Students utilize their art journals over the course of the year to explore concepts and vocabulary related to the elements and principles of art and design. Students create an art journal page demonstrating the use of each element/principle. In addition, students learn to use this vocabulary to describe their creative decision-making processes.

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Students will use Google Sites to develop a portfolio of works throughout the course of High School Art Foundations. They will use this portfolio site to communicate an artist statement and biographical information, to display art journal exercises, and to present final projects and research.

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Students will explore a variety of tools and practices within the discipline of drawing. Students learn drawing as a foundational practice to art making and understand that each medium contains a variety of techniques that can be learned through exercise and practice. Students learn how to use graded drawing pencils to achieve a range of values. Students also explore value techniques including hatching, cross-hatching, stippling, and smooth blending. Students then implement these techniques in a final still-life drawing.

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Students will practice color mixing, learn color terminology, and create color schemes through an exploration of the color wheel. Students will then use these tools and techniques to create an original piece of artwork that demonstrates their knowledge of color mixing practices and a variety of color schemes.

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Traditional Collage

Students will explore the story telling qualities of imagery through magazine-image collage. Students will select components that contributes to the overall content and builds a theme in their final compositions. Students will also incorporate elements and principles such as texture, value, and variety to create a sense of visual interest in their finished collage compositions.

Digital Collage

Students will learn the basic photo-editing tools of Adobe Photoshop or similar software within the context of graphic design and commercial art. Students will create a mock tourism poster for a specific location (city, state, or country) of their choice. Students will compile multiple images within a single composition (digital collage) that serves as a visual representation of the people, culture, architecture, and geographic features of their chosen location.

For project details, samples, standards, and essential learning outcomes, please contact: c.grabhorn@gmail.com

Students will explore the element of form with the readily available material of corrugated cardboard. Students can practice a variety of treatments and textures associated with this materials as they determine a three-dimensional object to construct using cardboard and simple adhesives. Students are encouraged to brainstorm and plan their three-dimensional forms through sketching before the final phase of construction.

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Students will take a closer look at a period of art history that they find particularly interesting. Students will explore a variety of prominent periods and movements, then choose one to research. Students will identify and share the historical context of their selected movement, exemplary artworks, and the formal qualities, subject matter, and content of a few pieces that accurately describe the movement. Students present their work, then compare their research with the research of their peers.

For project details, samples, standards, and essential learning outcomes, please contact: c.grabhorn@gmail.com

Students are introduced to the world of design through a variety of disciplines. Students participate in the design thinking model through a variety of projects including logo design and product design. Students learn how to identify a design problem, ideate potential solutions, and refine ideas into finished products.

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Students discuss and help to define relief sculpture. Students observe examples of both high and low-relief sculptures expressed in classical and contemporary manners. Students are encouraged to think creatively about the idea of relief sculpture and explore how both subtractive and additive processes can accomplish a strong sense of relief. Students also practice fundamental clay building techniques including the use of slip, scoring, and slab rolling to accomplish properly crafted ceramic works.

For project details, samples, standards, and essential learning outcomes, please contact: c.grabhorn@gmail.com

Students continue their exploration of the process of creating reliefs by examining materials like wood, linoleum, rubber, and foam that can be used in the printmaking process. Students are given studio time to explore these materials and create self-guided projects that require them to manipulate these materials to make unique works of art through printmaking.

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Upon completion of the variety of foundational units through the year/semester, students are prompted to reflect on their art making pursuits. The class circles back to the studio habits of mind in pursuit of self-guided practices in a variety of media. Students are prompted to utilize classroom materials to explore self-guided concepts that accomplish one ore more studio habits of mind. Students can continue to refine their craft, revisit previous materials, research new ideas and methods, and/or build an independent creative path for the duration of this unit.

For project details, samples, standards, and essential learning outcomes, please contact: c.grabhorn@gmail.com