You're An Idiom!: Ceramic Portrait Busts (High School Art Unit)

The Art Problem:
This Creative Challenge invites students to interpret the idiom of their choice through the creation of clay sculptural busts (about 2/3 lifesize). In the example provided, my student Rachel A. chose the idiom "A Little Birdie Told Me" because of its relationship to high school gossip. Once fired, students enhance both the form and content of their pieces with a cold finish by, first, underpainting them in black, then dry brushing white or off-white over the black and, finally, adding highlights, shadows, mood and surface texture through mark-making in colored pencils.

Inspiration Artist:

Lesley Hildreth (she was also our visiting artist the first time I taught this challenge)

Materials:

Clay compatible with your kiln and cones

Ware boards

Basic clay tools for cutting, incising, smoothing, scoring, piercing, embossing

Plastic for covering pieces while drying

Kiln, kiln furniture and cones

Black acrylic paint for under painting (we used spray paint) outdoors

White or off-white acrylic paint (dry brushed on)

Medium to medium-large brushes (foam works fine)

Colored pencils

Clear acrylic spray (we sprayed them outdoors)


Procedures:
Note: My students selected their idioms just prior to their midterm exam and drew thumbnails as part of their exam, though they were free to change their minds afterward.

Day 1--Introduction:
1. Show sample portrait bust and define idiom.

2. Hold an idiom-generating competition: challenge small teams of students to generate as many idioms they can in a specified amount of time. Have winning team read their list; other teams can add any additional ones from their lists. Give prizes to the team with the most.

3. Play Idiom Pictionary on the board. Give prizes to the team who gets the most correct answers.

4. Introduce students to basic clay vocabulary and processes: wedge, score, slip, model, pinch, coil, slab, emboss, pierce, additive, subtractive, surface design. Per table or team of about 4 students, have two sets of different colored cards ready: vocabulary words on one set and definitions on another. Ask students to correctly match. Repeat on the next day of class as a hook/review.

Days 2 and 3--Facial Feature Practice:
5. Demonstrate modeling of facial features and let students practice with a small ball of clay. This is an excellent time to also instruct them in the way they should set-up and clean-up their work space.


Days 4-9 or 10--Construction:
6. Show YouTube demonstration video by Phillipe Faraut. In our case, Faraut makes the nose and lips a little differently than I learned from Hildreth and taught my students, so this gives the kids an option. Describe and diagram the building of shoulders and neck (a demo isn't really necessary once they see a sample and diagrams on the board).

7. Add head and begin making facial features. Have sample diagrams of facial anatomy from both front and profile views on view. Emphasize that the "egg-shaped" head must be placed on the neck at an angle AND that the front of the "egg" must be flattened slightly, making it perpendicular to the table, so that the face will be looking forward, rather than up (unless students want their heads looking up.) Also advise them that a slight tilt or turn of the head when they attach it to the neck can create a more lifelike quality.

8. Hollow out head and then torso and neck using a loop tool, preferably, though a spoon will work. To hollow out heads, use a clay cutter to remove the top of the cranium, and hollow down through the head to the neck, leaving a 3/4-1" wall. Replace the top of the head using scoring and some water or slip, if necessary. (It helps to make register marks so that the part of the head that is cut off can be positioned properly when it is reattached.) This will lighten the head so that the neck and torso can support it. Hollow them out next. Reshape any facial features if necessary.

9. Add any other elements, including hair and clothing, necessary to effectively interpret the idiom. Note: I tend to prefer these portrait busts without hair, though Faraut demonstrates an effective way to create hair that doesn't look like a rag mop.

4 Weeks (approximately)--Drying, Preheat and Firing:
10. Dry sculptures with plastic very loosely covering them. Have students check any thin elements. Spritz with water and cover those areas more tightly if necessary. It took ours about three weeks, not counting the preheat, to dry. To speed drying, tape three popsicle sticks together and carefully place two sets under the torso, one at each end. This will allow air to circulate underneath.

11. Preheat--as an extra precaution, I load the kilns and preheat them on low for about 45 minutes every day for about 4 days. After each preheat, I turn them off and just let them sit over night until the next day when I repeat the procedure.

