8th grade High Contrast Self-Portraits

I was nervous to introduce this self-portrait project to my students.  For one, middle school is a very akward time for most of us, perhaps one of the most self-conscious stages in our lives.  Working with these adolescents, I've come to realize how super-critical they are of themselves.  However, it's also a time when they're coming into young adulthood, getting ready for high school and all the exciting changes their lives can take. 
Portraits are one of my favorite subjects to draw and paint personally, and I wanted to share this love with the students.  It's a great introspection to do self-portraits, and the model is always available.  The students studied some of Chuck Close's work.  His giant, photo-realistic portraits, are easier to replicate because of his grid-enlargement system.  First, Mr. Tetting our wonderful librarian and IMC specialist (check out his website here), helped us take digital portraits of the students and edit them to be high contrast.  The students practiced proportions of facial features and practiced grid enlargement.  When they were comfortable, they began their own portraits.  I'm amazed at these fantastic results!!  

Adaptive Art Pop-up Castles

The balloons were a bit of a bust, pun intended.  I just couldn't find a way to get them to stay up.  So, instead, the Adaptive Art class made these awesome castles!  They look fantastic in the third floor display case.

Cropped Animal Linoleum Relief Prints

The 8th graders learned a lot of art vocabulary and new skills in doing this printmaking project.  We discussed how cropping can make a composition more dynamic.  The students understood this concept easily, because most of them are used to cropping photos for their social networking. 

The students were asked to find an animal and crop the animal in an interesting way for their final print.  They were shown how to transfer their image to the linoleum tile, and how to safely, and properly use carving tools in creating their print.  They were then shown techniques for printmaking.  The students were given four days and unlimited paper and ink combinations to create three perfect prints.  I'm once again blown away by the sophisitication these intermediate students show in their art.  Amazing!