would like to work with. Learn about application for your specific process (impressionism: thickened paint, pointillism: paint w/ cotton swabs, cubism: oil pastels, pixilation: paint pens)
• 2
Create a drawing study that shows plan for composition. Consider: background, middleground and foreground and how your style shows each of the three.
• 3
Paint using technique specific to each style (impressionism: brush, pointalism: cotton swab, cubism: oil stick, pixilation: computer image and then grid paper and paint pens)

The painting project is due March 4

Clay Bells

2011-01-19T12:59:00.000-08:00

Students spent the first half of the 2nd trimester working with ceramic clay. As clay can have unpredictable results once it goes into the kiln, only one of the clay projects will be graded: Clay bells. The reason why it is the bells is because this is the culminating project after much practice with the clay and it also is built on a form so it has the most success. The project is worth 15 points and will be graded in the following three areas:
Craftsmanship: All pieces are attached well so one cannot see the seam. No unintentional fingerprints or lumps on the surface of the clay. Design is detailed.
Creativity: The design does more that just it's function, it is a work of art that rings!
Originality: Your design looks like no others, if you are using something from popular culture as inspiration, it should not look like an exact replica. Instead it should have your own unique sense of style.

Totem Animal Figurine

2010-11-05T07:41:00.000-07:00

Due Date: November 15th
Students will create small animal sculptures with Sculpey Clay. Sculpey Clay is pre-colored polymer clay that becomes hard when baked in the oven. These clay figurines are based off of Oaxaca (Wa-HAH-ka) Wood Carvings called Alebrijes .

OVERVIEW OF SCULPEY CLAY PROJECT:
•Choose an animal based on attribute you would like to have.
–What is an attribute? A feature, quality, trait, inherent characteristic.
•Plan out your figurine- Plan pose/gestural form, colors, pattern, texture, and focal point (the attribute).
–What is a focal point? The element in a work of art that pulls in the viewer's eye, that is the center of attention or the main subject.
•Plan your sculpture and colors scheme.
•Create wire core structure. Consider how it will stand.

•Build muscular form with foil.

•Decide on colors (consider color mixing and color scheme) and surface treatment, then get your clay.
•Apply clay.
Roll it,

Wrap it,

Press it.

•Bake & Paint details
•Explain in written form, your choice: a reflection of your project, comparison of cultural views of animal, or a creative story about your animal.

NEW VOCABULARY:
Texture- Surface quality or “feel” of an object: roughness, softness, actual or simulated texture implied.
Repetition- Created when objects, shapes, space, light, direction, lines etc. are repeated in artwork.
Pattern- Created when shapes, lines, etc. are repeated in a predictable way.
Rhythm- Type of movement in a drawing and painting repeating shapes and colors, alternating lights and darks.

Watercolor Landscapes

2010-10-13T14:44:00.001-07:00

Thank you very much Mr. Cleo Crouch who came to SMS and taught the student his techniques with watercolor. Students who would like to try Mr. Crouch's techniques can watch his video which will be posted here next week. Student who would like to try a watercolor landscape will recieve extra credit! Up to 5 points for a completed landscape that follows Mr. Crouch's technique.

Proportion and Spherical Forn

2010-10-02T14:20:00.000-07:00

"There are no rules, only tools" _Glen Vilppu

Student who are beginning drawing will need to learn the basics of anatomy, proportion and spherical form to bring their drawings to the next level: from flat, unrealistic, elementary forms to rounded, gestural forms.

If students are struggling, here are some tips:

Learn basic anatomy; see how big the ribcage and pelvis are and where they are located in relationship to each other.

Learn placement of joints based on the 8 heads method.

Practice drawing spheres then other shapes and making them spherical. Then put these shapes together to create a character.

Check out these videos for help:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WoW-B_iBdU

Local Natives Drawing Unit

2010-09-29T11:52:00.000-07:00

To learn foundational drawing skills, students will be drawing local native plants. The drawing unit includes two drawings: contour and spherical.

Students should approach the contour drawings as scientists, relying on their observational and recording skills to communicate unique features and details of the plant.

The students will then will learn body and face proportions as well as spherical drawing techniques to create a character based on the characteristics of their plant. By reading about and observing their plant, student will create a list of features/adjectives they can creatively use in a character. For example, if you describe a plant as tall, strong and flexible, you can also imagine what a person would look like who had those characteristics. These characteristics can be shown with body language, facial features, hair styles, clothing, tool/accessories, pets/sidekicks, etc.…

Sf Mural Fieldtrip!

