8085 Problems in Curriculum and Instruction

8085 – Problems in Curriculum
and Instruction
This presentation organizes and explains works of art made in three studio
classes (Drawing with Colored Pencils, Acrylic Painting, and Green
Art/Recycled Art) over the course of the 2015 Spring semester. Each piece is
then translated into a brief art lesson appropriate for teaching to grades K-
12.

Drawing with Colored Pencils
March 27-29 (plus two weeks to complete homework)
Classroom Application: these basic methods
can be used to demonstrate to students the
proper ways to blend analogous colors, how to
create light and shadow using various pressures
and adding complementary color, and how to
use the pencil in other ways besides direct lead
contact with the paper.
This class began with formal
refreshers on color blending and
alternate techniques used to
create texture with colored pencil.

Next we set up a simple still life with
complementary colored construction papers and
eggs. This exercise was about creating light and
shadow and give the eggs form so that they did
not look like a flat shapes. It also dealt with how
the complementary colors will cast reflections
onto one another to create depth.
Classroom Application: A still life project for K-12
students that would target similar goals from the egg
lesson can be found here:
http://arteascuola.com/2015/01/vases-in-pencil-on-
painted-background/
I would break down value using just graphite shading,
per the example, showing students how to create
forms. Next I would allow for creative expression with
the more abstract background. I would have students
use complementary colors instead of analogous, as
pictured.

A Lego still life followed our eggs. Following
the simple lines of the egg still life, the Lego
posed the challenge of drawing sharp
angles and short cylinders, as well as
coloring a reflective surface.
Classroom Application: Instead of having
students draw Legos, I would allow them
to use the Legos as stamps (as seen in the
picture to the right) and have them create
building-like structures. The lesson could
extend into social studies with an in-
depth discussion about what kind of town
or city they have created and why, also
building story-telling skills.
Picture retrieved from: http://sjsartstudio.blogspot.com/2014/01/architecture-2nd-grade-
castles.html

The third project we worked on was arranging colored
strips of construction paper and drawing the values
created where the strips curled and overlapped.
Classroom Applications: This study helped me think of many lessons I could create for my students
using strips of paper. 1) I could use white strips to form a 3-D word and have students sketch the word
using the values they see in the shadows (Figure 1). 2) I could have younger students use colored strips
to create whimsical 3-D sculptures (Figure 2). 3) Students could combine both ideas into an undulating
3-D painting, wherein students would create an abstract, monochromatic piece that they would cut
apart into strips and glue in different arrangments (Figure 3).
Figure 2: http://www.dentonisd.org/Page/25076
Figure 3:
http://thebyrdneststudio.bl
ogspot.com/2013/11/mono
chromatic-paper-
sculpture.html
Figure 1: classroom example

We next moved to a more loosely defined
portrait project. We chose a magazine
clipping, then experimented with paper that
had a fine, toothy grit that was very
satisfying to draw on. I chose my clipping
because of the challenge of the 3-quarter
view of the face, and I was interested in the
model’s expression.
Classroom Application: I used this drawing exercise as a
project with my students this fall. I talked with students
about the types of expression we find in art: facial
expression and creative expression. First students started
by drawing half of their faces, making a facial expression of
their choice. On the other half of the paper, students filled
the paper with colors and abstract drawings that expressed
their emotion creatively. The picture on the right is the first
step of two of my 3rd grader’s expressions.

Our last in-class assignment was
drawing a still life of our choice.
I chose a bouquet of silk flowers
and played around with drawing
them loosely and expressively.
Classroom Applications: I used this idea in my classroom
recently by having different age groups pay homage to
Georgia O’Keeffe by creating large-scale flowers. Students
were able to experiment with a variety of materials and
choose the flower that best represented them. They used
O’Keeffe’s technique of zooming in close on their flowers
so that they became abstracted. The examples to the
right are in-progress.

Our final was creating a large-scale
drawing of choice, to be completed
outside of class over a two-week period.
I chose to collage some interesting
magazine clippings onto my paper and
use mixed media drawing materials to
connect the pieces expressively.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/413557178252492437/ http://artmommie.blogspot.com/2012/
03/young-explorers-class_10.html
Classroom Applications: I love the idea of
using this to expand my students artistic story-
telling skills. Letting them choose or take a
picture and crop it down so that they can
expand the image by drawing an imaginative
scene to finish telling the story of the image.

Acrylic Painting
March 6-8 (plus two weeks to complete homework)
For my painting class, we started with basics, mixing
grayscale values and painting box angles.
Classroom Applications: For some reason, this box painting reminded
me of a city and got me thinking about how much my students love the
game Minecraft. They like the way they can build simple forms to make
complex structures. I thought perhaps students could start by sketching
isometric cubes and turning them into their own cities, then they could
paint the values of each cube, much like in their favorite game. We
could also experiment with the game in class and brainstorm ways we
could make artistic designs using the computer. An article came out a
couple of days ago explaining how Minecraft can be a useful tool for i-
kids:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/gaming/2015/11/16/minecraft-
code-building-demo/75849510/
http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/seamless-tilable-gray-isometric-cube-pattern-19745557.jpg https://www.pinterest.com/pin/244249979761056391/ http://www.notquitehippie.xyz/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/simple-minecraft-house-step.jpg

Acrylic Painting
We continued with grayscale
painting, but this time set up a
complex still life with a striped
cloth, eggs, and a reflective bowl.
Classroom Application: I was really drawn to the reflective surface on this painting,
and it made me think of how differently each person sees objects like this. I thought
of eyes and how older students could draw large scale eyes, then paint the reflections
of the objects they might be seeing, or imagine they’re seeing. This could be a very
expressive and impressive piece when completed.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/gaming/2015/11/16/minecraft-code-building-demo/75849510/

