November 1st-November 5th

Bridget Riley, Cataract V , 1967

OP ART

Seventh grade students are taking a break from the clay unit so that all projects can thoroughly dry before we begin painting them on Wednesday. In the meantime, we began the "Op Art" unit. "Op Art" is short for optical art. This style of is described as "geometric art in which patterns of lines and/or color combinations react on the eye to produce a sense of movement, dazzle, or even discomfort." The students will study samples and learn some basic techniques in creating Op Art. We will use pencils, rulers, and black markers to create our designs.

October 25-October 29th

Getting ready to work with clay!

Last week, seventh graders worked on their scratchboard designs based on nature. They used different tools and techniques to "scratch out" their designs to reveal what lies below the black ink. It was a tricky exercise for some because it forced the students to think of negative space and value in a challenging way. Scratchboard choices included silver, gold, glitter, rainbow, and white.
This week, we will begin our clay unit!

October 18th-October 22nd

Scratchboard Art

The seventh grade students will be exploring a new medium this week: Scratchboard. During this project, students will become familiar with the etchings by Durer and create etchings of their own. This project will also have students broaden their understanding of using light and dark value to create form. These scratchboard designs will be based nature. On Tuesday, each student will be expected to bring in a picture from a magazine or online that shows any aspect of nature: landscapes, animals, underwater life, etc. A selection of pictures will also be available to choose from in the art room.

October 11th-October 15th

The seventh grade students continue to work tirelessly to complete their Andy Warhol Pop Art projects. This project has proven to be more challenging than I had first thought. Although they are having a hard time keeping up their original momentum, they continue to plug away to complete their amazing works of art. Each day, the students set a personal goal for how much of the design they must complete in class. Our goal is finish these by the end of the week. Upon completion, each student will begin working on their personalized art portfolios.

October 4th-October 8th

Andy Warhol

Pop Art

This week, we will continue to work on our Andy Warhol inspired Pop Art projects. The students have worked with tireless effort and precision to recreate a product from their everyday life into a work of art. They have been using lightboxes and the sunlight from the art room windows to trace/repeat their image six times on 12 X 18 drawing paper. This week, we will begin to add the exact colors from the real product to the drawings using colored pencils and markers. The results should be a feast for the eyes!

All projects will be kept at school until the end of the trimester. At that time, all students will bring home their artwork in a personalized portfolio.