Big Heads and Famous Faces

Recently I was looking through my previous posts and realized that I had never mentioned one of the most fun and amazing projects ever! I am so excited and pleased to share this with you!

I truly believe that one of the best ways to develop professionally in the 21st century is to take part in the online world through blogging, Pinterest, etc. So many wonderful ideas, lessons, and units are shared online and they are inspiring teachers and students all over the world! It's a great thing to be a part of.

This project was one of those amazing ideas that I came across on a teacher's wordpress website. You can find the original project here: WVartist's Weblog.

I taught this lesson when I was at IPS in Saudi to my hard working group of junior and senior high school girls. To begin the "Big Head Project" we discussed familiar/famous faces that are recognized globally. Most of our discussions led to famous cartoons or TV shows, and the girls chose a favorite character to start their wearable sculptures.

These "Big Heads" took quite a while to make, but the students were so excited and engaged with this project they willingly spent almost every lunch time or free period in the art room working on their piece.

At the end of the year, their sculptures made an appearance at the final art show in a local art gallery. Some of their creations were even sold to people in the surrounding community! The "Big Heads" were definitely a huge hit with students and staff alike. Here are a few examples of the students' final creations below. I was so proud of their effort and creativity!

                                                    

Routines

I really enjoy doing this project with high school students as it is very open ended and the students are free to choose what relates to them using a wide variety of materials.

As a class we discuss different types of daily routines that the majority of people do every single day. Getting up in the morning, going to school, eating lunch, household chores, and the list goes on. Once the students have compiled some ideas, I ask them to choose a specific daily routine that is personal to them. They can represent their routine any way they wish including charcoal, paint, photography, and any other techniques that we have practiced and implemented through out the school year.

The students have always come up with something completely different and I feel like it is a very successful project. Here are a few examples of the finished projects below:



 

   

3D Identities

As an introduction to sculpture this year, my combined class of freshman and sophomores completed a three dimensional self portrait.

They were instructed to choose six things that represented themselves and would then construct those items using clay, paper mache, or cardboard. The background was finalized by their choice of materials.

 I thought this was a great way to start learning and experimenting with sculpture and constructing three dimensional pieces. Overall it was pretty successful and each final product was unique!

High School Grid Portraits

Awhile back I had posted about my high school girls' portrait unit, and I haven't uploaded their final assignment.

At the end of the unit, students experimented with the grid method of making portraits. They chose a photo of someone they admired and enlarged the photo onto an A3 size paper using a measured grid. The finished product was then colored and blended with oil pastels.

Here are a few examples below of their work. 

             

Most of the students chose movie stars or singers that had inspired them. Overall I thought the students did a fantastic job!  

Global Issue Stencil Project

My upper level art students just completed a project that was overall very successful. These juniors and seniors were instructed to choose a world issue that concerned or interested them. Once the topic was chosen, students were to research that topic and any artists who are or were involved with that specific issue. The information that was gathered then had to be reflected in their art piece. The only other requirements for the final piece itself were to include a three layered stencil on a background of their choice.

World Poverty

Conflict in Syria

Child Labor

Oppression of Women

I was very impressed with my student's work and how involved and engaged they were during this assignment. They were very passionate about the issues they chose and that passion was reflected in their final work and their presentation during critique. 

High School Portrait Unit

The introductory art course for high school is a combination of freshman and sophomore students. The class has a range of artistic abilities, from beginning to middle level.

It is now Term 2, and my class of nine has begun a portrait unit. For a beginning level art student, portraits can seem like a daunting challenge. We have been taking this step by step and so far my students and I have been pleased with the results!

To kick off the unit I had my class sit in separate parts of the room away from each other. They were given two or three small squares each. These squares all had something different on them. The students were to draw what they saw on those pictures onto blank squares that were provided.

On the back of each square there were numbers. When the students had completed their drawing, they were to stick their finished square on the corresponding number to a grid chart I had at the front of the room. Piece by piece their collaborative drawing was put together, until they could see what they had collectively made.

 This activity worked really well and got rid of some of the portrait "anxiety" that my students were expressing.

During the next class period, I had students bring in a photo of themselves. We discussed facial dimensions and proportions. Students were also given a handout with helpful drawing tips and reminders for certain facial features.

The students cut their photo in half however they preferred, and practiced drawing the other half with different shading techniques. They really did a great job and enjoyed completing these as well!

The students are now practicing a full portrait using the grid method. They brought in large photos of someone they admire and will complete the drawing using oil pastels. I will post them when they are finished! Well done high school!