Thursday, August 24, 2017

SKETCHBOOK ASSIGNMENT

IN YOUR SKETCHBOOK, PLEASE REVIEW AND ANALYZE YOUR CONCENTRATION... BRAINSTORM HOW YOU WILL GROW YOUR CONCENTRATION THEME THIS YEAR...


DUE : MONDAY, 8/28

STUDIO LIGHTS VOCABULARY

Please copy all the studio lighting words and definitions that you find in both sets in your sketchbook. Sketch or print what each equipment looks like.

Click on each link


Set 1

Set 2

If words are repeated, you do not have to copy twice.


DUE DATE: MONDAY, 8/28

LIGHTING SETUP


Look up the following lighting setups and print out diagrams and explain each setup.


  • Split lighting
  • Loop lighting
  • Rembrandt lighting
  • Butterfly lighting
  • Broad Lighting
  • Short Lighting
You can find the explanation for each one here.


Print out each diagram or you may sketch it out, explain each one and include the name if available. Remember you can use a one, two or three light setup.


Make sure this is in your sketchbook.

DUE DATE : MONDAY, 8/28

CONCENTRATION LIST



(A collaboration of many wonderful AP Art teachers)

1. Read through this list.
2. Choose a topic to explore in a series of photographs.
3. Make that series of photos. Experiment different points of view about that idea/topic. Think about it. Write about it. Come up with your own unique approach.Explore using your camera as a tool for thought and expression. Research: look up other other artists and photographers approach to your topic to inspire your own unique approach to it. Try typing the name of your topic in google or yahoo plus the key word photography and clicking the "image tab" or go to one of the many stock photo sites and type your concept in the search window.  getty  corbis   istock
4. Allow your topic and your approach to it, to evolve and grow (read below...).
5. Make sure you're photographing a minimum of 3-6 hours per week exploring your idea/topic.
When you choose a concept/theme, allow it to evolve and grow. One of the key values of the artistic process, is for the student/artist to make decisions about apath.  Start the process even if it results in an entirely different turn later on. Thefocus may change, but that's a good thing. Your prcess should showexploration, change and growth over time.

Suggested 1st attempt:

The rest of this list is from some of the best AP Studio Art teachers across the country. These teachers' students consistently get scores of 4 or 5 (top score) on their portfolios:

Best examples of photo series concentrations: (photos with common theme or idea from Magnum Photo library): http://todayspictures.slate.com
Ideas and Starting Points for Concentrations
  • Mirrors and Reflections
  • Midnight at McDonalds
  • My Life in as a Cartoon Character
  • Football (or any sport or hobby) as Religion
  • Consumer and Consuming
  • A Day in the Life of (who?)....
  • Hands (shoes, cars, feet, jewelry, any universal object) as Expressions of the Personality
  • My Personal Relationship with (cars, dogs, food, you name it)
  • Cliques
  • In and Out
  • The Life Cycle of (Anger? Love? Happiness? Despair?)
  • Mathematics in Nature (The Golden Mean, Geometric shapes, Quantities)
  • If Shakespeare where a Texan
  • Hunger
  • The Secret Life of (take one object and take pictures of it in interesting and unusual locations)
  • Struggle, Overcoming Hardship, Achievement
  • The Architecture of Loneliness
  • Finding Peace
  • Cows as Sculpture
  • Car parts as Sculpture
  • Soldiers and Their Families
  • Old Age and Youth
  • Piercing
  • Body Art
  • Narcissism and (Youth, working out, Beauty)
  • Visual Poetry
  • The Line of Beauty
  • Mixed Race and Mixed Messages
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  • Cultural costumes made completely with balloons.   He brought balloon twisting to a fine art level!
  • Rings emphasizing positive and negative space.
  • Love gone sour...(the image of an actual human heart was in each piece)
  • Commercial Labels and Stereotypes: Commercialized bags were used as the canvas to a series of portraits expressing each person's personality.  Bags were gessoed over or drawn over to obscure the commercial image that the "preppies", "goths" select to wear to fit in with a stereotypical group.  Her concentration dealt with capturing who the subject is as a person.  to personally express the drawn/ painted person's unique characteristics, the artist sometimes chose to include wording from the student himself on the portrait, or descriptions about the person.
  • Impermanence:  The effect of weather and time on manmade objects.  Student photographed train tracks (metal with patina), railroad equipment (peeling layers of paint and graffiti), rusty cars, etc.
  • Mannequins and the Nude Figure: Student painted and drew from mannequins in real life.  She also drew her friends and family members in bikinis/ bathing suits, and relied on photographs of them in class.  Emphasis was on "wrapping" the form with brushstrokes of color in the paintings.  In her drawings, she achieved a very strong value scale with her crosshatching that also wrapped the human form.
  • Portraiture Emphasizing Latino Strength - Student photographed Latinos in the school and community, and incorporated symbols, words, and imagery that celebrated personal goals, achievements that the subject discussed with her.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flight ( these were extremely technical drawings and paintings which included sinking helicopters in the jungle as well as birds on a wire and UFO's over the Southwest.
Winged Creatures- drawn in high detail - moths, bats, bees, etc...
Longboards - seen from 1 pt, 2 pt, 3 pt and 5 pt perspective
Color and Form in manmade play structures (digital photography)
Landscapes from my route home from school.
Most of the 5's have come from simple topics: Bottles, Groups of Friends, Telephone Poles.. etc.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Snakeskin as pattern on ceramic pottery (Wheel thrown)
2. Birds in flight constructed from found objects, exaggerating scale
3. Fences-What they divide
4. Retelling old stories-Repurposing old books

