6th Grade- Henna Hand Zentangles

Our first project will take us halfway around the world to an ancient tradition practiced for over 5000 years. You will create a henna design on a hand using the zentangle method and then color your design using crayons or colored pencils. Zentangles and henna designs will create awesome patterns and textures in your artwork.

Check out this link about henna --> http://www.art-is-fun.com/henna-hand-designs
Here are two links on zentangles --> https://www.zentangle.com/   http://tanglepatterns.com/

Origin of Henna

The art of henna (called mehndi in Hindi & Urdu) has been practiced for over  5000 years in Pakistan, India, Africa and the Middle East. There is some documentation that it is over 9000 years old.  Because henna has natural cooling properties, people of the desert, for centuries, have been using henna to cool down their bodies.  They make a paste of henna and soak their palms and soles of the feet in it to get an air conditioning affect.  They feel its cooling sensation throughout the body for as long as the henna stain remains on their skin.  Initially, as the stain faded away, it left patterns on the skin surface which led to ideas to make designs for decorative purposes.  In the ancient Egyptian times mummies wore henna designs and it is documented that Cleopatra herself used henna for decorative purposes.

Henna was not only a popular adornment for the rich but the poor, who could not afford jewelry, used it to decorate their bodies as well.

Henna in the West

Today people all over the world have adopted the ancient traditions of adorning their bodies with the beautiful natural artwork created from the henna plant.  It became a very popular form of temporary body decoration  in the 90's in the US and has become a growing trend ever since.  Celebrities like Madonna, Gwen Stefani, Yasmine Bleeth, Liv Tyler, Xena, and many others proudly adorn their bodies with henna and show them off in public, movies, videos, etc. People throughout the west have adopted the eastern tradition in their lives by having their hands and feet painted for weddings, bellies painted while in pregnancy, heads adorned with henna while going through chemotherapy, scars camouflaged to make them unnoticeable, etc.

DIRECTIONS:

STEP 1: TRACE YOUR HAND, PUT YOUR HAND TOWARDS THE TOP OF THE PAGE SO YOU CAN HAVE SOME OF YOUR WRIST TO DRAW ON.

STEP 2: CHOOSE A TRADITIONAL OR ZENTANGLE STYLE HENNA HAND DESIGN.

STEP 3: CREATE YOUR DESIGN IN YOUR HAND. USE THE WEBSITES PROVIDED ABOVE TO HELP WITH YOUR DESIGNS.

ZENTANGLE HAND

TRADITIONAL HAND

AR Standards: CR2.6.1 R8.6.1 R9.6.1 CN10.6.1 

7th/ 8th- Art Intro/ Exquisite Corpse

Hello and Welcome to Artimus Prime and the Art Room!

My goal for you this semester is to learn about all different aspects of art. From artworks to art careers we will take a look at many different aspects of the art world. This year we will be using this blog as a space to find information and ask questions about your art projects. Every project and sketchbook assignment will be posted on this blog for you to reference whenever you need to.

Today we will discuss the blog, sketchbooks, and regular class procedures. As we begin, take a look at these videos about art and creativity. I hope they will inspire and challenge you to create some awesome artwork as we continue throughout this year.

Exquisite Corpse

Create an exquisite corpse drawing with the people in your class.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exquisite_corpse

5th- Zentangles

This lesson will focus on using lines to create different patterns and textures.

We will look at a cool method of drawing called Zentangling, which is a fun, easy way to make some intricate looking artworks.

"The Zentangle Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns."

"Almost anyone can use it to create beautiful images. It increases focus and creativity, provides artistic satisfaction along with an increased sense of personal well being. The Zentangle Method is enjoyed all over this world across a wide range of skills, interests and ages."

This is the official Zentangle website

https://www.zentangle.com/

This site has many step by step instructions to help you make your zentangle patterns.

USE THIS SITE FOR ALL OF YOUR PATTERNS!!

http://tanglepatterns.com/

We will go over how to use the site in class but here are some basic instructions for the website. 

Look through the list of patterns by clicking on the letters of the alphabet at the top of the screen. All the patterns are in alphabetical order. 

Look the pink links in the How to Draw sections for instructions on each pattern, or just scroll down on the page to see instructions. 

PROJECT DIRECTIONS:

Create your own zentangle drawing using at least 5 different patterns in your artwork. 
FILL THE ENTIRE PAGE!
Follow the simple instructions from the website to make 
intricate patterns and designs in your zentangle. 
Share your favorite design ideas with your classmates! 
How does your pattern compare to the original?
How did you change it to make it your own?
Did you fill the entire page?

AR Standards: CR1.5.1 CR2.5.1 P6.5.2 R7.5.1

6th- Giuseppe Archimboldo "Creating Portraits from Objects"

During the Renaissance one artist was centuries beyond his time--Giuseppe Arcimboldo. While the Great Masters such as Michelangelo and Raphael focused on rendering human figures realistically, Giuseppe Arcimboldo created surreal portraits of his subjects made of vegetables, plants, fruits, sea creatures, tree roots, and books. In this class we will create our own paintings mimicking Arcimboldo’s unique style using fruits and vegetables.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS IN THE GOOGLE FORM BEFORE YOU BEGIN YOUR ARTWORK!!