12. Firing--on the 5th day, I fire them slowly and let them cool over the weekend.


1 Week--Cold Finish:
13. Students work outside in teams of 4 students, to spray paint their busts matte black; place newspaper under sculpture. Once dry--and the paint dries quickly--students bring them inside and dry brush the surfaces with white or off-white acrylic paint, leaving some black showing, especially in the crevices.

14. For the next couple of classes, students use colored pencils to build up a patinaed surface, with generally cool colors in the shadows and warm colors in the highlighted areas, that is, where light naturally strikes the sculpture. Encourage students to limit their dominant color palette and to build up their surfaces slowly while layering tones and letting some of their marks show.

15. Finish the sculptures outside with a couple of coats of a sprayed on clear acrylic finish.

Duration:

Intro, Facial Feature Practice and Construction--up to 4 weeks

Drying time + preheat and firing--4 weeks

Cold Finish--1 week

Assessment: Sailing the Seven C's Rubric

Extension: Group Critique and/or Written Artists' Statements

Big Ideas:

Artworks are objects for interpretation.
Art is a reflection of time, place and culture.
Meaningful artmaking is about exploration, asking questions, problem-solving and developing a knowledge-base.
Idioms are figurative language related to time, place and culture.

IB-MYP Area of Interaction: Depending on the student’s choice of idiom to interpret, s/he could focus on any of the Areas of Interaction with the most likely being: Health and Social Education and Environment

IB-MYP Unit Question: How can I create a ceramic portrait bust that allows me to explore and to express my understanding of a specific idiom while leaving the meaning open for interpretation by viewers?

Student Art Credit: Rachel A., "A Little Birdie Told Me"

Surrealism and One- and Two-Point Persepctive (High School Art Unit)

Looking through some computer files, I stumbled across this unit from 2005-2006 that I created and taught to beginning students when I was a very new teacher. I see a fair number of perspective units that are problematic to me for a variety of reasons. But my iteration satisfactorily addressed most of my concerns. The students really enjoyed it and I am thinking of resurrecting it, perhaps with more emphasis on mark-making so that the pieces combine drawing issues with design.

Or, observing that the paintings were a little "plain," my mentor, Nicole Brisco, suggested flipping them and having students make another drawing on top. She liked my idea in response to her suggestion: have students flip their pieces and repeat their compositions as simple contour drawings overlaid on their paintings. If we do the new, improved version of this Challenge, I'll be sure to post samples.

The Art Problem:

Students will explore both one-point perspective and surrealism through the creation of tempera paintings or tempera batiks that feature intriguingly ambiguous spaces and a sense of mystery.

Inspiration Artist: Craig Blair (older work)

Prerequisites:

Basic drawing experience

Basic composition experience

Basic color mixing with tempera (or build in a mini-lesson)

Criteria:
1. The composition must be based on 1-point perspective.

2. The artwork must possess a sense of mystery created by shadows or other dark areas, silhouettes, etc. (Mystery can also be created by your combinations of objects (e.g. objects that might not normally go together.)

3. The composition must include:

• Mostly hard-edged geometric shapes combined with one or two organic shapes/forms (like a plant, tree, bird, etc.). Note: some students didn't include the organic object, so it could be optional.
  
• An object somewhere in the composition that is drawn from 2-point perspective (a suitcase, a television, a box, etc.).
• A patterned floor, floor covering or walkway that follows the rules of 1 point perspective.
  a platform or stairs.
• A door, window, half-wall or opening of some kind between the foreground/middle ground space and the background space.
• An ambiguous spatial relationship somewhere in the piece.
  
  Note: you may include other objects of your choice AS LONG AS YOU AVOID CLUTTERING THE COMPOSITION.

Materials:

Reproductions of Craig Blair's work (choose carefully as the quality varies)

Reproductions of other surreal images that emphasize ambiguous spaces, one- and two-point perspective and a sense of mystery (e.g. Giorgio de Chirico)

Sketchbooks

Pencils

Erasers

Rulers

Manila drawing paper

Tempera paint

Brushes (+ water, cans to hold water, newspapers, paper towels)

If creating tempera batiks:

Black India ink

Cafeteria-style trays or clear pieces of acrylic or Plexiglas the size of the artwork or slightly larger

Procedures:

1. Set the stage with an art criticism activity related to the inspiration artist being sure to define "surrealism."


2. Incorporate an art historical surrealist antecedent such as Giorgio de Chirico by comparing his work with Craig Blair's.


