Doodle Box!!

Fifth grade students had SO much fun with this project. I got the idea from The Doodle Box Project. Artist David Hofmann uses any old box he can find, deconstructs it so that the flaps become wings, mouths, arms, legs, or anything else!
We went through the website first and I let the kids decide which doodle boxes were stronger artworks than the others. They decided that the boxes with color, lots of pattern, creative features like big eyes, expressive mouths, etc were most appealing. AND they determined that the more it didn't look like a box anymore, the better. So, we used these requirements for their projects.
Students were asked to provide their own box. I suggest cereal boxes, shoe boxes, etc. Anything but a boring corrugated shipping box. Kids also brought in 12 pack soda boxes, and other interesting packaging. I did a demonstration on how to locate the glued flap that closes the box, slide my closed scissors into the flap and gently pry it open. I made a caterpillar for my doodle box example (but didn't keep it). So, students saw me working on mine while they worked on theirs.
This was planned as a fun end of the year project where the kids could strut their stuff, so to speak, and demonstrate all the skills they had learned throughout the year. So, I let them use pretty much whatever supplies they wanted. Many chose paint, crayons, markers, yarn, glitter (ugh-that is the part I hate, but they love!), and other add ons like soda bottle tops.

Overall, the results speak for themselves!

High School Lessons

I had several lessons that I worked on while I did my student teaching in a high school. Below are a few images and explanations of the projects:

Relief Carving-3rd Year Art (Ceramics & Sculpture)



For this lesson we used plaster casted into meat trays and used wood carving tools. Students looked at artist Maya Lin and classical reliefs. They were able to pick their own subject matter, but I think it would have been more successful if students had a big idea to use imagery for on this project.

Art II- Identity Cups


On this project I challenged students to look at classic and contemporary cups and use the cup form as a metaphor for who they are. The outside was to represent who they show the world, what the world sees, or some stereotype they think others think of them. The inside was to be treated as what fills their lives and makes them who they are. They had to answer the question, "What fills your cup?" Students considered texture, form, content, and contrast in the composition. These examples are unglazed and unpainted (students had a choice of either).

Art I Value Portraits

Students each had their photo taken using dramatic lighting from a light source on one side of their body. I printed the pictures using a laser printer and students had to consider value from the lightest light to the darkest dark out of the newspaper. They cut organic shapes and glued them to the value on the photograph. This completely eliminated the need to have correct proportions, something that can be frustrating for an art I class. Students were allowed to do whatever they like with their likeness. They could put it on a different background, invent a background, or do the background just like their portrait.

Art II Motion Emphasis




Students tried to show movement in these artworks and experiment with 2-D texture. We watched several time lapse and slow motion clips on Youtube.com and drew gesture drawings of each movement. Students use an oil pastel watercolor resist to give emphasis and color to their drawings. Then they collaged their pieces using a pleasing and balanced composition.