11/11/2013

Beginning Drawing

-I had a couple students lose drawings to the wind. Reiterate the fact they need to create a stable portfolio to hold all of their drawings at the beginning of the semester by requiring they bring cardboard (I’ll provide duct / packaging tape) to class to create a portfolio.

General Art History

-Consider decreasing the proportion of points the tests are worth and / or providing the study guide EARLIER in a given unit.

General Art

-I’ve switched the “flipbook” project to an “animated GIF” project. Overall, I think this will be a positive move, however, it is going to be a substantial undertaking. In the future, it will be useful to show students Adobe Photoshop in the “photo-book” project. That way, students will have some prior experience with the program before they use it for the “animated GIF” project. As it stands, I have to show them quite a bit for this project (scanning, uploading photos, resolution, basic tools, etc.).

12/2/2013

Well… Given the Thanksgiving Break… We only had half a week last week. There weren’t any EARTHSHATTERING breakthroughs in that time, however, the break provides a little time for reflection. It seems the biggest observation with the farthest-reaching ramifications is the idea of introducing the final projects (as applicable to a given class) BEFORE break. This allows students to go into the break knowing what is to come for the rest of the semester (no surprises!). It also gives them time to utilize the break to work if need be (or not). The choice is there’s. Even if they don’t work, it provides the opportunity to mull over ideas so that they might incubate and develop, presumably, so we can hit the ground running upon their return.

11/25/2013

Beginning Drawing

-Consider holding individual conferences with students after they submit drawings to discuss their grades (beyond the typed feedback / rubric / group critique). Students could even “sign up” for a time slot.

Introduction to Printmaking

-Individual conferences (see “Beginning Drawing” section)

-Scheduling the second to last critique as an individual critique that coincides with an individual conference regarding the final project is the way to go. Students get more attention from me regarding previous work, and we can plan for the final project.

2D Foundations

-I introduced the final project before concluding the current project (which isn’t weighted heavier than previous projects, as is the case in other classes - the final project in 2D is simply the last project). Given the fact we lost a day for the visiting artist as well as student conferences, the students were at varying places in the current project. Some of theme needed more time for the current project while others could use the time to get started on the final project. I don’t know if it’s the way to go for the final 2D project in every circumstance, but it’s a good strategy for such scheduling challenges (in any class).

General Art History

-Due to time constraints, I may eliminate one chapter (chapter 20). I did this in the face-to-face version of this class in the spring as well. In the future, I would prefer not to do this.

General Art

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11/19/2013

Beginning Drawing

-I think allowing students an extra week on the final project will be useful for them. They can still develop drawing for their in-class portfolio (if need be), but they can also invest more into the final project.

Introduction to Printmaking

-It seems as though the solar plates we currently have are better suited to “relief” etching. The thick level of emulsion is a key indicator. I didn’t see a different product on the site, however, Ron indicated there might be.

2D Foundations

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General Art History

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General Art

-A student recommended I conduct collaborative demonstrations in the sense that students create as I create (They bind a book as I bind a book, they work with a material as I work with a material, etc.).

-The Premo Sculpey is VERY hard. It can be worked (conditioned), however, I should warn students before they buy. It might actually work best in a reductive manner.

-For the Sculpey demo it was good to bring Sculpey at different states (baked and soft). As a reminder, you showed the following: Slab construction, additive building, reductive carving, armature (wire / Aluminum foil), sanding, and painting (including tape masking). Bring a wax paper sheet next time.

11/11/2013

Beginning Drawing

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Introduction to Printmaking

-REALLY stress paper size in terms of registering paper for the multiple color linoleum block printing. Paper NEEDS to be the same size (some students are printing on non-rectangular sheets of paper

-Instill a greater sense of editioning and paper size throughout the semester. Students generally tear their paper much too small.

-Sharpie from preliminary drawings on linoleum blocks transfer. Recommend students wash thoroughly before printing. Perhaps a pencil drawing is better.

-Don’t soak paper before printing linoleum blocks. Soaking helps transfer the ink, however, it also resizes the paper (which negatively impacts the registration system)

-Dark transparencies need a longer exposure / Lighter transparencies need a shorter exposure

2D Foundations

-I probably tried to cram too much into the first day of Logo Mojo (technical presentation, concept presentation, technical demo, and brainstorm may be too much). Consider starting with the brainstorm first. I ran out of time, and it was rushed and not nearly as effective as in the past. That way, if we run out of time, I can simply skip the technical presentation (and still do the technical demonstration).

