art challenge

I am going to give my daughter a challenge this summer, to do a drawing a day.  I've noticed in her sketchbook she has a very unique drawing style, and I see an illustrator when I look at her work.    Since she will be a senior this coming year (yikes!) I would like to help her get a portfolio started in case she wants to apply for a design school or something else like that.

I've been dying to do some drawing and watercolor paintings as well, but I know with my other creative projects I have going on (a collection for Omaha Fashion Week in September) I will not have the time to do one every day.

I've asked her to make a list of possible subjects for these drawings, because I know as a kid I always had a hard time thinking of what to draw, and I know I hear that question a lot from students when they want to do extra artwork.

I've made a list as well, so if she gets stuck, I'll throw some of these out:

food

vegetables

desserts (think Wayne Thiebaud)

furniture (I always see tons of Eames designed furniture in illustrations)

houses, mansions, buildings

shoes

dresses, fashion (ok, these are more for me :)

animals

birds (geninne.com is a wonderful example of an amazing bird illustrator)

please add comments if you have more subjects for us to explore!

mixed media journal

The homeschooling project I started with my daughter (age 16) this week:  Mixed Media Journal.

We talked about how this project will take all year, and that the cover will be done first, but could always be added onto later, if desired.

We brainstormed all the different ways to embellish/create a cover, how big it would be, what materials we could use, etc.

Rather than just jumping in, I had her make a brainstorming diagram, and write down possibilities for covering the base.  (I used the backing of a sketch pad for the cover, and cut it to 8 x 11 inches).   Later on we will drill holes into the side of it and probably put eyelets and then use rings to hold the book together.

This project will incorporate art, but also writing, and the pages will be filled with all kinds of different things.  We could do nature drawings of things found in nature on some of the pages, and then do scientific studies of those things.  

I wanted to leave it open-ended for now, and just take it one step at a time.  

I showed her images from several artists that make handmade books/journals:

from the amazing Rebecca Sower

and we looked at some other mixed media art from Debrina Pratt (Spark Your Imagination on flickr):

I really want her to see that you can add actual objects, fabric, etc., rather than just paint and ink.

pictures of progress to come, when we have some natural light to take photos.

trees...

Every year I love to teach different grades various things they need to know about drawing trees.  I've seen many children draw a vertical rectangle with tiny twigs sticking out of the top, so I decided long ago to help them really 'see' how a realistic trunk turns into medium sized branches, and finally into tiny twigs.  (My voice changes from deep to high as I go through the steps ;)

***This can be adapted to grade levels from 1st grade on up, depending on your content standards you can see which grade level it fits in best for.  Some first graders have a hard time with the branching off part, most 2nd graders understand and are able to achieve a realistic look.  This year I did it with 6th grade, and they used metallic colored pencils on black paper (metallic was important for the artist we studied).

One of my all time favorite artists, Gustav Klimt, is an example of some of the fine art trees we look at.  I also like to show many examples of real trees, and if you have access to flickr, an inspiring is to search through everyones uploads.  Or search for groups as well - there are many groups to look through to find images you like.  Here are 2 examples:

The main thing I try to get them to see is that the large trunk branches out in a "V" shape, and I use a volunteer to show that our bodies kind of look like a trunk, and if you hold your arms out those are like the branches of a tree, and the fingers are like the twigs.  I point out where the "V's" are.

We then study Gustav Klimt, and we analyze the Tree of Life:

The places where the branches grow out are "U's" instead of "V's", but it's the same concept.  There are many directions you could go in... talk about texture and look at real bark or do leaf rubbings, warm colors when the leaves change, and scientifically why that happens, products made from trees and ecological concerns, age, size and location of different species, and how trees can be symbols for ideas in one's artwork.  Big themes:  growth, seeds, renewal, strength, and much more.

student examples to come...

It was a bit tricky to take pictures of these black backgrounds, but the students really loved how the metallic pencils 'shimmered' like all of the gold tones in Klimts' work.  Sparkly gel pens would have been even better~

sharing is nice!

I thought I'd start a blog for my elementary art lessons, since I find so many good ideas on other blogs. Also it's a way of documenting things I've done, and reminds me of things I'd like to change for future years.
Please feel free to comment or post ideas of your own. I will have a flickr group as well for people to post projects they've done. I also home school my daughter part time (she's in high school half-time) and I've been asked by other home schoolers what art projects they can do.  I plan lessons that integrate other subjects such as math, social studies and reading as often as possible.