New Lessons/Projects

Artifact 5

Art 807

Sara Hyatt

I am going to use this opportunity to create an art lesson wish list, a list of projects or art education
methods I would use if I was fearless and had a generous budget.

1. Choice-based Art Education

a. I am already implementing this, somewhat. Instead of centers, I provide students will a
few options for solving a specific art problem. Due to limited space, these supplies are
all set out on their tables and the can choose from them or even use multiple materials
and methods.
b. Here is the go-to set up for Choice-based Art Education centers as suggested by Cassidy
Reinken from the Art of Education website.
i. Label Supplies and give them a home.
ii. Provide an example photo of the supplies show students how they should look
when returned.
iii. Decide how supplies will be organized and share it with the students so they are
clear on the expectations.
iv. Use small baskets and containers for the organization.
v. Organize classroom by centers, i.e. collage, drawing, ceramics, painting, fibers,
sculpture, art history, technology. Decide what centers will be permanent and
what will rotate.
vi. Make posters that display and explain expectations, procedures, and examples.
vii. Create procedures and expectations for cleanup and independent work time.
Also, act as a monitor during work time and cleanup to ensure the expectations
are being upheld.
2. Sculpture
a. Something I would love to do is supply my students with a myriad of sculpture materials
and allow for ample time and space for experimentation and creation. This activity
would be for the mere sensory enjoyment of touching, designing, experimenting and
building. The result of the project would be free-form sculptures that teach students to
think and design in the third dimension. I don’t feel like my students get enough
opportunity to try new things with the anticipation of a possible failure followed by
design improvement and perseverance. I also find that my classes tend to overemphasis
two dimension art forms.
b. Outline of Free Form Sculpture Lesson
i. Art Problem: How will I use art materials to create a successful three-
dimensional sculpture.
ii. Brainstorm and sketch several ideas after being shown the materials available
and examples of free-form sculptures in art history.
iii. Discuss: Why would artists want to create in this fashion. Share brainstorm
ideas and sketches
iv. Create Asymmetric, abstract, non-representational sculptures.
v. Vocabulary: free-form, abstract, asymmetrical,
nonobjective/nonrepresentational
vi. Sculptures techniques: Scoring, cutting, folding, gluing, attaching
vii. Finishing: choosing color and or embellishments to complete the work.
3. Large Scale Collaboration
a. So, I sort of did this while I was doing my elementary school teaching, but it was really
just my first attempt at finding something for students to do if they finished with their
project early and we still needed to wait for the rest of the class to catch up. In that
situation I set out a large Miro-esque drawing on butcher paper and let students fill in
the empty spaces as they liked, 3 or 4 of them working together to complete the image.
What I would really like to do is to take this to the next level and have whole class
projects that look more like murals, or at least the size of a mural. There is something
very different about the outcome of collaborative work than the usually independent
art projects. Students communicate differently, they tend to be more considerate about
their choices and turn to each other for suggestions and help.
b. For this project, I have turned to the advice of artist Meri Cherry and her website
www.mericherry.com. The examples come from the same source.
i. Paper is important – she suggests using Double Sided Drop Cloth that can be
purchased from the hardware store in the paint section. It comes in brown and
white and has a plastic backing on the back. They are cheap and easy to cut.
 ii. Start with sharpies on the plastic side. Make this the contour of important
images.
iii. Turn the mural over and use chalk pastels first, followed by oil pastels, and then
liquid watercolors. Use dropper for the watercolors for a cool dyed effect.
Tempera paint can also be used.
iv. After all wet materials are dry attach mixed media papers and found materials
for embellishments.
v. These steps should be done in stages as a process, not all at once. Demonstrate
how each material would work to enhance the mural.
4. Acrylic Painting on Canvas
a. Budgetary restrictions keep me from pursuing a lesson that involves acrylic paints on
canvas, but I would love to allow my kids to this because they always feel like “real”
artists when they get to use these materials.
 b. For this go-to lesson, I will be offering tips on teaching acrylic painting on canvas on a
budget. These tips come from Lee Hammond from the Artists Network and Deby Coles
from www.acrylicpouring.com
i. Use economy paints (Sargent, Sax True Flow) or even craft paint
ii. Recycle plastic cups, bottles and any container with a lid for saving and reusing
paints
iii. Use popsicles stick for mixing or even painting and wash them and reuse them
iv. Check the dollar store for trays that can be used for paint pallets, such as
deviled egg trays, make sure they have a slick plastic surface.
v. Considering using inexpensive cosmetic brushes and used sable brushes from
the local nail salon.
vi. Be vigilant about keeping supplies clean and well maintained.
vii. An alternative to stretch canvas use canvas panels or canvas pads.
5. Clay Stomp
a. In my hometown of Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin I was always jealous of my friend Kati who
went to Purdy Elementary School because she got to participate in a clay stomp.
Ceramicist Joel Pfeiffer came to her school, laid out large sheets of plastic and had the
whole school mix dry clay ingredients into wet clay for a ceramic sculpture they would
create for the school.
b. Directions for this project
i. Contact Mr. Pfeiffer, invite him to be a guest artist
617 East Capitol Drive
Hartland, Wisconsin 53029
(262)844-7173
E-mail: joelpfeiffer44@gmail.com
ii. Retrieve supplies, large plastic sheets, dry clay ingredients, water, hose
iii. Prepare the land by removing any sharp objects
iv. Decide on collaborative mural or sculpture outcome
v. Teach ceramics lesson based on collaborative mural or sculpture
6. Mono Printing
a. I don’t know why I have never done this, I watched my cooperative teacher in
undergraduate school teach this and I loved it. There are so many opportunities for
experimentation, trial and error, textures and the actual production process is so quick
and gratifying. I remember her finishing the prints off with gold leaf for embellishment
which was a fantastic final touch.
b. Activity Directions
i. Discuss the definition of monoprint and how each image produced is one of a
kind, discuss the addictive and subtractive qualities.
 ii. Show and tell the vast materials that are used for monoprinting: printing plate,
ink or paint, palette, ink roller, baren, rags, brushes, erasers, q-tips, cut board
paper, printing paper, and material to prepare printing paper such as tissue
paper, and glue.
iii. Demonstrate basic techniques, reminding students that they are really more like
suggestions and that they should experiment.
iv. Discuss finished works in terms of textures and images, and what techniques
worked and didn’t work.
7. Digital Photography
a. It seems like these days everyone has access to a camera and as an art educator it would
be a disservice to my students to educate them in the art of photography. I have
 allowed my art club in the past to take and print photos but I have never conducted a
full-on digital photography lesson.
b. Directions for activity
i. Give a brief history of photography. There is some pretty cool stuff there, like
Victorian post-mortem photography
ii. Discuss lighting – early mornings and just before dusk, sunlight direction,
shadows.
iii. Discuss composition – good photos are made not snapped and are a result of a
good photographer. Focus on the important parts of the composition, and hold
the camera steady by holding your arm against your body or propping the
camera up.
iv. Take lots of pictures from a lot of angles – do the photo dance – shoot, step to
the right, shoot step to the left, etc. This will help find the best shot. Instruct
them to get close and then get closer and rotate the camera.
v. Introduce the rules of thirds and place important compositional elements at one
or more of the intersections. This helps create foreground, middle ground, and
background.
vi. Demonstrate how to use photo editing tools to enhance photos. Today’s
phones have an almost unlimited amount of editing tools. Suggest they try a lot
and get creative.