A stimulating set-up in the CHS art room is inspiring students to tap into their creativity. Art 1 students have been applying concepts and techniques they’ve learned through a series of still life drawings.
In the several weeks since the installation was set up, they’ve had the chance to practice their skills and recently started on their final drawings last week.
Using every bit of space surrounding the 360º set-up, students chose their favorite composition (making sure to include at least 5 objects), and got to work.
With the goal to fill the entire sheet of paper they used viewfinders to help sight and measure the proportions of objects.
Prior to starting the project students learned the basic concepts and vocabulary of still life to include things like: construction, contour, and gesture lines; highlights, grounding an object, and cast shadows. They worked to utilize these techniques throughout their individual compositions.
One of the final requirements of the project asked them to create a fantasy creature or monster who would “live” in their still life drawing. They then drew their monsters in 3D form and added any other features that related to their creature’s environment.
The addition of the creatures promoted the project’s overall objective of reality and observation vs fantasy and imagination. The students should be finishing their drawings within the next week.