General Art History

-For the weeks of the Unit #2 and Unit #3 Tests it has worked well to simply allow students to study and take the test. Previously, I have assigned a “Sketchbook Assignment” as well as  “Discussion Thread.” There are plenty of weeks in the semester to get through those assignments / threads. No need to pile on the week of a test.

General Art

-For the fabric project, show needle felting too.

-Consider structuring the class in a way in which you give the assignment the week before so student can not only bring in materials pertaining to the project, but bring in SPECIFIC materials for their ideas. This is especially relevant to the fabric proejct. It is all well and good for them to bring in fabric – however, once they know what their idea is they will need specific fabric for their specific idea.

11/4/2013

Beginning Drawing

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Introduction to Printmaking

-Solar plates can be a challenge. Ron has indicated their exposure / development has varied from semester to semester. “Printmaking in the Sun” (Dan Welden) is a useful reference text that essentially serves as an instruction manual. Even as I showed students transparencies, plates, and prints – there was great confusion about the process. The major issue seemed to be that students didn’t realize there was an exposure component AND a development component (so many questions came after the exposure discussion that students didn’t realize there was another step that visibly / physically changes the plate). Give students 2 plates to work with (a 5X7 inch plate costs $10). Group this with the relief project and give students 2 linoleum blocks to work with as well. Here are a couple thoughts on solar plates:

-Transparencies need to be much, much, much lighter in value than you would think (based on experience with any other photochemical process).

-Open biting occurs when an area on the image you wish to be black is exposed and reveals a recessed open space that won’t hold ink (and therefore prints white). Texture is required to make it print black. Therefore the “double” exposure (1) one minute for a halftone / texture directly on the plate 2) second exposure for image) is required. This is also why transparencies need to be light in value.

-In a transparency, the image area blocks light, dissolves in solvent (water), creates texture, and prints darker.

-In a transparency, the negative area receives light, hardens, remains after the solvent application, remains smooth, and holds less ink.

-There is both a “relief” exposure / development and an “intaglio” exposure / development. The intaglio method is more akin to other photo-printmaking techniques. The “relief” exposure essentially creates a negative of the transparency. The dark areas in a transparency rinse away in the developer, creating recessed areas in the plate that don’t print. The areas that remain are rolled with ink and print.

2D Foundations

-Students had mixed results painting their forms directly for the “Not Another Color Wheel” project (as opposed to painting color swatches and cutting shapes from them). The advantage is that it’s more direct. The disadvantage is the technical objectives suffer (opacity, homogenous mixtures, etc.).

General Art History

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General Art

-Showing one stitch and one book form was an effective use of time. Consider creating a presentation with a number of other book forms. I think there would have been enough time to create paste paper in class as well. Consider purchasing a class set of sewing needles and threads / ribbon.

Beginning Drawing

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Introduction to Printmaking

-Exposures for solar plates seem to vary semester by semester. This is largely a trial and error process. Although Ron Medina has taken extensive notes for previous classes, his classes have had to find the appropriate exposure for both the aquatint (first exposure) and the image (second exposure) each time. The aquatint provides texture all over the plate and the image establishes value / textures in specific areas of the plate.

2D Foundations

-In the “Not Another Color Wheel” project, students have been interested in directly painting their forms on paper (as opposed to painting separate swatches, cutting out forms, and collaging them down). I am skeptical (I fear this will limit their ability to mix appropriate color, which is the primary thrust of the project). Let’s see how it turns out.

General Art History

-There were two issues with D2L this week. One pertains to Sketchbook #8, and the second pertains to Test #2. After seven successful weeks creating dropboxes and discussion threads, I created a dropbox for Sketchbook #8 only to find that 2 (of 25 students) submitted work. Although I found it odd, I graded accordingly and waited for student feedback. Based on the emails I received, it seems as though some students saw 2 dropboxes for Sketchbook #8. I’m not sure if there was an issue linking the dropbox to a grade item, if I inadvertently created 2 different dropboxes (when I logged in as a student, I only saw 1), if it’s student error, or if there was a technical error with D2L. All I know is that it was incredibly frustrating, and I haven’t seen such confusion in the class all semester. The second issue was isolated to a single student. In the set of 10 random questions the student received for the test, the student indicated she felt there should have been an image associated with the question that wasn’t there. I’m working with Tammarra Holmes to resolve this issue. Let’s hope next week goes smoother.

General Art

-As expected, “Logo Mojo” seems to be a challenging project for students in regard to the concept / idea. The class brainstorm session is useful. Let’s see how they perform before making any modifications to simplify.