Visual Art assignment to help student confidence and self esteem.

1. VISUAL ART
Big Idea: IDENTITY ( Students can be prepared in earlier discussions to reflect on
their Parents/guardians as to who did you get your personality from, and who did you
get your physical features from, and their love for art, dance, music, reading,
speaking, etc. 3D and 2D Art works can be used to show the expression of different
IDENTITY TRAITS. A list could be generated of these character traits of their parent
or guardian that could help them in their project below.)
The concept of “PROFILING” should also be explored.
Aspects of society say “if you look like a duck, walk like a duck and talk like a duck
then you are a duck.” Similarly if you look like a ‘cruff’, thug, terrorist, gunman
…then you is. In this section we will look at:-
The Clothes you wear (pictures and drawing of clothes that will allude to ones’
identity will be discussed in detail). Students will do drawings of themselves in
various clothes and say what message they want to convey when dressed in that
manner. What message does batman in his clothes convey? What message does
superman in his clothes convey? What message does iron-man in his clothes convey?
Students will also create their own superhuman clothes.
What animal best describes you? Students will be guided into drawing this animal and
also the fusion of this image with theirs.
Further exploration can be done of profiling when we look at:-
Your actions
The company you keep
Places you go frequent
The things you say
What you put out on Face book and social media.
[The students’ discussion on the above will be utilized to generate ideas for the course
below.]

2. Time: 10 hours /4 weeks
Topic:Mix-Media
Title: Me
Grade: Open
Materials Needed:White 12″ x 18″ paper, white 8″ x 10″ paper, pencil, tempera
paints, paintbrushes (multiple sizes) example #1,#3, #6, #8, papertowels, bowls,
water, news paper , magazine clippings, ponal glue, flat stick, construction paper,
maps, library, computer lab
Number of Class hours: 10
Allow at least two weeks worth of class time for the project. Designate the first
week to discuss ‘Identity’, (Home, community, culture and nation can also be
explored as to its impact on identity. “My nation” could be another angle to look at
identity. Investigate aspects of this nation that they are proud to identify with, as a
citizen of this country, and to follow up with research and log findings (in a
Journal). Allow time for the printing of designed or found images for their project.
Be flexible between the library and computer lab and other research
engines/methods. Students may need to do some work outside of class. The art
assignment should only take two to three class periods.
The final week (3hr.) will be used for students to present their art work for
peer critique. This will allow for students to be confident in their ideas or be
flexible to make changes.
Note: A follow-up assignmentcould be a 3D creation of miniature models of their
home or “The Dream home they identify with”. An end project could be the creation
of a community they believe Jamaica could be identified with.
Concept:Students will study line drawing and variation of color and demonstrate
what they learn in a tempera painting. They will be introduced to collage, and the
application of combining images to tell a story or make meaning.
Objectives:
1. To link art with social studies.
2. To research Identity traits and symbolism of interest to them.

3. 3. To learn the connection between personality, and identity, and how metaphors
and symbolism connects to provide image that represents “self”.
4. To learn about the use of the elements and principles of art in composition.
MotivationalTools:
– Enthusiasm
_ Demonstration
- Research assignment
– Art project
– Presentation
Process:
 Social Studies Lesson:
Students will be asked to chooseone Race to research in depth on their
own.
– Students will have to clear their topic with the teacher/facilitator, so that
no two are researching the same Race identity trait. (Note: students are
encouraged to find “what they feel about themselves, or, what others have
said about them”, and build a Journal on their discoveries that connects to
them.
– They will complete a paper, at least 4 – 5 pages in length. It should include
the culture of the people/Race investigated; providing samples of the image
metaphor, the resources, talents and anything else of relevance to the
building of an IDENTITY.
DEMONSTRATE: the composition of a portrait, and the merging of
characteristics in a collage style to create meaning. Show how to prepare a
background on paper with various painting techniques. Show a simple sky
technique using wet tissue sopped in light blue paint with a dab of white, and
to create ground by dragging a half wet sponge with two shades of green
side by side flat across the paper horizontally, then:
 (Example 1): prepare before demonstration, a printed photograph of self
(aprox. 15cm x 10 cm.), make a line through the centre of the face. Have
images that provide an insight of who you are, tape and markers.
 Cut the picture of ‘self’ in half, and use the tape behind the cut picture to
stick it to the white board. Draw a format around the pre-prepared

4. painted paper; (A rectangle would mean one thing, a circle another, a
square something else, and “a triangle would be out-side the box”.)
 Set the cut portrait on the painted paper, and then use it as a guide to
draw the full face. This is doneby imitating the distance from centre of
each element of the face to that on the other side. Then create a match to
that of the other side being worked on, and then draw the features of the
face by following/copying the shape of each element from the half
picture.
 Put folded tape behind the sample images prepared, and set them around
creating a collage. (Students will be encouraged to draw their own
images and rely very little on printed pictures.)
 This sample will not be said to be the only way to create a picture on
Identity, and students will be expected after their research to come up
with other methods of crafting their own.
Example 2:
– Distribute 12″ x 18″ paper and instruct the students to make a simple oval
shape sketch that will represent their head/face.
– Instruct students to find a symbolthat they think represent their main
personality, and then find other images that connects to their personality.
– Distribute 8″ x 10″ paper and instruct students to arrange their neatly cut
images on, and then paste them in a rhythm that bestbuild their IDENTITY.
– Remind students to secure this work for a future project.
–( Class time will be given to go to the library and computer labs to find
images.)
– A facilitator should be available to help with research.
– Following the completion of their written, and collage paper, students will
be asked to paint a simple landscape using colours that they feel best express
them.
Art Lesson:
Students will complete two paintings. One will be of their portrait, combined with
images of self and the other a landscape.
Portrait
Students that do not wish to use the half-face technique can use the
techniques below

5. - – The teacher will first teach how the elements of the face can be broken
down in drawing and painting (Realistically, Impressionable and abstract)
- Color choice matters only if a particular detail is trying to be obtained
– Instruct students that they could use/add the sketches of the continent they
researched that is linked to their heritage as a backdrop.
– Distribute paints and brushes and have students chooseone color.
– The first painting will be to practice mixing different color values and
showing different elements of light and dark.
– Have the students paint a base color in their head.
- Their finger will be used to draw the elements of the face, and then detailed
with a small brush.
- Have students do their best to vary the color value on their face in
connection to light and shadow.
Remind students to mix enough of the color to fill the area they are
working.
- The images that will help to complete their portrait can then be collaged,
either by just simply using cut printed pictures, or by drawing and coloring
their designed image.
Landscape
– With the second painting, students will be asked to use their knowledge of
the Jamaican landscape (Students of other Nationalities will utilize the
landscape from their ‘homeland’). Students must consider where their sun is,
without constructing it, so as to set their ‘light-source’, and paint in specific
techniques using unconventional tools to show light and dark. Students will
achieve the illusion of the different elevations by directional techniques.
Note: the painting demonstration at the top of the class would cover the
landscape contours.
– If they wish they may use a published landscape painting for
guidance/reference.
– Be available to help mix paints and instruct on the illustrations.
– Let paintings dry overnight.
– Mat paintings.
– Set Critiques along the way to build confidence and help ideas and skills. –
Set Final Presentation.
 Students while working on both assignments must be constantly be
reminded and reinforced that the main objective is to show the Identity
they are working on as the theme.