Being an Artist Instructor's Guide

Looking for an eye-opening experience in the world of art? By applying the lessons in Being an Artist, students truly see works of art, learn to intelligently discuss artwork, the elements and principles behind good art, and how to become artists themselves.

Being An Artist: A Cubism and Collage Experience is an exciting 12-unit program that includes everything instructors need to lead students through hours of “hands on" and “minds on" artistic fun.  Students spend time on the fundamentals and then delve into collage projects that are accessible to any skill level. The studio projects cover rich activities and creative learning for middle school students in grades 6-8.

Introduce students to the art of collage and its rich history.

Benefits

• Details the origin and historical significance of collage movement

•  Introduces the Elements of Art and the Principles of Design

• Explores the masterworks of Picasso, Bearden and Braque

•  Develops a critical eye in artists and a language for their perceptions

• Models preparing collages for art show and critiquing techniques
  
  

Course Outline

Lesson 1: Collage Chronology-20th Century Culture and History
Students work together to solve clues and develop a chronological timeline of wars, inventions, and numerous historical firsts. Next, based on visual observations, students place four historical works of art on the timeline, learning to extract crucial information from the credit line of a work of art.

Lesson 2: Warming Up! The Elements of Art and the Principles of Design
Time for a warm-up! Much like athletes, artists often warm up before they begin working. Through hands-on explorations, students are introduced to the elements of art and the principles of design, i.e. the compositional tools an artist uses. Students explore the elements of line, shape, and texture using compressed charcoal and kneaded erasers on newsprint.

Lesson 3: Glued to the Painting-The History of Collage
Nothing like learning from the very best! In this lesson, students examine the history of collage by writing about and discussing two works of art by Pablo Picasso, one a painting, the other a collage.

Lesson 4: Inspired by the Masters-Synthetic Cubist Collage
Building on the previous lesson, student artists study the friendship and artistic interchange between George Braque and Pablo Picasso, the inventors of collage. Students create a collage modeled after early collages by these two artists, in particular using similar elements of art, a central axis, and the same media as the two masters did.

Lesson 5: Looking at Still Life-The Synthetic Cubist Painting of Braque and Picasso
Students construct and use a viewfinder to study still life composition. By comparing two Braque and Picasso paintings, students explore the use of repetition to create movement within a composition. Further, students learn about flatness in Synthetic Cubist artwork.

Lesson 6: Creating a Still Life-Earning Your Artistic License
Ready to let loose? In the lesson, students use their own artistic license to create a still life collage, learning about scale in a composition and utilizing the design principle of movement.

Lesson 7: What do You Think? Picasso Wraps Up Cubism and Plays with Surrealism
An important part of being an artist is the art of critique. Students review a sample critique and then record a personal critique for one of Picasso's paintings. As a class, students interpret and discuss two oil paintings by Picasso.

Lesson 8: Construct a Figurative Collage-The Angles of Cubism or the Surprises of Surrealism
In this lesson, students create collages modeled after two of Picasso's figurative paintings, consciously applying elements of art and principles of design into their creative process.

Lesson 9: Photomontage-The Art of Romare Bearden
Ever evoke emotions through your art? Students are introduced to American-born collage artist Romare Bearden, exploring Bearden's use of proportion, texture, and pattern. Through this process, students learn how artists use the elements of art and the principles of design to create a sense of place and how artists evoke emotions, smells, and sounds through their art.

Lesson 10: Making a Photomontage-Creating an Emotional Space
Modeled after Romare Bearden's 1967 collages, Summertime and Three Folk Musicians, students create a photomontage, a figurative collage of photographs. Students suggest a sense of place with their collage and include one or more figures, each gesturing in a manner that evokes an emotion or an attitude. Students use magazine cutouts as their primary medium.

Lesson 11: Collage of Choice-What is Your Message?
Put it all together! In this lesson, students create personal collages that exhibit their understanding of the elements of art and the principles of design.

Lesson 12: Art on Exhibition-A Community Event
Finis! This culminating lesson is a two-day event. In the first day, students learn how to mount a work of art, create credit lines for labeling a work of art, and explore techniques for creating an art exhibition. In the second day, students exhibit their own artwork. They plan and participate in an "art opening," sharing and talking about their artwork with their community. Additionally, students constructively critique artwork created by their fellow classmates.

More about Being an Artist

Visual literacy, cultural enrichment, history and creativity come alive in Being an Artist, a course designed for any instructor to introduce students to one of the most exciting art forms of our times!

In this stimulating, hands-on series, students will not only learn the art of collage by studying artists such as Pablo Picasso and Romare Bearden, but they’ll also experiment with such elementary art concepts as line, shape, and texture. Throughout the course, students will explore a non-intimidating method of “drawing with scissors” and build images with torn paper. During each lesson, student artists will learn the elements of design by creating their own masterpieces that reflect the masters’ techniques.

