Recycling - leaving the world a better place than you found it by using recycled materials to construct something useful (Example = a homeless shelter constructed entirely out of found materials)
Resilience -overcoming life's pitfalls -the journey from low to high using wire as medium and sculpture as process
Collaboration - group artwork in the form of a spray painted mural -process promotes teamwork and finding common ground with fellow individuals
Symbiotic Relationships - exploration of mutually beneficial partnerships that exist between living things –clay sculpture –option to include natural elements such as rocks or twigs
Forgiveness -and the doorways it opens -the only way to truly move on is to forgive –each student gets one doorway in the school to decorate –can depict their own experience with forgiveness or an inspiring story by use of silhouette –detailed black or white paper cut outs
Technology -(reverse cyborg) - we all know that machines would not exist without human beings to create them, but what about the way our machines are reshaping us as humans? –sculpture from found technologically related material such as electrical wire or old circuit boards
Stereotyping -How might a stranger stereotype you? Choose yours and render it as your personal artistic protest –charcoal drawing - self-portrait with chosen stereotypical characteristics exaggerated
First impressions -how important are first impressions to you? Though it is not necessarily fair to judge a person based upon your first impression of them, no one is completely immune to this unfortunate phenomenon. What would be someones first impression of you? How can you compare this to what you would want thier first impression to be? –using body language, make-up, dress, setting and lighting, students will partner up and photograph each other as the person they would like others to see upon first impression
Despair -the absence of all hope -how/why do we get here? How can we get out? –watercolor on paper –progression from one solid color to use of all of them
New Beginnings -artistic interpretations of concepts such as birth, growth, transformations, or just the beginning of the rest of your life! –this would have to be a springtime project –students create a mini garden-canvas, a constructed 18”x18” square filled with dirt –plant flowers or other plants in an artistic arrangement or symbol that signifies hope
Risk taking - Depicting the feeling of standing on the threshold of making a decision that could have serious consequences –heavy acrylic painting on surface of students choice
Consequences -a result of risk taking - Can you think of consequences that have resulted from your own decisions? What (if anything) have those consequences taught you? –carved wood pocket sculptures students can carry with them always as reminders
"The Prince" -Machiavellian philosophy -"the ends justify the means" -Do you agree or disagree? -Why or why not? -How do we see this way of thinking being practiced in the world around us and what are the effects? –students have freedom to choose objects for medium, but it must be something of a somewhat controversial nature that ties in to the theme –i.e. bits of genetically modified foods, prescription or over-the-counter pills or bottles, an exhaust pipe, etc.
Influence -What influences you and how do those influences make themselves known in your artwork? –chose an influence that you can have with you while finger painting –make your first piece without it, and the second piece with it –compare and contrast
Hodge-podge -Artistic conglomeration of seemingly unrelated objects, media, or ideas –content and process = students choice
Nature -using the environment to create new and insightful works of art
Selfishness - We are all guilty of it... Allow yourself to put pride aside and depict your interpretation as honestly as humanly possible –abstract forms and designs burned onto wood
Selflessness -What can living in this mentality do for the world around us? What can it do for you? In what ways can you actively be selfless and how can you depict them? –design an multi-media inspirational poster to be hung in the hallways of your school
Process - a journey? a struggle? a learning experience? all of the above? Set an artistic goal (end product) and document your process to achieving that goal –students pick what they believe they are best at and record their progress from start to finish, then present to the class
Functionality -creation of art with an every day purpose (clothing, kitchenwear, bookmarks, hairpieces, etc.) –can be medium and process of students choice, but they must have a well done and fully functional product as their end result
Multi-sensory -How can you make art that you "see" with more than just your eyes? Can you see potential in a multi-sensory experience? How/why? –start with a special memory that is triggered by sight –recreate what you saw and add at least one other enhancing sense to the first
Paradox -conflicting ideas or principles that exist at the same time –design your own perspective paradox (See M.C. Escher) through use of graphite on paper
Personal struggle -We all have (or have had) one -Depict it through the medium and method of your choice -
