8th grade trimester 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.

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.

Click here to see work from past classes.
1st trimester - Nature and the Environment
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 take 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 also sculpt animals and plants from polymer clay (some of the 900 lbs donated by Sculpey) and create paintings based on their drawings.

Students complete reports on artists that work with recycled materials. They report 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 - Art and the Human Figure
The focus of this course is on how artists and artisans use the human body for inspiration in creating their art. Students will learn about correct proportions as well learn how to draw the figure by posing for each other. They will create drawings, paintings and sculpture in different media. This semester also includes a three week long unit in photography and using Adobe Photoshop Elements. Students take photographs with a digital camera and then manipulate the photos creating self portraits and other projects in the style of several well known artists.

3rd trimester - Design, Text and Book Arts

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 and graffitti artists such as Keith Haring.

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.