Update on my swan dive in the hallway

Hi Group,
I trust that everyone had a safe return to their homes today. I am also home after a visit to the university health services. The nurse said no broken bones or smashed parts as far as she could tell. Nurse "Sarah" did the best emergency care for me this morning with ice was the perfect thing. Thanks, Sarah. The university nurse said that tomorrow I might look like I had been in a fight....black and blue all over. Looks like I will have to practice my swan diving act in a place that has a softer surface.

Anyway, I am totally in agreement with Bobby that the artwork is totally awesome. The FOCUS Gallery web exhibition and November exhibit at the University Center will be tribute to the fabulous artist/teachers that I had the privilege to work with this semester.

Have a restful summer and keep in touch, Mary Lou

Impressive Class This Year!

Hi guys, I just wanted to say what Mary Lou already said about what an impressive class you all were this year. The artwork you shared today was awesome and will make for a great display in November. Your schools and students are very fortunate to have such dedicated, enthusiastic, and caring art teachers in their community. Great job to all, have a restful summer!

Class Size Continuation

I talked with my Dad who is a fire chief and fire marshal and he said that the number of allowable students is determined by the total square footage of the room. Each student is given 20 sq. ft. so multiply the length by the width of your room and divide that by 20. This will give you the total number of students allowed in your room by law. If your room is 10ft by 20ft then you multiply 10 x 20 = 200 sq. ft. Divide 200 by 20 and you get 10. 10 is the total number of students allowed by law. There are exceptions to this rule so I would recommend that you contact your local fire department and talk to the fire chief or fire marshal. I am sure they would be happy to come out to your room and take a look or talk to you about any concerns or questions you may have. I hope this helps and let me know if you have any more questions that I may be able to answer.

- Josh

Ashley Beard's Updated Progress

The top is a photo of the image that has been transferred to the canvas. I covered the canvas in clear caulk and smoothed on the copies face down. I let it dry for several hours and then wet the paper and began to rub the pulp away. This wetting of the paper and rubbing away needs to happen at least 3 times in order to get all of the paper removed. The ink from the copy is then suspended in the transfer medium, which in this case is the clear caulk. The second photo shows some of the oil pastel on the flowers, fish and down at the bottom. Doing an "underpainting" with the oil pastel enables me to get color on to the canvas quickly and provides a frame of reference for my acrylic painting. The final image is of the painting almost complete. The fish still need some work and I have to go back and add some details with more oil pastel.

Bomar's Finished Artwork

Here is the finished piece. I might find something else that I could fix, but for the most part it is completed.

Bomar

Artwork

Wow, this one was hard. I don't know why I struggled so much with this assignment, but it just would not come together at first. As you can see, I used the statue at the museum and a pyramid to represent our museum trip. The mountains are the Upstate (USC Upstate). The spheres came from the shape of the gourds in the still life and the red fruit represents still life images in general. The lizard came from the stick dragon I made during our class last week. I wanted this picture to say something about mankind and art making. I wanted to show how mankind dreams (the faces looking up and the lizard as the symbol of dreams) and in his small way copies nature (the mountains become a pyramid.) The pyramid is sturdy, but already beginning to be taken over by nature. The spheres are worlds, large and small, green and full of life, or purple and mysterious. God makes art that is in tune with nature like the face in the background that is merged with the mountains. Mankind tries to copy this perfect art and creates images that can be noble, but do not have the same kind of life (the statue). Nature chips away at the works of man just as soon as they are created (the lake eating away at the statue). Finally, nature, in its own mysterious way, rolls over all that mankind does (the lizard sitting on the pearls of his wisdom is about to push the mysterious world over the statue.) A little weird, I know. Just be glad I did not do what I was thinking about. I had made a dragon out of clay and was going to try to attach it somehow. The lizard I ended up using is from a photograph I took of a lizard we caught in the art room at school. She was very photogenic and I think she enjoyed the photo session as much as I did. She was certainly interested in the camera and danced around in all sort of poses. I was lucky that I had one with her leg up in a pushing action. Actually, I think she was peeing, but we'll not mention that out loud.

