October 31, 2011 Advanced Placement (AP)

This week students continue to work on their multi-media compositions from life. We will also look at the steps involved in working with acrylic, with and without moulding paste, on various "grounds". Students will need to decide on materials and mediums for their concentration and for the breadth section so that they can purchase them before they are needed in the studio. The school can provide basic materials but AP students must provide their own canvas, water color paper, and additional acrylic paint depending on their useage.

Time is flying by and there is a lot of work to do before you submit your portfolios on April 20.
The studio will be OPEN this Saturday November 5, from 9:00 am until 2:00 pm. Please sign up before Friday if you plan to attend.

October 31, 2011 Grade 10

Grade 10 students are finishing their drawing of the hand this week. We will start a unit on portraits and will do two exercises. The first one will be drawing the human head/face in proportion. We will look at Da Vinci's drawings as well as Durer's. The second drawing will be a self portrait. I will be taking pictures of students this week to prepare for the second exercise.

October 31, 2011 Grade 9

Grade nine students will continue to document their color experiments in their sketchbooks. They will prepare surfaces in their sketchbooks using watercolor and graphite. They will be given the list of sketchbook "prompts" to use for weekly sketchbook homework assignments.

Some students still have not purchased their sketchbook/workbook. This is a requirment for grade 9 art. The book will also be used in grade 10 and advanced art. Thanks to all of you who have your books and are working in them.

October 25, 2011 Advanced Placement (AP)

The second quarter will be busy for AP Art students. They will begin photographing work and creating their digital portfolios. They will conduct several in-class experiments in the Breadth catagory while continuing to work on their areas of concentration. For a high AP score students must show their versatility and skill in different media and materials as well as in different approaches to drawing. Please study the sample portfolios located on the AP website, read the student comments as well as the comments from the judges. These are very helpful.

The in-studio experiment this week will focus on multi media color compositions using watercolors and prismacolor pencils and stix. Compositions will be from "life" subjects - that is objects or subjects viewed in or around the studio. One study will be completed this week.


Students will need to work outside the studio class period to complete the number of works required by the AP (24). Please plan work time at home in the evenings and on weekends. To support your work the studio will be open from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm on the following dates. October 29, November 5 and 12, December 3. Please sign up if you plan to attend for part or all of the work session.

October 25, 2011 Grade 10

Grade 10 students will meet twice this week. They will continue to work on the study of their hand using Durer's device. They have all completed the preparation of the device, they have prepared their picture plane with a medium light value of graphite and have begun enlarging the image and drawing the contours on their paper. This week they will recieve a progress grade that reflects their effective use of time as well as the completion of the first three steps - preparation of and use of the device, preparation of the picture plane, accurate drawing of the contours of the hand.

October 25, 2011 Grade 9

Grade 9 students will continue to work on sketchbook experiments in color. These experiments will serve as references for future color compositions. They will also be doing some sketchbook assignments as homework starting next week. Assignments will be given on Tuesday November 1 and will be turned in on Friday November 4. If you have not purchased your sketchbook please do so this week. The cost is 250 L. This book will be used in grade ten art and in AP art in grade 11/12.

October 18, 2011 Advanced Placement (AP)

This week we will be reviewing color theory. Students will also report on their Concentration and we will discuss the section on Breadth. Our goal is to complete a minimum of 8 works this quarter and enter them in our digital portfolios.

October 18, 2011 Grade 10

Last week grade 10 students discussed experiments for the coming quarter. We made a list of projects and processes they were interested in. They liked the process the ninth grade experimented with in their study of the hand. So, the first of their experiements will be a study of the hand using Durer’s Device. This is a study of proportion and values.

October 18, 2011 Grade 9

Grade 9
Sketchbook – Workbook
Students will bring their sketchbooks to class. They will begin exploring color theory. They will look at intensity, value, hue, and how one color affects another color. They will create a color wheel and note the different ways to “control” color by creating a palette. They will use these color experiments and references in future compositions.

October 10, 2011 Advanced Placement (AP)

The AP students will begin working in color. They will start by reviewing the materials and processes used in painting. They will first focus on water color. Students will experiment with different surfaces or grounds and will work on developing basic techniques for handling liquid mediums. They will practice the following: flat wash, graded wash, mixing and glazing. They will apply these techniques to a composition based on their juxtapostion work.

Students should be working in their sketchbooks, developing ideas for their concentration pieces.

October 10, 2011 Grade 10

Grade 10 students are ready to work on their culminating landscape experiment. Using the information and images they have gather the past week they will create a multi media composition of a "view from the art room".

October 10, 2011 Grade 9

This week students will continue to work on developing their drawing skills. They will continue to add tonal rendering, values and accent lines to their still life composition of pastas.