During this semester long class students will  explore art from different cultures and time periods and participate in art making projects that will include (but are not limited to) grayscale drawings, color drawings, and collage.  Extra credit opportunities that can involve the use of photography, sculpture and computer design will be available for students who are interested. 

Students will be working remotely at home with the use of #2 pencils, unlined paper, crayons/colored pencils, and glue sticks.

Week 1: Observational Contour Drawing

• Through observational drawing students look with a deeper consciousness, develop a new awareness of their surroundings, and develop perceptual skills needed to critically review the world around them. 

Week 2: Learning How to Control the Pencil to Create Form

• Students learn to make their contour drawings look three-dimensional by using value to create form. 

Week 3: Shading a Still Life Drawing

• After exploring contour drawing and learning to control a pencil to create differentiated values, we are applying both skills to shade individual objects and create a whole compositional still life.

Week 4: Contour Drawing and Shading a Chair

• This series builds on the previous one: exploring contour drawing, learning to control a pencil to create differentiated values, and learning to shade individual objects to create a whole compositional still life.

Students observe a chair in a room setting and apply their contour line drawing skills and shading skills to make this object look three-dimensional in a room context. 

Week 5: Drawing the Positive and Negative Space around an Object

• This series builds on the previous ones: contour drawing, creation of differentiated values, use of shade to create a still life composition, and three-dimensional representation of an object in a setting. By closely studying the negative space, students can increase their observational skills and create a fine finished drawing.

Week 6: Color Theory: It’s All About Relationships!

• Students study color theory and create new color variations by mixing colors. Exercises include: 

creating a color chart, blending of tints and shades, and working with complementary, analogous and warm 

and cool colors. (Its preferable for students to use color pencils, but crayons may be used.)

Week 7: Applying Color Theory to Organic Shapes

• In our last session students explored color theory, created color variations by mixing complementary and analogous colors, and learned about warm and cool colors. In this sequence of art activities, students apply that knowledge to create compositions based on organic shapes.

Week 8: Applying Color Theory to Geometric Shapes

• In our last sequence of art activities, students applied knowledge of color theory to create compositions based on organic shapes. In this sequence students apply color theory in color mixing exercises using geometric shapes. The exercises include creating a composition of geometric shapes that employs complementary and analogous colors. 

Week 9: Preparatory Drawing for “Designing a Future City”

• Previously, students learned to draw geometric solids. The aim now is to create a cityscape by stacking geometric solids on top of each other to create buildings for the topic: “Designing a Future City”.  

Week 10: Applying Color Future City Drawings

• Students completed their pencil drawings for their Future City during our last session. In this next series, students apply color to those drawings. The colors used are limited to complementary colors plus one additional color and black & white. Tints and shades are used to create the illusion of depth and to express a mood in their drawings.

Week 11: Preparatory Drawing For Texture Landscape 

• The students already have learned about line and its importance in the creation of a work of art. The aim now is to use various types of lines to create textures that can be applied to a landscape composition.  

Week 12: Applying Texture to Landscape Drawings

• Using the texture landscape exercises they rendered in their last session, students now observe the way in which Vincent van Gogh used texture in creating landscape drawings. The students apply their textures to complete their landscape compositions.

Week 13: Symmetrical Balance Collage

• The students have already studied the Elements of Art: line, shape, color, form, texture, space, and value.  

This week they begin the study of balance, which is one of the Principles of Art. The students explore 

the principles of balance through the medium of collage. 

NYC Visual Arts Benchmarks

• Art Making

• Developing Art Literacy

• Making Connections Through Visual Arts

• Community and Cultural Resources

• Exploring Careers and Lifelong Learning

Differentiation / Lesson Extension

...Students with different abilities can seek assistance from teacher, paraprofessional, or another student

...The students who finish early can ask a classmate if they need help or review

NYC VISUAL ARTS BENCHMARKS

• Developing Art Literacy

• Community and Cultural Resources

• Exploring Careers and Lifelong Learning