ALISON ENGEL
Artist / Art Teacher
Lessons
Click photos to enlarge slideshow
Hundertwasser Landscapes
My fifth grade students at Red Bank Elementary school in Lexington, SC were wonderful participants in this lesson. During this lesson the students observed and discussed the art and architecture of Friedensreich Hundertwasser. They focused on his use of five skins and why it is important to take care of our own five skins. This helped the students to learn the importance of expressing themselves through their interests, ideas, passions, and caring for the world. They used this inspiration to draw their own expression of their skins and then filled their page with bright watercolors. Once they finished their painting students learned about artist statements. They took this knowledge and applied it to their own work. The bulletin board was displayed in the hallway and recieved several compliments from teachers and parents. I uploaded all student paintings onto Artsonia so parents could view their child's work. This site can be seen here.
My students were extremely enthusiastic to see how combining primary colors can create secondary colors.
Abstracted Bubbles
My first grade students at Red Bank Elementary school in Lexington, SC were wonderful participants in this lesson. Students practiced the technique of painting with bubbles after viewing productions by artists Juan Miró and Martín Satí. This was an important discovery lesson where the students mixed primary colors and were shocked to see oranges, greens, and purples appear. Finally they practiced the technique of looking for hidden images in their dried bubble paintings. The students emphasized the hidden images by drawing an enlarged version and painting over the pencil lines. I uploaded all student paintings onto Artsonia so parents could view their child's work. This site can be seen here.
Tunnel Book
During this lesson the students considered their favorite parts of their community and it’s landmarks. After viewing and discussing the works of Renie Britenbucher and John Ross they decided which parts of the city they wanted to include in their background, middle ground and foreground. The students created a background with watercolor paint which fills their 6x9 white paper. They then learned and practiced the technique of printmaking to create a city skyline. Then the students created their middle and foreground by coloring and gluing objects onto frames which slid into the folded sides of the tunnel book. Lastly the students will created a short narrative for their book explaining the landmarks and activities taking place in their imagery.
Fantasy Garden
Students imagined a fantasy garden after viewing productions by artist Rex Ray, Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, and local artist Pearl Fryar. They learned and practiced the technique of painting textured surfaces on paper, creating paste paper.. Then, the students cut and collaged the paste paper onto watercolor backgrounds to create their fantasy garden. The students were excited to explore the technique of collaging and realizing that you don't always need a pencil to create an image.
Batik Portrait
While batiking is a difficult lesson to teach fourth graders, I wanted my students to experience a similar process. First I explained to them the tradition of batik art and the diligent process which takes place during the creating. It was important they understood wax resist. Then they viewed works created by Andy Warhol and Tennessee Loveless who both create portraits in vivid unrealistic colors. This was meant to introduce them to artsist who create lifelike proportional portraits while also using vivd colors. The students sketched a self-portrait onto white paper. They outlined their pencil marks with black crayon and filled the rest of the page with bright crayon colors. Then, the students covered their work in watered down acrylic paint and bloted off access paint. The resulting work appeared similar to a batik, which the students loved, and I was very proud of their accomplishments.
When the students were done building their dwelling we had them participate in a gallery walk where they chose their 4 favorites and had to use their art vocabulary to descirbe why they chose each dwelling.
Unique Dwellings
After creating an elementary based lesson on Friedensreich Hundertwasser I was inspired to take their ideas into the realm of high school. Once again I introduced the students to Hundertwasser and his unique dwellings. His belief that everyone should live in a beautiful place was used as a great inspiration for my students. After drawing preliminary sketches of their designs the students practiced the technique of slab building accompanied with their previous knowledge of coil building. The main requirement during this lesson was that students create a dwelling which has whimsical shapes and patterns that are unique. The students responded so positively to this lesson that I will continue to teach this well into the future.
Community Puzzle
This was a project completed by Art 1 students who have never had the privlege to take an art class. Many of these students had special needs and required a lot of attention. The energy of the students was often negative so I wanted a way to connect the students and create a lively community within the classroom. In order to fulfill this idea I gave each student a puzzle piece and one cardboard canvas. They used their grid scale knowledge, previously learned on another project, to enlarge the image onto the cardboard. The students then chose a color family as inspiration and painted a zentangle. During this process students laid down their pieces to see the larger picture and worked collaboratively to improve every aspect of the image ensuring that their pieces fit together seamlessly. Finally, after all revisions were made the students gathered in the hallway to hang their large collaborative work.
One Man's Trash is Another's Canvas
During this lesson the students discussed consumerism and it's dangers. This led to a wonderful conversation about what brands or obejects might represent their identity. They will used items that would normally be thrown out and used it as their canvas. Through this process students were encouraged to see the importance of recycling and repurposing objects, as well as seeing how we often place self worth on specific brands. There is no requirement that state must use the expensive equipment and materials to communicate their message and their is no reason to center life around commercialized consuming.
Situational Art
Situational art consists of constructed situations, where the artist alters a moment of life concretely and deliberately by an event. An example of this kind of art was created by Candy Chang. She firmly believes that public spaces are only as profound as we allow them to be. With this belief she heads out into public and asks civilians to look deep inside themselves and share with her their feelings and values. She is therefore recognized for her projects that improve and impact communities. One such project began by taking over homes and businesses that had been foreclosed and abandoned. She first created a large wall for people to write with chalk what they wished the building was. This opened a line of communication and let the people be heard. It became a tool to help share and build on ideas for the places they cared about.
My class partner and I took inspiration from Chang’s work and headed out to the center of campus to conduct our own situational art. We used our zines from the previous project as a spring board for what we would ask fellow students. In the middle of a very busy pedestrian bridge we set up a table and asked students to respond to the prompts: While I am young I want to..., and When I am old I want to be. After writing their response we asked that they hang it on a clothes line we had previously hung. We captured these interactions in photographs and compiled them into a slide show to share our experience.
A video of all images can be found on youtube here.
DJJ Workshop
Three peers and I participated in a four week art workshop with eleven female adolescent participants. This art project was an exploration of women’s issues, peer, and personal struggles. We introduced a superhero theme that not only brought up the objectification of women but also the opportunity for women to empower themselves in the face of adversity. Posing the question of “If I were a female super hero…..” brought the chance to open up a dialogue about positive experiences which encouraged taking responsibility for their own futures and working as a community for the greater good of all people. The girls explored these topics through conversation, reflecting in their journals, and creating art. The participants were also able to express their voices, become empowered, and resolve their struggles through an artistic outlet. We introduced examples of empowered women who have used the “idea” of super hero to create inspiring art works which have a strong message. These artists were examples for the girls to ignite their thinking processes and begin to explore their ideas through art making. Throughout the four weeks the girls made their own “Shero” mannequin sculptures collaboratively. They learned body casting, collage, and fabric work. We believe this community arts experience was successful because we observed the girls creating their own community, working as a team, showing leadership, and using critical thinking. In result they became Sheroes.