Sample Lesson Plan | art-portfolio

Shape Lesson Plan

GLE: 1.1.2

Creates, analyzes, and evaluates the elements shape and form when producing a work of art.

Elements of Visual Arts: Line, Shape and Form, Color, Value, Texture, Space

Selects and produces shapes and forms in a variety of styles, artworks, and media, including digital media, to demonstrate:

Geometric shapes and forms.
Organic shapes and forms.
Free-form shapes and forms.
Positive and negative shapes and forms.
The illusion of three-dimensional form on a two-dimensional surface.
Realism.
Edges and implied edges.

Selects and produces shapes and/or forms expressively in a variety of two- and three-dimensional artworks.
Uses a variety of construction techniques and materials to create three-dimensional sculptures and functional forms for a specific purpose.
Critiques and justifies the use of shapes and/or forms in a variety of artworks.

Definitions

Shape- Enclosed space the boundaries of which are defined by other elements (i.e. Lines, colors, values, texture, etc.) Shapes are limited to two dimensions: length and width.

Geometric shape- Circles, rectangles, squares, triangles, etc.

Organic shape- Shapes that have natural free flowing edges (think of an amoeba or a cloud.)

Exercise One

Making geometric shapes

Provide students with two different colored paper. One for the background and one to cut shapes from.
Have students cut out various geometric shapes and arrange them in a way that creates an interesting composition.

This should be a relatively quick assignment that provides basic understanding of both shape and geometric shape. The students should focus on craft.

Artists to look at: Josef Albers

Exercise two

Making organic shapes

Provide students with two different colored paper. One for the background and one to cut shapes from.
Have students cut out various organic shapes and arrange them in a way that creates an interesting composition.

This should be a relatively quick assignment that provides basic understanding of both shape and geometric shape. The students should focus on craft.

Artists to look at: Henri Matisse

Exercise three

Architects use geometric shapes to create beautiful buildings. Show students how famous architects use simple geometric shapes to create some the world’s most fascinating works of art. This would also be a quick exercise 15- 20 mins. I could also see this as a homework assignment as it builds off the first exercise.

This one can be either a drawing or constructed from multiple colors of paper.
Have students create a “shine” or “temple” in their honor.
Ask students questions. What is going to draw me to your ‘shrine’? What are some of the features you will include? How will yours be different then every other?

This is an example of DESIGN, one of the six senses Daniel Pink talks about. The challenge here is to create something that stands out.

“It’s no longer sufficient to create a product, a service, an experience,

or a lifestyle that’s merely functional. Today it’s economically crucial

and personally rewarding to create something that is also beautiful,

whimsical, or emotionally engaging.” (65)

Architects to look at: Leon Alberti, Filippo Brunelleschi

Santa Maria Novella- Alberti Duomo- Brunelleschi

Exercise four

Combining geometric and organic shapes. Have students arrange the shapes so that they ‘paint’ a picture, or tell a narrative. Introduce Cubism.

Have students draw, paint, or construct from paper a scene or picture using geometric and organic shapes.
Demonstrate that the eye will ‘see’ intended meaning when shapes come together to form a recognizable object.
Have students tell the story of their composition.
Ask students, “What is your composition trying to say?” Is the message political, spiritual, etc? Are you trying to evoke a certain emotion? What are you trying to communicate to the viewer?

Daniel Pink contents that story has high meaning. If you’re able to tell a story you can include “information, knowledge, context, and emotion.” (103).

“The essence of persuassion, communication, and

self-understanding has become the ability to fashion

a compelling narrative.” (66)

Artists to look at: Pablo Picaso, George Braque.

Girl in Front of Mirror- Picaso Little Harbor in Normandy- Braque

Exercise five

Company logos have become an integral part of the economic landscape. Often times clever designers will hide hidden shapes into a logo to provide a subliminal message. Companies will spend major money to create the perfect logo, and, rightly so, as their logo often becomes the face of the organization.

Have students design a logo for either themselves, as a brand, or a fictional company.
Encourage students to cleverly hide a secondary image within their logo.
Demonstrate how shapes can be made from the borders of other shapes.
Highlight how negative space is important.

This is what Pink calls SYMPHONY, the ability to put together the pieces as a whole. It’s big picture thinking that focuses on relationships between objects, and not the objects themselves.

“What’s in greatest demand today isn’t analysis but synthesis-

Seeing the big picture, crossing boundries, and being able to

combine disperate pieces into an arresting new whole.”(66)

Logos to look at: Fed Ex, Tostitos

Arrow between E and X. The t’s in the middle look like people eating slasa.

Encounter

Mosaic has been around since people started making art. Mosaic uses either geometric, organic, or a combination of the two shapes, to create a cohesive image. Ancient civilizations, such as the Greeks and Romans, used mosaics to adorn their public spaces. Great mosaic pieces thousands of years old still exist today. Mosaics can be made from just about anything; tile, stone, found objects, pictures, etc.

The students project is to create a large, at least 3’ x 3’, mosaic out of a material of their choosing, arrange it into a composition, and mount it to a board.
This will take multiple class periods to create.
Students will be instructed to first sketch out a preliminary drawing of what they will be creating.
Discuss how mosaic is installed and how mortar acts as a ‘glue’ for stone, tile, etc.
An in class critique will be performed and students will be given a chance to explain their work and comment on the work of their peers.
Students will be given the opportunity to display their work publicly to the entire school.
Discuss how art galleries, museums, and public spaces are currated.
Powerpoints will be made explaining each step of the process and shown in a succession of days.

This lesson will start with a power point that showcases early and contemporary mosaic art.

Christ the Pantacrator- Duomo Baptistry Minoan Mosaic art

Gary Drostle Carrie Riechardt

We will discuss early mosaic work and how the ancient people used it as a form of expressing the world around them. We will then move into modern artists, and discuss how each artist uses mosaic in their art. From public instalitions like that of Gary Drostle, to the very political and in your face style of Carrie Riechart.

Videos to watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEc-ESRjntg Primative tile making,
https://vimeo.com/104114729 Carrie Riechart “Civil Disobiedience”

This encounter brings all the senses full circle. Students will be shown how their work can impact not only the individual viewer but society as a whole,

“Design story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning- are

Fundamentally human attributes. They are things we do

out of intrinsic motovation. They reside in all of us, and only

need to be nurtured into being.” (247)

Work cited

Pink, Daniel H. A Whole New Mind Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future. New York:

Riverhead Trade, 2006. Print.