8th Grade Art                                                                       Project Sheets

Thursday/Friday                                                                                                                Art Research Journal

 

Art Against the Odds

 

Week 1 

Thursday 9.3.09

In Class: We will look at the work of one of the self-taught masters of twentieth-century art, Martín Ramírez. He created some three hundred artworks of remarkable visual clarity and expressive power within the confines of DeWitt State Hospital, in Auburn, California, where he resided for the last fifteen years of his life.  The works of art are a visual map of his life.  The artist employs a diverse repertoire of imagery, fusing elements of Mexican and American culture, the environment of confinement, and his experience as a Mexican living in poverty and exile in the United States.  

Life Map

Design Problem:   Create a life map inspired by the work of Martín Ramírez.  Begin with a compass rose that is based on symbols of what or whom gives you direction in life.  From there you will map out different events in your life, creating interest and depth in your work through line, value and pattern.  

Resources:   

http://www.folkartmuseum.org/default.asp?id=1805  

http://www.mam.org/ramirez/index.htm

 

Week 2 

Thursday 9.10.09

In class:  Studio day to continue working on your Life Map   

We will also organize our sketchbooks for the year and begin to think about, "What Drives You?", to come up with a topic for our research journals.   Bring your computers to class this week to begin art research.

 

Homework:   Put together an ideas list for your art research topic.  Think about "what drives you".

 

Friday 9.11.09

In class:  Studio day to work on Life Map and to come up with topics for art research journal.  

 

Week 3

Thursday 9.17.09

In Class:  Art Research Journal (ARJ) studio time.  Discuss topics and begin your research.  You also may have time to work on Life Map.

 

Friday 9.18.09

In Class:  Studio day for ARJ.  We will try to complete two-three pages by the end of class time.  

 

Week 4

Monday 9.21.09

In Class:  Studio day for Life Map

 

A Sense of Place

Thursday 9.24.09 & Friday 9.25.09

In Class:  A Sense of Place.

We will examine how artists of the past identified a sense of place in America and how artists working today reveal and question commonly held assumptions about land, home, and national identity.  

 

Week 5

Thursday 10.2.09

Field trip to Old Salem - Remember to gather visual images while on the field trip.  Bring a camera and be prepared to make sketches if needed.   Remember to work on Sense of Personal Place photography collage. 

Friday 10.3.09 - Discuss field trip and possible topics for upcoming project.  Studio day to work on ARJ history pages.

 

Week 6

Thursday 10.8.09

In Class:  Introduction to Identity.  Prepare for trip to Mint Museum "Passionate Journeys"

Studio Time:  ARJ - art history and creative page due at the end of class today.  May also work on Life Map or Personal Place photographic collage.  

 

Week 7

Thursday 10.15.09 - Field Trip to Charlotte for History and Visual Arts (McColl & Mint).  Meet at Sadlers Square in Davidson at 8:55.  Pickup at Northcross Park & Ride (exit 25 northwest of Food Lion) at 2:50. Bring a bag lunch, pencil, camera and raincoat/umbrella if looks like it may rain.  

 

Thursday 10.22.09

Remember to bring in your photos from Personal Sense of Place to be printed during art class.

In Class:  Discuss Rob Carter video we watched at McColl.  What ideas may we use in our own work for Sense of Place?

Discuss the work of Diane Hughes, her focus on trees as her subject matter, and how we can apply what we learned from her to our ARJ pages or to our Sense of Place project.

Look at sample artwork and have a group discussion to get ideas for our Sense of Place projects

 

Identity - Discuss sheet from visit to Mint Museum.  Look at artists and identity.  Begin planning mask project.  

 

Studio time:  Print photos for Personal Sense of Place, Work on preliminary ideas for Identity project.

 

Homework:  For pages 5-6 of your ARJ - Look at your topic through the lens of popular culture (your surroundings).  Use the technique of Kahled Hafez (McColl artist in residence)

Peace Poster (if you choose to participate) is due October 28th.  Remember the size restriction (13"x20" min. and 20"x24" max.)  Must be 2-D (nothing may be glued to the surface)   

 

Week 9

Thursday 10.29.09

In Class:  Discussion on Identity.  Prepare materials to construct plaster masks.  Bring in a bandana or cloth to tie over hair during mask making process.  Continue to work on ARJ pages.

 

Archived Lessons 08-09

Archived Lessons