Wednesday, August 31, 2016

DESIGN IN CLAY September 13th (Day 3)

FIRST:

IF YOU HAVE NOT YET PUT THE SEESAW APP ON YOUR PHONE PLEASE DO SO AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. WE WILL USE THIS APP DAILY TO RECORD OUR PORTFOLIOS.

WARMUP

 As you enter the room you will need to acquire the accordion book you created during our last class. The following images will be projected on the screen:

You will begin class by opening to the first page of your accordion book and making a sketch of this sculpture. On the adjacent page you will be asked to label the drawing with the artist's name and tile of the work. You will then answer the following:
Above: by Ron Nagle

Above: by Auguste Rodin


  • How have these two artists used MASS in their works of art. For your reference MASS can be influenced by density, material, and orientation.


You will have the first 10 minutes of class to complete these pages in your book.

LESSON FOR THE DAY

First a review from last class:

WHY are we doing this?
WHY are we illustrating an idiom?

ANSWER: We must learn to balance concept and individual expression. The concept is illustration, and the individual expression is in your choice of idiom and how you illustrate it. This balance will allow for the continual development of skills.  That's WHY.

NEW INFO STARTS HERE:
During our last two classes you developed an idiom into a refined sketch. Today we will begin to explore the use of tiles to produce our final sculptural version of the idiom illustration. Specifically we will be creating a BAS RELIEF of the image over several tiles.

BAS RELIEF is a tile that is sculpted or carved in a fashion where the illusion of depth is created.

Here are a few examples:



We will start the lesson with a demonstration on how to use the slab roller to produce the tiles. Further, those of us that make some progress may find themselves developing the background in their compositions.


AFTER PARTY



We will, at this time, use the seesaw app to upload images of our artwork and continue building a digital portfolio. If you have not yet downloaded the seesaw app please do so as soon as possible.

All works will be carefully stored away in order to be fired at a later date.

PREVIEW OF COMING ATTRACTIONS


Remember to come to class prepared with a sharp pencil and a sharp intellect.

Mr. Voelker

Monday, August 29, 2016

DESIGN IN CLAY September 11th (Day 2)

FIRST:

IF YOU HAVE NOT YET PUT THE SEESAW APP ON YOUR PHONE PLEASE DO SO AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. WE WILL USE THIS APP DAILY TO RECORD OUR PORTFOLIOS.

WARMUP

 As you enter the room you will need to acquire the accordion book you created during our last class. The following images will be projected on the screen:
Above: by Alexander Calder

Above: by Andy Goldsworthy


You will begin class by opening to the first page of your accordion book and making a sketch of this sculpture. On the adjacent page you will be asked to label the drawing with the artist's name and tile of the work. You will then answer the following:


  • How have these two artists used PLANE in their works of art. For your reference PLANE can be influenced by surface and texture.


You will have the first 10 minutes of class to complete these pages in your book.

LESSON FOR THE DAY

First a review from last class:

WHY are we doing this?
WHY are we illustrating an idiom?

ANSWER: We must learn to balance concept and individual expression. The concept is illustration, and the individual expression is in your choice of idiom and how you illustrate it. This balance will allow for the continual development of skills.  That's WHY.


An Idiom is a short common phrase that has a figurative meaning and works with images. For example:

     "cost an arm and a leg"

Which means that something is very expensive. Nothing "literally" costs an arm and a leg; however, "figuratively" something that is very expensive can be said to cost an arm and a leg.

This also fits the definition of an idiom because of how it works with images. The figurative language allows you to imaginge someone giving up an arm and a leg inorder to afford something very expensive. 

NEW INFO STARTS HERE:
Last class you chose an idiom and began the Idea Generation process. You generated many sketches and will begin class by refining your large sketch. You will have roughly 20 minutes to finish your final sketch for peer review.

PEER REVIEW
You will work in small groups to critique and evaluate the sketches that were produced. You will look at the large mostly finished sketch primarily but you may refer to the thumbnail sketches. You need to be prepared at any time to either ask or answer the following questions about the work:
  • Is the image appropriate to the idiom it attempts to illustrate?
  • Does the image tell a story?
  • Are there some elements that are more important than the others?
  • Could any elements be removed or changed to enhance the illustration?
You will use the responses you receive to refine and finalize your sketch which you will post on seesaw.

AFTER PARTY

We will, at this time, use the seesaw app to upload images of our artwork and continue building a digital portfolio. If you have not yet downloaded the seesaw app please do so as soon as possible.


PREVIEW OF COMING ATTRACTIONS


Remember to come to class prepared with a sharp pencil and a sharp intellect.

Mr. Voelker

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

DESIGN IN CLAY September 7th (Day 1)

FIRST:

IF YOU HAVE NOT YET PUT THE SEESAW APP ON YOUR PHONE PLEASE DO SO AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. WE WILL USE THIS APP DAILY TO RECORD OUR PORTFOLIOS.

WARMUP

 As you enter the room you will need to acquire the accordion book you created during our last class. The following images will be projected on the screen:
Above: by Deborah Butterfield

Above: by Mark DiSuvero


You will begin class by opening to the first page of your accordion book and making a sketch of these sculptures. On the adjacent page you will be asked to label the drawing with the artist's name and tile of the work. You will then answer the following:


  • How have these two artists used LINE in their works of art. For your reference LINE can be influenced by direction, length, width, and depth.


You will have the first 10 minutes of class to complete these pages in your book.

LESSON FOR THE DAY

Our class will focus on the beginning of a new work of art. We will need to clarify 3 things as we begin this lesson:

  1. The Idea Generation Process and why it is important,
  2. What the nature of the sculpture will be, and..
  3. What key terms and processes do we need to understand in order to solve the problem.
All three are explained here in short. We will expand on our discussion of these in class. read on and write down any questions you may have.

FIRST:
The Idea Generation Process
In this phase of the process we come up with ideas and possible solutions to the problem. The most common mistake made during this part of the process is to judge the ideas as good or bad before taking time to explore them. In class this week, sketching will be our primary tool for this exploration.

SECOND:
What will the sculpture be?
You will be creating a sculpture that illustrates a popular idiom.

THIRD:
What key terms and processes do we need to understand in order to solve the problem?
     This is the big question. This helps us understand why we are doing this and almost as importantly, how we will be doing it. So you will need to understand first what an Idiom is.

An Idiom is a short common phrase that has a figurative meaning and works with images. For example:

     "cost an arm and a leg"

Which means that something is very expensive. Nothing "literally" costs an arm and a leg; however, "figuratively" something that is very expensive can be said to cost an arm and a leg.

This also fits the definition of an idiom because of how it works with images. The figurative language allows you to imaginge someone giving up an arm and a leg inorder to afford something very expensive. 

Tomorrow you will choose an idiom and begin the Idea Generation process. You will see examples of sketches as well as solutions. We will discuss as a large group as well as one on one. Since our day will be spent sketching it is important that you come to class prepared with a pencil.

BUT WAIT!
WHY are we doing this?
WHY are we illustrating an idiom?

ANSWER: We must learn to balance concept and individual expression. The concept is illustration, and the individual expression is in your choice of idiom and how you illustrate it. This balance will allow for the continual development of skills.  That's WHY.AFTER PARTY
We will, at this time, use the seesaw app to upload images of our artwork and begin building a digital portfolio. If you have not yet downloaded the seesaw app please do so as soon as possible.

We will not have a critique during this class. All works will be carefully stored away in order to be finished and critiqued during the following session.

PREVIEW OF COMING ATTRACTIONS


Remember to come to class prepared with a sharp pencil and a sharp intellect.

Mr. Voelker