Ideas for Discussing Prints

The children will remember the pictures more if they participate in the discussion each time.  Use these questions as a guide in preparing your presentation.  Don’t ask dead end questions…pose question that open up new avenues of discovery.

  

1.                  Compare art objects.  As you look at these two paintings, do they look the same? What makes them look different?

2.            Is it good to have pictures or statues that look different? Why?

3.            Can you tell us about something in our town, or your yard or school that does not look nice? How does it make you feel when you see something that does not look nice?  What could you and I do to make out town look better?

4.           Here is rock. Is it pleasing to look at? To feel? Is it a work of art? Why? Art most things around us art objects in a way?

5.           Here is a weed.  What do you see in the weed? Does it look strong or weak, friendly or unfriendly? Does it look you or old? What makes it look that way?

6.           Why do businessmen hire artists rather than non artists to design automobiles, billboards, and cereal boxes?

7.           Art beautiful things good for us? Are they always good for us? Do beautiful things always cost a great deal of money?

8.           Here is Gainsborough’s Blue Boy.  Do you believe that this painting affected boys and girls in Gainsborough’s day in the same way that it affects you? Why? Did this boy dress like this everyday? How would he dress today?

9.            Is it worthwhile for people to make art objects that deal with the same subject matter? Why?

10.         Is it worthwhile for one artist to employ the same style as another artist? Why?

11.         In how many different ways can are be valuable to use? Do we use art skills when we select our clothing? Or write our name on a paper?

12.         If two average citizens happen to disagree about the worth of an art object, is it possible to determine if one is more nearly correct than the other?

13.        Why was this color chosen? Do you know that warm colors always attract attention and seem to ‘jump out’ at us?

14.         Did the artist use the ’whole space’ for the picture? Whey did the artist include this object (for this one) in the picture?

15.          Is the main theme of this picture a person, place or thing?

16.        How often did the artist repeat this color? This diagonal line? This brush texture? Did you know that all great pictures have repetition of line, color, or form?

17.         If you could change one thing about this picture, what would it be?

          

Principles of Art: Description

Balance – the principle of organization that refers to arranging elements equally in a work of art.  There are two kinds of balance: Formal (also called symmetrical) and information (also called asymmetrical).

Contrast – a difference in value, color or texture that achieves emphasis or dominance.

Proportion - the comparison of elements one to another in terms of their properties of size, quality , and degree of emphasis.

Pattern – the repetitions of art elements or the combination of elements in an organized manner.

Rhythm – a principle of organization that indicates a type of movement in art or design, reinforced by repeated shapes, lines or color.

Emphasis – a means by which an artist uses contrasting colors, shapes, or value to draw attention to certain areas or objects in a work of art.

Unity – a principle of organization that relates to the sense of oneness or wholeness in a work of art.

Variety – is the principle of design that creates interest in an artwork by stressing the difference or contrast of the elements such as : line, shape, color or texture.

Art Gallery Description for Snowman in Perspective

Medium: Paint

We started our art lesson with a discussion about PERSPECTIVE in art.  One student was able to give a really good definition of the topic.  She said “it is looking at a subject from a different angle or direction.”

Using the subject of a snowman, most students (even adults) want to draw the three circles of their snowman and get on with it.  We talked about taking a close up look at a snowman.  We asked, what do you see if your snowman in directly in front of you?  We may not see the bottom part of the snowman but his face would appear very large. How big would his nose be? Would you see his entire body or just part of it?

After much discussion on the topic, the students were instructed to draw the body shape, from the mid-part of the middle circle to the head.  Step-by-step they were shown how to draw the hat, scarf, nose, eyes and buttons.  Then they were given tempura paint and shown how to property use the paint brush and other tools to create their ‘close-up’ perspective of the snowman.

The children were quite impressed with their new found knowledge on perspective.  The artwork you see here is a result of this lesson!

Getting Started as a Docent Art Teacher

Once your school has decided to incorporate a Art Docent Program, establish guidelines that will keep the program on track and also create the expectations for both the parent docent and the teacher.  Following is some recommendations:

• Meet with Other Class Docents - At our school, docent parents have selected multiple teachers to work with off the full list of teachers grouped together by grade.  Docents may pick just one teacher to work with, but often pick two or three.  If you chose to work in the same grade level, then you may repeat the coursework in all classes you are working in. Decide how you, and the other class docents, would like to work together in a class. Docents can work in teams or individually.  For a successful program, our goal as docents is to provide a lesson once a month. If you work individually you can alternate months between you and another parent docent(s), spending less time in the classroom (if lack of time is a consideration).  However, the team approach gives you more one on one time with the kids and is a lot more fun for everyone involved.

• Meet with your Teacher  - Schedule all lessons through the teacher directly.  Ask about curriculum integration and anything else they may need from you.  Also, discuss the technology available to you.  What kind of projector and materials are needed for display. What supplies do students have that could be useful in determining your project; example, do they all have their own marker and colored pencils?  Determine the best times for the lessons and schedule them.  Scheduling can be tough if you don't be proactive about it. Most teachers will want you to offer to them specific times versus a teacher asking a docent.  Therefore, be proactive by offering a teacher 2 to 3 options for the month that work for you (and your class docent team), and then coordinate calendars.   

IMPORTANT!!!  ONCE YOU KNOW THE DATES, PLEASE PUT THEM ON THE CALENDAR IN THE SUPPLY ROOM SO THERE IS NOT OVERLAP AND RISK OF RUNNING OUT OF SUPPLIES. 

• Prep your Supplies - Get everything ready ahead of your lesson time, so you are ready to distribute to the class when you walk in.  Pre-mix, pre-sort, pre-cut, pre-prep...be ready.  Your time is short and you can not spend any of the lesson time still prepping.  Also, to help save value lesson time, have kids in the classroom to help you pass out materials if you don't have a class docent partner.

• Teaching the Lesson - Find artist's bio, photos and artwork and display them on the screen in the classroom, or print them out and project them.    Once you have your lesson determined, use this general guideline when in the classroom:

1. Distribute supplies to all children in the class.  (Again, have kids in the classroom to help you pass out materials if you don't have a class docent partner)
2. Introduce an artist and show samples of their work.  (5 to 15 minutes).  Use interesting details (like Van Gogh slicing his ear off)
3. Describe the lesson you have for them and how it ties in to the artist
4. Walk them through the project, step by step.  If you are able to, bring in some music, it is a great tool for creating artists.
5. Keep lessons between 1 to 2 hours.  The teacher will tell you how much time you have.
6. As students finish, have them mount their own work on colored paper sized to fit the art and sign it.  Decide with the teacher if the art can be left to dry in a specific area.  If students don't finish before the class is over, decide with the teacher if there is time for the student to finish  their project indendentely later in the day. 
7. Arrange with the teacher (or with other class room 'helpers') to 'hang' the art in the art gallery (hallway outside of the classroom) along with the LESSON DESCRIPTION sheet!  This IS the most important part of the lesson.  As students, teachers and parents walk by the display they can easily reference the lesson and concepts learned. 

•  Retreive all docent supplies - Round up all supplies at the end of the lesson and return them back to the storage area.

• Back-up plan - If you are unable to teach a scheduled lesson, find another docent that could cover for you.  The kids really look forward to these lessons and we certainly don't want to disappoint!