Finding Art Outside

Andy Goldsworthy is an artist. He doesn't use paints or paper. He builds with nature. He would get up in the morning and have breakfast with his children. He would then kiss his wife goodbye and go off to work. He would go to the park, the forest or the ocean and look for artistic possibilities. He patiently waited for something to inspire him. Then he would begin to build. He would use his hands, teeth and found tools to prepare and arrange materials. 

Today, he lives in Scotland and continues to create art from nature. He photographs his work. 

Just look at his work! I am interested in what you think!

 

What kind of objects from nature can you find on the playground or walking  home from school? If you find some inspiring objects, you can bring them to school to be arranged and photographed. 

OR...

Maybe something that you see would inspire a painting or a drawing. You might want to do a little sketch so that you can remember it. If you do not have a sketch book, you could make one in the collage studio. It is pretty handy to have a sketch book. You never know when you will see something that  you would like to document so that you can go back later to look at it and think about it again.

 

So...

My big message to you is this...don't let a single day go by without using your art eyes outside. Notice something about nature... the shape of a leaf, the color of the sky, the texture of bark, the moving clouds or how the outside world smells. It is good for your brain, your soul and your body.  You are part of nature.

What Kind Of A Building Would A Poet Live In?

 

 Today we are talking about new ways to think and build in the architecture studio...

 When my daughter Brynne was a little girl she would draw plans for rooms. She would draw on scraps of paper and I would find these little plans all over the house.

 She is a grown woman now and lives in New York City. She is doing the same thing that she did when she was a little girl...she is designing spaces. She practiced a lot when she was young. What do you like to practice? You just might use those skills when you grow up!

An idea...

Maybe you can build something with a different concept/idea. Here are some questions: 

 

What kind of a building would a poet live in? 

 

 

How about a...

 mountain climber

 

astronomer

 

chef

artist

 

musician

  Look what Benji created...a home for a gardener. The inside was created to look like a big flower. There is a wide entrance with gates opening up to the flower inside. 

 

What other kind of person can you think of? 

Think about where this person's building would be ...woods, city, by the ocean, mountains. How many rooms, how many windows. Why? How will those rooms help them be who they are? 

 

Some people are building tiny houses.

 Why do you think they would want to do that?

 What are the advantages and disadvantages? 

 Could you design one? 

What is the advantage of a  house on wheels?

You can draw your idea one day and build from your plan or blueprint the next art day. 

We can display a photo from your building day with your drawing/plan/blueprint. 

Could you draw a blueprint and make furniture for it that you could move around? 

Maybe you will come up with some ideas!

 

Picasso One Liners

 Today we will be learning a skill that you can use in the

 Drawing Studio

 There is a French word contour...it means outline. 

A contour drawing will show an outline of an object, like this daisy flower.

Do you see any detail in this contour drawing?

 

 A continuous contour line drawing is where the pencil stays on the paper until the object is completed.  The artist never picks it up...it is a continuous line...keeps going. 

The famous Spanish painter, Pablo Picasso made continuous contour drawings. They were called one liners because the were created using just one line! 

 Here are a few examples of his one liners!

When you want to have fun at home, look up Pablo Picasso and see more of his one liners and then look at some of his other work too.  Much of Picasso's work was very rich in line. Here is an example of one of his many paintings.

You can practice using continuous line drawings in the drawing studio. You can do a painting  and use line in your composition.

 

 

Big Idea...an artist feels more confident about drawing when she practices. 

  Try drawing the same thing ten times...think about how you feel when you are finished. 

 

 Key Stage 2

 Blind contour is where the artist looks at an object and draws without looking at the paper. He might look down at the paper to add a small detail such as an eye. His eyes are only on the object that he is drawing...looking very closely.

Watch me...I will show you. Who would like to be my model?

 

 

 

 This is something that is fun to practice in your Artifact Book.

Be brave...go where you have never gone before!

I have a challenge for you...

 Go to a studio that is difficult for you. Now you might say, "Why would I want to do that"?

BECAUSE....

Trying new things is scary, but it keeps us from being bored.
You might find out that you like doing that "difficult" thing.
We learn new things by challenging what we already think...(maybe you don't like green beans, but some day you might)!
Trying new things makes us feel better about ourselves...more confident.

Trying something new requires courage and bravery because the thought of something new makes us feel unsafe. 

 

The most important thing is this...

when you feel brave about one thing it makes you feel brave about other things. 

 

So, try a new studio...dip your toes into the water...just try it, you might like it!

 

In Art we say, "You must be brave to be an Artist". 

 

 Here is an image (poster) that gives the message to be brave.

A poster is a printed artwork that can be "posted" to a wall. When an artist designs a poster she may use text (letters/words) and an image (picture). 

 

  Often, it is hard to write the text on a large art sheet...here is an idea to make good, readable text. 

 

Using a ruler, draw a line where you want the top of your letters to be and a line where you want the bottom of your letters to be. These lines are called guide lines. They guide us where we want our letters to be.

Draw your letters to fit the space...

There are many different kinds of letters that you can make. We call them fonts. My favorite is Helvetica. Often you see signs using this font because it is easily read.

Here are some other fonts. A computer can show you different kinds of fonts. 

Do you have an idea for a poster you would like to make? Is there something you would like to tell people? Think about what kind of font you might use. 

You could start your ideas in the drawing studio and then take them to the collage or painting studio. If you think of ideas at home, write or draw them on a piece of paper and bring them to school. We can staple them into your Artifact Book.

Key Stage Two

 

If you make upper and lower case letters you will draw a line in the middle to guide you...

 

 

There is a cutting sheet in the drawing studio to show you how to cut Helvetica letters! I can help you get started.