3. Explain parameters of this Creative Challenge.


4. Teach a simple one-point and two-point perspective mini-lesson.


5. Direct students in the creation of thumbnail sketches that fit within the project parameters; help them choose the most successful idea and composition, combining aspects into another thumbnail if necessary.


6. Transfer thumbnails to larger paper.


7. If creating straight paintings, instruct them in the painting of their compositions with tempera. Require students to use a limited color palette of mixed "ish" colors (see glossary); if desired, instruct them in the defining of edges through graphite or ink marks.
   
8. If creating tempera batiks, students do the following: paint each area of their paintings using about three thick coats. They should NOT paint over the lines, but should leave the paper exposed where the lines are. (Tracing over the lines in light colored chalk helps remind them not to paint over the lines.) Once tempera is completely dry, they completely cover the ENTIRE surface of their paintings with black India ink. Foam brushes work well for this. Once the ink is barely dry--it should not sit on the paintings for an extended period--they should place their paintings on cafeteria-type trays or pieces of acrylic or Plexiglas and gently rinse the ink off using a slow stream of water or water poured from a container over the sink. They should control how much ink is removed by rubbing gently with their fingers. The ink will soak into the exposed paper where the lines were drawn but not painted over AND it will adhere in a random way to the surface of the tempera paint creating a batik-like effect.

Assessment: Score and comment on each piece using the "Sailing the Seven Seas" rubric. (Sometimes I have the students score their own work first using the rubric, explaining that my scores will "trump" theirs, but that it is important for them to evaluate their own work.)

IB-MYP Area of Interaction: Environment (physical and psychological)

Art Credits (top to bottom): Craig Blair; students: Cameron R., Ariel T., Kelly B., T.H.

Inside Out (High School Art Unit Plan)

Above are ten student samples followed by two inspiration images and then by my "teacher sample" for this Creative Challenge. Please stay tuned for the complete plan in the near future.

In the three sections of my beginning studio course, we had been modeling white vessels as our first painting exercise. However, I had been struggling to decide exactly what I wanted to do that would make use of those technical skills while still challenging students on a conceptual level. Because of the latter, a monochromatic still life was out, and I rejected another one or two of my rather lame ideas as well.

Searching "white vessels" in Google "images," I found the first two artworks above. They percolated for a while and, then, something clicked in my mind. I decided to merge them so that a modeled white vessel (with shadow) would become a metaphor for our exterior and interior selves, a fabric pattern would represent the image we project, and a silhouetted object or animal the more "hidden" part of ourselves. Collaged newspaper would add another layer of texture, contrast and interest.

In my sample, I painted a piece from my collection of McCoy Floraline matte white ceramics juxtaposed against a retro pattern representing how I am seen by others, and a hummingbird silhouette symbolizing what I know about myself. The newspaper is collaged in a way that helps define the table and the wall, and I added contour-silhouette drawings of the hummingbird to create more unity and movement.

I look forward to sharing the whole enchilada with you soon.

Student Samples: (top 10 images): Beth C., Sam L., Kallie H., Julie K., Demetria W., Gilbert L., Nicole V., Audrey D., Brianna K., Nahlyanne B; Inspirational Image Credits: (second and third from bottom) "Blur Bird," by Clair Bremner and "Untitled" from The Painted Pear (I could not find an artist's name); Teacher Sample Credit: Betsy DiJulio, NBC Art Teacher, Princess Anne High School, VA Beach, VA

Sit Down and Speak Up! (High School Art Unit Plan)

The Art Problem:
This Creative Challenge is a spin on the negative command "Sit down and shut up." It invites students to "speak up" in relation to an issue about which they feel strongly. The vehicle for communication is a metaphorical drawing that makes use of chairs drawn realistically from observation, as well as both handwritten and stenciled text. Irrespective of the words, the style, size and placement of the chairs should communicate the student’s issue. The text should embellish, enhance and reinforce. It should NOT look like a label on a poster!

