Teaching!

It seems like I should probably say something about teaching, since that is the reason I am here!

I have been responsible (lesson planning, prep, grading, etc) for three high school art classes for about 5 weeks now. They are the three intro classes: Drawing/Painting, Sculpture/Ceramics, and Design. Overall, things are great. Christina (my host teacher) and I get along really well and the students also are wonderful. We just finished the first quarter and so now are starting new projects in all of the classes. Here are some of the projects we have worked/are working on:

SCULPTURE/CERAMICS: We did a really cool study of abstract sculptors (Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Ruth Duckworth) and then studied how to abstract the human figure. This all led to carving plaster sculptures. SO FUN! I was unsure how well the students would do with this, but they really loved it and the sculptures turned out well! We also go to the Clay Center once a week to work on the wheel and do some handbuilding. Now we are starting a new collaborative project to make a public sculpture for Woodstock. I gave them some parameters, but for the most part they are designing it. I'm excited about it!


We did all of our carving out on the balcony of the art room. There is a great view of Mussoorie and the Dehradun valley on clear days.


One student almost done with her sculpture. Can you tell that it is an abstract human?

DRAWING/PAINTING: We spent a good chunk of the quarter doing figure drawing. Then we studied patterns (from 1960s wallpaper!) and did a project combining live model drawings with abstract pattern. Now we are moving onto value studies. Pretty basic.


This was a really fun day. In order to get interesting poses, randomly selected students had to draw a pose out of a hat and then model for 5 min. Some highlights were "a monkey is about to attack!" and "walking on the moon." This one is "sitting in the rain."


A sampling of the pattern/figure compositions (colored pencil).


DESIGN: This class started off kind of boring - just color theory and basic design. An exciting change of pace was studying East Asian signature seals and then doing a linoleum printing project. Now we are moving into a study of advertisements and will be designing positive ads to put up around Woodstock.


Color theory painting. (The display looks weird because one of the paintings has disappeared overnight - eek!)


Signature prints (linoleum).