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • Self-portraits- S. being photographed in different views, different techniques, styles while playing different instruments.  Her focus was on color; saturated, analagous, complementary, contrasting, etc.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


1. Terms of Endearment - you are sweet as sugar,.....etc (student did a series composed of students coverd in sugar, etc)
2. Different signs of luck:  Good & Bad, series of studies that included stepping on a crack, walking under a ladder, cracked mirror etc...and worked with Photoshop to enhance special effects 
3. Mannequin thru the ages:  Painted a series of designs from art history beginning with the cave paintings thru post modernism that were all centered on the drawing wooden mannequin.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


1. How something (like a plant or animal) changes as it grows/ages
2. Inappropriate choices teenagers make in life
3. Reflections of my face in everyday objects
4. The movement of water
5. Finding beauty in an impoverished environment (such as inner city)
6. Melding image and text to create story images
7. People's shoes can describe one's unique personality
8. Portions of the human body seen close up, as studies of form, texture, etc.

FOR MANGA STUDENTS: Developing a new character after oneself and creating an new environment for that character

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Contemporary Mixed-media illustrations for A Midsummer Night's Dream
2. Abstract digital images of reflected/refracted light and the colors produced by the light
3. Juxtaposing digital images of urban and rural life to illustrate the importance of sustainable living
4. Abandoned things (photography)
5. Figure drawings, with an emphasis on foreshortening

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Musical instruments and the people playing them - Drawing
2. Sculpture showing one persons interpretation of greek mythology stories
3. Fantasy places
4. Intimate portraits

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cultures - began with ethnic cultures expanded to includes tourists, homeless, etc.
2. Feathers
3. Loneliness/estrangement
4. Little Red Riding Hood illustrations
5. Interpretations of famous Fairy Tales
6. Micro views - which become abstractions
7. Body language
8. A white T-shirt and a cap
9. Loss of father - the missing person at seminal events
10. Environmental consciousness
11. Capturing the mood of music
12. Capturing the rhythm of music
13. Fabric textures
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. An examination of what is real or mirage using faces and masks
2. Illustration of a story about a girl building a sailboat, losing it, and buying it back
3. Freedom of expression: what it looks like
4. Portraits of the everyday moods of my dog
5. Overcoming depression
6. Athletic trophy as empty compared to the fulfillment of running and playing soccer -resistance

