CHECK LINKS IN EACH CLASS DESCRIPTION FOR PHOTOS OF STUDENT ART WORK

ART CLUBS

FIBER ART CLUB
6th, 7th and 8th grade students meet weekly to work on individual and group projects. Projects have included weaving, knitting, felting, stitching and 3-D mixed media constructions.
The Club meets Tuesday mornings from 8 to 8:50 AM.

We are always looking for donations of fiber art materials such as: yarn, felt, thread, buttons and knitting needles.

ART CLUB
This year the Art Club will meet for three special classes. All students are invited, but space is limited to 15 students per session. Sign up is for individual sessions. Students can receive more information and permission slips from me in Room D301. There will be a $5.00 fee for the class and students should plan to attend all classes.

The first class will be, "Digital Photography and Manipulation", using iphoto and Photoshop Elements 4. The club will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays, December 2nd to 18th, from 3:45 to 5:15 in the Tech Lab.

The second class will be, "Fiber Arts and Crafts with visiting artist Pamela Penney". This session is sponsored by Art Start and the Oak Park Education Foundation. Students will create useful and decorative objects using wool and various techniques such as dyeing wool with kool aid, wet felting, dry needle felting and stitching. Class will be held January 22, 27, 29 & February 3, 5, 10 (Thursdays and Tuesdays) 3:45 – 5:00 pm.

The third class will be, "DRAWING AND PAINTING". Students will develop techniques and skills to be able to draw and paint realistically. The class will meet Mondays and Tuesdays for three weeks, April 13 &14, 20 & 21, and 27 & 28, 3:45 to 5 pm.

6th grade Exploratory - ARTS AND CULTURE

Students explore a variety of media as they learn about the arts of different cultures. They plan, create and discuss their work, learning and using the language of art and the Elements of Art and the Principles of Design. Some cultures that may be explored are: Native North American, current American, European, Indian, West African, South African, Asian, Central and South American and Middle Eastern.

7th grade Year Long Rotation - MATERIALS ARTISTS USE

Students build on their knowledge of the elements and principles of design (line, shape, color, value, texture, form and space) to explore the different two and three dimensional media and techniques that artists use to express their ideas. Depending on the number of classes in the rotation, this class may be divided into 2D and 3D courses.

Grades are based on the daily effort of the students and the quality of the work they complete.

8th grade elective - FINE ARTS

This course meets as an advanced trimester elective. Students use a wide variety of media to do projects that reinforce the basic elements and principles of design. Students investigate the work of artists in the world today: what inspires them, where they get their ideas and how they chose their materials. The artist’s place in society, as well as art as a vocation is addressed. Each trimester has a different theme. Past trimesters have focused on Nature, the Human Figure and 2 Dimensional Design in Art.

A sketchbook is required for this class. Students may bring in one they have or purchase one from me for $3.00. Sketchbooks are used for drawing, planning sketches for assignments as well as for other sketchbook/journal assignments which complement the curriculum.

Grades are based on the daily effort of the students and the quality of the work they complete.



1st trimester - Nature and the Environment in Art
This trimester focuses on art and artists that use nature as the impetus for their art. Some artists make statements about nature (ecology and environmental issues), others use nature as inspiration.

Students took advantage of the beautiful September weather by drawing plants around the school in their sketchbooks. The drawings train the students to draw from observation as well as provide sources for projects. Students have completed paper stained glass in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Students have also sculpted animals and plants from polymer clay (some of the 900 lbs donated by Sculpey last year) and painted large abstracted leaf paintings that are now on display in the school office.

The students have just completed artist reports on artists working with recycled materials. They reported to their classmates on these artists, giving ideas for their final project, a sculpture of their own using recycled materials that have been collected for this purpose.

2nd trimester - The Human Figure in Art
Second trimester, the focus of this course is on how artists and artisans use the human body for inspiration in their art. Students will learn about correct proportions as well as drawing the figure and face from observation.

3rd trimester - The Book and Text in Art

In the spring trimester, students will learn that art is not only about a pretty picture, but about ideas that are sometimes so conceptual that they need text or words to help get across the message of the artist. We will look at artists that use text in different formats as their art form, such as Barbara Kruger and Jenny Holzer.

They will experiment with collage and multimedia compositions that include text.

The final project will be to create an " altered" book. This is an art form where artists use the traditional book format as the spring board for their art ideas. The students will chose a story from their life to tell in their book.