ADVANCED INTERGENERATIONAL DRAWING (FALL)

Time: Tuesday 3:15-6 pm

Location: Andy Warhol/Nucleus

Instructor: Michael Gunn

Email: Michaelg@school-one.org 

In this skill-building art class, creativity meets technique. Students will embark on a hands-on journey to strengthen their drawing, painting, and printmaking skills while building a rich and personal portfolio. We’ll explore the foundational elements of drawing using a range of media, including pencil, charcoal, pen, and ink. In painting, students will experiment with gouache and acrylics, with a strong emphasis on color theory and application.

Each class will include quick creative warm-ups and imaginative exercises designed to spark ideas and encourage making without overthinking. Core visual concepts such as line, perspective, value, space, shape, texture, pattern, and design will be introduced through engaging projects. While the pace is dynamic and enjoyable, the extended format of the class also allows for deeper focus, personal growth, and sustained artistic development.

Course Objectives

• Expand visual and spoken vocabulary around drawing techniques to develop images with more sensitive, yet confident, decisions to find solutions in depicting subject matter.

• Practice and introduce foundational techniques that help artists understand how they see or create images that feel more grounded in techniques of draftsmanship, so that they can practice drawing any type of subject matter with more success.

• Develop innovative processes that evolve each artist’s own skillset, interests, and own reference material by prompting the class to create entirely imagined and collaborative forms of making. 

• Uncover some of the history of image making, its fluid and expansive definition, and allow it to inspire rigorous material inquiry by working together as a class to define what drawing is capable of through our images and conversations

Course Expectations

Evaluation will be based on your attendance and engagement, the completion of assignments, and maintaining a personal sketchbook. I ask that all students keep a document of your drawings from each class in the google drive, this will help you track your progress, build a portfolio from the class, and help with evaluation. Students will also be required to be active participants in class discussions by listening and offering their discoveries, opinions, and inquiries.  Collaboration is encouraged and often students work in small groups to join together on a few assignments and critiques.  Over the three trimesters, students touch upon many aspects of Art making, as the class is both a place for critical thinking and problem-solving but also one for joyous creativity and expression.

Behavior Expectations

• Arrive on time and be present

• Make consistent effort

• Participate in critiques/discussions

• Engage with the assignments given

• Be yourself and be kind 

• Ask for help! 

Cell phones are not to be used during class time most days. During free work time, I may allow you to retrieve your phones from the organizer to play our own music. We will need full attention and focus for demos, presentations, and getting settled into our work day. . . but, I do want you to be able to use your phones to document work and aid in your focus or relaxation in your art making process. 

Headphones are to be turned down or have one ear exposed so that you can hear instruction that happens passively while you work.

Evaluation for Credit

• Projects are turned in on time and show progress and effort

• A minimum of 75% attendance is required (usually that equates to no more than 2 absences in my course per trimester)

(30 minutes late= an absence. Late minutes from breaks or at the start of class over the course of the trimester will add up to an absence)

(Leaving early from a work day is only allowed for appointments or unavoidable conflicts, leaving  more than 30 minutes from a class will result in a half day for attendance)

• Participation in discussions and critiques both as a class, in small groups and individually.

• Cleaning up and being responsible with tools and materials as well as respecting all student work

*Note that the below class by class plans can and most likely will be flexible to change as we gauge together how best to use our time to make our drawings and this class fit the needs of each of you and our desired hopes for learning

Every class we will plan to have a 10 minute break every hour that passes.

Our break at 5pm will be 15-20 minutes for eating if needed (10-15 Minutes of every class will be reserved for cleanup at the end)