Acrylic Painting
After our grayscale still lifes, we put together a bright,
cheery still life and began a day of color mixing.
Classroom application: I found an awesome open-ended still life lesson I want to try
created by Mrs. Hare at the blog Art at Becker Middle School. A breakdown of the
lesson can be found at: http://beckermiddleart.blogspot.ca/2015/01/a-modified-
choice-attempt-still-life.html

Acrylic Painting
Our final in-class project was painting with a palette
knife. I have always liked this technique and would
love to try it with my students.
Classroom Application: An awesome lesson I can’t wait to try with my Kinders that is all about creating texture
(similar to that in palette painting) starts by crumbling a piece of paper in a ball, then painting the fractures
with one color. Students continue by flattening, recrumbling and painting with a different color multiple times
to create beautiful abstract paintings. After these have dried, students could use a palette knife to paint thick
texture around some of their abstract shapes. This will be a fun, loose, messy and very expressive project that
students will love experimenting with and exercising a much needed element of play in their day.
http://buggyandbuddy.com/crumpled-paper-art-for-kids-inspired-by-ish/

Acrylic Painting
For my final homework in Acrylic Painting, I had two
weeks to paint a large-scale painting of my choice.
Because I loved painting with color, but also loved
the reflections in the second grayscale still life we
completed in class, I decided to crumple some pop
cans, then spray paint them gold and put them
against a backdrop of red and green construction
paper. I loved the abstract part of painting the
reflections. My background ended up flatter than I
would like, but I thought the cans turned out well.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/32299322302415792/
Classroom Application: The
abstractness of the crumpled parts
of the cans made me think I could
have students paint and crumble
cans of their own, then create a
painting based on the colors and
shapes they observe within the cans.

Green Art/Recycled Art
April 24-26 (plus two weeks to complete homework)
The final class I took dealt with using everyday
materials that can be repurposed into art. The
majority of these lessons can be directly applied to
my elementary classroom without much change
from the lesson taught to my adult class.
For the first project, we were tasked with collaging
strips from magazine pages, then adding a graphic
black design over the top. Each student came up with
amazing variances on the same idea:

The next project was making a 3-D relief using
multiple techniques of manipulating magazine
scraps. Again, each project turned out so
different, I am excited to see what young
students could come up with.

Our third project was using painted cardboard
to create a 3-D sculpture. I chose to create
another relief, using toilet paper rolls painted,
cut into various heights, and bending them
before gluing them onto an abstract painted
piece of flat cardboard.
Classroom Application: I found a great lesson
using cardboard scraps that Kinders could use
to practice cutting and gluing skills, as well as
a beginning discussion about composition and
color choices. These look like they can turn
out beautiful, abstract, and very different
depending on each student’s individual
expression.
http://artlessonsforkids.me/2009/06/29/cardboard-collages-in-kinder/

A Louise Nevelson-inspired piece cam next in
our class. I mostly used various cardboard
and paper textures, but also added a few
found objects.
Classroom Application: My friend and colleague
Melissa recently created a Nevelson-inspired project
that I’m going to try, wherein collaboration is also
key. Her students created a large scale collage of
cardboard pieces and papers, which they
manipulated in various ways and glued, then added
pops of color for added interest. The students
worked together to arrange and display the final
composition.

Our 5th project was to create a robot using
found materials. Because one of the NAEA art
standards for 2nd grade is to create repurposed
art, this could be something they could create
from various classroom materials.
Classroom Application: For younger grades, the robot-
relief picture to the right would be a good first step toward
introducing repurposing found materials. This lesson
would also be great for discussing basic printmaking
techniques, and body movement.
www.deepspacesparkle.com

Our final in-class project was to create a mandala
using an old CD and found objects. Rather than
draw on top of the CD, I cut “windows” out so that
the CD could peek through. I found a washer and
a marble for the center and colored in the rest of
my designs with paint markers.
Classroom Application: There area all kinds of different ways to
make mandala projects for students, but one that I am really
excited to try is from an artist-teacher’s Instagram that I follow.
Miss Lee used outdoor chalk and had her students create
Heather Hansen-inspired drawings where they use their whole
bodies to explore movement and symmetry. My students would
LOVE this! I could even collaborate with the PE teacher with this
very active, exciting project.

For our homework, we were
tasked with creating two more
pieces of art created from found
objects. For my first project, I
went on a walk and gathered
trash and little toys I found and
put them together to make a
wind chime. I sprayed the edges
with gold paint to give the toys a
more cohesive look, and add an
ombre-effect to the plastic bags I
cut apart for the strings.
Classroom Application: Students could find objects outside that they
can use for stamping into clay to make impressions. We would then fire
the pieces, glaze them, and string them into wind chimes. We can also
string the found objects onto the piece, provided they were made from
metal so they could contribute to the chime sound.
http://colorforeveryone.blogspot.com/2013/07/adaptive-art-clay-
wind-chimes.html

For my final project, I found an old book of
landscapes and began creating an altered book.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/27450853975
6629299/
Classroom Applications: There are so
many awesome ideas for altered
books! My students could definitely
create an altered book starting with
notes taken in art and also using
sketching prompts at the beginning of
each class. This would be a great
continuous project students could work
on throughout the year.

8085 Problems in Curriculum and Instruction

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