Giuseppe Arcimboldo (also spelled Arcimboldi; 1527 - July 11, 1593) was an Italian painter best known for creating imaginative portrait heads made entirely of such objects as fruits, vegetables, flowers, fish, and books - that is, he painted representations of these objects on the canvas arranged in such a way that the whole collection of objects formed a recognizable likeness of the portrait subject.

Arcimboldo was born in Milan in 1527, the son of Biagio, a painter who did work for the office of the Fabbrica in the Duomo. Arcimboldo was commissioned to do stained glass window designs beginning in 1549, including the Stories of St. Catherine of Alexandria vitrage at the Duomo. In 1556 he worked with Giuseppe Meda on frescoes for the Cathedral of Monza. In 1558, he drew the cartoon for a large tapestry of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, which still hangs in the Como Cathedral today.

CLICK THIS LINK TO VIEW ARCIMBOLDO'S COMPLETE WORKS -> 

http://www.giuseppe-arcimboldo.org/

CLICK THIS LINK TO READ SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT ARCIMBOLDO ->
http://mentalfloss.com/article/72126/15-strange-facts-about-giuseppe-arcimboldos-unusual-portraits

CLICK THIS LINK TO VIEW SOME NEAT SCULPTURES INSPIRED BY ARCIMBOLDO ->

http://www.papermag.com

UNITY - A principle of art, unity occurs when all of the elements of a piece combine to make a balanced, harmonious, complete whole. Unity is another of those hard-to-describe art terms but, when it's present, your eye and brain are pleased to see it.

VARIETY - A principle of art concerned with combining one or more elements of art in different ways to create interest.

How does Arcimboldo create unity in his artworks?

How does Arcimboldo create variety in his artworks?

How will your create texture on your items to make them look realistic?

YOUR PROJECT is to create a portrait of a person using vegetables, fruits, or other objects  to make the person's face. 

You may use any items you would like to make your person. Like Arcimboldo, your items should all relate to each other to create a theme for your portrait.

PART 2

DIGITAL GIUSEPPE!

COMING SOON!!!!




AR Standards: CR1.6.2 CR2.6.1 R7.6.1 R8.6.1 CN11.6.1

8th-Drawing from Observation/Sign Language Hands

This project is based on drawing from observation or drawing from life. You will use your hand as a reference for all of the hand drawings that you create.

Here is some info about sign language

7 Things You Should Know About Sign Language

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

DAY 1-2

Our first day we will spend practicing drawing hands together while using different mediums.

You must draw 4 hands using 4 different drawing mediums

Each drawing will take about 8-10 minutes

Practice different hand poses

Use a different medium (pencil, pen, crayon, colored pencil, marker, pastel, charcoal)

Each drawing should fill half a page

DAY 2-6

The final project will be to draw your hands spelling a word in sign language and illustrating that word in the background of your piece.  

Your background image should represent the word you chose to draw.

Your word must contain at least 4 letters and your background must be in full color. 

You may create your artwork as a drawing or collage/mixed media piece.

"Tree"

5th- Collaborative Sci-fi Cityscape

Welcome young architects and city planners! Today, we'll embark on an exciting creative journey where you'll work together to design and draw a futuristic cityscape. Your task is to draw two innovative skyscrapers that could exist in the future, incorporating unique features like sky gardens, solar panels, or even landing pads for flying cars. Once everyone has completed their buildings, we'll combine all the drawings to create one massive, collaborative city of the future on a large display board. Remember, in the future, buildings might look very different from what we see today, so let your imagination soar while keeping your designs realistic enough to stand tall!

HERE IS SOME MORE INSPIRATION!!

Sci-fi Cityscapes

Sci-fi Artists

SPARTH

Greatest Sci-fi Artists of All Time

1. Create at least 2 sci-fi/futuristic skyscrapers.

2.Fill the building with color.

3. You may cut the rectangle shape to change it slightly. Remember you are making skyscrapers. Keep your paper vertical.

4.Make your windows small and make a lot of them!

AR Standards: CR1.5.2 CR2.5.2 P5.5.1 R7.5.1

7th-Papercutting and Calligrams

Artists are going to create a calligram, using only colored paper. A calligram is a word or piece of text in which the design and layout of the letters creates a visual image related to the meaning of the words themselves. (Examples below)

Paper was invented in China during the first century and has been a popular media choice for artists ever since. Because paper is fairly fragile, we have no way of knowing how long papercutting has been a part of Chinese culture. Archaeologists have found evidence dating it back as far as the 6th century, but it is believed to have begun a few centuries earlier. Either way, it is clear that papercutting is an art with strong roots in the art of China.

Day 1

Brainstorm ideas for your calligram. You should think of multiple words that could be used for the project. Today you should create 4 different ideas, using 4 different words.

Day 2-6

Following the steps below, create your calligram. You can not have any drawn elements. Everything must be made out of paper. All details must be made out of paper. 

7th AR Standards: CR1.7.1 CR2.7.1 CR3.7.1 R7.7.1 CN10.7.1