Today's Class- Today's topic was the idea of rhythm, which can be applied to visual art as much as sounds. I talked a little about how rhythm can be found in relationships of shapes, colors, marks, spaces, objects, and other things that can be described visually, using terms that we use in describing audible rhythms that we might hear in music. Then the class did a portfolio exercise relating to the idea of visual rhythm, involving making visual representations of musical rhythms- or art based on sounds we hear.
How to make this up- I played recordings of various musics for the class, and had the students use watercolor paints to interpret the sounds visually, in the form of abstract representations of what they were hearing. They could choose any colors, shapes, or visual characteristics that they wanted, as long as there were no recognizable images of things. Here are some examples from past students:
Additional examples and the specifics of the class exercise can be found here.
This is a portfolio exercise that can be made up for full credit any time before the end the semester.
Homework- Nothing directly related to this assignment, but I reminded everyone that the rough draft of the museum assignment, our first graded item of the semester, is due at the start of our next class meeting- 3/29/16. I handed out additional copies of the museum assignment to anyone who needed one, and there is a simplified list of the questions available on this blog by clicking on the "museum assignment" link at the top of the home page. That also brings up a list of the pre-approved museums and active links to their websites. As with any graded assignment, there are penalties for submitting things after the deadline.
For next class 3/29/19- We are starting a new portfolio exercise, our last new one before the first graded art project of the semester. This next exercise relates to printmaking, a general medium that makes use of a created source to produce art. The class will be creating collagraphs, a printing plate built through the collaging of textural materials, which will eventually be rolled with ink and printed. This can't be done until the glue holding it all together is dry, so that step will have to wait for a later week. Meanwhile, here is an example of a collagraph plate and a resulting print. Note that the colors of the objects used to make the plate have no effect on the resulting artwork.
I will provide cardboard for the plate base and bring in a variety of materials that students may cut up and attach to the bases as part of creating their plate. The printing part of the process will be done a few weeks from now, so students will have the opportunity to add additional elements that could result in a preferred printed image. For next week bring scissors and white glue, with flat items possessing textures an option. We don't need the large pad of paper, so you can leave those home if you prefer.