Each lesson in the Instructor’s Guide highlights different elements of collage with detailed examples. A complete material list is included with the Being an Artist’s Instrucor's Guide. Students will explore figurative collage, still life, photomontage, and other dimensions of “the artist’s life.” Lessons also introduce students to ethical art criticism, a mock “gallery opening,” and the preparation of art for display.

Instructors are supported in every lesson with extensive notes for both the instructor and students about each activity, including the historical and cultural context for each project. Vocabulary is clearly defined and step-by-step instructions facilitate any instructor’s ability to motivate and engage students.

Training Tips

Preparing Staff to Teach “Being an Artist” 

Welcome to the staff training notes for Being an Artist, a series of 12 lessons introducing the fine arts to grades 7 through 10. This program is ideal for after-school programs, summer and vacation camps, scout troops, church youth groups and anywhere that young people gather.

Who can teach Being an Artist

Any responsible, enthusiastic and well briefed group leader, teacher, volunteer, parent, or other motivated adult can teach Being an Artist. The text is easy to read and understand, the set-ups are detailed and uncomplicated, and the processes and procedures are clearly explained in the Lesson pages. Adults act as coaches and mentors, and guide learners as they proceed through the lessons.

What special skills does the instructor need to teach Being an Artist?

No special technical or artistic skills are necessary to teach Being an Artist. Instructors should be well organized, motivated and observant individuals. Volunteers—such as other instructors or parents—can be helpful in ensuring that all students are proceeding through the course and making progress in their understanding. Being an Artist is fun, so enthusiastic and positive instructors are essential “cheerleaders” in the learning process.

Being an Artist seems to contain a number studio sessions that require “artistic skills”—are all of these collage projects really easy to demonstrate and possible for the students to create?

Absolutely! We’ve designed each activity to teach an important lesson in the artistic making and thinking process. These activities promote both fun and learning, and the Notes for the Instructor (provided in each section) offers an overview and helpful hints to encourage learners. Pictorial guides have been provided to make demonstration clear and easy.

How can instructors most effectively deliver the lessons in Being an Artist?

Teaching any lesson in Being an Artist is easy if the instructor is well prepared. Follow these steps before every lesson.

• Always refer to yourself and the students as an “artist”. Never indicate that you are not artistic, even if you do not currently feel that way. (You may truly believe in your artistic skills by the end of this course, if you do not now.)
• Read the entire lesson before you teach so you know what sort of outcome you are trying to achieve.
• Familiarize yourself with the vocabulary and background information.
• Examine the art prints provided in the course.
• Think through your own answers to the discussion questions as you look at the art prints.
• Identify the corresponding pages (where appropriate) in the Student Activity Book and review them so you know how to guide students to “fill in” their part of the activity.
• Open the Course Kit and locate all of the materials you need for each lesson. Note that still life materials may vary slightly from materials pictured in the instructor’s guide.
• Find a convenient storage place for all of the materials. If possible, store paper products flat and close to the student working area.
• Set up your classroom so that it’s easy for students to work in groups of 2 or 4.
• Set up your demonstration area with all appropriate materials at hand.
• Walk through the steps of the demonstration before the class begins. In many of the lessons, you are asked to prepare steps in advance allowing learners more time to work.

• Review any safety precautions related to the particular lesson you are going to teach, and make sure you know where emergency help and supplies are located.

Review the entire lesson with any volunteers who will help you teach the lesson.

Once your lesson has started…..

Before you begin each lesson, review by reminding students of the materials and processes they’ve explored in previous lessons. It’s essential to activate students’ prior knowledge, and to stimulate their memories helping them make sense of what they are learning. Art making is a cumulative process, and the sequence of looking and making lead our learners to develop their critical thinking skills.

Don’t hesitate to review some of the vocabulary at the beginning of the lesson. And you can wrap up any lesson by asking students about their developing skills in seeing, creating and thinking. . . .

When you introduce new material and procedures, take a moment to assess how much students already know. For example, in lesson 2 students are introduced to the “Elements of Art” and the “Principals of Design”. Refer to works of art or architecture in your school or community. Can students see symmetrical balance in a painting in the hallway or the columns of their building? These questions ask students to become literally self-reflective, an important habit of mind for critical thinking.

Students will be stimulated and excited when they get a chance to “show off” a little of their visual knowledge.

A note about safety  All of the materials and activities in Being an Artist have been prepared with the greatest concern for student and instructor safety. Please read safety precautions closely before every lesson and make sure that when you are working you have provided adequate light, space, and information to ensure that all participants are afforded the highest level of safety possible.

Extend your lesson Instructors—particularly those with access to computer labs—can extend their lessons by reading through many of the activities described in the Other Directions, Discussions and Destinations section at the end of each lesson. Even if there’s no computer available in the classroom, many activities can be adapted by an instructor who takes the time to visit the recommended websites before delivering a lesson. There should be extra paper available to use for extra projects.

Consult your colleagues Many lessons in Being an Artist have cross-disciplinary applications. Talk with other teachers in your school or program about the ways in which what they are teaching might connect to your lesson. As you plan and prepare, ask your colleagues for good “discussion starters.”

And don’t forget to have fun!