Perspective

I tried this project last year with some success- but the results are much better this year with a bit of tweaking 🙂

In preparation, I gave my 6th graders an introduction to both 1 and 2 point perspective, and we did practice drawings of each. We also got out the watercolours and I taught them some different techniques before jumping into the big project.

Task: design a treehouse for a famous artist

Each student chose an artist and received an image sheet of 3-4 artworks. Designers need to get to know their clients in order to create successful designs. I had them start the design process with writing down at least three things they observed when looking at the works. Then students began to sketch ideas, making sure to incorporate these elements of the artist’s style. I also required that they use 2 point perspective somewhere in the work. Once sketches were approved, students moved onto their good copies, which were painted with watercolours.

Can you guess which artists these homes are designed for?

For the past two classes, we have explored the idea of making art with rules or restrictions. I spent part of an evening coming up with a series of rules for the class to follow. Most of the rules dictated how a piece was to be drawn, and did not specify exactly what to draw or what tool to use. We watched Phil Hansen’s TED talk Embrace the Shake on making art with limitations, and briefly discussed what we had seen in his series Goodbye Art. I had students choose an object from my collection of seed pods, shells and pinecones to continue with our theme of exploring natural forms. Next, they picked a rule from the jar which they needed to follow in making a drawing of the chosen object. I think all my students ended up with some very interesting and creative outcomes. We all agreed that the idea of following set rules or restrictions is not necessarily limiting, but helpful to further expand ideas in the creative process.

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