2010-09-09T07:40:00.000-07:00

Students in trimester 1 art class (4th and 6th period)will be attending a fieldtrip to Precita Eyes Muralists in San Francisco on Sept. 16th. We will be touring over 80 murals in 8 blocks! This will give us inspiration to come back to SMS to create our own mural on campus! Looking forward to it! Need a permission slip? See below (click to view).

Welcome to Art 2010-2010!

2010-09-09T07:14:00.000-07:00

Goodbye Summer! I was nice knowing you :) Now it's time to focus on our work. This year we have visiting artists, fieldtrips and mural projects to name a few. I am excited an I hope you are too. Attached are the syllabus, student contract and materials fee forms for your reference. Just click on the windows below to read the attachments.

Visit from IBM graphic artist

2010-08-02T17:20:00.001-07:00

Thank you very much to Ms. Glassow who came in to discuss careers in design and engineering in June. She talked about animation, video gaming, movie and video production and several areas of engineering.

Painting Canvas Shoes

2010-08-02T16:33:00.000-07:00

Shoes by Marissa Lee :)

Ceramics for Favorite Foods

2010-08-02T16:31:00.001-07:00

Gloria Cheng, 6th

Elsie, 6th grade

Special Powers Products

2010-08-02T16:24:00.000-07:00

Sanako Akama

Imagined you walked into a magic supermarket that carries foods that give you special powers. What would you look for? What would you create if you were a magic foods maker? Potato Chips that help you hear better, bubble gum that prevents sunburn, cookies that make you fast and gummies that make you smart are a few ideas that we came up with.

Art Inspired by Sports

2010-08-02T15:53:00.000-07:00

Kevin Aravelo

Peter Huyn

Brandon Sonobe

Students chose to do an art project on the topic of sports. They recieved different sports objects and were asked what they would do to "make it look cooler" or "improve upon it" in some way. The results were very creative! The students then imagined a team that would play with this equipment and developed a logo for team.

Winter Olympic Art Menu

2010-01-26T17:56:00.000-08:00

There are three options for the Olympic Art Menu, see below:

A. Draw a figure in a Winter Olympic sport

Menu A Steps:

choose winter olympic sport and find image of sport position.

to draw:

If image has a horizon line in the photo, include it, it will help you get the feel for the body position; if not, no worries, focus on the angle of the lines.

Draw oval for head around 1.5" in diameter. (this is to establish size((fill the page)) you may have to adjust placement later).

Place main lines for spine in first, direction is most important. To decide how long, the spine is 3 time longer than the head. However if the angle of the spine is going away from the viewer or curved, it will be shorter in length.

draw a line for the angle of the hip and then draw the hip bone; draw the angle from one shoulder to the other and the draw the clavicle.

Draw angles from shoulder to elbos, elbow to wrist and then draw angle from hip to knee and knee to foot.

Draw circles for joints, some joints are bigger than others (knee vs. ankle)

Add muscles by connecting the dots!

Next start to add clothes, once added, erase the interior guidelines.

Now it's time to add the equipment. Angles are very important and size should be accurate to the body size. Skis, for example, are usually taller than the person. Also remember equipment can flex and bend.

Lastly, you have to draw the face. The best way to draw the face is to look at the in-class models of skulls. Turn the skull to the angle to the position in the picture and make angle and placements that match. The face is the hardest but don't stress too much, they will probably be wearing goggles and helmets anyway!

The hard part is over! Now add special features like hair, clothing, etc. Color with the materials (colored pencils, watercolor, pastel, etc...)

Color background and add white splatter paint for snow and you are finished!

B. Draw a logo for a country's winter Olympic Sport

Menu B Steps:

choose a sport and a country

sketch ideas for the logo, think winter, olympic, the countries themes, etc...

choose a balance plan: symmetrical, asymmetrical, radial

Based on balance plan, arrange objects for your logo

Apply a principle of design

Craftsmanship is very important, Neatness!!!!

C. Design a stadium or course for an Olympic sport

Menu C steps:

Design with the area/course as not only a place for the sport but as a monument to the time and place.

Create a horizon line and add your vanishing points

Simplify the shape of your monument when first drawing it, that will halp you get perspective correct.

