The 7th graders learned about creating a room in correct 1 point perspective. I just loved the way this one turned out! She picked a theme and really stuck to it! Nice job Paige!

2 Point Perspective

The 8th graders just learned about creating work using two vanishing points (known as 2 point perspective). The students can choose to create a city, a birdhouse community, or 3-D letters. We then watercolor them. Here are some of the results.

The Van Wert City Schools art department at the middle school and high school level have long felt that drawing is fundamental. Without a strong foundation in drawing, students really struggle to become successful in high school art classes. With that in mind, all middle school art classes start the trimester drawing still-lifes. I typically set up about 4 throughout the classroom and as long as the students can handle it, I let them choose which ones they draw and where they sit. This trimester I decided to set up some still-lifes that I haven't done before. Here are some of the results.

Still-Life Drawings

Drawing: it's the ABC's of art. I would imagine that most of my students would say that they really don't enjoy drawing still-lifes. However, the many things I can teach through still-life drawings are priceless. We cover shape, value, space, gauging, highlights, color, blending, shadows, and craftsmanship. It's really amazing to see how far the kids come from their first drawing of the trimester to the last still-life they create. We only spend the first 3 1/2-5 weeks (of a 12 week grading period) on drawing, but to see how far they come in that time is awesome!

One Point Perspective

In 7th grade we learn about one point perspective by creating a room and then “building” furniture to go in the room. The kids each have a theme for their room and have some basic requirements. These rooms turned out very nice!

The 8th graders have been sketching the still-lives, using different types of media. Their first still-life was in regular pencil. The second still-life they created was with white pencil on black paper. The final still-life sketch was done on scratch board. I'm very happy with the results.

Drawing Unit

The seventh graders just finished drawing the still-lifes that I had set up in the room. They first learned about value and how to make things look 3-D. Their next challenge was to sketch a still-life using colored pencils. I think the final results were very nice.

Still-Life Drawings

Here, I've posted some of the still-life drawings that the 7th and 8th graders just finished working on. All 3 grades begin still-lifes with a value sketch. The 7th graders then do a sketch in colored pencil. The 8th graders move on to reverse-value and scratch art. I have 3 girls taking 8th grade Art for the second time (they are more advanced). Those girls used charcoal and chalk. I find the results to be quite nice! Great job artists!

Buttons! Buttons! Buttons!

The 6th graders always start the trimester with about a week of button drawing. We begin with them sketching buttons without my help, so I can see where they are coming from. The next 3 days we start class with me demonstrating different skills that will help them improve (value, making the drawing look 3-D, sketching details, etc.). It's amazing how much they learn and how far they come in just a week!

Doodle Art

I was searching my brain for a lesson that would involve lines, patterns, and contrast. Being a teacher for 11 years, I have all kinds of lessons that I've done before. However, I wanted something new, something, "Fresh!". So, as I was looking for something else, I kept seeing doodles. The more I looked at these, the more I liked them. So, I put together a lessons on Doodle Art. The kids had to choose a theme to stick by and they started with the main images they wanted to represent their theme. Then, they filled in around with a "supporting cast" of images and fially, filled in the small areas with lines and patterns.

Here, I've posted some of my fav's: