Art lessonsDrawing in Application – Learning to See
Day
1: Field
trip to the duck pond at Bowen Park. Take pictures of objects and scenes that
incorporate line, shape, negative space, proportion, perspective, light &
shade, cast shadow, reflection… take shots of interest to students. Day 2: Discuss
pictures, begin drawing. Lightly outline objects in scene, horizon line, etc.
Remember line, shape and negative space. Lightly
shade background areas, starting with 10 – 30 % shading. Day 3: Decide
where your light source is. Lightly shade middle and foreground areas. Keep in
mind background areas are usually lighter. Notice
where objects are a little darker, and work into these areas, watching for 30
– 50 % shades. Day 4: Look
for and add cast shadows. Remember that the shadows will fall from the edge of
objects, out away from your light source. Look
for and add reflections. Notice direct and bounced reflections. Day 5: Work on
texture of objects and areas in background, middleground and foreground. Keep in
mind that objects and areas in background have less detail as they’re farther
away. Remember the lighter shading there too. Day 6: Work out any extra details you want to add in foreground. Remember you can work in reverse, with gummy erasers, especially for reflections. Day 7: Back to
park. Look around, use imagination, daydream, create in your mind. In
class, decide on image you’d like to draw, based on things you saw at park. Don’t
be afraid to change things and make them your own with your imaginative
creativity. Begin by lightly sketching out what your scene will be. Day 8: Lightly
shade background areas, starting with 10 – 30 % shading. Decide where your
light source is. Lightly shade middle and foreground areas. Keep in mind
background areas are usually lighter. Day 9: Notice
where objects are a little darker, and work into these areas, watching for 30
– 50 % shades. Day 10: Add
cast shadows as they seem relevant. Remember that the shadows will fall from the
edge of objects, out away from your light source. Add
reflections as they are relevant. Remember direct and bounced reflections. Day 11: Work on
texture of objects and areas in background, middleground and foreground. Keep in
mind that objects and areas in background have less detail as they’re farther
away. Remember the lighter shading there too. Day 12: Work
out any extra details you want to add in foreground. Remember you can work in
reverse, with gummy erasers, especially for reflections. Art in the 3rd Dimension – Learning to See by Feel Week 1: Sculpting a
sphere, egg, cylinder, cone – with dough – also a cube, parallelepiped,
pyramid using craft dough. This
recipe is smooth and near white in colour. The white colour allows your eyes to
notice the subtleties in
light and shade while working under a desk lamp.
*The craft dough is very soft and provides much room for developing
patience, as even slight touching
can strongly change the shape. This also trains your hands to work
very carefully with your eyes, to
accomplish what your mind wants.
The recipe for craft dough:
2 cups pastry flour
Blend ingredients together and knead for 7 – 10 minutes.
1 cup salt
Store in a sealed plastic bag to prevent drying out.
1 cup water Should
be used within 3 or 4 days (will get gooier each day).
Week 2: Creating a
picture scene in relief with dough
Prepare the dough. Draw the basic scene for reference. Use plate or pan
for mould. Roll out your
backboard (1/2 - 1cm thick). Create shapes by moulding with hands and by cutting
out with knife. Score both pieces, wet slightly and apply. Use various tools to
smooth edges. You may need to dip the tools into water occasionally. An
attachment of a small bent piece of wire can be made at the back, so it can be
hung later, on a wall. Allow to dry fully (about 1 week), or bake in oven at 200
for a couple of hours, checking frequently… it may not take long! * This project will teach your brain (through creating with your own hands, and feeling the texture) that volume and depth perception can be accomplished within even a very narrow space of depth. Week 3: Creating an
indented reversal of a relief with dough art Prepare dough.
Roll thicker (1 – 1 ½ cm thick). Using your fingers and various tools, press
into the backboard to create a reversal of last week’s image, an indented
version. Again, if you want, you can add a small wire ‘hanger’ at the back.
Again, air dry for approximately 1 week or bake as ‘dehydrating’. * This exercise will train your mind to see (through feel, again) the ‘inside’ of an object. As it gives you the opposite angle of the shapes, it will actually better equip your mind to understand shapes as they are, and therefore, as they can be drawn too. Week 4: Painting your
dough pictures
Prepare paints and area. Use acrylic. Paint your dough pictures from week
2 and 3, as you want to. Allow to dry
fully. They can be clear coated too for added lustre, and protection. Also, they
can have cork or foam sheets glued to the back so they can be hung on a wall,
without scraping the wall’s paint.
* Painting your 3-d images will give you another method of seeing them by feel. Using a paintbrush to colour them, will not only allow your mind to explore the surface of the shapes, but also to have to control where the brush goes and how thick or thin it spreads the paint, again, using cooperation between your eyes and hands to your mind’s approval.