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Photos about human gesture and the expression of emotion
2. Anime-style self-portrait drawings
3. Street photography emphasizing composition with geometric forms
4. Photomontage to portray events of short duration
5. Painted abstractions derived from microscopic cellular structures
6. Photos inspired by a story about the first flower blooming on the site of the Cambodian "killing fields".
7. Oil pastel drawings of plant material juxtaposed with manmade objects.
8. Abstractions derived from still-lifes of household objects.
9. Ink drawings based on photographic portraits

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • HAIR - series of portraits of his friends and himself with a variety of hair styles, mullets, mohawks, scrolling, and even an Afro from the 60's and early 70's. He focused on the texture and was very successful; he scored a 5.
  • Foreshortening and Proportion of the Human form, with scores of 4.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Concentration Caution List

In 2007, over 30,000 AP portfolios were graded in one week. After viewing hundreds of portfolios, it is easy to spot recurring themes. Below is a list of very popular subjects for concentration. There is not a taboo on the following subjects, but a warning that they have been done OVER and OVER. It would be easier to find a new topic rather than find a completely new way to address these tired, overused concentrations. Be creative: think of something specific and unique. If you must use the following ideas, find an exceptional, distinctive approach to them.

PROCEED WITH CAUTION ON THE FOLLOWING TOPICS:

    * portraits of emotions
    * people who shape me
    * nature
    * memories
    * shocking viewers with bizarre
    * surrealism
    * faces
    * flowers
    * eyes
    * family and friends
    * reflective gears
    * illustration of inner thoughts
    * moments I was happy
    * self portraits
    * music
    * everyday life objects
    * goddess/myth
    * "different cultures"
    * guitars
    * reflections
    * "ideas of beauty"
    * dance


EXCELLENT CONCENTRATIONS WERE DONE ON THE FOLLOWING TOPICS:

    * a cross country meet
    * construction
    * road trip across the United States
    * rear view mirrors
    * glamorized 1940s jewelry
    * barriers
    * bras
    * members of my family through portraits of their feet
    * old fashioned circus
    * porches in my neighborhood
    * fashion and heavy machinery in rural Vermont
    * smaller than normal size

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2D Design:
1. Illustrating Phobias and Fears
2. The Interaction of Man & Nature and the Effect on the Environment
3. Piles and Stacked Objects 
4. Crime Scenes/Forensics Still Life Abstracted Through Positive and Negative Space

Drawing:
1. Surreal Landscapes
2. Expressive Portraits
3. Figures Unaware of the Viewer's Presence Illustrated Picture Book The Effects of Music

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Abandonment both places and people.  Student works at a nursing home so some of the images had to do with that idea and some were of abandoned places. (2D Design: Photography)

Evolution of Illness:  Student' s grandma had Parkinson's disease and so she illustrated through photographic collage, stitching and writing the process of that illness on her grandma's memory, physical ability.  Each image (portrait of grandma) had a poem she'd written about the grandma interspersed.  She printed images on silk organza and layered them with drawings that depicted anatomical body parts effected by the disease.  The portrait became blurrier and blurrier with each image. (2D Design; mixed media)

Identity:  Hiding behind masks and other roles that we play, specifically women.  The student started out photographing people wearing masks, but eventually move away from this and developed a broader interpretation of how we hide behind our roles as women "masking" who we are. (2D Design Photography)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This year a student took Picasso's Guernica and brought individual aspects into 3D.  

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A few ideas, not all carried as well as could have been…

1. Kissing (from kissing sacred ground to erotic to mother/child, etc)
2. Images of urban angst based on poem Howl by Alan Ginsberg
3. Gymnastic events & activities
4. Architectural details based on trip to Europe

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One Hundred Plus Concentration Ideas
Developed by:  Joann Winkler
Clinton High School, Clinton, Iowa, 52732