Ashley Beard's Progress

My work is on a 12x24 in. stretched canvas. The image at the top is a photocopy of a drawing that includes fish skeletons and swimming fish inspired by several works from the museum visit. At the museum, I found myself drawn to the fish artifacts from the Egyptian exhibit. I also found a blown glass vase in another area and sketched the fish fossils from it. My work also includes tiger lilies and rock formations from the still life. The second image is a photo of the photocopy being transferred using clear caulk onto my canvas. This will need to dry for several hours and after that I will begin using acrylic paint and maybe some oil pastel. I'll take some more pictures tomorrow.

Suzanne's artwork

  On my ride home last Friday I had all sorts of ideas for this project, yet none of them were anything like what you see here!  My plan was to stay in my comfort zone and create a silk scarf using either the leaves or the flowers from the still life that we had on Friday for the design.  One thing that I have kept in mind all week was from our conversation with Robert about what he tells his students when deciding on a concentration and that is to keep it personal.  And then this past week my district has had a Summer Institute for teachers and for two of those days the art teachers were able to have Rusty Jewell come and work with us using watercolor and painting 'en plain air'.  It was wonderful, and again his suggestion for subject matter - keep it personal!  We walked around the historic home section of Seneca and found that I was drawn to bright colors and the door or entrances of many of the homes.  Thinking back to the day at the museum the artworks that I found the most interesting were the colorful pieces that had movement, especially Monet and any Impressionist piece.

This piece is 10 x 14 and is my second try with this composition.  My goal is to be able to create with watercolor like the impressionist with the dabs of color so that when you back away it looks believable.  We began our pieces this week by beginning (after sketching and doing value studies) with washes of warm and cool colors.  Once these areas were built up then the details were begun.  It's hard to see in this photograph, but I have gone back in with a the fine line marker we received to add some detail, which helped bring the piece together.  I'm not happy with the grass area, it has gotten too muddy.  I plan tonight to work in some colored pencil to see if that will bring in some detail that I want.  If I am still not happy, I have another sketch ready to begin with.  

I hope to turn this into a series of doorway/entrances from around the area that I live in.

Photos of Artwork

In order to make up for my missed class time I will be making a PowerPoint presentation of all of our artwork. I was planning to photograph the work on the finial day of class. However, I know that many of you are framing your work. Since a good photo is sometimes difficult to achive if the pic is under glass, it would be wonderful if you could e-mail a photo of your finished work. If it will not be under glass or acetate I can photograph it during class. You can send your photos to amyjoworkman@gmail.com .

Thanks, Amy

Brandt

I'm a little more than 1/2-way done. The first step was to create a list of subjects that represented each aspect of the course. Then, I added a particular relief technique that I have been working with. I'm finding myself taking a leap of faith by thinking that if I stick to the creative process, then the product will be successful. Right now it feels like a giant leap. Next up is giving the black and whites another coat, changing the color at the bottom and finish writing in pen. The writing is my museum response.

I think it needs a dandelion.

Materials use so far include pencil, pen, acrylic and Behr© textured paint all on an 18" x 24" piece of masonite.

Mounting/Framing of the Art Work

You can either mount your art work on foam core with aestate or frame it. The work will be displayed on an easel at the show. I was trying to have some guidelines for the work and wanted the work to be between 9x12 and 18x 24. Of course, I will accept variations of this. If you have questions, please give me a call on my cell 864-580-0910.

Art Work for Exhibit

I can not remember and I can not find it anywhere in my notes but do we have to mount our piece? Mine is 11" x 23" before any mounting, do I need to mount it or just bring it the way that it is? If I need to frame it that is not a problem but I need to know so I can get that taken care of soon. I know that the finished piece can not be any bigger than 18" x 24" but is that before mounting or just the art work?

Ashley Webb's Artwork

This piece is based on the assignment at USC Upstate in which we were demonstrating the differences between the three portfolios. I had originally drawn the feather to fit into the traditional drawing portfolio, but as you can see, I could not resist the urge to push it into the 2-D arena. My intention is to demonstrate a contrast between the organic and geometric. I want the feather to appear light in contrast to the hard-edge style of geometric elements in the background. As a 3-D Design teacher, I am also feeling the need to add in more sculptural elements, such as balsa wood, wire mesh, etc. The idea stems from the USC Upstate assignment but I also plan to incorporate some aspect of Etruscan art into the geometric patches. During the museum visit in Columbia, I observed a small Etruscan vase that had very delicate patterning. I loved the rustic feel of the brown/terracotta coloring and the whimisical patterning. The coloring and patterning will be included in the piece to help provide more movement and interest.