Materials:
A variety of chairs [we used a white wicker rocker, a child’s white wooden rocker, school chairs, a plastic folding chair, three different "bistro" chairs (1 all wood and 2 that were metal with upholstered seats, one with an angular back and the other with a curved back), and a couple of stools]
Sketchbook or sketch paper
Pencil
Eraser
Optional: Viewfinder
Pencil value scale
White tag board (we like to use 14 x 17" with a 1" taped border all the way around)
Ebony pencils
Stencils in a variety of fonts and sizes
Several values of "Dirty Water Wash" (a very small amount of black and brown, even a little blue, mixed with a large quantity of water to make a cool or slightly warm gray wash)
Brushes

Prerequisites:
An understanding of and sketchbook practice with modeling techniques (hatching, cross-hatching, stippling, cross-contour marks, etc.)

Familiarity with "weighted line" (widened and tapered line) and varied line quality

Knowledge of a value scale

Basic understanding of composition and Elements and Principles of Design

Individual Student Procedures:
1. Choose an issue to communicate (not just a concept, but a compelling issue about which you feel some degree of passion).
2. Choose the style(s) of chair(s) that would best express your issue.
3. Decide on the number, size and position of chairs to further communicate aspects of your issue. 4. Draw one or more thumbnails in sketchbook (use a 4 x 5" template for a 12 x 15" drawing); discuss with teacher; chose one, revise if necessary. Note: it can be difficult to incorporate text into a small thumbnail, so encourage students to just "block out" where text and washes will go. OR, if you are willing to expend the resources, when students are finished drawing their chairs on their actual artwork, photograph, print, and have them use the printout as a larger "thumbnail," so they can work out placement of the handwriting and stenciled letters. IMPORTANT: text should embellish, enhance and reinforce, NOT detract from drawings of chairs. 5. Stick tape onto clothes to remove some adhesive and then stick onto borders of 14 x 17" tag board to create a 12 x 15" drawing area. 6. Transfer thumbnail to tag board 7. Model chairs making sure to include a full range of values from light to dark. Set aside.
8. Write a journal entry about your issue. Choose whole passages, sentences and individual words to incorporate into your composition. Consider some of the innovative strategies from your text composition in sketchbook (see "Hooks and Mini-Lessons" below).
9. Add text to drawing. Note: a few considerations in regard to text: students think that less text detracts less from their chair drawings but, sometimes, the use of, e.g. one word makes that word a focal point and results in greater distraction. Sometimes whole passages written almost as a background texture throughout larger areas of the composition is less distracting, but adds visual interest and meaning. Also, if text is too prominent, washing over it can blend it into the background. Cropping passages and words adds a sense of "poetry" and mystery to the works so that the message isn’t so obvious and the viewer is encouraged to interpret.
10. Add washes to drawing, keeping in mind that the most successful: a) may not include washes in all of the negative spaces—leave white paper in some areas; b) may incorporate different values of washes; and c) may incorporate washes that transition for light to dark. Note: In general, dark washes should be placed behind light objects and light washes behind darker objects. 11. Adjust values if necessary. Pencil marks may be used over washes to deepen the value if students feel unsure about adding darker washes. Also, if students have inadvertently allowed white areas to "disappear," they may use white acrylic paint or white china marker to add white back into the composition. If students are inexperienced painters, a dry brush technique may be the most successful.
12. Optional: At one or more points during the process, conduct a simple ("2 Glows and a Grow") in-process critique: give all students a 3 x 5" card and a pencil or pen; have students leave their artwork at their desks and begin to walk around the room while you play music; when you turn the music off, they sit at the closest desk; there they write at least 2 detailed "Glows" (aspects of the artwork that the student is handling really well) and at least 1 detailed "Grow" (an aspect of the artwork that needs improvement) and sign their card; everyone moves back to their original seat and reads their classmate’s remarks before gluing the card into their sketchbooks.

Hooks and Mini-Lessons:
[Incorporate one per class prior to completing other drawing and composition practices in preparation for the "Sit Down and Speak Up!" Creative Challenge; some could be used as hooks or warm-ups on the day(s) that students work on thumbnail sketches.]

