Where do I begin?How do I make a connection to my students? How can I find out who they are, and what they arc interested in? These thoughts raced through my mind as I began an internship internship /in·tern·ship/ (in´tern-ship) the position or term of service of an intern in a hospital. internship, n the course work or practicum conducted in a professional dental clinic. at an inner city middle school. Self-portraits seemed to be a logical solution. We began by taking a h)ok at self-portraits by Frida Kahlo Frida Kahlo[1](July 6, 1907 – July 13, 1954) was a Mexican painter, who has achieved great international popularity. She painted using vibrant colors in a style that was influenced by indigenous cultures of Mexico as well as European influences that include , Max Beckmann Max Beckmann (February 12 1884 – December 28 1950) was a German painter, draftsman, printmaker, sculptor, and writer. Although he is usually classified as an Expressionist artist, he rejected both the term and the movement. , and Otto Dix Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix (December 2, 1891 - July 25, 1969) was a German painter and printmaker. Noted for his ruthless depictions of Weimar society and of the brutality of war, he is one of the most important artists of the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity). . We discovered how the choices each artist made in terms of pose, dress, and background revealed not only who they were, but who they wanted to be. Getting the Face in Place The next step was to introduce proportion. Although our features are of different sizes and shapes, their placement on our faces is fixed on everyone. After looking at a proportion diagram, we felt our own faces and measured the distances to see if the information was correct. We were ready to draw a head to shoulder portrait from mirrors onto colored 11 x 14" (28 x 36 cm) construction paper. Many students had never done this before and they had difficulty making a large oval. To make it easier, I told them that one of their outstretched out·stretch tr.v. out·stretched, out·stretch·ing, out·stretch·es To stretch out; extend. outstretched Adjective hands is as big as their faces. After observing this wacky phenomenon they put their hand tin the paper and sketched around it. They drew guidelines guidelines, n.pl a set of standards, criteria, or specifications to be used or followed in the performance of certain tasks. to place their features in the right proportions. Realistic Skin Tones The next lesson involved color. I was worried that I would see just straight brown or white as their skin colors. In order to avoid this we talked about skin being made up of many colors. We looked at each other and at a box of chalk pastels to figure out what colors we saw. I decided to require that three colors be used to make up a skin color. They colored all the skin areas first and left the eyes, hair, and shirts for last. The Artists' Background We sprayed and cut out the portraits to get ready for the final step--the background. I showed the Frida Kahlo self-portrait again to spark a discussion about "background," not only as an exciting element of a painting, but as a cultural element in the artist's life. More than half of the students were born in another country or state. Some were new to the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . I asked them to think about the similarities and differences between here and where they were from. I also asked, "What do you miss the most?" Striking Results I posed the same questions that sparked this series of lessons to my students. "Who are you? Where do you come from? What are your interests, hopes, and dreams?" They thought about symbols, objects, and places. They added these elements to their self-portraits using scrap construction paper. The results were striking and proudly displayed all around the school, igniting an atmosphere in which high self-esteem and accomplishment could easily be seen on the students' faces. Jennifer Bellows bellows, expansible, gas-tight chamber used to pump or store a gas. One of the simplest and most familiar types of bellows is the manual one used for providing a forced draft to a fire. The expansible chamber consists of a leather bag with pleated sides. is an elementary art teacher (K-6) at Elm Park Elm Park is also the name of the former ground of the English Association football team Reading F.C.. Coordinates: Elm Park is a place in the London Borough of Havering, East London. It is a suburban development situated 14. Community School and Heard Street School in Worcester, Massachusetts. |
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