Art II: Contour Line

Contour Lines focus on the outside edges and inside surface ridges of an object. Most contour line drawings are done using continual lines, or not picking up your pen while drawing. Because contour line drawings are often continual, the can sometimes be best described as "drawing in cursive". The main purposes of contour line drawings are to keenly observe an object and to  help students focus on the details of an object specifically.

After a few days of practice, the Art II students created contour line drawings of a still like of their choosing. In order to create a more interesting final project, prior to drawing, students used tissue paper color transfer to add vibrant color to their page and create an almost paint-like effect. Below are some of the best examples of the project - please forgive the poor photo quality... my bad.

6th Grade Art - Elements of Art Posters

The first year of middle school art is full of new things. For the first time, students get to come to ART everyday and therefore they can really spend some time learning about and building their art skills. As an overall introduction to the super-important Elements of Art, our 6th graders worked in groups to research one Art Element and then made a presentation to the class about their assigned element. Before the battery on my camera died, I was able to capture a few in photos.

The Elements of Art include:

• Color: produced when light rays reflect off an object
• Line: any mark, that has greater length than width, made by an art material
• Shape: objects having only height and width
• Form: objects showing 3-D
• Space: the distance between and around objects
• Texture: how something feels or looks like it would feel
• Value: the lightness or darkness of color

Art II - Rock STAARs

Our school-wide theme for this year is "Rock STAAR" which refers to ournew state assessment test. Throughout our school, teachers have created guitars that represent themselves. In order to show the teachers who the real artists in school are the Art II students were challenged to create public art pieces that reflected the school theme.

First, we looked at images of public artwork throughout the US and Canada. Then, in groups, students came up with an idea for a rock star, posed the shot, and took a digital photo. Groups transfered the image outline onto paper and added color and details using magazine collage. Our final results turned out looking great in the halls!

... and here are some of the original pictures the groups created. See if you can match them to the final projects above:

The things a teacher does for his students...

New year in the ART DepARTment

Amazingly enough we are almost a month into school at this point for 2011-2012. Things are moving along in ART and projects are underway. Check back often for updates on what the awesome artists in Mr. Temple's classes are doing.