Digital Media: Audio Part 2- Makers Approach to Instruments

Today in Digital Media class we will begin our 2nd project in our Audio unit in which the class will design and construct it's own instruments in small groups using the LittleBits Korg Modular Kit and makers materials.  We will actually use these instruments to record a short piece of music in conjunction with whichever instruments or vocals you want to contribute and the Keezy smartphone apps.  I'll be doing a short demonstration of how LittleBits works and then you will form groups and begin brainstorming.

Also as a reminder tomorrow in class is our reflection essays on the Technology Innovators and Entrepreneurs research project so don't forget to look over you notes and refresh your memory.  The extra credit assignment is also due at the end of next week (look back on the blog for instructions).

Art Honor Society: Mural Painting today

Today in Art Honor Society we will be working on a number of different Murals including the in-classroom murals, the hallway mural at the visitors entrance, the Wyland murals and the outside area murals so come prepared to do some painting!

Artist Research Project Quiz

This week we will finish presenting the Artist Research Projects in class and will have the visual and written quizes on Thursday and Friday in class.  We will review for the Quiz on Wednesday so bring your notes and study up!

Extra Credit November: Hechscher Museum of Art

This weekend I had a chance to create a digital painting (see the VINE below) on the new, huge 55 inch touchscreen in Huntington's Hechscher Museum of Art and view their three great exhibits of James Rosenquist, Street Life, and modern printmaking.  

I encourage everyone to visit but I'll offer extra credit for the art students being that their upcoming Long Island's Best show will include work based on what's being shown in the museum.  If you want extra credit just take a selfie at their new selfie station and tag it #needlesclass along with the museum hashtag #hmaselfie and tell me what you thought of the show.  We'll talk more about Long Island's Best later in the year but it's a great idea to get inspired early.

Studio Art- Artist Research Project

In our next project we will be researching artists and creating works inspired by their process.  Below is the master list of artists we'll be covering that you'll need to create presentations for and we'll have a visual and short answer test on them after the presentations.  Due on Monday 2/7.

P1- A title page with a photo, name, and name of your research subject
P2- A short bulleted biography of 10 important facts with sources linked on the bottom of the page
P3-P13 Images of your research subject's major works, 1 per page

Needles- Robert Rauschenberg

Nikitha- Chuck Close

Emily- Keith Haring

Anthony- René Magritte

Sophia- Jeff Koons

Madison- Henri Matisse

Eliana- Ai Weiwei

Nicholas- Paul Klee

Felicity- Barbara Kruger

Brian- Piet Mondrian

Audrey- Joan Miró

Brandon- Shepard Fairey

Joseph- Alberto Giacometti

Matthew- Alexander Calder

Nicolette- Claude Monet

Brody- Salvador Dalí

Erin- Andrew Wyeth

Tony- David Hockney

Joseph- Jean-Michel Basquiat

Peter- Jasper Johns

Justin- Banksy

Andrew- Pablo Picasso

Gabrielle- Marilyn Minter

Sydney- Anish Kapoor

Meagan- Andy Goldsworth

Lucas- Jackson Pollock

W, Claire- Andy Warhol

AP Art: Artist Trading Cards

In AP Art we created a series of Artist Trading Cards for the upcoming ATC swap and above is a video showing off a few other the creations we made.  I love the creativity and personality everyone brought to the project, the cards look great!

Drawing: Artist Research Project

In Drawing we are currently working on our Artist Research Project. Each student is assigned an artist and has to create a short presentation on that artist including a photo of the with a short one page biography and 10 large quality images of their work. The presentation can be created on Powerpoint (saved to the public drive) or the new Google Slide (shared to my email) and is due at the beginning of class on Monday.

after the presentations there will be a quiz on the artists and you will create a work of art inspired by one of the artists you learned about for Friday October 23.

1. Kayla- David Salle
2. Shannon- David Hockney
3. Kyle- Retna & Chip Kidd
4. Anthony- Jason Jägel
5. Joseph- Roa
6. Mark- Robert Wyland
7. Alexandra- Tara McPherson
8. Zainab- Magnus Plessen
9. Emma- Alex Katz
10. Samantha- Kara Walker
11. Andrea- Yayoi Kusama
12. Nicole- Wayne White
13. Marissa- George Condo
14. Arielle- Robert Dash
15. Samantha- Wendy Macnaughton
16. Leesa- Swoon
17. Angelina- Francesco Clemente
18. Cassandra- Dal On
19. Kristen- Barry McGee
20. Amy- Daniel Danger & Raymond Pettibon
21. Ilysa- Alice Neel
22. Victoria- Brendan Monroe
23. Brandon- Tristan Eaton
24. Leann- Marilyn Minter
25. Needles- Robert Rauschenberg

Studio Art: Watercolor Portrait Painting

In Studio Art we are finishing up our first Watercolor Portrait Painting which is due at the end of class today.  The example I did above in my Sketchbook Project shows some of the tips I mentioned such as realistic skin tones using under colors, shading, and a background tone.