  • Do a series of paintings based on the history of any culture
  • Do works showing risk in our lives
  • Combine painting and drawing in a series of narrative works
  • Do a series of different printmaking techniques combining personal prose
  • Do a super realism series using your childhood toys
  • Draw with color in a childlike fashion based on Paul Klee
  • Do a series of reflection works using colored glass or colored water in glass forms like Janet Fish
  • Do an artist’s journal depicting your growth as an artist
  • Do a series of location paintings showing the existence of man
  • Do a series of alternative shaped canvases
  • Do a series of non-objective drawings in ink and on scratchboard
  • Experiment with collage and drawing
  • Select two objects, one organic and one inorganic, and do a series of drawings
  • Explore the relationship between science and art
  • Depict your own existence through the eyes of a child
  • Design and paint the covers for one year of any magazine
  • Write and illustrate a comic book
  • Write and illustrate in woodcut a children’s book
  • Do a series of works based on the lonely figures in our society (ala Hopper)
  • Do a series of works depicting social injustice
  • Do a series of works depicting the lifestyle of the homeless
  • Do a series of expressive drawings incorporating layered images of words

  • Create film animation cell designs on computer
  • Do a series of commercial posters in airbrush (ala Vargas)
  • Do a series of collages based on commercial photography
  • Explore the color usage of Wayne Thiebauld
  • Do a photographic series showing the changes of time on human nature
  • Design a clothing line based on African masks
  • Do a photographic series documenting your community
  • Show the passage of time through charcoal drawings
  • Do a photographic series showing the landscapes of your life
  • Paint your reaction to patriotism
  • Do a photographic series based on darkroom manipulations
  • Create photographic portraits of your friends in the style of Annie Liebowitz
  • Do a series of commercial products for an ad campaign
  • Do a series of fabric designs inspired by the South Seas Islands
  • Design, render, and construct costumes for a specific performance
  • Develop a corporate identity form logo to letterhead to web design
  • Do a series of paintings of figures, dealing with color transparencies
  • Show the stages of your life as seen through the art works of others
  • Do a series of figures in motion/action settings
  • Draw your reactions to natural disasters
  • Do a series of color relationship works-using watercolor and still life set ups
  • Do a series of non-objective pieces based on a personal crisis
  • Create works reflecting environmental issues
  • Do a series of natural landscapes, both micro and macroscopic
  • Show your personal changing image as based on the work of Ivan Albright
  • Do a photographic series of a human in different natural settings
  • Paint your reaction to circumstances that affect your world
  • Draw a series on non-traditional surfaces
  • Paint your family as royalty
  • Do a series of cubism-based landscapes
  • 2D Design Portfolio, continued
  • Paint a series of elaborately dressed females with animal heads
  • Do a series of works based on crime
  • Show your emotional reaction to living in Clinton (fill in the blank)
  • Paint in the style of the expressionists
  • Create a series of works showing your reaction to war
  • Do a watercolor series showing the effect of light transparencies
  • Do a series of paintings depicting the opulence of the Victorian age
  • Draw a series that deal with entrances and time continuum
  • Modernize the fairy tales of childhood
  • Do a series of known works that switch gender roles
  • Do a series of woodcuts based on Japanese printmaking styles
  • Do a series of silkscreen prints based on the colors of Hawaii
  • Do a print series based on the metamorphic changes ala M. C. Escher

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. “Negative” – Incorporating the physical film negative into imagery with negative connotations. (Good for students who like photography and drawing/painting)
2. Ordinary Accidents
3. Disturbing faces
4. Magic
5. “Art Dirt”
6. Super human powers
7. Hands demonstrating emotion
8. Teachers’ desks

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Portraits that show various emotions
2. Carousels
3. Scenes from Australia
4. An original book
5. Swimming

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. One student illustrated stories told to her from her father about his wild and adventurous life.
2. Molecular study of atoms produced into three-dimensional clay objects.
3. Childhood fears illustrated in a positive light

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I had a student get a 5 with her idea, "lingerie" combined with "movement"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One student got a 5 with the theme of Grandparents and Grandchildren Through the Decades.
Another girl modeled hers after her Mother's Daycare

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Greek mythology (This should have been narrowed down to one mythological figure or story)
2. Positive/Negative Space
3. Nature taking over man-made objects, site-specific work (see Andy Goldsworthy)
4. Wave formations in many different media such as: clay, wire, wood, cardboard.  Hope this helps!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Manipulation of Gourds
2. Sculptural visual puns (time flies - clock with wings ect.)
3. Famous landmarks made contemporary (Easter Island, Stone henge)
4. Found Objects
5. Fossils
6. Portrait sculptures
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This one scored a four:

