Chuck Close

The first project of the 3rd trimester is one of my favorite projects. The students will be introduced to the American artist Chuck Close. Chuck Close is a photographer and painter that has gained world wide recognition for his amazing massive-scaled portraits. Even though he was left severely paralyzed from a spinal artery collapse in 1988, he has continued to create beautiful and stunning paintings.

 

Batik Project

A Batik or Batiking is an ancient art form that has been handed down for thousands of years from generation to generation. Batiks can be found in the Middle East, Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Thailand, Philippines, India and more!

The students were instructed to choose a book that they have either read in their Language Arts Class or one that they are currently reading to use as inspiration for their Batik project.  Students were then instructed to use Corel PhotoPaint to illustrate a scene from that book and add the title for their batik design.  This project was was a great way to make a connection between their Language Arts class and their Visual Arts class.

 

The students were excited to create their own 20 X 20 Batik.  This art process is the method of dying fabric and then applying wax to those areas so that the fabric will remain that dyed color.  Once the fabric has visited a variety of dye baths, and waxed after each, the wax will be removed to uncover the design.  Once the plan was printed,  students had to trace their plan onto the fabric.

 

Students tracing their 'Batik Plan' onto their 20 X 20 Fabric

 

Once the design was traced on their fabrics, the students began to wax over the areas that they wanted to remain the white fabric color.

 

 

Students continued to dye and wax their fabric to achieve the design that was planned.

 

The students have enjoyed the Batik project so far and are will very excited to uncover the wax and see the art that they have created.

African Masks - Congo Region

The latest project in Mr. Benham's Art Class had the students researching tribes from the Congo region of Africa.  Each student was required to choose 2 different tribes and design their own masks combining characteristics from the original tribal masks and their own imagination. Colors and shapes weren't the only qualities that had to be taken into consideration when creating their own mask.  The students had to also keep in mind what their mask was created for.

Once the students had completed their masks, they were glazed and fired.

The final component of this project was for the students to stand in front of the class and present their mask to their peers.  The students were required to creatively write a 3-5 paragraph paper describing the following:

• What tribes were used as inspiration?
• What characteristics were 'borrowed' for their mask?
• What is their new original mask going to be used for?
• Who is required to wear the mask?

Short Video

(Used for ideas / brainstorming)

AFRICAN MASKS

Students working on their Clay masks: