Great Day!

We finished. 

It wasn't perfect, but we finished. 

Today was the reading/showing of the collaborative project between the Art 2 and creative writing students. 

You write something, I draw a response to it, someone else writes a response to that, yet another person draws something from that. 

And so on. 

A fun idea that I hope the students got as much out of as I did. 

Crazy creativity these folks have. Truly impressive. 

Here is a little pic from our morning. 

You Want Extra Credit

Right away, BAM!

Extra credit here at the beginning of the semester. Two ways, actually.



First, we have our reception coming up at the LG Town Council Chambers. This is from 6-7:30 on Feb. 13th. You sign in on the sign in sheet and take a gander at the oil paintings that are on the wall and I give you extra credit for participating in Art.

Awesome.



Second, there is this movie coming out on Feb. 7th. If you can prove to me that you saw the movie, I will give you extra credit. But you will need to get me this proof before March 1st.

You can thank me later.



Oh, and by "prove to me", that means a ticket stub and something else. This could be a written impression, a piece of art inspired by, a critique of the film, or an equivalent. Bring your creativity to the table on this one.
And have fun.

Art 3 - 2nd Semester

I am copying this for the Art 3's straight up from the Schoology site as I want to make sure I don't lose the info, so this is most likely a duplication for those that it pertains to. FYI.


We are going to begin second semester with three quick projects (ok, maybe four - but three for sure). This will require you to brainstorm a bunch, make fast decisions, and get your final copies completed quickly.
All three of the of the images will be small in an effort to allow you to meet the quick turnaround times. I hope this helps.
At least one of these designs will be loaded onto Society6 by the end of the project.

Here are the details:
You have three topics you have to create imagery for (remember, since your image(s) is going online you cannot straight up duplicate an image that has been created by someone else - though you can combine different ideas and change up someone else's idea(s))

The topics are:
Geometry - pick a geometric shape (regular hexagon or circle, for example) and start from there (do you repeat that one shape, do they overlap, do you fill them with color or patter, etc.);
     does this help?
          http://society6.com/search?product=prints&q=geometric&submit=Search
     or
          http://www.pinterest.com/awcomeon/nature/


Animal - pick an animal and do something different to it (you could create an interesting effect with color dripping or combine two different animals into one, etc), keep the background simple here - maybe really simple (yeah, a hint);
     maybe something like this
          http://society6.com/product/Glass-Animal-Flying-Fox_Print#1=45
     or some of these are pretty great
          http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=animal%20watercolor

Typography - pick a word or a phrase, pick an awesome font, then make it more awesomer together.
     do you want to see some examples here, too
          http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=typography%20poster&rs=ac&len=10
     or
          http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=handmade%20type&rs=ac&len=12

Each piece should be turned in on a 9x12" piece of paper (you may or may not use every square inch, depending on the assignment's section)

You might find this helpful if you are going to create something with the intention of putting it on an iphone:
     http://www.lifeproof.com/en/iphone-5/specs/
or here, starting around page 15
     https://developer.apple.com/resources/cases/Case-Design-Guidelines.pdf
    

I really want you to have fun with this. You will have just over one week to create each design. I do not care which design you turn in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, and you will have a grade sheet for this assignment, but it will be your responsibility to turn in each image with the grade sheet (you will be turning in the grade sheet three times in total - don't worry, there will be plenty of reminders along the way)

Were it me, I would get out my sketchbook and start brainstorming right away. I mean a lot of ideas, too. Get them from your brain, twist other people's ideas around, steal your friend's idea(s) - whatever it takes. And you might as well share your ideas, too.

I would guess, roughly, 2.5-3 class periods for each piece is what you will get. This is subject to change so make sure you are paying attention.

New View in Guidance

Benz is at it again. Adorning the guidance office with the awesomeness that is your diligence. Stop by to check it out.

2014 Museum Showcase

A few weeks ago I received the information from the Los Gatos Museums for the show they will be having in 2014 that is open to any high school student in Santa Clara County.
Yes, this is the show that used to be the annual Los Gatos High School Art Show, which has morphed to be a juried show over the years.
I will include all of the necessary information here, but if you want to go straight to their website, you can find it here.

The Art 4 students know that this is a required assignment.
I think it will be for the Art 2 students as well, but haven't fully fleshed out how it will work yet. It won't be dealt with until second semester so I'm not that concerned.

If you are in Art 3 and want to make a killer piece for this show, I can safely say that it would be worth some extra credit for you.

Keep in mind a couple of things, such as:

• there is a due date for you to submit a pic of your piece in Feb. (the 14th I think)
• if the piece is accepted it has to be ready to hang
• if this is a canvas you work on, I have plenty of wire to put on the back
• if it is a work on paper, I haev 11x14 and 16x20 frames that might work for you, so standard sizes of paper will help - keeping me in the loop and talking with me will benefit you

Aside from the assigned (or not assigned) class piece, you can always do more. I believe you can submit up to 3 pieces per student, but again, I would direct you to the above image and/or the above link.

I will help you, but much of it will need to be done on your own outside of class.

I will also say that I strongly encourage you to make art for this. It is a good experience on many levels, it looks good on your transcript if you need it to, and it is just fun to make art and to showcase your abilities.

Art 2 + Update (the ec is for all adv art students)

Yeah, I know, the end of the semester is approaching way faster than any of us would like.
Well, I want another break, but I feel the pressure of finishing the semester strong and continuing to get a lot of stuff done.

So here is what you, Art 2's, need to know for the remainder of the semester.
First, keep checking the calendar to keep up with the due dates.

We will work on our advertising project for a few class periods, and you have until Tuesday, Dec. 10th to finish it. That is 4.5 hours of class time - give or take.

You must:

• make it visually appealing
• include hand-drawn typography
• encourage students to take art - or at the very least, pique their interest
• use different parts of ads/ad styles from your assigned decade for inspiration
• have thumbnail sketches in your sketchbook
• print out some inspirational pieces and tape them into your sketchbook

Know that I will be looking at your sketchbooks as you work and I will be looking at them for a grade on Friday of this week.

Extra Credit for this semester will be due before you leave class on Monday, 12/16.
You have two options for this extra credit.

• take a study drawing you have completed this semester and have a do-over;
• meaning, think about what didn't work; how can you make it better; was it the idea you liked, but the execution suffered; was it just straight up rushed; etc.
• you must include the original study drawing as well as the new one, side by side
• take one of the ideas from the back of your study drawing sheet (section 5) that we haven't gotten to yet, do one of those topics.

I will say this though: they need to be awesome. For real.

If I am giving you extra credit I expect you to really go above and beyond. Wow me. Turning in your average pencil line drawing isn't going to cut it. If you turn something in I will give you extra credit, but I will give you more extra credit the more fantastic it is.

Also know that you may get class time to work on this, but don't count on it. We still have other things to cover that are not yet on the calendar so you will probably need to count on doing the extra credit outside of class.

AICC Exhibit, 2014

The Arts In the Council Chambers exhibit is on its way. 

I just received the details from the town and now have many more items on my to-do list. In a good way. 

The reception is on Thursday, Feb. 13th. 

As usual I will be giving you extra credit for this. I will also be asking for volunteers to bring some refreshments, so start hitting up your parents soon. 

The reception will last from 6-7:30, so mark your calendars. 

How To Be Creative | Off Book | PBS Digital Studios

Pretty much everything about this is well said and well done. Many things I have tried to instill versions of in you. Creativity is much grander than we often give it credit for.
It isn't just "art" for example, that is just our focus for it. 

There are a lot of key factors that will help you get and feel more creative. Take a look. 

Maybe even take some notes.

Art 2 Today

Art 2's, in case you missed class today, these are the instructions that were on the board. 

As you (should) know, we are beginning our stencil portrait project. Let me know if you have any questions. 

The Pumpkin Patch is Coming

You know you look forward to it every year, and it is almost upon us once again.
The annual glass pumpkin sale is coming up in just a couple of weeks on the front lawn of the school. Yes, your purchase helps the art department directly; yes, your purchase helps a local artisan directly; yes, your purchase gets a gift of something unique for someone you know (note, this someone may actually be you).

If you are a student I know how you can get some community service hours (hint, the flier above is it).
If you want more information, you can find out about the Magical Glass Pumpkin Patch here.

It's good for you, it's good for me, it's just plain good. Really. 'Nuff said.