Laboratories are a place of testing and trial, a space to take what we know, stretch it a bit here, change it a bit there, crumple it up and start again. A classroom needs space to fail without consequence. Failure is the very thing that often ignites our success.
For each of the images below, the artists have a story of process. I am proud of their bravery.
Wire self-portrait
Pencil portrait
Melted-wax portrait
In the picture below and on the left, a random page was torn out of the dictionary. In this assignment, each student was asked to select words that could be read together as a story or poem, and then illustrate the poem they found in the spaces between the words. The center image is an enlargement of the poem pulled off the page of dictionary definitions.
Found poetry - made from a dictionary page
enlargement of dictionary poem on left side
Book report snowflake - James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl
Below are three different assignment using watercolor over oil-based pastels or crayons. This is a favorite media with younger children because it is easy for them to manipulate, and it has a striking result.
exercise in line repetition
exercise in warm/cool colors
water color resist with melted wax
black on white - charcoal
white on black - chalk
positive and negative
The accordion took several weeks, but was worth the time investment. Students thought of a before and after image, and created two separate pictures. Next, we cut both pictures into stripes, and glued them together in an A-B pattern. When you see the picture from the left, the before image is seen. From the right, the after image is seen. And from the front, it is a beautiful image of tension between what was and what will be.
colored pencils - metamorphisis
caterpillar (before)
butterfly (after)
Run with endurance - shoe portrait
Walk by faith - shoe portrait
Unity and variety: warm and cool colors. circles and squares.
birds with stylized hatching
drawing with torn tape