I decided that I wanted to focus my concentration on the art and design elements of line, perspective/space and textures through varying viewpoint of places and objects. 
I am drawn to places and objects that show differing degrees of deterioration living in the former Tobacco Capital of Winston-Salem where many buildings now sit vacant. I utilized leading lines that create a strong sense of perspective and space. I am fascinated by the rusting; textural surfaces found in alleys and on abandoned man made places and objects. I decided that sepia toning enhanced the abandoned feeling of the scenes that I photographed so I sepia toned many of the prints.

Scores of 5
  • For my concentration I chose to focus on the power of visual texture in imagery and of that texture to unite all images.

  • While traveling I became fascinated with the differences in architecture varying from country to country. When considering a concentration, I knew that it had to have something to do with architecture and traveling. When delving deeper into my passion and looking at my past work, whether in Mexico, Germany, Paris, or Barcelona, I realized that I am also fascinated with lines. I especially enjoy using natural light to accent the lines in architecture. I soon discovered that in this process, I began to explore a sense of space, especially utilizing depth of field in my prints.

  • As my photography, especially my portraiture, grew, I began to discover that one of my artistic strengths was the study of motion, and particularly how the motion of the body portrays the emotion of the person. So, for my AP Portfolio concentration, I decided to focus on motion, using different settings and types of motion, to display a variety of emotion. As my interest in my concentration grew, I began to experiment with the idea of space; trying things such as offsetting the point of focus and an increased, almost un-natural contrast-y feel. With the growth of these artistic elements, as well as just a general increase in artistic knowledge and capability, my portfolio was able to was able to evolve from a simple study of motion to a complex study of motion, its effect on emotion, as well as its ability to truly portray the duality of the self in a photograph.

Scores of 4
  • My concentration was an exploration of the use of depth of field in photographic fine art. By experimenting with alternative depths of field, I was able to draw the viewer’s attention toward certain aspects in a photographic composition. This provides a clear and concise meaning which can be interpreted from the artwork. Additionally, this stresses the idea that a photograph is not only a method by which to capture a moment, but is also a means by which to express the significance of a moment through detail, lighting and focus.

  • My concentration was defining the subjects in my compositions through shapes and values created by different angles, viewpoints and intensities of light in my fine art black & white photographic prints developed in the darkroom.

  • My concentration was focusing on natural reclamation through the photographing of abandoned houses and cars.

  • My area of concentration is examining the human condition through different kinds of expressive portraiture. In my investigation I hoped to reveal glimpses of the true character behind the face.

  • My initial intention for my concentration was to illustrate the concept of destruction. I planned for my photographs to capture physical decay as well as emotional devastation, yet as the year progressed, I began to notice my natural attraction to rich textures, and therefore decided to narrow my focus to the exploration of physical dilapidation through an emphasis on texture.

  • At the beginning of this year my concentration was focused on portraits of children. I soon realized that solely printing portraits would not express the innocence of children and the emotions that I wanted to depict. Therefore, I progressed into taking photographs of details such as eyes, hands, and feet. I discovered that focusing on smaller details such as these allowed me to express the essence children possess. Also, I realized that the lighting and contrast, along with the lines and textures, in the photographs help to portray children’s purity. In focusing my concentration on children, I hope to remind people how precious children’s innocence is and the need to protect it
  • At the beginning of the school year I thought I wanted to explore landscapes as my concentration. I focused on shooting unusual angles which created a sense of space in my photographic images. I then started to focus not only on the sense of space, but also on the way that light casts shadows and the ethereal quality of the atmosphere created in my landscapes. I hope that my viewer pauses and feels a sense of tranquility and peace when they look at my imagery.
  • When I first began working on my concentration I focused on beach scenes since I love the coast.
During my senior year my concentration shifted to an examination of textural surfaces. I used depth of field and macro camera techniques and in the dark room I used high contrast filters.
  • I wanted to study in my concentration a strong sense of space or perspective by investigating different camera techniques and viewpoints to achieve that imagery in my analog darkroom film prints
  • Through my investigation of exploring age in portraiture I strove to emphasize the variety of emotions, tones and lines that different aged people’s portraits can bring into photographs. My intention was to still capture the harmony and unity we all share as persons while demonstrating the wide range of human characteristics that come with the aging process. Whether it’s the innocence in a child’s eyes, the laugh lines on a mothers face, or the withered hands of an old man, my concentration focuses on the essence of age and the small details that represent a lifetime of experiences or innocence yet to be challenged by the growth of years.  I decided that using available light would represent my subjects with the most expressive value range of tones and in turn emphasize the human characteristics I wanted the viewers to notice the most.
  • My initial concentration was based around the effects that light can have on creating a balanced, interesting mood in a composition. However as the year progressed, I decided to expand my idea to incorporate texture, perspective and value.

