Artistic composition is a fundamental part of my pedagogy. Perhaps that’s because it was looked over for most my own art education and I had to painstakingly pick it up through intuition and osmosis. Admittedly, that’s what you want though…an informed but intuitive approach to art making. Anyway, I teach my kids about composition andContinue reading “Teaching the Role of Composition in Art”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Theme Park Posters
This is one of my favorite intro to Photoshop projects and offers an opportunity to teach all kinds of valuable things like typography (display fonts), layering, and royalty free images/copyright infringement. I have some simple perimeters: pick a city and using at least 6 layers and engaging typography, design a poster for an amusement park,Continue reading “Theme Park Posters”
Cave Art
The cave art that is found around southern Europe has always fascinated me. A shocking level of precision, detail, size and difficulty makes one take a second thought about our early ancestors and what life was like 30,000 years ago…for instance, who knew there were rhinoceros in France? Plus it’s one the earliest forms ofContinue reading “Cave Art”
Unpacking Abstract Painting with Technology
This is a brand new art unit that I started this year and am very excited about. Those who know me, know that I love to teach Photoshop, but love to paint in my personal artistic practice, and this fuses the two! I intentionally take screenshots using Photoshop Elements which is a much cheaper programContinue reading “Unpacking Abstract Painting with Technology”
Stencil Portraits
This is another art unit that uses Photoshop to create some powerful images. In Photoshop, the function to make a stencil is called “threshold” and can be used to make various layers. I like 3-4 layer stencils personally. Any more than that and I get some major burnout from my students getting tired of cuttingContinue reading “Stencil Portraits”
Earthworks: Andy Goldsworthy
Back when I taught a 3D art class in the Seattle area, this unit was a staple of the semester. Teams of students would get together and create Goldsworthy-like work around our campus. Fortunately, there were plenty of rocks, leaves, and sticks to do things with. I later realized that this art unit could beContinue reading “Earthworks: Andy Goldsworthy”
The Art Deco Vacation
I’m a big fan of using technology to level the playing field in art class. Many students can think like an artist but may not have the skillset (yet) to draw or paint with precision. This unit hits all sorts of categories that make a great lesson: Art History, Typography, Photography, Composition, Color, Photoshop, toContinue reading “The Art Deco Vacation”
Op Art
Op Art (short for optical illusion art) is something I always like to go to when I have to teach online classes or have a cover teacher. There are a myriad of great instructional videos for this on YouTube and it reinforces foundational elements like line, shape, form and value. Plus it’s great for middleContinue reading “Op Art”
Draw, Paint, Think 