ART: WEEK 1

Home-work for the week of  August 20-26, 2015
Assignments Due: August 27, 2015

Remember, if you have any questions about these assignments,
please contact Mrs. Z at mrsz@gmx.com. Don't wait until it's too late!

NEW!!!
Since we were unable to cover this in class as much as I had hoped, please take a few minutes BEFORE you start your homework assignments to PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO. This video is also by Matt Fussell (we watched his "Graphite" video in class today). In this video, Mr. Fussell addresses a similar topic with "Positive Space" and "Negative Space." Be sure to apply this knowledge when you do your drawings this week.




INSPIRATION
Read pages 13-19 in Art and the Bible by Francis Schaeffer. Be sure to highlight or copy down any quotes that resonate with you, and be ready to share your insights in class.

VOCABULARY
(We don't have much vocabulary this week...enjoy!)

• Active Space 
• Inactive Space
• Graphite Scale

TIPS & TECHNIQUES
Videos to watch this week:

"How to Hold & Control Your Pencil" (8 minutes) 

"How To Draw with Justin BUA - Pencils: Sharpening" (12 minutes)

* UNDER A PARENT'S SUPERVISION, feel free to sharpen a pencil like this. Don't start with one of your art pencils. Start with a regular pencil until you get the hang of it. Then sharpen one of your graphite pencils to a point leaving up to 3/4" exposed. The sandpaper pointer was delayed in shipping, but I will have them for you next week. If you wish, you could use a regular piece of sandpaper in the meantime. 

"How To Critique" (7 minutes)

* We will be talking more about art criticism as we go through the semester, and we will spend a few minutes each week critiquing our work. This is a brief introduction to get us started in the process. :)

PRACTICE DRAWING
Pay attention to the elements of art and space in each of your drawings this week. You should spend at least 30 minutes on each drawing.

DAY ONE:  Assuming the weather is cooperative, head outside and draw a scene. Seek out a scene with active and inactive spaces. Clearly incorporate both types of space in your drawing.

DAY TWO: Draw a face from a photograph, or look at your face in a mirror and draw what you see.

DAY THREE: Setup a group of simple objects and draw them paying close attention to how they fill the space of the page. Think about this BEFORE you begin drawing. For example, if the group of objects is tall, turn your paper vertically. Be sure to fill the page with your drawing, but make sure you leave inactive (or less active) spaces around active spaces to balance your drawing. * Use a mid-range pencil such as HB or 2H.

DAY FOUR: Read the following passage from "St. George and the Dragon." Then imagine one of the scenes described in the passage and draw it. Feel free to do some research on dragons or dragon-like creatures in order to get an idea how to draw the dragon. Or use your imagination. It's your drawing!  such as lizards, snakes, or artist's drawings of dinosaurs in nature, magazines, story books, non-fiction books, encyclopedias, science text books, etc.

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Excerpt from
“St. George and the Dragon”
Retold by J. Berg Esenwein and Marietta Stockard

“Lead the way, brave Princess. Show me where this monster may be found.”

            When the Princess saw St. George’s flashing eyes and great, strong arm as he drew forth his sword, she felt afraid no more. Turning, she led the way to a shining pool.

            “There’s where he stays,” she whispered. “See, the water moves. He is waking.”

            St. George saw the head of the dragon lifted from the pool. Fold on fold he rose from the water. When he saw St. George he gave a roar of rage and plunged toward him. The smoke and flames flew from his nostrils, and he opened his great jaws as if to swallow both the knight and his horse.

            St. George shouted, and waving his sword above his head, rode at the dragon. Quick and hard came the blows from St. George’s sword. It was a terrible battle.

            At last the dragon was wounded. He roared with pain and plunged at St. George, opening his great mouth close to the brave knight’s head.

            St. George looked carefully, then struck with all his strength straight down through the dragon’s throat, and he fell at the horse’s feet—dead.

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And just so you've got it... here's the work of art we examined in class this week:

Young Knight in a Landscape by Vittore Carpaccio

Here's the Wikipedia article about this piece, if you're interested. ;)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Knight_in_a_Landscape