Innovation Stations: In small groups, students use photocopies (small, medium and large) of chairs, similar to the ones chosen for this assignment, to arrange on black paper in the center of their table to communicate the concept of their choice; groups whisper concepts to teacher who writes them all on the board; whole class tries to match each concept with the corresponding composition (correct matches are not the main goal; reasonable justification for their selection is)

Show one of the "Flexible Love Chair" videos on YouTube (always preview first) and ask students to create a journal entry in which they sketch the chair and brainstorm in small groups what properties of the chair are being demonstrated (e.g. flexibility, durability, adaptability, portability, etc.). Note: in the videos we watched that I had previewed, there was nothing "love"-related or inappropriate. We are not sure why it is called a "love" chair, except that you and your students will "love" it.

Notes and practice with Art Criticism (describe, analyze, interpret, evaluate) as applied to the following (at the beginning of three separate classes):
o Doris Salcedo, "Untitled," (1,600 chairs) Istanbul Biennial, 2003
o Marc Andre Robinson, "Myth Monolith: Liberation Movement"
o John Cederquest, "Conservation Chair" compared with Gruba Design Studio, (Untitled Chair)

o Van Gogh Chairs as Portrait and Self-Portrait

Fold a paper beach chair from Youtube.com video instructions (use "pause" and "play" buttons as needed; draw a lifesize study of it in sketchbook. Note: beware ads that are added to some of youtube's videos.

Draw a study of a chair in sketchbook.

Create a composition on one whole page of sketchbook using only stenciled letters and handwritten text. Incorporate what one knows about composition and Elements and Principles of design (e.g. creating a focal point and secondary focal points, cropping for more interesting negative space, etc.) Emphasize that handwritten letters are lines and stenciled letters are shapes like any other. Encourage innovation, experimentation and risk-taking.

Student Extension—Group Critique:

Prior to the critique, students put their names in a box and then draw a name other than their own. Then they fill out a Critique Form based on the work created by the student whose name they drew. They will refer to this form during the Critique. (This ensures that the critique moves along with no one grasping for something to say.) Next, students and teacher sit in a circle for the Critique during which each student, in turn, addresses at least 3 aspects of the work s/he critiqued, preferably a balance between "glows" (strengths) and "grows" (areas of improvement). After each student presents, the student whose work was critiqued is given an opportunity to address aspects of his or her work. Similarly, other students may comment.

Assessment:

Score and comment on pieces according to the "Sailing the 7 Cs" visual arts rubric

IB-MYP Area of Interaction: Health and Social

Teacher Sample Credit: (top) Betsy DiJulio, NBC Art Teacher, Princess Anne High School, VA Beach, VA; Student Sample Credits (top to bottom under teacher sample): Kameshia P., Samantha M., Bethany C., Sofia A.

2-D Compositions Grow Out of Sculpture and Botanical Studies (High School Art Unit Plan)

Following is the text from an article I wrote that was published in the October 2009 issue of SchoolArts Magazine. The article is not yet online, so the editor granted me permission to post the copy and some photos here. Essentially, the article reads like the summary of a unit plan, learning plan or what I refer to as a Creative Challenge. It is my hope that you can adapt it to your context.

Sculpture Sketches in Bloom

by Betsy DiJulio

"When I looked at this sculpture, I felt something and I wanted my work to depict what I felt…I let the analytical part of my imagination guide me." ~Kendria T.

The best artistic challenges open students’ eyes, hearts and minds by combining both formal and conceptual concerns. A temporary exhibition of African Shona Sculpture entitled "Mutambo!" (Celebrate!) at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens in Norfolk, VA, inspired such a challenge. However, the project’s parameters are applicable to virtually any group of objects.

On a crisp October day, my 40 art foundations students fanned out across the Gardens, each group led by a volunteer artist/art educator in our community. The observational drawing assignment for our 2.5 hours on site was simple: make one large and fully modeled drawing of the sculpture of your choice; make additional contour drawings of other sculptures; and make one botanical study.

The sculptures were ideal objects to draw, not only because of their cultural connection to Zimbabwe and their obvious cross-disciplinary connection to history; but because of their simple, yet expressive, forms. I encouraged students to fill their pages by overlapping drawings, making drawings in the negative spaces of other drawings, turning their sketchbooks 90 degrees between drawings, and so forth.

