Here are some photos from my summer classes recent trip to the Smithsonian Museum of American Art and National Portrait Gallery. It is currently my favorite museum in Washington, DC. I think, no I know, my students had an amazing time and not just because we stopped at a Starbucks beforehand while we waited for... Continue Reading →
As I've mentioned we are moving back in time through the modern movements. In addition to keeping a living timeline in our sketchbooks we are also looking for connections in the philosophies of each movement and their techniques. It has been incredibly rewarding to hear them making connections from pop art to surrealism. This week... Continue Reading →
For our second week of summer classes we took a look at the bizarre and the dreamlike art of the surrealists. We focused on the element value and the principal balance. We also looked at Rene Margritte (My favorite surrealist) and a later surrealist Leonora Carrington. Leonora Carrignton has an interesting story that includes leaving home... Continue Reading →
So as the end of the year approaches, my students have become deeply involved in their "final exam" for my class. They have signed contracts, which can be found here, and now spent almost 5 days working on these. Their contracts are a signed agreements between me and them that state their intentions for this... Continue Reading →
Two weekends ago, when we had our first taste of Spring, I had the honor of attending our Junior Retreat. Even though I do not teach many juniors I knew a few through various school activities, and social action days. I can't say much about the retreat, because it is meant to be a very... Continue Reading →
It has been a long time since I have been a high school student, and an even longer time since I have read a high schoolers personal essay. I have read plenty of artist statements, and reflections on growth as an artist, but none of these give me a real and tangible glimpse at the... Continue Reading →
So here are some action shots of my students working on their gesture drawings. These drawings were done using two of the elements of art, line and shape, to build a figure that was proportionate and captured the figure’s pose. Students started (last week) with pencil drawings of small mannequins in their sketchbooks. Next, each... Continue Reading →
