2/24/17 Mentor Sequence II

A bit of our meeting today was spent discussing options for showing text in a black and white woodcut, and since I had also brought in photocopy book of the whole Fourth of July series, below are some examples of different ways lettering was used in that project.  All are woodblocks, images carved in the 1/4" luaun plywood- actual prints about 5" x 8".

typed philosophy paper receives an A grade

The capital C in the background is because this was the 100th print in the series

 On this day I wore a t-shirt that had the name of an old school printed in Chinese on the front.

Spending a day of my spring break, working on my income taxes.

Homework- For next week's class, I want to see the first block completely finished and progress made on the 2nd block.

2/24/17 Intro to Art

Today's Class- More color today, with some basic exercises in color theory.  After looking at a few dozen slides of color art through the ages, the students produced a 12 step color wheel, and then exercises in complimentary color mixing and tints and shades.

How to make this up-  

One page of your 18"x24" pad will be enough for everything, as in this example above.  The circle is an example of a color wheel, a way of organizing and displaying the relationships of colors.  The 8 squares with red and green are showing the effects of mixing two complementary colors.  The line of green boxes show tints and shades of a color from white to black.  Additional examples and detailed instructions can be found here.

This is a portfolio exercise that can be made up for full credit any time before the end of the semester.

Homework- The written research paper on your chosen art history topic is due at the beginning of class next week.


For next class 3/3/17- The topic will be photography.  After we look at the history of photography, I'll hand out an assignment that you'll have a few weeks to complete on your own.  We will use some of the remaining class time to visit some other art on campus.  You may leave your art materials home.

2/17/17- Mentor Sequence II

Today's Class- Today the syllabus was finally distributed and reviewed.  We discussed a wide range of tools and what each can offer, looked at different brands and styles of print paper, and looked at some actual wood blocks and prints to see how various textures and values were created.

different stages of a detail of a large scale portrait piece, from pencil line to ink wash value to cut and printed block

Homework- for next week I want to see some simple sketches of planned pieces, plus latest progress on blocks started so far.

2/17/17 Intro to Art

Today's Class- Today was our first look at color.  After looking at examples of monumental flat art from history (large scale art from pubic places, permanently on the wall, floor, or ceiling), we started the next portfolio assignment, a mosaic style collage from and using magazine photos.  I also reviewed artist/artwork choices for anyone who had brought with them their plans for their research assignment.

How to make this up- Select a color photograph of a real three dimensional subject (object, person, landscape, etc), and do a basic line sketch of the image on a page in your 18"x 24" pad, either selecting a 6" x 6" portion or a 9" x 4" portion.  (you may crop the image to fit those parameters, or go larger if you want)  The photo should also be attached to the same page. Then you will try to match the colors of everything in the photo as close as possible using small pieces of colored paper cut from magazines, no bigger than 1/4".  Glue them in place.  Below is an example from a previous semester.

Additional student examples may be seen here.  This is a portfolio exercise and can be made up any time before the end of the semester for full credit.


Homework- The research assignment on your chosen topic is due at the beginning of class on March 3, 2017.  If you haven't yet checked with me about your choice of artists and artworks, I suggest you do so soon, by e-mail or in class next week.  You are not required to do so as part of your grade, but it you choose inappropriate things to analyze, that's on you.

For next class 2/24/17- We begin color for real, with some basic color theory, executed using your watercolor paints.  Bring your 18" x 24" pad, set of watercolor paints, brush(es), mixing palette, a water container, and pencil.  I will lead you through the exercise from start to finish.

2/10/17 Intro to Art

Today's Class- Today the main topic was the formal issue of value and its use in fine art.  Value is the use of light and dark, which can be used in two dimensional art to describe local appearance, to imply three dimensional space, to show texture, to focus attention, to demonstrate time of day, and many other things.  I showed a few dozen slides of historical art, from the ancient world to the 20th century, examples of all these concepts.  This was followed by our latest portfolio exercise, value drawing using charcoal.  Students who missed last week had the opportunity to choose topics for the research assignment.

How to make this up- You will need to set up a suitable still life.  Place a box on top of a table and drape with a white or light colored sheet.  Place on top of the box three white or light colored objects and light the whole set up with a directional light, creating patterns of light and shadow on the whole still life.  Draw the whole thing using charcoal, trying to match the value of the objects as closely as possible.  Background value tones can be whatever you want.

Above is a student example of charcoal value drawing from a previous semester.  More instructions and an additional student example can be found here.  

This is a portfolio exercise that can be made up  for full credit any time before the end of the semester.

Homework- I am requesting a list of three artists and an artwork from each to be subject of your written research assignment, to be turned in for 2/17/17.  This is to make sure that you will be writing the papers about artists and artworks appropriate to your chosen topic.  The completed papers will be due on 3/3/17.

For next class 2/17/17- We will begin a new project, our first dealing with color.  The assignment is a mosaic/collage, reproducing a color image from a magazine photo using small pieces of color from other magazine photos, similar in effect to the way mosaics build images from small pieces of colored stone or tile.  Below are some student examples from a previous semester.

You will need your 18" x 24" pad, pencil and eraser, scissors and glue.  I have some magazines, but you are welcome to bring more that you don't mind cutting up.

2/3/17 Intro to Art

Today's Class-  We continued our study of line, this time moving from last week's contour line drawings to a focus on negative space and how it works in drawing.  Everyone present completed two exercises that made use of the concept- first an exclusively negative space drawing of a wooden chair, then using negative space to aid in the drawing of bottles.

How to make this up-  These are portfolio exercises that need to be made up sometime before the end of the semester.  Examples of both and the specific instructions can be found here.


Homework- Nothing new, but students in class today had the opportunity to choose their topic for the research assignment from a provided list of options.  Each student should submit a list of three chosen artists from that specific movement and a work from each by February 17, 2017.  Assuming they are approved, the paper itself will be due on March 3, 2017.  The specifics of this assignment were on the paper handed out today in class, and those not present today can get that from me next week.


For next class 2/10/17- We move on to value in drawing- the use of light and dark in two dimensional art.  Bring your 18"x24" pad of drawing paper, drawing charcoal, and kneaded eraser.  I recommend wearing black or dark colored clothes, as charcoal can be messy at times.  I will provide the subject for the drawing exercise.