This year we had:

1. Alice in Wonderland theme comparing parts of the story to a teenagers life
2. Items in nature and looking at the cell life and incorporating that as a patterned background
3. Roller coasters and their structure turning it into abstract design
4. The jungle and concrete jungle-starting with the jungle and inserting elements of the city life taking over the jungle.
These were the strongest concepts.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 7 deadly sins
2. metamorphosis
3. struggles in a life cycle

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Student did a series of work based on places she visited that her deceased father had visited. Sometimes she photoshoped herself in sometimes her father. She used mixed media...photography, collage, painting for a drawing portfolio.
2. Water theme. Water as metaphor.
3. Documentary style photography of local veterans who fought in Afghanistan--2D Design.
4. Tattoo drawings
5. Animal shelter drawings
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Wings/Feathers,
2. The life of a wooden drawing mannequin,
3. Mazes
4. Reflections
5. Sunglasses

2D Concentrations were:
1. Stop motion photography of splashes and drips,
2. Circular forms,
3. Expressive hands
4. Animals playing Olympic sports who shouldn't be able to ( hippos ice skating, etc).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • The body as landscape
  • Ugly   (wasn’t so ugly at all – lots of mixed media and inspiration from Banksy)
  • Hands and feet
  • The skeleton/bones put into before/after situations
  • Social/political issues
  • Unusual environments
  • Masks (interpreted – how do we hide?)
  • War  (inspired by a Viet Nam Vet, but grew to all conflicts)
  • Large close-ups of insects that evolved into very graphic interpretations
  • Light  ---what is light?
  • Wings – how do we fly?
  • Music -- interpreted patterns and rhythms to graphic images
  • (best:) “Homeless”  This student really went beyond in interpretation – not just how we usually think about homeless but,  - an empty shell, an empty box, parts removed from a “whole”    and what do we cherish or miss about calling something “home.”
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • Close-ups of different types of jeans as a metaphor for different types of people (goth, high-fashion, farmer, etc.)
  • How I use my hands daily such as in art class, playing instrument, praying, eating, checking tire pressure...
  • Portraits of my AP classmates with objects/items that reflect their personality and who they are.
  • Abstract design representations using line, color, shape to visually represent my favorite rock songs.
  • The overlooked details of nature such as a spider-web, a fallen leaf, etc.
  • Cubist-influenced portraits of people influential in my life.
  • "A Day in the Life"... a visual representation of the simple daily tasks in life from unique perspectives in still-life format... daily activities such as brushing teeth, driving to school, working in art class, going to track practice, homework, etc.
  • The theme of "Innocence" in famous books of literature.
  • Different types of flowers as metaphors for human emotion.
  • The battle between nature and human development through it's encroachment upon the landscape.
  • Views of the school building from extreme angles to show the building in a unique way that it is often not viewed from.
  • Close-ups and interesting views of mechanical objects, engines, and car parts to show my love for working on automobiles.
  • Idioms from the English language such as "punch your lights out", "walk all over me", etc. done in a Surrealism style.
  • Photographs of nature taking back over old abandoned buildings in the rural area where I live.
  • My love for music and all the different instruments I play done in an expressive style.
  • Industrial/product design for "new" items that can used for the outdoors (camping, climbing, etc.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • Photographing a field trip to a historical  farm emphasizing the antiques, tools, etc of the historical  period.