Add Details.

Use illusion of space.

Printmaking Periodic Table

2010-01-20T11:54:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Azure Grackle for this wonderful idea!

Ahh, so here is the other theme I would like to do this year: The Periodic Table (cringe). No wait! Don't go! This could be fun...really! Instead of doing the standard science approach why don't we show applications or interesting facts of the elements. Neodymium, for example, produces beautiful iridecent pink and purples in art glass. I wonder what else it does?

Printmaking as well as paper art will be used to create the piece. Students can make paper, dye paper, use monoprinting and linocut techniques, stamping, stencils, and well, everything else that will put a mark on paper. Students must use at least three applications of media on their piece.

To Begin:

Choose your element! Each element is unique to one artist; first come, first serve.

Research your element. Look in science books or here:
http://www.webelements.com/

Research it's uses and history, take notes to use for sketches. Try 5 different thumbnail sketches of ideas you get from reading the information.

The element's symbol and atomic number need to be included in your print the rest is your interpretation.

The print will be 12" x 12"

Here are some examples from the printmaking project:
"stronium", sarah hauser

"selenium", jon gregory

For more examples see the whole enchilada here:
http://www.azuregrackle.com/periodictable/table/

Rubric is as follows:

Magic Seeds

2010-01-19T18:25:00.001-08:00

Michelle Cao, 6th grade

Imagine you stumble upon a magic nursery that raises all types of plant that produce magic results. What type of seed would you find? This was the concept for the magic seed project. Each student creates a seed out of clay and then creates a poster that shows what that seed looks like when its grown, how to take care of it and how to obtain the seed' s magic.

Rubric for the seed is as follows:

Clay!

2010-01-19T18:01:00.000-08:00

Art A/B spent the 1st half of the 2nd trimester (stay with me) making clay creatures and we are starting to see the fruits of our labor! Students love clay but find it challenging to have an intact project at the end. Because of the delicacy and mixed results I don't want to penalize students who's projects didn't survive the kiln (some projects crumble if an air pocket, sometimes very tiny and unnoticeable, is caught in the clay). Therefore, I won't grade the clay projects. Consider a successful clay project the reward for effort!

There are still a lot of bisque fired pieces that need to be glazed and broken pieces in need of gluing. Take these broken wings....

Book Suggestions?

2010-01-18T17:12:00.000-08:00

We are getting ready to do a group project al la Tim Robbins style and need suggestions for books the students will use to make artwork from. Any suggestions? Any gems that are not on the reading list? We will only read a passage of a book so maybe a dense book that has a brilliant passage.....
My ideas so far are:
Walden
Moby Dick
Life of Pi
"Repent Harliquin!' Said the Tick Tock Man"
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Dracula
I Know why the Caged Bird Sings

I plan on letting the students choose what they would like to read so I would like a big selection. As a class, we will read the passage and have the students sketch individually after reading. We will then view the sketches as a class and decide which imagery is the best for representing the passage. The students will then help create a large painting of the symbol/image on a canvas covered in pages of the text.

Here are some Rollins examples:

The Red Badge of Courage

The Scarlet LetterMusic Sheets

We're going live!

2010-01-17T20:23:00.000-08:00

At the end of January, SMS is launching the parent viewer so parents and students can view their grades in real time.

Also, as you probably know, SMS is on it's way to standards-based report cards; currently effective in the sixth grade. In visual arts however, our standards are not included. The argument is because students change electives throughout the year it would be too difficult to update the students standards at multiple times of the year. The elective standards that will show on the report card are as follows:

applies skills and processes
uses vocabulary
consisently completes and return assignments
particpates in class appropriately

The actual art standards can be found here:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/BE/ST/SS/vamain.asp

These standards are used in the rubrics and are filtered into the "applies skills and processes" and "uses vocabulary."

The pinnacle viewer will show the projects and points. Parents: don't get too stressed out of you do not see a grade for your student's project; often times projects take longer than the anticipated due date. I do not take points off for late projects; just as long as they are in a week before the end of the progress report/trimester so I can input them. However, sketches, writing warm-ups and rough drafts are due on the dates set and students are expected to meet these; if they do not then they loose those points (which are small amounts but do help the overall grade and frankly the success of the projects).

I hope this clarifies some of the questions you may have about the program.

