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Today's Class- Today was our first day of actually making art. We opened the semester with the idea of line, the most basic mark making we will do. We talked a little about the nature of line, and I showed a few dozen art historical slides, works that made use of line, covering from cave painting to the Renaissance to modernism. Then we did a series of portfolio exercises related to drawing with lines. The museum assignment was distributed.
How to make this up-
We used shoes as the subject, a very common starting point for drawing students. We spent a little time each on the concepts of exterior contour (the silhouette line), cross contour, blind contour, and full line drawing. Details about how to make these up, as well as student examples of the assignment, can be found here.
Homework- The museum assignment was distributed today. It is officially due on April 28, 2017, though it can be turned in sooner if you want to get it out of the way, and they will be accepted after that with a lateness penalty, up until the last day of class.
For next class 2/3/17- We will continue to study line, but this time with a focus on negative space and other things related to drawing multiple objects. I will also distribute the research/writing assignment.
Today's Class- Today was our first meeting of the semester. After verifying all in attendance as being officially on the rosters, the syllabus was reviewed. That was followed by having all the students fill out a brief survey about their artistic experience and interests. This was shared with everyone in the class, and then I used the same format to provide my background as an artist going back to my student days.
Homework- Nothing yet. I plan to give the museum assignment next week and the research assignment will probably be worked out in week 3.
For next class 1/27/17- We will begin our study of fine art with the line, one of the most basic types of mark making there is. I will show slides covering the history of art, works that give examples of how artists have made use of line. Most of the class period will be spent doing exercises in contour line. Bring your 18" x 24" drawing pad, a pencil, and eraser. Our subject will be shoes, a classic starting point for students learning to draw. I will have some to share, but may not have enough, or you may not like the ones I have, so I recommend bringing in a shoe from home. Closed shoes work better than sandals or flip flops. Style doesn't matter. Another option is to remove one of your own shoes to draw from, but you may prefer to just bring in an extra shoe of some kind.
This is the blog that I have set up for my classes at Kean. Each week I post information relevant to my classes that semester, and this spring that will be my sections of Intro to Art. The title of each post will include the name of the class and the date it is referring to. I expect to follow the same plan for both sections, so unless something unusual happens, both Friday meetings will be covered by one post. The text of the post will be in red. Posts that are not about the class, but about other college stuff or outside things, will be in black.
The posts will usually go up the evening following the class. They will include an overview of what happened in class, usually including images of student examples of the art projects worked on that day. I will also list any homework, and a list of materials needed for the following week.
This is not an online class and this blog is not considered a substitute for attending the class. It is meant to help registered students keep caught up. If for some reason you must miss a class, this site will provide timely information about what you missed and how to make it up. Even if you never miss a single class, you may find it useful to get reminders of the homework, or to when something is due, or just to check what you'll need for the next class meeting, as materials will be different almost every week. You might find it useful to see how other students approached the assignments. This site is up 24/7 and I find that most of the questions you'll have will be answered by items I have posted. If you have further questions relating to the class, you are welcome to e-mail me directly at my Kean box and I'll probably reply within 24 hours.