Josh Sargent's Work

Unlike Amy, when Mary Lou said multi-media I was not excited. I usually don't work with mulit-media so this was a stretch for me. I have to say that every idea that I came up with ended up not turning out the way I thought it would. This image is probably the third or fourth piece that I have started this week and as you can see it is not finished yet.

I wanted to do a piece that had a connection to the museum and the still life but I could not seem to get the creative juices flowing. I went through several drafts and ideas before settling on this. It is very similar to the museum piece that I sketched by Robert Stanley titled "Afternoon Bridge". I used my sketch of the original as a starting point and took some artistic liberties from there. I am not completely satisfied with this yet but I don't expect to be since I used watercolor for most of the work and I absolutely do not like watercolor. Why I used a medium I don't like who knows? I am a glutton for punishment I guess!

I plan on going back in with pen and possibly color pencil to really punch up the details and add some more texture and depth to the piece. If I finish with the watercolor and I don't like the result you may see a totally different piece next week! I guess I will have to finish it and see if I think like it enough to put my name on it. One thing is for sure...Art is always a journey that takes you places and sometimes you end up exactly where you started!

Amy Workman's Art

I am so proud of myself that I finally figured out how to add a picture! If anyone else is having trouble, you are not in the boat alone.

For my artwork I mainly used the sketch I completed during last week's class. I enjoy combining nature with man-made items. I read a wonderful poem once by a Latin American writer that described death as our return to the earth in such a beautiful way (at the moment I am unable to recall the poet). This poem had a great spiritual affect on me. Since then, I often combine these elements in my work. The still life in class greatly reminded me of this man/nature combination. During the museum time I was very influenced by the drawing/shading style of Alfred Hutty. I attempted to utilize these techniques in my work and will continue to work back into my drawing with more crosshatched shading. I love working in mixed media, so when Mary Lou requested this of us I set out to work with media I have never worked with in combination....soft pastels, charcoal, and various colors of rice paper. I have had a lot of fun with this piece. I know that it is not quite finished, but I am not quite sure what else I will do with it. I am going to put it aside for a few days and then take a fresh look. If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them.

Jim's Progress

I often use process documentation as well. This picture is actually, the idea (top) and the first hour or so of Digital Painting (bottom). Integrating the textures of the gord (did I spell that right?) into the face is very important. I will have to make a special brush to do it, but I think I can manage it. After I complete the digital painting, I will print out the image on large format paper and transfer the colored side to some high-quality paper using soft-gel acrylic medium. I will then finish the piece by drawing the right side using the still life drawings we did as a reference. This may or may not work as I planned, including the face. I sometimes go overboard and do too much. I may even cut it out completely, but it is always good practice.

Question # 8

Final Question: Time management with students was a concern expressed by many of you in the group. In order to complete the AP portfolio, the students must have 24 pieces ready by May. What are your ideas in making this happen?

Question # 7

Besides the AP Audit Curricular Requirements of the AP syllabus, what else do you feel it critical for your syllabus? Why?

Art Work Posting

Yes, I realize that you can't post a picture in the comment section. I am glad that many of you were able to make it work. WOW! I am thrilled with the progress on the art work. I can't wait until Wed to see the finished works.

Roxanne's art work

Ok this is the only way I could figure out how to post my picture so far.

As I explained in my post under Mary Lou's post,  I sketched out the still life and then outlined in markers.  I used watercolors, color pencils and markers for my piece.  I started with the original still life and then added my beloved patterns to the piece.  I think I have a rather surreal piece here and I am really enjoying the making of this artwork.  Um, it's probably 18"x24" I have to check that.

museum piece

I had trouble figuring out how to post this with a photo...I hope this works okay. This work incorporates two images from the museum. The statue is probably recognizable to most of you. The face is from the Bougereau painting. I had drawn a face of the younger girl, but found she wasn't quite right for this. Luckily it turned out that the same painting I had gotten her image from was on our handout from the museum and had an older girl whose face worked for my purpose. I find myself adding meaning as I go...I guess it is supposed to be the other way around. I like drawing people and I like there to be some mystery and ambiguity about my work.

I have thoroughly enjoyed making this piece of art this week. Ashley and I have actually gone up to Wando to work in our classrooms as "studio" spaces....it is fun being in there without students!

