Broken landscapes.

How do you make students realize that art does and always will affect their lives? It will affect how their neighborhood looks, the products in their local grocery store, the furnishings that they enjoy in their homes, and the clothes they wear. I don't want my students to only look at the giants of Impressionism, the Renaissance artists, or the highly abstract Cubists, because the art is removed from them--something they may never accomplish; something in the great museums that has nothing to do with their lives. That's why I'm always on the look out for anything that will make art real to my students. I gather materials about artists who are successful as authors and illustrators, artists who work with fabric and clay, names that aren't world renowned, but people just like themselves.

Working with Limited Resources

For this lesson, I brought together the work of three artists with the us of three everyday items: a book, a calendar, and a video borrowed from the school library. I shaped the lesson to focus on the principles of design to try to convey to students a sense of aesthetics and knowledge of the everyday artwork that is constantly surrounding them. I look at it as planting a seed that will become an artistic awareness of their world in the future.

Like many art teachers I work with a limited budget and very limited a resources, so I keep my eyes open for any inexpensive visual aids. The idea for this lesson began a few years ago when I was in a tiny rural town in the middle of Amish Country. In a quilt shop, I came across a wonderful book, Fractured Landscape Quilts, by Kati Pasquini Masopust. I was fascinated by her beautiful, unique, and abstract quilts. I had a feeling that a landscape lesson could evolve out of this book.

Later, I purchased a calendar by the author and illustrator Bev Doolittle. Doolittle is known as the camouflage artist because of the hidden images within her landscapes. I cut out her beautiful illustrations and hung them on the bulletin boards in my classroom. This inspired me to bring Doolittle's talents into my lesson.

Starting with Art

I introduced Broken Landscapes to the class as an experience with tissue paper collage. We reviewed the definition of a landscape and identified the foreground, middle ground, and background areas of a landscape. We discussed how Bev Doolittle uses different compositions to generate movement and emphasis that draws the viewer's eye to a focal point in her illustrations.

Using a color transparency of a mountain scene quilt that I had made from Masopust's book, I pointed out how she had broken up space to create an abstract work. We also discussed how she had contrasted patterned fabric with solid colored fabric to create harmony in her creation and how she produced repetition through her use of colors.

Looking for Ideas

I decided to take the class outside to find a focal point to use in their landscape project. It was the anniversary of 9/11 and I noticed that many students focused on the flags that were flying around the school and on the gravesites in the cemetery adjacent to the school. I was happy to see that, for some students, the project was a way for them to express their feelings of that tragic day.

Back in the classroom, I passed out sketch paper for students to experiment with their different compositions and focal points and so that they could try breaking up space to create an abstract landscape. I reminded them to depict foreground, middle ground, and background. I also encouraged them to use any kind of line, including circles, to break up the space in their landscapes. To help them in this, I provided various sizes of container lids for them to trace around.

Developing Technique

We watched part of a video, Eric Carle: Story Writer. The video takes viewers through the steps of Carle's creations, showing how he paints on tissue paper. He cuts out different shapes from these painted papers to illustrate his books. Carle demonstrates how to create different textures and patterns using various techniques that include corrugated cardboard, spattering, paint brush handles, and your own fingers. Students were captivated by his humorous and entertaining presentation and were quite anxious to paint their own tissue paper by the end of the video.

I supplied each student with a large 12 x 18" (31 x 46 cm) sheet of white tissue paper, neon acrylic paints, corrugated cardboard, and various brushes and sponges. I encouraged everyone to paint four different solid-colored areas on their tissue paper so they would have more colors to work with later. I've found that the tissue painting turns out best if students put a solid layer of paint down quickly and then follow that with textural patterns using other colors. I continually reminded them to stay as spontaneous and free as possible. It is necessary to work fast because the painted tissue paper will start to stick to the newspaper we place underneath it to protect the tables. Working quickly also seems to help students stay spontaneous. It's also important that the students paint their name on the paper somewhere! Since the large pieces of tissue paper would not fit on my drying rack, we lined the hallway with newspapers along the walls and laid our soggy creations there. The paintings were dry enough for me to collect and stack after two periods.

We went back to our sketches and picked one (or elements of several) to create a final landscape drawing. I showed the class how to transfer their drawings onto the tissue paper by placing a sheet of graphite paper underneath their drawings and then placing the tissue paper underneath that. If the resources are available, a light box or windows can be used to trace directly onto the tissue paper. I have students do one shape at a time so that they can use different sections of their tissue paper. Once a shape is traced and cut out, I show them how to brash the area on their drawing with a solution of half water and half white glue. The tissue paper shape is then laid on top of that and brushed with the glue/water solution again. I store the glue solution in clean yogurt containers with lids and add water as necessary. I also make a big deal out of cleaning up the brushes with soap so that they won't be mined for future projects.

Creating Variety

Students worked diligently for several days creating their landscapes. When everybody began to acquire a lot of painted tissue scraps from cutting out their shapes, I gathered them in a box to be shared by all students. I also kept a steady supply of solid-colored tissue paper available. I asked students to break up their design with some of these solid colors to give the landscapes variety and balance, just as Masopust did in her quilts.

We went over all the lines in the original drawing with permanent black markers. This cleaned up the edges and gave a sharp definition and unity to our broken landscapes. Students were happy with their work, and I was pleased to see that they were excited about taking another artist's art form and translating that into a unique and harmonious work of their own. They realized that art is something that anyone can create using basic design knowledge and that one can be inspired by contemporary artists, not just by masterpieces hanging in our great art museums.

WEB LINKS

www.pbs.org/americaquilts/century /canvas/katie_pasquini_masopust.html

NATIONAL STANDARD

Students select and use the qualities of structures and functions of art to improve communication of their ideas.

Starla Woodruff is a middle school art teacher in the Do]ton Local School District in Massillon, Ohio. [e-mail]