NHHS Art

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Abstract Circles- Oil Pastels

Abstract Circles Project

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B8krCM99XSFxcmFmNEZwYndFbXM&usp=sharing

Description:

Students will focus on texture, color, composition and overlapping. Students will use circular viewfinders to find abstract images of colors within a magazine. Students will enlarge and overlap the abstract images and blend oil pastels to recreate the colors.

Supplies:

Magazines

Circle Viewfinders (cut out a circle in tagboard pieces)

Pens

Pencils

Oil Pastels

Scissors

Compass

Paper towels

Blending stumps

Paper 8 1/2 x 11

Paper 17x22 (if gridding and enlarging)

Rulers (if gridding and enlarging)

Vocabulary-

Texture

Gridding/Enlargement

Abstract

Composition

Color

Overlapping

Procedure:

Students will start with a discussion of texture, and what it is, what it looks like.
Discussion of abstract, overlapping, and what is good composition looks like is also necessary.
Using a variety of different magazines, have students use their viewfinders to look for interesting textures and color compositions.
Have them cut out AT LEAST 10 or more to have a good variety to choose from.
Students will use a compass to draw at LEAST 5 circles of a variety of sizes, using the entire paper and overlapping in at LEAST 2 places.
Students will then draw a grid (pie style) on their pieces, and LIGHTLY in their circles on the paper.
Redraw each section in the circles onto the larger circles.
To enlarge: Grid with ½ inch squares on the small paper, and grid with 1 inch squares on the large paper.
Add color with oil pastels. Stress blending with a blending stump or paper towels, and getting all the way to edges of the lines to prevent auras.
HAVE FUN!!

Saturday, October 7, 2017

Clay Busts

Process of Project

Materials List
Scrap wood
Screws
Newspaper
Masking Tape
Clay (I use Continental Clay Buff Stoneware LINK)
Clay tools
Glazes

Screw together armature pieces, wide and long for the bottom, and long and skinny on top (see below image)

Start with a theme for the students to research and sketch. Themes help give the students a place to start.

Themes I've used:

Monsters
Extreme Faces (Snapchat faces)
Anthropomorphic Creatures

Students create a series of sketches

Front
Back
Side

Consider what is an add on, and what is attached

Add ons

Horns
Ears
Eyelids
Lips
Eyeballs (etc)

Attached

Nose
Mouth
Cheekbones

Begin building on the armature

Armatures are two pieces of scrap wood screwed together.

The longer the top piece is the taller/bigger that the pieces will be.

Add a layer of newspaper wrapped around the pole, but DON'T TAPE IT TO THE ARMATURE.
Use tape to put loose wads of newspaper into the general form of the bust. Do not tape the whole thing all over. It will be impossible to remove at the end.

Shoulders
Neck
Head
Attached features

Roll out slabs of clay and begin building from the bottom up.

Slip & Score EVERYTHING together

Attach add on features

Horns
Ears
Eyelids
Lips
Eyeballs (etc)

To create clay realistic eyes see video here

LINK (IN PROGRESS)

Add texture to the clay as needed
Let dry to not QUITE leather hard
Remove armature and newspaper

You CAN leave newspaper in there to burn off- BUT it could cause issues with carbon build up in the kiln and that gives you less life in the kiln elements. I usually try to pull out as MUCH as possible.

Let dry until BONE DRY

This usually takes AT LEAST a week or more.

Bisque Fire- SLOWLY

Put in the kiln GENTLY (I have broken a piece because I wasn't as careful as I should have been, and my projects tend to be HUGE. 1-2 pieces per kiln load!)
I usually candle the pieces for 12 hours before the firing process to ensure all the moisture is out.
FIRE SLOWLY