WEEKLY JOURNAL TOPICS 10 points per journal topic (refer to rubric in the syllabus) Write in complete sentences and correct conventions!!! What qualities do you think make a great artist? Due 8 27 15 Culture is reflected in art. What are some ways you can tell where the artist of a painting came from? Can you guess where each of these pieces is from? Due 9 3 15 Design a coin for a new country. Tell what it is made of and explain the symbols. Due 9 10 15
Make a list of basic geometric shapes, then list animals or parts of animals that have roughly those shapes. For example, a ladybug is roughly the shape of a circle, and a bird s wing is almost a triangle. Due 9 17 15 Some artists use only lines. Others use only shapes. Some use a combination of both. Invent some unusual forms with shapes, lines, or a combination of shapes and lines. Due 9 24 15 What is your definition of color? Due 10 1 15
How are black and white alike? How are they different? Due 10 8 15 Describe the colors you see in an oily puddle or in a soap bubble. Due 10 15 15 If you could meet any artist, living or dead, whom would you choose to meet? Why? Due 10 22 15
Name some colors that clash. Why might an artist use these colors together? Due 10 29 15 Think of a story you like. Describe the colors you think best express the idea of the story. Explain why. Due 11 5 15 Watermelon might be a good name for a pink shade of lipstick. Think of some other creative names for lipstick or nail polish colors. Due 11 12 15
Rows of trees inspired Greeks to build the repeated columns of the Parthenon. List some other objects in nature that suggest patterns. Due 11 19 15 In his notebooks, Leonardo da Vinci wrote that people should be able to look at stains on a wall and see marvelous images. What surfaces have you stopped and studied? What did you see? Due 12 3 15 Use your pencil or pen, draw as many different textures as you can. Due 12 10 15
Which of the following do you think most influences a person to become an artist: desire, talent, practice, environment, or encouragement? Explain why you think so. Due 1 7 16 White reflects all color. Black absorbs all color. Do you consider black and white to be colors? Why or why not? Due 1 14 16 Many artists create unusual portraits. Describe or sketch a small portrait that combines a person s features in a new way. Due 1 21 16
Describe a painting that would show how you feel when you are worried, happy, sad, angry, or frightened. Due 1 28 16 Design a greeting card for a relative s birthday. Due 2 4 16 Most artists believe that drawing is seeing. What do you think they mean by this? Due 2 11 16
Imagine you are only six inches tall. Describe what a walk through your locker would look like from this perspective. Due 2 18 16 Draw or describe a cartoon version of yourself. Due 2 25 16 In black and white photo negatives, black and white shades are reversed. For example, dark hair would look very pale in a negative. Select an object in the room and draw it as it would appear in a black and white photo negative. Due 3 3 16
An artist uses the tool he or she can best express ideas with. What is your favorite artist s tool? Explain why. Due 3 10 16 Illustrators are artists that create pictures to accompany the text in a book. The pictures add interest to the story. Describe or draw the picture this phrase brings to mind: If spiders were giants then Due 3 17 16 What scene would you choose as the background for a portrait of yourself? Why? Due 3 31 16
Some people feel the best works of art are very realistic. Others prefer abstract art. Which type of art do you think is best? Explain. Due 4 7 16 Calligraphy is the art of lettering. Describe a new and decorative version of the alphabet, and show three of the letters. Due 4 14 16 Compare the uses of the following items: cameras, magnifying glasses, prisms, and microscopes. Due 4 21 16
People often prefer curved household objects to angular ones. Why do you think square cups and plates aren t popular? How about triangular tables? Due 4 28 16 History comes alive through art. In what ways do artists interpret and use history? Due 5 5 16 Explain the saying pretty as a picture. List some examples of things you think are pretty as a picture. Due 5 12 16