Abstract Color Wheel

Students learned how to paint the 12 colors of the color wheel.  Primary = yellow, red, blue.  Secondary = orange, green, violet.  Tertiary = yellow-orange, red-orange, red-violet, blue-violet,

blue-green, yellow-green.  Students were able to creatively choose any shapes they wanted for the abstract color wheel.  Balance was an important part of our discussion.

 

 

Students then began to decorate the background by drawing shapes to fill the space.

 

 

Students then learned about the drawing techniques hatching and cross-hatching.  They started by making a light layer of hatching in each shape.  They also learned about value and how different values of light and dark can be created with these drawing techniques.

 

 

 Students then learned that creating a variety of values from light to dark can be accomplished by changing several factors of the hatching and cross-hatching.  There are three main factors that help create a variety of values: 1. spacing of the lines 2. the amount of layers of line (cross-hatching) 

3. the thickness of line.

 

 

Students then worked with balancing their values of light, medium, and dark evenly in the background.  Students also learned how this created contrast in two ways: 1. the variety of light to dark in the background 2. the difference between the intense colors of the color wheel against the neutral values of the background.

 

 



Featured Artists: One Point Perspective (Vol. 2)

 Ashley V.

 

 

 

 Alicia O.

 

 

 

 Ally O.

 

 

 

 Evan W.

 

 

 

 Elizabeth C.

 

 

 

 Emma S.

 

 

 

 Abby N.

 

 

 

 Aidan F.

 

 

 

 Keegan D.

 

 

 

 

Emilee K.

 

 

Alyssa F.

Featured Artist: One Point Perspective (Vol. 1)

Ayden C.

Isabel W.

Kyle D.

Ally C.

Alexa M.

Owen E.

Ari H.

Jess W.

Delanie R.

Arthur M.

Gabbi D.

Reygan H.



One Point Perspective

One point perspective is a great way to draw an optical illusion.  The illusion of 3D form on a flat 2D surface creates the optical illusion of space and depth. There are many steps to this project.  First students had to draw a horizon line in the middle of the page, then add a vanishing point in the center of that time.  Next, students added their shapes which takes four steps:

1. Draw the shape you want.
2. Connect open corners from the shape to the vanishing point.
3. Draw parallel lines in each side to end the shape.
4. Erase the extra guidelines between the shape and the vanishing point.

During this process we also talked about different types of balance in art.  All artwork has some kind of balance.  In this project, we wanted to create even balance.  Students were challenged to make enough shapes to fill in the letters of their name and to balance those shapes to achieve even balance.  Students also learned how to make their block or bubble letters "fit" into the shapes.

Next, we addressed the background.  We wanted a pattern in the background to visually separate the 3D shapes from the background, and to make the background interesting to look at.  Students began with some lines to break up the background into an even number of spaces, all intersecting the vanishing point.  Then students could select whichever shapes they wanted to draw to overlap the background lines.  This set up an interesting background that could be colored as a pattern.  Once this was done, students traced all these lines with sharpie.

Finally, students learned about some color theory.  Warm colors are perceived to come out towards us as viewers and cool colors are perceived to recede away from us as viewers.  Obviously, to enhance the optical illusion, students learned to use warm colors in the 3D shapes/letters and cool colors in the patterned background.  Using color in this way really helps to visually separate the 3D shapes from the background.

One Point Perspective in Progress!

We have been learning a lot in our one point perspective unit, much more than just learning how to draw shapes in 3D!  Throughout this until students also learn about balance, pattern, color theory (warm/cool colors), and the importance of craftsmanship in their art work.

Here's the order of learning in this unit:

1. One point perspective, making 3D shapes on a flat 2D surface.
2. Balance, spreading shapes around evenly on the viewing surface.
3. Pattern, developed in the background.
4. Color, warm colors vs. cool colors.
5. Craftsmanship, very important from start to finish!

Welcome to 6th grade art!

Welcome to 6^th Grade Art 2012-2013

Dear Students and Parents,

This year in 6^th grade, every student takes art class.  I am very excited and honored to have the opportunity to lead students though the 6^th grade art curriculum.  I have a few things I would like to share with you about what our year in art will look like.

1.      Goals: (A few of my goals for the year).

a.      Create a fun and positive learning environment for each student.

b.      Challenge each student to think, problem-solve, be creative, and grow.

c.       Share my love and passion for art (hopefully it becomes contagious).

d.      Enhance each student’s artistic vocabulary/understanding of the art elements and principles.

e.      Clearly communicate weekly through family access and share pictures on the 6^th grade art blog.

2.      Expectations: (A few things I appreciate from students in the art room).

a.      Come to art class prepared with a pencil each session.

b.      Come with a positive attitude and willingness to work.

c.       Come ready to give your best and use art time to its fullest! 

3.      Pacing:

a.      Each class comes to art once a week, which is 35 times this year.  Once you factor in snow days, days off, assemblies, band/choir concerts etc… we may have less than that original 35.

b.      Please be patient (everyone).  Many of our projects take four or more sessions to complete, so as we only meet once a week, that translates to a month or longer for most of our projects.

c.       There may be long stretches of time where student artwork will be at school.  All artwork will be sent home by the end of the year.

d.      Overall, we move slowly but produce high quality work!

4.      Classroom Behavior: (With time at such a premium, I have high expectations for student behavior).

a.      Positive attitude, positive participation, and positive comments.

b.      Use work time in a productive manner, try your best, and do not give up!

c.       Respect each other and the classroom.

5.      Grades: (I use the traditional 4.0 letter grade system).

a.      I grade based on two things: The artwork and participation/effort.

b.      Each time a student is in class, they earn or lose up to five points.  At the end of the marking period, these points are tallied and count as a project grade.  This is the participation/effort grade.

c.       I grade the artwork based on several factors:

                                                              i.      The main learning objectives of the project.

                                                            ii.      Craftsmanship, this is how neat and orderly the artwork is.

                                                          iii.      Use of class time, I analyze if students are “on task” and how well they use work time.

                                                           iv.      Effort/attitude (listening, following directions, helping during clean up, etc…)

6.      Homework: (There is usually no homework).

a.      There may be a writing assignment or two sent home as homework, an information sheet will accompany any such assignments.

7.      Make-up Work: (If you are a slow artist or miss an art session, there are many ways to catch up).

a.      All assignments in each marking period must be completed before grades are due, that is usually one week before the end of the marking period.

                                                              i.      Connect time.  Just get a pass from Mr. VandenBerg and come work.

1.      East = Tuesdays

2.      North = Thursdays

                                                            ii.      Before or after school.  I make myself available before or after school on Monday thru Thursday.  Please officially schedule ahead of time to ensure I do not have a time conflict of some kind.

1.      East = Mondays and Tuesdays

2.      North = Wednesdays and Thursdays

                                                          iii.      Lunch time.  Again, please schedule ahead of time so I know you are coming.

1.      East = Mondays and Tuesdays

2.      North = Wednesdays and Thursdays

 8.    Project Outlook: (A quick look at our units).

·         1 point perspective drawing

·         Color: abstract color wheel and color scheme painting

·         Pottery: Native American Indian pinch pots

·         Printmaking: Designing a cover for an autobiography

·         Cubism: Art history and an abstract self-portrait

·         Realistic observational drawing

Thanks for reading!  I look forward to a great year!

 Sincerely,

Mr. VandenBerg

6^th Grade Art Teacher

I have purposely left many of last year's posts up so you can see a few previews of what we will be doing this year.

Featured Artists: Autobiography Covers

Sydney M.

Rose S.

Cole H.

Kendrah H.

Sarah M.

Printmaking Autobiography Book Covers

Printmaking:
For the printmaking unit, students created a book cover for what would have been an autobiography.  Obviously we did not have the time to write such a big book, but students contemplated their lives and came up with imagery that said something about themselves.  Then students learned about printmaking.  They did several proof prints experimenting with color and placement. 

Then students brainstormed and creatively titled their autobiography.  Next, students selected their best proof to add the title on using block letters or bubble letters.  Finally, students used value to shade a variety of light and dark in their titles.

Featured Artists: Color Scheme Painting

Calli P.

Beckett V.

 




Trent J.


 

Jennifer S.

Madison T.

Heath D.

Erin M.

Dom S.

Raven W.

Spencer J.