Afterwards, I presented students with two consecutive challenges. The first was largely formal: to translate their modeled rendering into a large black and white charcoal drawing on gray paper. The second was both formal and conceptual, as it played with the notion of "content" in art and "contents" of a cardboard box. Specifically, I asked students to combine several of their drawings of the sculptures with their botanical study(ies) on corrugated cardboard and link them all through a theme stenciled onto their support. Media was limited to Sharpie, graphite, white paint, coffee and the occasional use of raffia.

Students derived their themes such as "Unity" or "Family" by brainstorming ideas using a sunburst diagram. They then used the Creative Problem Solving tool "SCAMPER" to help them think in terms of possibilities rather than limitations as they planned their compositions. SCAMPER is an acronym for substitute; combine; adapt; modify (magnify, minify or multiply); put to other uses; eliminate; and reverse/rearrange. It can be applied to any product or service in any field.

Using a matrix, students applied SCAMPER to the proscribed parameters of the project. For example, "Combine" led students to mix beautiful "latte" colors from coffee and white paint; "magnify" gave them permission to change the scale of individual drawings, "eliminate" encouraged them to cut away the surface of the cardboard revealing the corrugated texture underneath or to pierce patterns into it, and so forth. In myriad ways, the students’ use of SCAMPER catapulted their thinking way "out of the box" in relation to both composition and media. As John A. reflected, "This method was extremely helpful when looking for ideas on how to get the project going, progress when finding myself at a loss of creativity, and wrap up and tie all the elements of the pieces together."

Students selected cardboard and made thumbnail sketches before beginning on their final pieces. They worked with relish for about ten classes to build up actual and metaphorical layers. As they problem-solved individually and collaboratively, their solutions became more innovative, confident, interesting and complex. I encouraged this divergent thinking while continually emphasizing good drawing over "decorating," including the use of weighted line, as well as strong composition.

We concluded the project with a written assessment in which they chose two "21st Century Proficiencies/Skills" from a list (see below) and described how they used, developed or reinforced them in their artwork.

The students’ achievement is born out in their written statements, as well as in their artwork. As Amy C. summarized, "Overall, I thought this project was a success. It was very creative and different from the art I usually make and I am very happy with what I have done." Administrators at Old Dominion University--Virginia Beach Higher Education Center were too and mounted an exhibition of the students' work with a reception in their honor (February 2009).

Skills Taught/Reinforced:

Technical Skills

• Observational Drawing (contour and modeled drawings)
• Composition

21st Century Skills Used in Written Assessment

• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
• Inventive Thinking: Curiosity, Imagination & Risk-Taking
• Agility and Adaptability
• Accessing and Analyzing Information
• Initiative
• Planning
• Collaboration
• Literacy (Visual, Oral, Written)

Teaching Tools:

• Power Point on Shona Sculpture (discussed with students/emailed to chaperones prior to field trip)
• Field Trip Assignment Sheet and Teacher’s Sample Sketchbook Page
• Classroom Assignment Sheet with SCAMPER Matrix
• Teacher Sample of Finished Artwork
• Compositional Strategies Check-Off List
• Student Assessment Activity

Materials:

• Sketchbooks and Pencils
• Corrugated Cardboard
• Ebony Pencils and Erasers
• Sharpie Marker
• White Acrylic Paint, cups, brushes, water
• Instant Coffee, cups, brushes, water
• Stencils
• Raffia (in select instances)

National Standard:
Students conceive of and create works of visual art that demonstrate an understanding of how the communication of their ideas relates to the media, techniques, and processes they use.

Student Art Credits: Rachel T. (top) and Allison X. (bottom)

Life in Flight (High School Art Unit Plan)

The Art Problem:
Students will communicate something about their path in life through metaphorical drawings that make use of the following realistic imagery: paper airplanes, building blocks and airport signage.