Destruction -creation for the purpose of demolition -Modern day example = Burning Man: Artists spend weeks making amazing art installations and then burn them to the ground at the end of the festival –if art is a piece of the self, to destroy it could be critically viewed as self-destruction –What do you define as self-destructive? Build your personal interpretation out of dead brush and leaves, then set it ablaze, thus destroying self-destruction
Sacrifice - giving up something you hold dear for the sake of the greater good -What have you had to sacrifice in your life? How can you pay your experience homage with an artistic tribute? –encaustic painting/sculpture –show the transition from before to after –can be realistic or abstract
Consciousness -self-actualization -living life so as to leave the world a better place when you are gone –requires perpetual awareness of other human beings and all living things –the self is secondary -use of combination of still life and abstractions through oil or acrylic paints
Brainwashing -the everyday citizen is manipulated by the powers that be into ways of thinking that may not be beneficial to our own interests but beneficial to those powers (i.e. the media, the government, etc.) -3D clay sculpture
Passion -giving a tangible form to the fire that drives us -finger painting to music that fuels this passion
Spirituality -connectedness to a higher power/connectedness to each other –installation art –may be very small or very large, depending upon how much space is available –available space divided into one even space for each student –use of fabrics and wire to fill each space
Sacred Spaces -creation of one’s own sacred space through use of rocks, stones, sticks, plants, etc.
Time Travel -Chose a historic artistic period and create a work of art in that style through the medium originally used
Sensuality -photography of the human form –use light, environment, space and photographical abstractions to create your interpretation
Portals –find your happy place -imprinted beaded or shredded curtains/doorways
Vessels -creation of any kind of transportational container through medium of students choice –can be literal (i.e. a cup, wallet or handbag) or metaphorical (a heart, a hand, a classroom, etc.)
Culture -research a part of the world that interests you and design a postcard to send to yourself from that place –watercolor pencil
Memories -lifesize collage composed of material objects that represent personal memories (ticket stubs, photographs, posters, etc.)
The allure of excess -multi-media -create something tasteful, photograph your work, then intentionally overdo it
Idioms –“pot calling the kettle black”, “raining cats and dogs”, “pulling my leg”, etc. –choose your favorite and used colored pencils to render the expression and then see if your classmates can guess what it is
Success -to the best of your abilities, recreate a well-known work of art that you consider to be successful with the closest to original medium you can find
Energy -wire wrap jewelry -research rock or mineral being wrapped -historic ritual uses? supposed metaphysical powers? document your day wearing another persons wrap and then discuss –also builds upon principle of trust –Can you/will you trust your classmate to take care of your work?
Community -work together as a class to create a life-size sculpture out of random objects
Love -show love to a fellow classmate by creating and exchanging a work of art you are proud of -also ties in with selflessness -make something you love so much you would rather not part with, then give it away
Recreation - charcoal drawing of you (and/or friends) doing what you most enjoy in your free time
Inspiration -paint two series of mini-still lifes, one painted while close to your source of inspiration (music, sunlight, other artwork, etc.) and one without
Food -make a self portrait out of edible items
Juxtaposition –use fashion design to combine two contrasting styles from any culture or time period into a runway-worthy ensemble Past & Present –study master artists of the Italian renaissance, choose a favorite and then depict a modern scene in the style of your chosen artist –OR- use a famous renaissance composition but make use of a modern style
Individuality –create a straightforward, succinct list of attributes you believe make you who you are, then choose an object, symbol, or pattern to represent each of these attributes. Form each out of clay, combine your choices into an unexpectedly abstract sculpture, fire in kiln, paint and repeat
Emotion –everyone in the class writes one down, drops it into a hat and draws another one. Then each student will create a still life charcoal drawing depicting their emotion with objects of their choice
Ugly is the new beautiful – use beauty products (make-up, nail polish, etc.) to create the most believably unattractive portrait possible –OR- use materials typically associated with ugliness or imperfection (mud, Band-Aids, toenail clippings, etc.) to create the most beautiful portrait possible
Commercialism –collage –take bits and pieces from advertisements and packaging to create a collage of the many unnecessary things the advertising industry tells us we need
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