Cubist Self-Portraits

This year for a bit of Art History we studied Pablo Picasso and the art style he created, Cubism.  The main characteristics of Cubism are geometric lines and shapes with lots of overlapping.   There were two main phases of Cubism: Analytical and Synthetic. 

 We made these Cubist self-portraits mixed media to help the abstraction.  In each of these we used pencil, colored pencil, crayon, visual texture, markers, oil pastel, and collage.  There were several drawing techniques taught along the way such as a value fade with pencil, gradient color blend with colored pencil, texture rubbings with crayon, and gradient color blend with oil pastel.  I also gave students the option to use a color scheme to enhance their projects.

 In the earlier Analytical style of Cubism the person is broken up, analyzed, and reassembled abstractly; often past recognition.  This style has less color and more value.  The person and the background are treated the same, creating a very flat sense of space.

This is one of my Analytical Cubist examples with a traditional color scheme for this style; plus orange for fun!

In the later Synthetic style of Cubism the person is broken up and reassembled with simplified geometric shapes, generally in order of where they should be making the person easier to see.  This style is usually more colorful.  The background is usually treated differently than the person.

This is one of my Synthetic Cubist examples with an analogous color scheme of yellow, yellow-green, and green.

Featured Artists: Pinch Pots

 Aiden A

 Alex D.

 Alexis H.

 Amber C.

 Amiee Z.

 Bella A.

Brysonn A.

Emma J.

Gavi B.

Jacob C.

 James L.

 Jonathan B.

Kennedy O.

 Lauryn H.

 Logan G.

Rhiannon M.

 Riley P.

 Ryan W.

Sean D.

Featured Artists - Printmaking: Autobiography Book Covers

 Anna K.

 Samuel D.

 Hannah Y.

 Sophie S.

Leah B.

 Abbie S.

 Jack L.

 Nate F.

 Machenna N.

 Lauren M.

 Haley S.

 Kate B.

 Juliet A.

 Ainsley B.

 Allison D.

 Emma S.

 Leon F.

 Megan M.

 Leah R.

Charles O.

Printmaking - An autobiography book cover 2016

For this project students were presented with an artistic challenge: 

"If you were the author/artist for your own autobiography, how would you design your book cover?"

Students were encouraged to explore many avenues of their lives to include on their cover.  Common themes were: fond memories, favorite foods, music, sports, animals, family, the list goes on and on.  To begin, students were assigned to capture as many of their ideas quickly on paper by drawing smaller thumbnail sketches.



Once students developed and explored many ideas, they had to pick one idea or a combination of several ideas to use for their final design.  They then created "relief" by carving the design into the "block" or "plate."  In this case, we used flat pieces of Styrofoam (the example here has been printed many times which is why it looks so discolored).

Then students learned the process of printmaking to create their prints. 

The four most basic steps to create a good print are:

1. Load the brayer with ink

2. Apply the ink on the plate

3. Print onto paper

4. Label the print

 Students learned about the traditional ways to label their prints.  In the beginning stages of printmaking, the artist "proofs" their plate.  This is the process of creating several test or practice prints to make sure all the lines and shapes are printing how they want.  During this stage, changes can be made to the plate between proofs.  This is also a time to try out different colors.  Because of this "testing" time, those prints are labeled as a proof in the bottom left.  Then the artist traditionally signs their work on the bottom right.  You can also see how the image on the plate is different from the printed image, it prints as a mirror image opposite of each other.

Featured Artists - Radial Design

Grace F.

 Caitlin W.

Elise W.

Colin W.

Emily M.

 Hudson F.

Isabella D.

Jenna C.

 Ellie M.

 Joshua S.

 Kyle D.

 Lauren W.

 Myles S.

 Natalie V.

 Riley P.

 Taylor G.

Teegan E.