Today's Class- We began our study of art for real today, with some exercises in line drawing. We started with few dozen slides of historical art, discussing the use of line from prehistory through the late 20th century. Then we did exercises involving contour line- an introduction for those with little or no art experience, and a review for more experienced artists. I also distributed the museum assignment.
How to make this up- Select a shoe. Use your 18" x 24" paper to do several line sketches of your shoe using the pencil of your choice. You may have multiple shoes on the same page, and even use the back of the sheet if you want. Spend 20 minutes doing exterior contour line sketches, just the outer silhouette of the shoe, as in the example above on the left. Pay attention to the details of the edges, the proportion of height to length and front to back, the curve over the toes, and the relative position of different shoe parts. Most did 3 or 4 in the 20 minutes. Then use the same shoe and do one more drawing, this time also drawing interior lines, such as laces, the line between sole and upper, etc, like the above drawing on the right. Again spend 20 minutes on the one drawing. Then select another object of similar size, such as a hat with a brim, a small tea kettle, a hand tool (hammer, wrench, etc), or a wine glass. Using the same paper, draw the object once, still using pencil line only, paying attention to the same concerns as we use in the shoe drawings, once again spending about 20 minutes.
These are portfolio exercises and must be made up by the end of the semester to receive full credit.
Homework- You will need to take a trip to our library on campus to visit two art shows. A) Pass through the main entrance, into the lobby, and then look for the doors on the left. This is the Human Rights Institute. There is an exhibition in the gallery called Advocacy Quilts, in which different groups of people from places around the world created quilts to tell people about issues they faced. Choose three of the quilts, and on each quilt, one of the individual panels that tells a story. In your sketchbook, use pencil line to to reproduce the basic composition of the panel- the shapes within and the space around it. One such drawing per page. B) Go back to the lobby and through the doors into the library. Make a quick right, just before you reach the StarBucks, and enter the Nancy Dryfoos Gallery. There is an exhibition called Cosplay in America, large color photos of people engaging in cosplay, the tradition of dressing in costumes of favorite cartoon, comic book, sci-fi, and fantasy characters, and gathering with like-minded individuals. Again using pencil line in your sketchbook, choose three of the photos and do sketches of objects used as parts of the costume. The homework is due at the beginning of class on February 11, 2013.
The Human Rights Institute is open noon to 7 pm on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, noon to 4 pm on Wednesday and Friday. The Nancy Dryfoos Gallery is open 10 am to 8 pm on Monday to Thursday, 10 am to 5 pm on Friday and Saturday, and 1 pm to 5 pm on Sunday.
For next class 2/11/13- We will discuss the basics of composition. Bring your 18" x 24" pad, sketchbook, pencil and eraser, and black markers.
