Elements of Art Book

"Elements of Art" or "Elements of Design" are the basic building blocks of images; they are: line, shape, color value, texture, form and space. Without them there can be no drawing, painting or sculpture. Form is basically the 3D version of a shape. The illusion of space requires one of the other elements to create it; linear perspective and cross contour uses lines, atmospheric perspective uses value. Shapes can overlap or be used to show relative size (small shapes look like they are further away). An orange shape on a blue background shows how color creates a sense of space because cool colors recede.  

My first assignment for the year, is having students create a chart illustrating each of the elements of art. I don't require students to include "space" on their "elements of art" chart, for the reason that it is a repeat of the other elements. The same can be said of "form" unless they want to actually glue 3D objects to their chart. The chart can be created by dividing a piece of paper or poster board into five or six sections, one for each element: line, shape, color, value, and texture are required. Again, form is optional. paper. 

Another option for this project is to make a book to illustrate elements. To make this, use a 12" X 18" piece of paper cut in half to make two strips of 6" X 18" pieces. Each piece is folded in half, and the end ends folded back on themselves to form a W, of four 6"X4" sections or pages. The two "W" sheets are then glued along the back of one of the ends and aligned with the edge of the other strip so that the 2 W's make a 24 long strip of folded paper. That way, each element can have it's own page.

Use a glue stick to glue the back of the last page (the whole page to the edges). It helps to have a piece of scrap paper under that on the back of the last page to keep glue off the rest of the book during application. Center the stacked book pages on the back of a piece of mat board or cardboard/chip board wrapped in colored paper, and rub until the glue side of the page is smooth. Repeat the same process to glue the other end of the strips of paper to the other board, making sure that the boards line up as well as possible. Viola! You've made an accordion book! You can add a title or image to glue to the front of your book. If you'd like a spine you can use colored tape or glue a strip of colored paper; this will require viewers to flip through the pages and prohibits them from stretching out out, but it may feel more like a book to you. 

For a stronger finished product try to think of how one page or part of the chart can seamlessly align with the next part. Make the color extra colorful. Make the lines extra linear, whether they be straight, zig zag, or loopy. You want good clean examples of each element. Shapes can be geometric or organic, curvilinear or rectilinear. Think in terms of composition, maybe breaking up the space into large, medium and small shapes. Feel free to use negative shapes within your positive shapes. Value can be built through stippling (dots) or cross hatching. Charcoal or graphite can also be used to show a range of lights and darks. Textures can be flat illusions of texture or actual pieces of lace, sand paper, etc glued to the page. Don't forget to label each element.

Another option is an envelop book. this might be a good option for my students who are totally blind.

To make this, glue the opened flap of one envelop onto the bottom back of another envelop. Create a chain, of at least five envelops so that each one can represent an Element of Art.

Each card can be Brailled at the top center so it can be read before pulling the card out of the envelop. Separate strips of braille can also be glued later so that each element has a label. 

Wiki Stix, glued yarn or ribbon, puffy paint, or Elmer's glue can create a variety of tactile lines. Foam or cardboard shapes can be glued. Glued Sand, crumpled foil, or feathers can be used for the texture. Value can be made by stippling little dots of puffy paint. Be creative and try to make the book original, while maintaining clarity in how you illustrate and understanding of the Elements of Art.

 

From the Art Classroom

I love that my blind and visually impaired art students say, "It's nice to see you."

When something is amiss they might say, "That doesn't look right," and when they understand what I'm talking about, they say, "I see."

The fact that their eyes don't work perfectly, doesn't mean they have to use a different phrases then sighted people. They live in the same world, and deserve to understand what people are talking about when they make references to art. They also deserve to try their hand at art projects. Art, after all, is for everyone.

I recently had my students empty their portfolios onto the wall for a critique. It is so fun to track 

their progress and how see much they've accomplished in the last few months.

I had each student pose in front of their work while I took their pictures. I can't share the photos of them, but I can share a few of their self portraits.

 We talk about line of symmetry and proportions. Mirror's aren't always useful, but students can use their fingers to determine how far apart their eyes are, and what fraction of their head is taken up by their forehead.

This student used wiki sticks to "see" his "drawing" as he worked.

Tessellation projects are are a favorite way to teach math/art concepts of perimeter, shape and pattern. I have a slide lecture of M.C. Escher images that I describe in detail to those who can't see, and then they used wiki sticks to trace the templates they made.

Observational concepts such as linear perspective and use of value to show three dimensions were tackled by my low vision students.   

Right before winter break, we studied Andy Warhol before doing screen prints of snow flakes. And we learned a little about Frank Lloyd Wright and architecture before building and decorating graham cracker houses.

Teaching Art to Blind Children: My New Job

I have a new job teaching art at the Academy for the Blind. Until I saw on the school's marquee that there was an opening, it hadn't occurred to me that such a job could exist. It does. Considering that there's only one (maybe two) schools for the blind in any given state, and each of those schools may or may not have an art teacher, I feel especially lucky to land such a challenging and fulfilling position!

My students' ages range from four to nineteen, and their visual and learning abilities are as varied as their ages. Because the needs are diverse, the classes are small, sometimes only two or three students at a time. This has allowed me to get to know and love the children very quickly.

I started my first full week, ironically, with an Op Art assignment. Optical illusions may not mean much to most blind, but the line is the simplest of art elements and repetition isn't a hard concept to grasp.

This student exclaimed, "I did it!" after drawing each line. It warmed my heart to think of all the encouragement she's received during her short life. I love the sense of movement in this simple piece.

Week two I plunged into color theory, which is difficult, even students without visual disabilities. In fact, I have taught many college students with 20/20 vision who made it through childhood without learning their color wheel. Luckily, these kids were up to the challenge of mixing the three primary colors to get secondary and tertiary colors in even steps.

Here is another Op Art project using line and repetition in complimentary color schemes.

 Piet Mondrian and Roy Lichtenstein are favorite artists to study when learning about primary colors and triadic color schemes. You can see from this picture how close most of my students need to get to the paper in order to see what they are doing. This Mondrian-style piece was done on braille paper.

The student who created the red piece in the upper right said, "This is really beautiful. Do you think people will like it?" We discussed Picasso's Blue Period before making our own monochromatic paintings. I believe that teaching art history and formal design principles is what separates real art lessons from mindless craft time. I want to give kids the tools to make informed aesthetic choices to better communicate ideas.

The youngest students have done crayon rubbings of various textures and created textures in salt dough by stamping it with objects. We are also making and decorating newspaper hats. I've only been at the school for a few weeks but so far I am loving it. I pinch myself every morning.