David Hockney

2010-01-17T19:53:00.000-08:00

The body of Hockney's work spans from realistic painting, modern pop to photography. One type of his work in particular addresses viewpoint, composition and panoramic perspective particularly well by exposing a simple assemblage technique applied often in photographic documentation.

Your mission is to create you own giant photo made out of individual photographs that record the information next to the photograph previously taken so the result is a view that is not possible with one camera lens or even one viewpoint of the eye.

A minimum of 25 pictures of the view should be taken and the subject can be what you like (landscape, people, objects, etc.).

If using the school camera, make sure your memory card is clear and you have your file setting to "lowest/smallest."

The rubric for this project is as follows:

Sandy Skoglund

2010-01-17T18:38:00.000-08:00

What do you feel when you view Sandy Skoglund's work? The unexpected juxtaposition between mundane environment and flood of repetitive out-of-place objects creates stop-in-your-tracks imagery that hearkens to some dream-like subconscious place. But what does it all mean? Well that's up to you. And furthermore, why not try to create your own juxtaposition!

Juxtaposition: Simply stated, juxtaposition means placing things side-by-side. In art this usually is done with the intention of bringing out a specific quality or creating an effect, particularly when two contrasting or opposing elements are used. The viewer's attention is drawn to the similarities or differences between the elements.

To begin:
Take a picture of an interior (kitchen, bedroom, living room, etc...). Include people in your interior. Typically Skoglund has her subjects not look at the camera. This creates an even balance between the people and the objects in the scene. Upload it into Photoshop* and change the interior to monochromatic (all one color with light and dark of that one color used).

Monochromatic: Having only one color. Descriptive of work in which one hue - perhaps with variations of value and intensity- predominates.

Next, decide what object you would like to repeat in the space. Take pictures of it from all angles. Upload the photographs into photoshop and size them small to fit in the space of your one interior photo.

Again, color these objects monochromatically with another that will contrast with the color of your interior.

Position these objects in you interior. make the seem to "live" in the space.

*directions for how to size, change color and paste images will be demonstrated in class. Refer to help menu in Photoshop if you forget/have questions.

Rubric of the project is as follows:

For more information: http://www.sandyskoglund.com/

Tony Fitzpatrick

2010-01-17T17:32:00.000-08:00

Crystal Lopez, 7

Tony Fitzpatrick
Have you ever looked at a picture and been able to tell that the artist had a lot of fun making it? I always get that feeling when I look at Tony's work. This native Chicago artist has a tendency towards nostalgic Americana that is paired with a love of printmaking. I am really into creating themes this year and decided it was time to do the ABC's Fitzpatrick style. Using linocut techniques, students will create a print inspired by the work of Tony Fitzpatrick based on a letter they randomly draw from a hat. The symbol for the letter does not have to be conventional, even a noun. "H," for example, could be for heyday, horsepower, harvest, or hairy.

To begin:
Make a neat, bold, creative yet-easy-to-read drawing your letter that is 4" x 4", transfer and carve linolium.

next make a 6"-8" drawing of the symbol your letter stands for. Make drawing neat and detailed. Transfer and carve as well.

Get 11" x 14" printmaking paper and make your boarder. Tony Fitzpatrick's is usually checkers or strips but yours can be whatever you want. Just keep it small otherwise they might take over the picture.

Print your letter and symbol onto the paper. Let dry, while drying, practice what you will draw in the background or collect images to collage in it.

Draw/collage the background and add any additional color with watercolor or colored pencil.

Rubric for the project is as follows:

For more information: http://tonyfitzpatrick.com/home.html

Oyvind Fahlstrom

2010-01-17T15:15:00.000-08:00

Oyvind Fahlstrom was born in Brazil in 1930 to Swedish parents who sent him in 1939, at age nine, to Sweden for the summer. Unfortunately, it was the summer WWII broke out and Fahlstrom ended up not being able to return to Brazil. He was separated from his parents for the next 8 years and would never return to Brazil.

His earliest works of visual art were inspired by poetry and his later works were influenced by American comic book artists.

One type of Fahlstrom's work I would like to focus on for our art project is the work in which he made irregular shapes and boarders but included statistically accurate information. Viewers of these works can learn about relative tonnage amounts of bombs dropped in different time periods in North Vietnam (3.9 million in 6.5 years) to how many trees it takes to print one edition of the New York Times (500).

For Our Project:
Choose a news story that interests you. Read it, summarize it and illustrate it.
Draw a few frames like a cartoon to visually tell the important parts of the story
Change drastically from frame to frame; use comic-book symbols and words to get your point across.
Make unusual shape/s to be your frames; cut out of foam-core.
Use bright eye-catching colors with paint and markers.

Rubric for project is as follows:

For more information about Fahlstrom: http://www.fahlstrom.com. Image courtesy of artnet.

Marissa Lee, Oil Spill in China

Meghan Cheng, Teacup Pigs

Happy New Year! Course Overveiw

2010-01-06T19:46:00.000-08:00

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1: Happy 2010! A new decade! What lies ahead? What excitement or challenge? I would like to wish everyone success in this new year. Success is something that doesn't come with luck; it can be achieved by everyone. If you have a vision and a passion(a drive to work on you vision) you will have success. Malcome Gladwell, author of Outliers, writes on the history of successful people and estimate it takes 10,0oo hours working on a project to ensure its success. He cites examples such as the Bill Gates and the Beatles (who were willing to play any pub for free just to get experience). So I wish everyone a vision for the new year/decade and the passion to make it a success! Make your life amazing!

This year in art at SMS, I hope to help create a student body who is willing to own up to who they are, the good and the no so good, and make something special of the time they have together. Who are the students at SMS? How can art aid in showing the community of Sunnyvale who we are?

Below is the basic course overview; posted for professionalism and posterity but I know that you know how to act; sometimes you just may forget, get caught up, lazy, emotional or (insert word here). Let me briefly remind you:

Course Overview

It has been said that art cannot be taught; the reason for this is each individual has their own style which should be respected, therefore we will focus minimally on technique and more on creative projects and exercises that help generate ideas. Inspiration from contemporary artists and relevant issues will be used. We will use various materials to help aid modes of expression. Each and every project requires thought therefore research, writing and sketching are important to the success of your projects.

Art Materials

Due to the lack of funding we will be receiving from the state and the district this year, we are going to have to be very creative and resourceful with materials. A lab “donation” is requested for the stuff you will use. This is between $15 – 25 depending on the course.

Students will be required to furnish the following:

pencil and eraser (this sounds silly but I am always amazed at the students who come to school without one.)

Important Notes about this Class

This class requires you to think for yourself. As this can be a refreshing change to some other classes, however students must be aware of the dangers of the privilege of freedom. Some students find the freedom too much, get scared of putting their ideas out there, or choose to make their expression violent. These pitfalls happen mostly when the students do not complete warm-ups, research, writing and sketching. These students then feel lost when the project begins and tend to either give up or attempt to drag other students with them. There is no compassion for laziness or annoyances in this class.

Some of the materials we use can be messy and stain clothing. Aprons are provided to help protect your clothes. Also, tables and chairs may be wet, always check before you use the space.

Class Procedure

Always check the board at the beginning of class for important information.

When the tardy bell rings be seated and quiet so we may begin.

Follow Directions and Procedures for using materials posted in the classroom and modeled by the teacher at the introduction of their use.

Clean up is the most important part of the class. If clean up is done poorly, artwork is in jeopardy of being ruined and materials are not available for future use. For this reason, each student is assigned a number and set of tools with that number. Some tools are too costly for each individual to have their own so in that case we will have one per table. Learn your individual numbers and your table numbers. If your tools are missing, you/your table are responsible for replacing them. We stop class early (10 min. till bell) each day we work with materials for a thorough cleaning of tables, sinks, and to turn in supplies.

The bell does not excuse you, I excuse you.

Grading Grades are determined by projects. Grading of projects will be given based on rubrics. These are project requirements and parameters created for each assignment. Rubrics will be given at each project’s introduction.

Projects are due at the end of the trimester, due dates are set for recommending when work should be complete but I understand the need to re-do or make-up. You may choose to turn in work earlier than due dates. In-class and for-homework warm ups are due on the specified date and if that work is late without approved excuse, it will not be accepted.

Behavioral Expectations

Respectful
Responsible
On Task
All rules in Agenda apply, this is SMS policy

If you behavior is unhealthy, the following steps will be taken:

Time out
Parent/teacher conference
Extended time out with alternate assignment and a call home
Referral
Grade affected
Unable to participate in field trips/socials