Self-Portraits

Most of the Advanced class Self-Portraits are complete, and they are AMAZING! I couldn't be happier with the results. The portraits were created by manipulating a digital photo on Photoshop, gridding that photo, and drawing an enlarged version on canvas, then painting in acrylic paint, using values. The students chose to either do a monochromatic painting, or to break the painting into boxes of  more than one color.

The Clay is Rolling

All classes began working with clay last week. The regular art classes are working on wall pockets. They rolled out 2 slabs of clay and attached them together creating a pocket that can hang on the wall. These were then decorated using a variety of techniques including coils, stamps, textures, carvings and letters. These will make awesome Valentine's Day gifts! Maybe you will be the lucky recipient of one of these masterpieces.

The Advanced class is working on Thematic boxes in clay. Each student selected their own personal theme and designed a box using symbols and elements that reflect that theme. Box construction went well last week, and this week they will be adding on.

Hard Work Pays Off!

The results for this year's Scholastic Art Awards are here and our students did amazing! I am so proud of how hard they all have been working this year. They won 15 awards, including 3 Gold Keys. Congratulations to all the winners!

Avery, "Rockin' Spock", Honorable Mention

Aliah, "Boots", Silver Key

Isabella, "Bright Lights of the Chandelier", Silver Key

Isabella, "The Feeling of Fall", Honorable Mention

Isabella, "Sleigh's Song", Silver Key

Joe, "Shoes", Gold Key

Maddie, "Contrasting Pumpkins", Silver Key

Spencer, "Machine Head", Gold Key

Zoey, "Celestial", Gold Key

Zoey, "Vans", Silver Key

Sarah, "Skull", Honorable Mention

Zoey, "Zoey in Blue", Silver Key

Jessica, "My Skate", Honorable Mention

Joe, "Self-Portrait", Honorable Mention

Jessica, "Harvest", Honorable Mention

Happy New Year!

Welcome back after a long break! The Advanced Art students got right back to work today on their self-portrait paintings. To make these, the students took digital photos of themselves, then using Photoshop, manipulated the photos so they were broken into 7 values (shades of gray). A grid was applied to the photos and also to a larger piece of canvas, making the drawing easier to enlarge. Once drawn, the pictures were numbered with their corresponding values, and painting began. Students selected their own color schemes. The following pictures show the beginning of the paintings. These should be very interesting when complete. Although the paintings are abstract, you should still see a recognizable face if painted correctly.