I have only nine seniors in my AP Drawing year two class. As a result I have been relying heavily on one-on-one meetings and small class critiques, both live and virtual, to keep these guys motivated. It is an unfortunate reality that second semester seniors tend to lose a little steam just when they need... Continue Reading →
This year I have moved from teaching Foundations of Studio Art to teaching all levels of studio art including our AP level studio classes. As a result of this and the virtual then hybrid format this year, I was excited to start more in-depth sketchbook work, especially with my advanced students. Sketchbook work is an... Continue Reading →
Amy Sherald is an artist from Baltimore, Maryland (my place of origin, too) and she is known for her achromatic portraits of African-Americans with colorful backgrounds and clothing. I introduced some of her work to my students and then should them her portrait of the former First Lady Michelle Obama. The colors she chooses for... Continue Reading →
As in years past, our final exam for the Foundations of Studio Art class consists of an independent project designed by the students themselves. My goal is that each student sets out to explore their personal art interests. This means they can re-visit any of the materials, techniques, and themes we have explored during the... Continue Reading →
We have begun our well established recycled unit. This year I have revamped the assignment by restructuring our project around a recycled amazon box. Each group has to bring in an amazon box, or use one of mine, as their jumping off point. My hope is that this constraint will encourage even more creative solutions... Continue Reading →
I do not teach print-making to my freshman. I have found that with my ambitious goal of trying to expose my students to everything from ceramics to painting to photography, as well as instilling the elements and principles or art and design, I just run out of time. I might re-evaluate this in years to... Continue Reading →
Once again we created single object still life paintings. I swear they get more and more dynamic every year! This project comes as the final piece in our study of color theory. We do this through studying the color wheel, color terms, and finally color relationships. Right before this project each student had the opportunity to design... Continue Reading →
After four years of trial and error in finding the right sketchbooks for my students I think I may have finally cracked it! I order them these beautiful ProArt hardbound sketchbooks that are only five and a half by eight inches. They are easy to cary and somehow incredibly pleasing in their small size. The girls... Continue Reading →
We wrapped up this amazing school year with another round of independent art projects. Each student filled out a contract that outlined their plan of action, their research goals, and their three most important overall goals for the project. It was their three overall goals that I used as a measure for how I would... Continue Reading →
Any art teacher who has the opportunity to host an art show at the end of the year knows, its both a blessing and a burden. It's an amazing opportunity to display your students artwork. This way of celebrating and recognizing their efforts can give a big boost to your students self esteem. It say... Continue Reading →
Emma Teaches Art! 