  • Photographing their friends in different historical time periods through costumes
and settings.  Each friend was illustrated in an era and costume that was their
current  passion like dance,  acting, etc.

  • Photographing a story using an artistic style like fauvism.

Light and Shadow in Cityscapes - This one worked well because the student started with photos that he took on a trip to NYC.   In his concentration, he used actual photos; he altered photos (transfers, layered with paint); he did a watercolour and a pastel of a couple of photos; he did a couple of works where he played with abstraction and arbitrary color...I just felt this concentration really allowed him to explore the used of value and color as well as composition and he had many pieces to chose from to send in.
Altered Art -  In this one, the student took apart her own works of art and combined pieces to make new pieces incorporating various types of paper as well as media.  She grew so much as an artist through this concentration because she started to see possibilities and work outside her comfort zone.  She also ended up with more than enough work to be selective on what she sent in.
Expression and Gesture - I was not really happy with this student's effort, but thought it was a great idea.  It started out well, but she blew it at the end by waiting to the last minute and trying to force work created outside the concentration into the concentration and by rushing other work.    She wanted to study how artists convey personal feeling through color and gesture.....kind of answering the question ,what visual clues does a viewer pick up on to get the feeling or emotion the artist wants to elicit?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • A series of self-portraits as imagined reincarnations 10 from past eras, one today and one in the future
  • Creating a series of photographs that illustrates (much exaggeration was used) the ways in which technology is overtaking our lives.
  • An exploration of the dynamics between HS dancers and their teacher, and HS dancers and their mentoring of younger dance students.
  • Exploring things adolescents do whey they are alone and think no one is watching.
  • Exploring the social life of adolescents.
  • Exploring the extremes of suburban living, specifically focusing on visible people and activities, and the invisible (and often illegal) workers that support the suburban lifestyle.

  • Futuristic fashion designs inspired by science fiction.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  • Stillness (from a kid who was ADHD)
  • Motion (from a kid who well....kind of a slug)
  • Seven deadly sins with the addition of her own 5
  • Textile design
  • The human figure as shape (graphic design)
  • Bareness (both literal and metaphorical)
  • Vegetables
  • The dramatic figure (figures with theatrical lighting)
  • Dance movements from different cultures
  • Idiosyncrasies (portraits revealing this in her friends)
  • Images from China (Student drew from photos manipulating, changing composition, color, formats)
    • Crushed objects that have been altered by the effect of gravity or human intervention.

  • Things forgotten. Abandoned buildings, old train tracks, etc…

  • Hands as an expression of feeling. Young to old…

  • Surrealism and Dreams.

  • Non-objective, or abstract designs based on different cultures and their mythology such as the Austrian Aborigines, etc.

  • Evolution and or disintegration on an object.

  • A close up view or extreme perspective.

  • Seasonal changes.

  • Inner landscapes

  • Useless objectives

  • Narrative self- portraits (illustrating a headache).

  • Illustrating fears and other emotions.

  • Duality and relationships; a comparison Man/woman, mother/child, light/dark.

  • Generation gap

  • Illustrating folds and fabric with patterns.

  • Human form in motion.

  • Modern day fairy Tales – original story with illustrations.

  • Original Comic book

  • Making your own creative book.

  • Structure in nature –insects.

  • Circus – color, movement, excitement, etc.

  • Time travel

  • Transformation.

  • Juxtaposition of objects.

  • Reflections – metal, water, etc.

  • Medical/scientific illustrations.

  • Household appliances.

  • Different kinds of shoes from different points of views.

  • Types of costumes from different places – textiles from Indonesia.

  • Nightmares.

  • Self-portraits with grid overlays/ variations within each grid.
  • Hands in various positions and media
  • Old barns in pastel
  • Reflections on a variety of surfaces
  • Digital collages combining old letters, polaroids and “dark” images
  • Insects with a colorful and humorous viewpoint
  • Expressive landscapes painted using specific color schemes
  • Eyes, a window to your soul
  • Flowers, from realistic evolving to abstract multi-media