Week 5: Building a
tree with papier mache Prepare tree shape by rolling paper together & tape, making it the basic shape that you want. Prepare papier mache & paper strips. Coat tree trunk & branches with papier mache. Create leaves as you wish, and ‘glue’ to the branches, all with papier mache. Make sure you create a base too or large root system so it can stand. Allow to dry fully (at least 3 days). Another method is to create the trunk separately from the branches, and attach pieces together with papier mache later. * This project will train your eyes and hands to work together in another way, creating a completely 3-dimensional object, with loose, floppy materials that dry hard. This material can be smoothed over and added to, with your hands as you create. There is a lot of room for reworking, as well as for creating a very ‘natural’ look and feel to your object. Your mind is also picking up a lot of information about 3-dimensional negative spaces & angled and curved lines. The recipe for
Papier Mache Week 6: Painting your
tree Prepare paints
and area. Use acrylic. Paint the tree as you wish. Allow to dry fully. This
project can be clear-coated as well for protection and lustre. Cork or foam or
rubber can be glued to the bottom so it can stand on any surface without
scratching it. * Painting your tree helps to make it more believable. As it is a 3-d object, painting it with realistic colours can really help your mind to see how the natural flow of the tree’s individual pieces work together. This in turn, can really help your mind to think in 3-d when you’re drawing a tree or similar object. The negative spaces are even more obvious now, as you are using these to allow the paintbrush to get to the object! Week 7: Creating a
bird-house with sticks and branches
First, draw the basic plan in 3-d, to refer to. Use measurements. Find
materials needed. Start the house
with the floor and frame, tying the sticks together with string, at corners. Add
sticks for walls. Create roof and
add. Treat the sticks with a weather-resistant stain. * Building something recognizable, with already existing materials that are imperfect allows creativity to really flow. It provokes more project ideas (as do all artistic and crafty endeavours), and it provides another method of training your mind to guide your hands and eyes to work together to make you happy. In this method, there will be more room for ‘imperfections’. Your mind will automatically notice these (as it is a building you’re trying to create)… remember these imperfections as negative spaces and unparalleled lines and angles that make it more natural or eclectic feeling. They’re not mistakes.
Week 8: Creating a
picture scene in relief with paper-covered cardboard & papier mache First, draw the
scene, to refer to. Design this relief scene with more depth perception than
with the craft dough. It can stick right out as it is less likely to crack while
drying. Prepare papier mache, & paper strips. Cut cardboard
pieces. Coat pieces and backboard with papier mache, smoothing edges &
corners. Allow to dry fully (at least 3 days). * This project will provide your mind with the same kind of exercise it got, doing a relief scene with craft dough. It will be slightly different, as the materials behave differently. As the dough requires intense carefulness and patience, the papier mache is more forgiving as it appears more natural to begin with. It also requires different application of material, blending the added pieces as they are attached. This allows your mind to see exactly how slowly or quickly the object becomes the size and shape and thickness you want. Week 9: Painting your
papier mache relief picture Prepare your
paints as done in week 6. Paint your picture. Allow to dry fully. It can be
clear-coated, and it can have cork or foam sheet cut and glued to the back so it
may be hung safely on a wall. * Painting this relief scene will give your mind another look at depth within a shallow space, except that it has a few pieces that really reach out, so your mind gets an even stronger 3-d ‘feel’ when it sees the scene. As you paint, consider shading and tinting, making your colours darker & lighter, more vibrant up close & more muted farther back. This also creates a stronger perception of depth into your scene’s space. Week 10: Carving in
‘non-relief’ with wood
Find your piece of wood. Draw a picture of your object/scene for
reference if you want. Begin carving.
Remember to keep the outside (or thickest) parts of your scene untouched,
working back, away from the thickest parts, as if uncovering it. Remember
it’s more safe to carve ‘away’ from yourself than ‘into’ yourself,
although you may be tempted to out of convenience. * This project requires a different application of patience, as it must be done slowly. If it’s done quickly, it’s very easy to carve too much away… or hurt yourself! Your mind is thinking in reverse here in a different way, focusing on the object at the same time as the negative space. The negative space is where you are working in this project. You are removing the material that is in the negative space. You are creating the negative space, and in doing so, you’re creating the object. Week 11: Wood carving
continued
Continue carving your wood image, carving deeper, revealing a more 3-d
image. Remember your safety. * The deeper you carve, the more you understand
the importance of negative space and just how much of it there is everywhere! Week 12: Staining your
wood carving
Prepare carving, clean and dry and area. Stain the carving. Also
clear-coat other projects. * Staining will provide your mind with the same
benefits as earlier, in using your eyes and hands to work together, to paint
over the 3-dimensional surface of your carving. It will intensify your mind’s
understanding of the 3-dimensional space of your object as well as remind you of
the 3-dimensional spaces that are your negative spaces. Concepts to cover: 3-d sculpture, creating basic shapes,
training eyes and hands to work together, moulding shapes to the acceptance of
your mind.
- dough, a soft, pliable smooth finishing material that develops
gentleness and patience. 3-d sculpture, creating image, something
that requires shaping and connecting of pieces, again training hands. Negative
space comes into play here, helping your mind to recognize the value of this
invisible space. - papier mache,
messy and soft, but hard finishing material that also develops patience! Relief sculpture, creating ‘1/2’,
front of image sticking out slightly, training eye to see how to make something
3-d more flat, and training hands to follow. At the same time, training eyes
& hands to make the flat surface begin to ‘pop out’ into 3-d. Negative
space is important here too, as well as the illusion of depth perception within
a shallow space. -
dough -
papier mache -
carving from wood Impressed sculpture, creating an indented
or reversal of a relief image, training the mind to see 3-d in reverse, as if
from inside, looking out. -
Dough Construction of an object with imperfect
materials: sticks, branches & string. Training the eye and hands to create
something of beauty that is imperfect and asymmetrical, but balanced, using
already existing materials. Studying use of
lines, shapes and negative space used in creating these objects, & how light
reacts to them, in highlight, shadow, cast shadow, reflection. NOTE: All projects
to be worked on under direct table-lamp lighting. This will provide light to see
what you’re doing, and also to see how highlights, shades and cast shadows are
created through your work. This will aid your mind in seeing what you’re
feeling, and understanding it as 3-dimensional.
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