AP Studio Art: 2D Design Portfolio Summer Assignments Mrs. Lisa Blais lblais@fatherlopez.org Students will spend the school year compiling a college level portfolio of work through in class and homework assignments. This portfolio, in the form of digital images and five actual artworks, will be submitted to The College Board for review in May of 2018. This is not a course where you get to do whatever you want, however there is a lot of room for exploration, creative choice and artistic growth with the structure and class syllabus. The course is offered for anyone possibly planning to attend college and so all work is to be pursued with college quality and integrity. There is no written test, but portfolios will be graded by a committee of college and high school art educators who assess it as if it had been completed by the end of the freshman year of college. The students who have scored the highest in past have been the ones that met every deadline, were prepared and participated in critique and have a larger body of work completed by the end of the first semester than is required, making the selection of pieces to be evaluated an easier decision. Studio participation, weekly journal assignments, research and project preparation are all part of the dedication it takes to be successful in the AP STUDIO ART course. Summer work will include: Journal/Sketchbook (reading, making notes about art, artists and art vocabulary), and creating at least three pieces of 2 Dimensional art. #1 Save my email: lblais@fatherlopez.org You can send me photos of what you are working on over the summer to get feedback or help, and to ask questions. #2 Sketchbook Purchase a hard bound sketchbook (spiral bound generally do not hold up to the demands of AP) no smaller than 8 ½ x 11 in size. This sketchbook/journal will be used for AP Studio Art this summer and during the 2014 15 school year. You will use this sketchbook/journal to start research and sketches for your artwork as well as make notes as you view and read about art. Begin the art journal experience by visiting http://tonesandtints.com/edm drawing challenge/ and familiarizing yourself with the Everyday Matters movement. It is all about daily journal assignments, something we will continue doing in the fall, and so the earlier you can get started on creating something every day, the better off you will be. Go to http://dannygregorysblog.com/community/edm challenges/ or http://www.karenwinters.com/kblog/edm challenge list/ to see the daily list we will use. For the summer, pick at least 15 and start sketching. You do not have to do items in the order listed but it s a good idea to print out a list and cross off the items as you complete them. In addition to the 15 EDMs, you must have at least ten pages with investigative drawings or research ideas collaged in your sketchbook when class begins in August. Collect and create sketches, photographs, memorabilia that you may use as reference. Find, print, clip, read or annotate articles about art or artists that relate to possible projects or themes worth exploration for the portfolio. Some things you may want to include in your sketchbook: Thumbnails for project assignments (see below) Ideas for your Concentration brainstorm a list of possible themes or interests you have Observational drawings take your sketchbook with you and find interesting things to draw Experiment with media and different techniques Reflections on things in your sketchbook/commentary Visuals of artists you are interested in and why they interest you
Reference photos you have taken and notes about why you like them Reflections on summer experiences/thoughts Visual explanation of any terms/ techniques from art vocabulary list (attached) Museum or gallery visits and your reflections Figure drawings loose gestural drawings, contour or studies of figures from life (the beach or pool side is a great place to do quick figurative sketches) or you may use magazine pictures (include references) Fill the page; do not simply put a small drawing in the center of a page and leave it at that but try to work across a two page spread in a cohesive design. Look at http://www.dannygregory.com/#drawings for an idea of this. Use wax paper as cover sheets as needed. These will be graded collectively based on artistic composition, media exploration and craft. #2 Project Assignments Choose three of the following to complete by the first day of school. The following summer assignments are encouraged to help you start off next year with pieces to begin critiques and preparation of the portfolio. These summer assignments will be graded and if they are of AP quality and concept, they could be included in your portfolio. They may also be selected for some of the fall art shows, which is another expected requirement of AP STUDIO ART to show your work in the community. The following projects are designed to push creativity, problem solving and artistic skills to the maximum and will be assessed on concept, media, craft, design and effort. Finished project assignments will be critiqued during the first few weeks of school and become part of the student s portfolio as well as grades for the first semester. A number of preliminary drawings in the sketchbook are suggested before actually creating the final piece. The public libraries are filled with excellent art books, museums house actual works of art, and searching the internet with Google.com images is another tool. The goal is to be creative and original; take advantage of these resources to challenge, inspire, and inform your self. You may choose the type of surface to work on: paper, cardboard, canvas board, plywood, mat board, etc. Canvas board and stretched canvas may be purchased at arts & crafts stores or online. Maximum size: 18x24. Do not do all the works in pencil; if you do use pencil, it must be used darkly to photograph well. Please keep the following in mind when working on your three pieces: Elements: line, color, texture, space, value, shape and form Principles: unity, variety, rhythm, repetition, contrast, dominance, balance Concept/idea, and craftsmanship Choose any three from these listed projects: o A color rendering of a still life arrangement consisting of your family members shoes. Try to convey some sense of each of your individual family members distinct personalities in your piece. o A drawing or painting of your hands holding a personal object. You must carefully plan your composition in order for the separate units to work together visually. o A graphite drawing of a still life arrangement that consists of reflective objects, trying to convey a convincing representation with a full range of values. To add interest to the composition, you might also want to render yourself being reflected in the objects.