This piece is based on one of the studio experiences at USC Upstate. This is the drawing I did in response to showing the difference between the drawing and 2-D portfolio. I did a contour line drawing of a pine cone still attached to a stick. This piece is also relating to my Columbia Museum experience in that I was also drawing in a continuous contour line style while looking at some of the beautiful glass vases. I was also looking at the pen techniques on a China plate and I will incorporate more pen-techniques as I go through the piece.

With this artwork, I aim to juxtapose basic drawing skills with 2-D design work. I am concentrating on mark-making, color theory, rhythm, and emphasis.

The artwork is mainly watercolor and cut paper. I am in the process of going back in to the background areas to add some colored pencil detailing and clean up some of the edges. I will also go back in to the pine-cone part and add the darker areas (right now it only has orange and gold cut paper pieces). I am also trying to figure out how to resolve the dark orange rectangle...colored penciling or watercolors???

Bomar's Artwork

The process of making this work of art has been fairly good. I did not base this work off of my studio experience, but rather that of the Columbia Art Museum. There was a painting of "EOS" by Mary Evelyn De Morgan that I did a sketch of for our sketch assignment. I then did some research on the Greek Goddess to find out a little about her. She is the "Goddess of Dawn", which is why the sun is coming up from behind the horizon line. She is usually shown with wings because she is considered a spirit of morning. The star that is hanging on her forehead is representative of the star of morning. Her garments are and elaborate purple and white. Eos is also usually shown pouring out morning dew over the land. My process is not very hard, but I used watercolor as the base for the artwork. I would put a small amount of detail in with the watercolor, but not a very large amount. I would then go back with Primacolor and start putting the more intricate details. I chose to have a symetrically balance piece, because of the painting that I was doing my museum paper on was the same way. So the composition was derived from my Greenville Art Museum painting, and the idea came from the the painting at the Columbia Art Museum. I hope that it is alright.

Social Awareness Project

This is an example of the social awareness project I had my students do in their Pre-AP class. This student actually turned it into her concentration. She did research on social awareness advertising campaigns and got her information from the UN, Unicef, and Design of Dissent. After she finished the posters, we took them downtown Charleston and took her slides as they would appear as posters... so, they were on signs, buildings, fences, etc.

Question #6

Briefly describe your progress on the art work for the 2008 AP art teacher exhibit. Take a photo of the work and give us a short caption or talk us through your thought process. Don't forget to tell us about the connection between the Columbia Museum and the Upstate still life.

Question #5

Briefly describe a way that you motivate your students to perform at a high standard.

Question #4

During our first two days of training, what idea/lesson did you find to be the most beneficial to your teaching of AP?

Great Two Days

Thanks for being a great, stimulating group. Your questions, discussion has been very thoughtprovoking. Don't forget to turn on those creative juices to begin work on the art work due on Wed, June 25. Your syllabus will be due on Fri, June 27 or before. If you need assistance, please call my cell or home. I will be in and out of the office at the University next week. Your museum paper will be due on Monday, June 23. Looking forward to seeing back at Upstate in a week.

Thursday Class Day

Tomorrow is the day to meet again in Spartanburg. Wow! Great blogging on the last question. I have compiled your issues and concerns for our course. We will try to address as many as possible within our time limits. Believe it or not we have many of those issues/concerns on our agenda for the course. Looking forward to seeing everyone again!

Reminders

If you have not posted a response to question #1, you will need to scroll to the bottom of the blog and click on older posts. Please be sure to response to question #2 & #3 plus comment on at least one other person's post. Please do this before Wed. June 11 at 12 midnight.

Question #3

What is one item or concern you would like for Robert or I to address during the course?

A Day At the Museum with seventeen art teachers.. but Larry and Dexter are nowhere to be found during the day... better watch out if you're there at night!

Posting

When making your posts to the blog, please click on the word "comment" under the question. There is a small pencil icon to assist you. Remember that you will post your answer to the question and also response to another person's post. You will not need to do this for question#1. Remember to post using your first name and initial of your last name. For clarity, try not to use text message shorthand. Now let the BLOG begin!

Question # 2

Briefly describe one idea, resource, or artwork you found to be the most interesting to you from the visit to the Columbia Museum of Art. Please include how it will be useful to you or your classroom in the future.