Art, 7th and 8th grade

Seventh graders are currently working on self-portrait drawings that will eventually become a mixed media piece using several different materials for the final project. Currently students are learning to draw with a technique called "blind contour" drawing. This exercise focuses the attention on the subject rather than on the paper. Students look at themselves in mirrors but are "blinded" to their paper as their sketchbooks are inside of a paper bag. They draw themselves without being able to look at the actual drawing. While many of the students find this technique strange, their drawings actually show much more detail and visual interest. The goal is to learn the skill of observation, a necessity in being an artist!

Eighth graders have just begun a new unit focusing on one of the design elements, that of shape. Students are to chose an organic shape (a shape based on nature) , which will then be the basis for a "stained glass window" piece (although they will be using tissue paper rather than glass). Like the 7th graders, they are also practicing with blind contours drawings as a starting point. This type of drawing exercise is a review for them from last year. In the coming week students can expect to be transferring their drawings onto the "metal" (black paper).