Teaching+Artifacts

//Here are a few of my favorite lesson plans...// = Stories From Home:= Create a lively folk art statuette to portray, and even exaggerate, a memorable story that happened in your home.

Population: Adult community class. Ages varying from 15 to 80 with a wide range of art experience and skills. Participants have a desire to be involved in a community setting as well as to make and learn about art.

Learning objectives: •	Learn about folk art sculpture. •	Learn to use humor in sculpture, exploring exaggerated elements, colors and patterns to add a sense of play and myth to the piece. •	Explore memories of home using the creative process of storytelling. •	Build group cohesion through humor and storytelling. •	Learn subtractive carving techniques. •	Explore positive and negative space and texture through sculpture, as well as form, line and color through painting on a three dimensional surface.

Materials: plaster, water, moulds (plaster will be set in moulds before class) plaster tools (rasps, chisels, sanders, knives/scrapers/or blades, spoons) wire brush, rinse bucket, masks, tempera paint, brushes, palettes, water dishes, newspaper, wood glue, images of folk art sculpture, storytelling house sculpture.

Art form: Folk art sculpture Technique: Subtractive sculpture and painting Vocabulary: Folk art, subtractive sculpture, plaster, rasp, chisel, scraper, sander, wire brush, rinse bucket, positive and negative space, texture, form, line, color, pattern, repetition, emphasis, contrast and unity.

Motivation: (10 min) 1.Show works of Maritime folk artists who work in 3d media explaining the concept of Folk art 2. Show my story-telling house and play one of its stories.

Art activity: (80 min) 1. Lay out all the materials in two sections: sculpture materials and painting materials. 2. Go over names, function and precautions for using tools. 3. Ask participants to think of a story from their home; an event or a character that they will never forget. The story can be from any home they lived in during their life – it can be recent or it could be an old family favorite. They can exaggerate and embellish all they like (this is what great storytellers do!). 4. Instruct participants to create a small folk art statue to represent their story. Ask them to experiment with using humor in their sculpture by exaggerating elements, colors and patterns to add a sense of play and myth to the piece. Inform them that they will be asked to share their story at the end of the session. 5. Allow participants free access to the materials to create as they like. 6. Give guidance and feedback for use of materials as needed. 7. Tell participants when the time is two-thirds over to encourage them to begin painting. 8. Tell them when there is only 5 minutes left to finish up.

Response: (20 min) 1.Clean off table so that only the carvings remain. 2. Go around the circle telling stories and commenting on each of the sculptures.

Clean-up: (10 min)

=A Home for My Thoughts and Dreams:= Make an artist book, modeled on the qualities of a home, to serve as a special sanctuary for self-expression.

Population: Adult community class. Ages varying from 15 to 80 with a wide range of art experience and skills. Participants have a desire to be involved in a community setting as well as to make and learn about art.

Learning objectives: •	Learn basic folding, stitching and glueing techniques used in bookmaking. •	Explore the idea of the artist book as a work of art. •	Discuss the value of a sketch book in incorporating art into everyday life. •	Use shape, texture and proportion as part of the construction process. •	Use space, line, pattern, repetition, emphasis and color to create a unified work that reflects the theme given.

Materials: Different colors, sizes, and thickness of papers, tracing paper, roll of paper, cover stock, cardboard, paper bags, masking tape, tape, colored electrical tape, glue gun, hot glue sticks, white glue, needles, different colors of thread, awls, glue, brushes, bone folders (can use butter knife), pencils, rulers, ‘exacto’ knives, scissors, beads, fabric, string, ink, nib & pen, pencils, ‘ways to make books’ handout, bookbinding guides, stitch guides, artist book examples, zines.

Art form: Artist book Technique: folding, stitching and glueing Vocabulary: Fold, stitch, awl, artist book, zine, space, line, pattern, repetition, emphasis, color, unity.