o A composition in which a metamorphosis, or change, takes place. Consider one animal morphing into another, a plate of pancakes morphing into a pile of crumbs, an interior morphing into an exterior, you morphing into somebody else, this assignment morphing into something great Begin by collecting image sources, either online, in magazines, or with your camera, and sketching ideas in your sketchbook. o Create a self portrait in a comic book illustration style. Use pen and ink for line drawing; use colored inks or watercolor for adding color. o Set up an arrangement of dishes, lemons, boiled eggs, etc. and create a collage image of your still life using a monochromatic color scheme (different values (shades/tints) of the same color. You may use painted or printed (ie. magazines) material for the collage. o Draw an unusual interior. For instance, looking inside a closet, cabinet, refrigerator, an opened package, the junk drawer in your kitchen, inside your car. Or think more conceptually: the inside of your heart, of your mind or the inside of somebody else s mind. You may also want to consider the visual and conceptual contrast of a piece that includes elements of the inside and the outside of something. o Do a self portrait or a portrait of someone else that illustrates an emotion. Use any paint or drawing media to emphasize an emotional quality such as depression, anger, happiness, joy, confusion, etc. Consider how color or line can convey an emotion. Manipulate light and color to enhance the psychological atmosphere. Also consider the development of the environment/setting. Research the works of Kathe Kollwicz for expressive line work and the art of the German Expressionists for color. Helpful Hints: Draw from life whenever possible. If using a reference photo, it should be one that you have taken. Set goals for yourself; begin to learn how to mange your own time. Be responsible for completing quality work that you are proud to share. Don t sign any art on the front (This is a College Board/AP requirement). Experiment with a variety of media. Play with media in your sketchbook. Force yourself to try new things and to think creatively about each piece. Create a work space for yourself that you can leave set up and return to often. Last but not least Visit the AP Central website and click on Studio Art: 2D Design Portfolio under AP Courses. Look at student examples, read about the judging process and get ideas for BREADTH and CONCENTRATION projects. Plagiarism Note: you must create your own work, concepts and images. If working to emulate an artist, present your own images and adapt to your needs. Do not work from published photos.
Art Vocabulary In an effort to make sure we are all speaking the same language when we write about, critique, discuss or prepare art, I have provided a few terms we should all become familiar with: Composition Placement of subject matter on the page. Design to plan or to organize Elements of Design Basic parts of an artwork Line edge of shapes; shows direction; path of a moving dot Shape 2D; an enclosed space, the boundaries of which are defined by other elements of art (i.e.: lines, colors, values, textures, etc.) Form the shape of a 3D work; the totality of its mass, as defined by its contours. Space distance between objects; showing distance Value lights and darks Texture surface feel or how it appears to feel Color breakdown of light; ROYGBV (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet) Principles of Art Organizing tools; used to organize Elements Emphasis area that grabs your eye first Unity parts working together; commonality Contrast showing difference Pattern flat shapes repeated; surface design Rhythm repetition of parts/elements to create a sense of movement Movement suggests motion or leads the eye visually Balance visual weight within the artwork Positive Shape shape of the subject/object Negative Shape shape of the space around the subject/object Gesture drawings quick drawings to capture the position/essence of the figure Contour line drawing; outside edges and inside details Blind contour contour drawing looking only at subject matter, not paper, while drawing Modified contour contour drawing looking mostly at the subject matter and occasionally at the paper while drawing, restating lines as needed Observational Drawing drawing done by studying/looking at subject matter while drawing Thumbnails small drawings to plan the composition Perspective use of the Elements to create the illusion of space and/or depth Media materials used to create art Charcoal reduction paper scrubbed with charcoal and then erased as needed to find lighter values Mixed media using two or more media in a unified way Printmaking the process of transferring an image from one surface matrix to another such as paper Color Wheel an organization of color hues that shows relationships between primary colors, secondary colors, complementary colors, etc. in a circle Primary colors red, blue & yellow theore cally, every other color can be created by combining these but the primary colors cannot be created by combining other colors Secondary colors violet (commonly called purple), orange & green created by combining any two primary colors Ter ary colors yellow green, yellow orange, blue green, blue violet, red violet, & red orange colors created by the combination of a primary and the secondary next to it on the color wheel
Complementary colors any two colors opposite one another on the color wheel ie. red & green. The combination of complementary colors will result in a low intensity, neutral gray or brown Analogous colors colors that are next to each other on the color wheel and closely related Properties of color: Hue color family, ex. yellow orange; name of the color Value relative lightness or darkness of any color Intensity relative brightness or dullness of any color Color scheme group of working colors, ex. warm colors Expressive color color used to show feeling/emotion of artist Realistic true to life; correct proportions Abstract changed or altered to be more expressive Non representational no clear subject/image present Styles/Art movements group of artists working in a unified style/time period Proposal a plan/blue print for a finished work of art Artist Statement reflection of the artist s processes and experiences of creating a work of art Critique to analyze a work of art Qualities of a good composition Interesting break up of positive/negative shapes Complexity of shapes Overlap Contrasting angles, positions of objects to create movement Focal point