Materials:

Student Assignment Sheet
1 or more folded paper airplanes
Selection of children’s building blocks
Handouts of airport signage: Handout 1, Handout 2, Handout 3
Sketchbook or sketch paper
Pencil
Eraser
Optional: Viewfinder
Optional: Pencil value scale
White tag board (we like to use 14 x 17" with a 1" taped border all the way around)
Ebony pencils
"Dirty Water Wash" (a very small amount of black and brown, even a little blue, mixed with a large quantity of water to make a cool or slightly warm gray wash)
Brushes
Optional: black Sharpie marker

Prerequisites:
· An understanding of and sketchbook practice with modeling techniques (hatching, cross-hatching, stippling, cross-contour marks, etc.)
· Familiarity with "weighted line" (widened and tapered line) and varied line quality
· Knowledge of a value scale
· Basic understanding of composition and Elements and Principles of Design

Individual Student Procedures:
1. Choose a concept to communicate.
2. Arrange paper airplane(s) and blocks to best communicate concept (each student creates his or her own still lie).
3. Use a viewfinder if desired to isolate the strongest composition, making sure to crop edges and keep focal point out of the center of the composition (the viewfinder opening should be 2 x 2 ½" for a 4 x 5" thumbnail and a 12 x 15" drawing.
4. Draw one or more thumbnails in sketchbook (use a 4 x 5" template for a 12 x 15" drawing); discuss with teacher; revise if necessary.
5. Establish a table line—diagonals are nice for more dynamism.
6. Choose graphic symbols from airport signage handouts and incorporate into background "wall" surface to emphasize concept and direct viewer’s eye to focal point. (Students may incorporate signage into foreground "table" surface if it doesn't confuse foreground and background and works in their composition.)
7. Stick tape onto clothes to remove some adhesive and then stick onto borders of 14 x 17" tag board to create a 12 x 15" drawing area.
8. Transfer thumbnail to tag board.
9. Model objects making sure to leave plenty of white paper showing for the lightest values, e.g. in the paper airplane (students must set up still life for every modeling session; spotlight if necessary)
10. Apply value to background airport signage.
11. Dirty wash the foreground "table" surface.
12. Adjust values if necessary, optionally applying black Sharpie marks for the darkest values.
13. At one or more points during the process, conduct a simple ("2 Glows and a Grow") in-process critique: give all students a 3 x 5" card and a pencil or pen; have students leave their artwork at their desks and begin to walk around the room while you play music; when you turn the music off, they sit at the closest desk; there they write at least 2 detailed "Glows" (aspects of the artwork that the student is handling really well) and at least 1 detailed "Grow" (an aspect of the artwork that needs improvement) and sign their card; everyone moves back to their original seat and reads their classmate’s remarks before gluing the card into their sketchbooks.

Hooks and Mini-Lessons:
[Incorporate one per class prior to completing other drawing and composition practices in preparation for the "Life in Flight" Creative Challenge; some could be used as hooks or warm-ups on the day(s) that students work on thumbnail sketches.]
· Fold paper airplanes (student volunteers demonstrate their favorite style plane)
· Hold a paper airplane flying contest with prize (4 students compete; winner takes on 3 more students and so on)
· Draw a study of a paper airplane in sketchbook
· Go outside and fly paper airplanes; write a sketchbook entry about how the flight of the paper airplanes can be compared to life
· Innovation Stations: In small groups, students use paper airplanes and blocks to communicate the concept of their choice; groups whisper concepts to teacher who writes them all on the board; whole class tries to match each concept with the corresponding 3-D composition (correct matches are not the main goal; reasonable justification for their selection is)
· Innovation Stations: Teacher makes copies of his or her sample and manipulates each copy in several different ways, one per small group of 4-5 students and places them in several stations around the room (e.g. uses more dramatic weighted line with sharpie, deepens shadows, uses more expressive mark-making, brightens highlights, etc. ). After showing the original to the class, ask students to go to each station and try to figure out how each was changed and which they feel is strong. Discuss as a whole class.

Student Extension:
Students write an artist’s statement that addresses the following four components:
1. Concept (e.g. overcoming obstacles)
2. Inspiration (how the concept relates to the student’s life)
3. Communication through Design [how the student arranged the airplane(s) and blocks to communicate his or her concept]
4. Airport Signage (how the student incorporated airport signage to help communicate their concept AND direct the viewer’s eye to the focal point)

Assessment:
Score and comment on pieces according to the "Sailing the 7 Cs" visual arts rubric

IB-MYP Area of Interaction: Health and Social

Student Sample Credits: (middle) Bethany C., (bottom) Isabella M.; Teacher Sample Credit: (top) Betsy DiJulio, NBC Art Teacher, Princess Anne High School, VA Beach, VA