The Wall Begins: Mural 2011-2012

Step one:  Grid till the cows come home.

Step two: Draw till you're done

Checklist for mural preparation outside of Mr. Lambright's room:
1.  Coordinate mural sign-up requests and distribute.
2.  Remove sports poster "Go Tigers"  - a risky move for an art teacher whose interim principal is a jock.      
3.  Tape off painting perimeter and apply black primer.
4.  Use mathematical formula for enlarging picture.
             (If you thought art teachers didn't do math, you now stand corrected.)
5.  Borrow a big level and  plumb line - grid the wall.


Things I learned preparing the wall:
1.  Mr. Lambright's favorite color is black.  Maybe it's a physics thing.
2.  Did you know that if you stick ear buds up your nose, that music plays out your ears and mouth?    
     (This is the kind of stuff you learn after school.)

Handimals after Guido Daniele

Swan

Meet Mr. Llama

Food Chain Pose

Eagle by Nate1253

Flamingo by Elizabeth6201

Swan after Daniele interpreted by Hailee369

Elephant after Daniele interpreted by Kara1055

Alligator by Laura2621

Snail by Hannah10535

Usually, when students paint on their hands, they get to listen to my standard lecture  for goofing around.  However, last week, I actually encouraged using paint unconventionally.  Instead of goofing around though, students were introduced to Italian artist, Guido Daniele.  Among other things, Daniele uses hands as canvases to transform them into paintings so realistic looking, that one has to look twice to be sure one is looking at a hand.  Thanks to art educator, Ian Sands of Apex High who pointed me in the direction of Daniele, we had an amazing time transforming our hands into creatures like his, or inspired by his work.  To see the real deal, though, you owe it to yourself to look up Guido Daniele's "handimals." 

All wrapped up!

Andrew10214, 11th Grade

Brittany5262, 10th Grade

Michaela1229, 11th Grade

Christmas break was a blink, and now we're back  for spring semester.  New rosters, new lesson plans, new supplies.  Before I totally lose sight of last semester, though, I wanted to share our last Advanced Art project of the grading period entitled, "All wrapped up."  Some of the best ideas for my lessons come from visiting student art shows.  I saw this one down at Cedarville College during an ACSI Art Festival, and it inspired my imagination.  For these students, it constituted their first water color self-portrait.