Having a meeting with an artist is always a special experience: we are used to appreciating the works of art, but a meeting with an artist makes us able to read his creations in a different way, with more affection and depth. This October we visited a beautiful exhibition at the Casa dei Gentili di Sanzeno (Trento) . The exhibit showed the whole artistic activity of ALBINO ROSSI, an Italian artist … [Read more...]
I-cube: me in numbers
November 20, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Can we introduce ourselves with numbers? We can do it on the 6 sides of a cube! We called this activity I-cube and we used numbers to explain our hobbies, our special numbers, our relatives and our favorite sports. Actually, I have used it to review the main subjects of Color Theory: every side of the cube is decorated with a number which represent the author, but is also colored with six … [Read more...]
Still life on abstract background
September 28, 2016 by 8 Comments
In order to understand the light and shadow on a solid we drew the shades on a group of objects with a pencil. In this still life some students of 8° grade have also experienced shading with crossed lines (cross-hatching), showing some skill! The background was decorated with felt-tip pens, with an abstract design where everyone has expressed freely his style. This contrast between the still … [Read more...]
Take a picture of one-point and two-points perspective
September 16, 2016 by Leave a Comment
How many times we look at a landscape in perfect one point perspective, without realizing it? After studying the geometrical rules of this spatial techniques, we realized that we are surrounded by images in one or two points perspective. This way to represent the space is not easy to understand, but with a camera can be easy to comprehend the rules of the perspective: you can identify the … [Read more...]
Buildings in one point perspective
May 5, 2016 by 19 Comments
I think that teaching how to draw perspective is one of the most difficult topic. Learning the rules of perspective is a difficult task for students, and every year I need to find more effective strategies to teach this topic that involves both art and science. I found this interesting tutorial and with 7th grade students and we have been inspired by this unusual point of view. It is as you were … [Read more...]
Figure’s silhouette: 22 worksheets
April 17, 2016 by Leave a Comment
22 different outlines of figures in pdf, ready to be used for different activities. The topic is about the relationship between figure and background in a picture. Did you know that our brain can focus only on the positive space (figure) or on the negative space (background)? Figure and background, appear in the perception domain at the same time, however they can't be perceived meanwhile. You can … [Read more...]
Painting the background to create the figure
April 13, 2016 by 4 Comments
Is fascinating to understand the relationship between figure and background in a picture: did you know that our brain cannot perceive the figure and the background together? Our eyes can focus only on the positive space (figure) or on the negative space (background). Figure and background, appear in the perception domain at the same time, however they can't be perceived meanwhile. To experience … [Read more...]
Tonal and chromatic gradations for a landscape
March 2, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The tonal gradations are made by adding white or black to a color. In this way we work on light and dark shades of that color. The chromatic gradations are obtained by mixing two colors together (such as yellow and red), without the use of white or black. After understanding the difference between the two kinds of gradations, the 7th grade students have painted two sheets, each with a different … [Read more...]
The cube: worksheets and 5 suggestions
February 4, 2016 by Leave a Comment
A simple cube can be the inspiration for great works of art, such as those "Op Art" by Victor Vasarely. Starting from a cube, or by a series of cubes, I propose five ideas to be carried out in the classroom. The activities are practical and quick, but effective. There is the chance to work on cubes of different sizes, with shaded or white faces. You can find the cubes ready to use in these six … [Read more...]
So many goldfish! Prints with styrofoam
January 28, 2016 by 6 Comments
To create this shoal of goldfish, immersed in a blue lake, we made some prints by matrices in Styrofoam (polystyrene for foodstuffs). What better way to recycle plastic trays, used as a container for fruit and vegetables in our supermarkets! After collecting a lot of these trays, the students of the seventh grade have cut out the flat surface from the trays, in order to use it as a matrix for … [Read more...]