When we are finished you can begin this week's Illustration Friday in Watercolor, the theme is stuffed.

Digital Media: Technology Innovators Research Project

In Digital Media we are beginning our Technology Innovators Research Project while we record audio stories in class. Each student has been assigned an important person in technology and using Google Slide you should create a 5 page research paper with a title page including a photo, name, and title of your research subject, a short bulleted biography and three pages of full biography including photos and what innovations and lessons your subject has for us as listed below. This project will be due at the beginning of class on Wednesday along with your unedited audio recording of your short personal story.

P1- A title page with a photo, name, and title of your research subject
P2- A short bulleted biography of 10 important facts
P3- Full bulleted biography of 25 facts
P4- List of innovations and creations with images
P5- Advice and innovations your subject has for us.

1. Jak- Reed Hastings
2. Jack- Sundar Pichai
3. Jason- Palmer Luckey and Brendan Iribe
4. Alex C- Dan Pink
5. Sam- Elon Musk
6. Olivia- Lynda Weinman and Bruce Heavin
7. Justin- Mark Pincus
8. Katie- Jack Dorsey
9. Alex J- Chris Sacca
10. Tyler- James Park
11. Anthony- Travis Kalanick
12. Christopher M- Steve Jobs
13. Kelly- Tim Cook
14. John- Megan Smith
15. Emily- Ben Silbermann and Evan Sharp
16. Lucas- Jony Ive
17. Chris S- Kayvon Beykpour and Joseph Bernstein
18. Adam- Mark Zuckerberg
19. Joseph- Larry Page
20. Julianna- Jimmy Iovine
21. Matt- Nick Woodman
22. Mike- Evan Spiegel
23. Zach- Kazuo Hirai
24. Scott- Philippe Dauman
25. Anna- Jeff Bewkes
26. Peter- John Doerr and Mary Meeker
27. Kyle- Shantanu Narayen
28. Chrissy D- Jay Silver
29. Jessica- Bill Gurley
30. Dylan- Andrew Wilson
31. Spencer- Daniel Ek
32. Ryland- Peter Thiel
33. Grace- Danit Peleg
34. Gina- Jeff Bezos
35. Nicholas- Adam Cahan
36. Christopher- Brit Morin
37. Victoria- Shane Smith
38. Jenna- Howard Schultz
39. Kiersten- Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg
40. Christian- Warren Buffett
41. Mikenzie- Ollie Palmer
42. Alexa- Robert Iger
43. Matt S- Steve Zadesky
44. Cameron- Bre Pettis
45. Aline- Jens Begemann and Philipp Moeser
46. Matt V- Ben Rubin, Uri Haramati, Itai Danino
47. Stacy- Akio Toyoda
48. Kenneth- Bob Pittman
49. Rosalie- Kevin Systrom

Art Honor Society: Hartford School of Art visit and Hamptons Film Festival wrapup

Today the Hartford School of Art is visiting class at 11am to discuss their program.  We have a number of alumni who have attended and loved the program so it should be great learning more about it.  AP students may have the chance to have their portfolios reviewed after the class so please have your work ready.



This past weekend we had students volunteering at the Hampton's Film Festival and students had a chance to see actor Alan Alda speak about his role in Steven Spielberg's new film Bridge of Spies.  The Vine video below shows part of his talk from the Guild Hall showing.

AP Art: Young Arts, College Visits, and Artist Research Project

This week in AP Art is the last to enter the Young Arts contest which closes on Oct 16, 2015.  Enter for a chance for scholarships and a chance to be nominated for the U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts.  

We will also have the Hartford Art School visit tomorrow, Wednesday at 10:20 to discuss their program and review portfolios.  Above is a great video showing one of the school's recent pop-up shops in town.

Finally, we will begin our artist research project this week so each student will be assigned two artists that reflect their work in some way.  Create a presentation with a cover featuring the artist's image, a short 1 page bulleted biography with sources and 20 full size images of their work.  Below is the master list of artists.  After the research and presentation you should create a piece inspired by anything you learned about either or both of the artists.  We will share the presentations next week and have a short visual and written test on them afterwards.