Motivation: (20 min) 1. Show the work of Tara Bryan (NFLD artist who makes artist books) as well as other examples of artist books and zines. 2. Demonstrate four techniques of bookbinding: I.	Folded with thick cover (accordion), II. Stitched at the spine (one folded booklet), III. Taped at the spine page to page (each page is joined to the page before it with tape from the front to back cover creating a spine), IV. Brown paper folded book

Art activity: (70 min) 1. Make your own book to serve as a journal/sketchbook/zine. 2. Look through the books and instructional handouts to get ideas. 3. Think of this book as a home for your thoughts and dreams: What does home signify for you? What will make this book a home? How can you incorporate valued elements of home (comfort, protection, enjoyment, warmth, simplicity, ???etc.) into the structure and decoration of this book? 4. Add your own style and creativity to make this a personal space. 5. Allow participants free access to the materials to create as they like. 6. Give guidance and feedback for use of materials as needed. 7. Tell participants when the time is 3/4 over to encourage them to begin adding decorative elements (text, sketches throughout…) 8. Encourage students who finish early to put some content in or throughout their book. 9. Tell them when there is only 5 minutes left to finish up.

Response: (15 min) Display the books on a table. Ask these questions to the group: Did the idea of home to influence your creation? What personal touches did you add to your book to resemble you? What part did you like most in this process? What are you going to use this book for? When will you use it?

Clean-up: (10 min)

=House of Dreams:= Sketch a your dream house including representative features to make this home an architectural self-portrait.

Population: Adult community class. Ages varying from 15 to 80 with a wide range of art experience and skills. Participants have a desire to be involved in a community setting as well as to make and learn about art.

Learning objectives: •	Learn about architectural elements. •	Use line, colour and shape to create a unified ideal environment. •	Learn concepts of positive and negative space, proportion, emphasis, contrast and illusion of form and texture using mixed-media drawing techniques (chiaroscuro, foreshortening, hatching, crosshatching, perspective, overlapping, blending and washes). •	Think about values and lifestyle and how these can be embodied in a physical space. •	Use an idealization of home to re-explore what home means to you.

Materials: large heavy white paper, pencils, charcoal, pastels, ink, nib-pens, watercolor paints, brushes, water dishes, scissors, glue, drawing book, architecture books or magazines.

Art form: Drawing Technique: Mixed-media Vocabulary: (basic architectural terminology to help get ideas flowing…) arch, column, dome, dormer, gable, quoins, fan light, palladian windows, spiral staircase, solarium, etc. chiaroscuro, foreshortening, hatching, crosshatching, perspective, overlapping, blend, wash, line, colour, shape, positive and negative space, composition, proportion, emphasis, contrast, illusion of depth, illusion of texture, illusion of form.

Motivation: (20 min) 1. Overview demonstration on using drawing materials: I.	Ink and watercolors - washes, lines, vibrancy of the medium, planning empty spaces/ working in stages. II. Pastels – colour value, blending and shading, III. charcoal, lines, contrast, shading, IV. pencils; HB system, hatching and crosshatching 2. Power demo! Overview of drawing techniques (with handout) : I.	Chiaroscuro – shading, shadows and shapes. II. Perspective -overlapping, scale, contrast, vanishing point. III. Composition – viewpoint, emphasis, contrast.

3. Go over some architectural possibilities that could be included in a dream house (different kinds of stairs, windows, etc.)

Art activity: (70 min) 1. Design your dream house using drawing techniques to give it individual style and some realistic qualities 2. Make this dream house a self portrait by creating features and spaces that resemble your values, personality and lifestyle: -	Features like a solarium because you like to garden… a studio, an exercise room, a chapel, a tree-house like loft, etc. -	Use your spaces to show personality and priorities; a giant kitchen represents your love of cooking and socializing, or an simple blue bedroom with a beautiful rug shows your need for tranquility and beauty, etc. -	Design your spaces intelligently: How will specific rooms represent you? How will you put it all together? Will we see some of the exterior, the yard or the community? 3. Allow participants free access to the materials to create as they like. 4. Give guidance and feedback for use of materials as needed. 5. Encourage students who finish early to take a new sheet of paper and create a yard or a community for their dream house. 6. Announce when there is only 10 minutes remaining to finish up.

Response: (20 min) Exhibit all the works on the wall allowing each artist to present their work to the group.

Clean-up: (10 min)