Emily A- Alex Katz & William Kentridge

Emily B- Marjane Satrapi & Walt Kelly/Jeff Smith

Sam- Robert Rauschenberg & Starn Brothers

Kyle- Jasper Johns & José Parlá

Alana- Swoon & Judith Supine

Luke- Will Eisner & Farel Dalrymple

Kayla- Chuck Close & Gustav Klimt

Alix- Sebastião Salgado & Raymond Pettibon

Maria- Yayoi Kusama & Banksy

Rachel- Yoshitomo Nara & Takashi Murakami

Natalie- Jenny Saville & Lucian Freud

Nicole- Shepard Fairey & MCEscher

Jamie- Alphonse Mucha & William Klein

Rosalie- Gregory Crewdson & Marilyn Minter

Chrissy D- Sigmar Polke & Donald Baechler

Mikenzie- Nam June Paik & Valerie Hegarty

Isabella- Lauren Greenfield & Erwin Wurm

Digital Media: Audio

In Digital Media class we will begin working with audio aka sound today and we will start by taking a look at our new LittleBits/ KORG circuit set and learning about the basics of how sound works.  The example above by artist Reggie Watts gives you a sense of some of the cool things that can be done with Little Bits of sound.  We will also be introduced to sound editing with the Audacity freeware program and learn the basics of sound editing.  Finally we'll look at our first sound project from the Sarahs and make some decisions about what our project will look like then we'll record and edit it next week.  Below is a great example of an audio story that takes place in school from one of my favorite radio/tv shows, This American Life.

Digital Media: The Artist Code Series

In Digital Media class we are finishing our first coding unit with The Artist Code Series on code.org in class today.  Students should be signed in and complete The Artist 1-3 and save the images at the end of each in the public drive.  Spend a bit of time experimenting with the design of the final stage of the Artist Code 3 like I did in the Vine below- it's a particularly creative piece of geometric coding art!

Studio Art: Artist Trading Cards

We are creating Artist Trading Cards this week to participated in @MiniMatisse's 1st Annual Artist Trading Card swap with other schools across the world.  Above are a few examples created by artists and teachers such as myself from a trade I arranged this summer.

Each student in Studio Art, Drawing, and AP Art will create 6 Artist Trading Cards that are 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" based on a theme of their choice (and the media will depend on the class).  We'll measure out the paper and create the ATC's then cut them at the end because it's easier to keep track of them.

When they are finished well critique and photograph then prepare them to be mailed out.  On the back make sure to write your name, school, state, teacher, age, grade, date, and the title and medium used.  Above are a few more professional examples from contemporary artists for the art hustle collection.  When we receive our ATC's later in the year we'll have a gallery show of the art cards we created and the cards we received.

Extra Credit: “Why Does Art Matter?” Poster Design Contest

October's Extra credit for fine studio art, drawing, and AP art classes is to create a poster design for the School Arts “Why Does Art Matter?” Poster Design Contest:

Objective: Design and create an 18 x 24" (46 x 61 cm) advocacy poster that addresses the question,“Why Does Art Matter?”

Deadline: November 2, 2015

Prizes: First, second, and third-place winners will receive gift certificates from Nasco Arts & Crafts ($300 for first place, $150 for second place, and $50 for third place).

The first-place winner’s poster will be reproduced and distributed to more than 3,000 attendees at the 2016 National Art Education Association Conference in Chicago, Illinois. The supervising art teacher of each winner will receive a 1-year subscription to Davis Digital Images. Winning posters will also be featured in the March 2016 issue of SchoolArts.

	Rules and Eligibility:
*	Students should create an 18 x 24" poster (vertical or horizontal) and may be done in any media that communicates the importance of art education in K–12 schools by answering the question, “Why Does Art Matter?”
*	Posters may only be submitted by the entrant’s art teacher. Art teacher must “like” SchoolArts on Facebook.
*	No more than two finalists may be submitted from each teacher.
*	Posters should not contain any copyrighted content or content that could be perceived as offensive, such as nudity and profanity.
*	Each submission must contain the student’s name, home address, grade level, and age, as well as the name, school, school address, teaching, and contact information of the supervising art teacher. A signed artwork reproduction permission form must also accompany each submission. You can download one here.

Drawing: Illustration Friday

In Drawing class we will be working on Illustration Friday today and the theme is "INK".  Above is an example from class done by Luke.  Remember today's schedule is abbreviated due to the pep rally so we have a little less time than normal!

Art Honor Society: Patriots Day Meeting

Today the Art Honor society will meet and make a few important decisions about the events we'll be doing in the next few months along with taking a patriotic group photo.  The Hamptons Film Festival is coming up in two weeks so anyone interested in volunteering can visit the Hamptons Film Festival Volunteer page.

Well also be planning some of the collaborative projects we will be working on for the next few weeks such as the Sketchbook Project, our new t-shirt design, and the Wyland mural.  We will be starting both next week at our meeting on Wednesday.