Post on 07-Aug-2020
MicrographySelf-Portrait
Grade:5th
Medium:Drawing
LearningObjective:Studentswilldrawaself-portraitusingthearttechniqueofmicrography.
Author:HeatherMcClure-Coleman
ElementsofArtLine:anelementofvisualarts;theflatpathofadotthroughspaceusedbyartiststocontroltheviewer’seyemovement;alongnarrowmarkorstrokemadeonorinasurface;athinmarkmadebyapencil,pen,orbrush.Therepetitionoflines(and/orshapes)isusedtocreatetexture,pattern,andgradationsofvalue.AdditionalVocabularyWordsContourline:thelinethatdefinesaformortheedgeofanobjectsoutline.Contourlinedrawing:alinedrawingthatfollowsthevisibleedgesofashapeorform,bothexteriorandinterior.Micrography:artworkcreatedfromtextthatformsanimagewhenviewedatadistance.Aninterplaybetweenthetextandimage.Self-portrait:animageofoneselfdrawnorpaintedbytheartist.Materials&Supplies
• 8.5x11”studentphotographsinblackandwhite
• Pencil• Eraser• FinePointSharpie• Ultra-FinePointSharpie
• 8.5x11”whitecopypaper• 8.5x11”tracingpaper• Tapeforhanginginwindowwhile
tracing• Camera• Printer
Context(Historyand/orArtists)Wikipediadefinition:“Micrography,alsocalledmicrocalligraphy,isaJewishartformdevelopedinthe9thcentury,withparallelsinChristianityandIslam,utilizingminuteHebrewletterstoform
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representational,geometricandabstractdesigns.Coloredmicrographyisespeciallydistinctivebecausetheserareartworksarecustomarilyrenderedinblackandwhite.”Micrographydrawsadesign,portrait,orsceneassociatedwiththesubjectbyusingwordscomposedoftinyletters,whoseformsarebarelylegibletothenakedeye.WidelyusedinmedievalHebrewmanuscripts,micrographyexperiencedarevivalattheendofthenineteenthandthebeginningofthetwentiethcentury.IthasbeenesteemedbyJews,becauseitmakesitpossibletodrawapictureofasacredeventwithout"castingaway"thesacredwordswhichdescribeitinaclassicalreligioustext;thus,micrographypermitstheweldingtogetherofthevisageofasaintorsagewiththeverywordsheutteredorwhichwerewritteninpraiseofhim.
ImagefromtheLibraryofCongress:MicrographyfromthecollectionsoftheHebraicSection.Thislithographofamicrographywascompletedin1881byMosesElijahGoldstein.
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Imagefromhttp://gawno.com/2009/05/micrography-text-art-and-typography/.
Imagefromhttp://gawno.com/2009/05/micrography-text-art-and-typography/.
AdvancedPreparationTakeblackandwhitephotosofeachstudent.Thepictureshouldbeaheadshotandincludetheneckandsomeshoulders.Tips&TricksSincestudentswillbewritingpositivecommentsaboutthemselves,youmaylettheteacherknowaheadoftime,sostudentswillhavemanyideastoincludeintheirportrait.Studentscouldwrite40positivecommentsaheadoftimeandbringthelisttotheartlesson.DiscussionPoints
• ThislessonisinspiredbytheartformofMicrography.Showtheexampleoftheship.Askthequestion,“Whatishappeningintheartwork?”Askforevidence,“Howdoyouknowthat?”or“Pointtothepartyouaretalkingabout.”
• Discusshowpeopleusedthisartformtoconveybothwordsandimageryinasinglepicture.Intheshipimage,themaninfront,isthepersonwhosaysthewordsthatcreatestheshipimagery.
• ShowcontemporaryexamplesofimagesofMicrography.Discusstheworksofart.Askwhattypeoffeelingtheartworkconveys.
• Defineanddiscussdifferenttypesofportraitsandself-portraits.Ask,“Whyisitmeaningfultomakeself-portraits?”
• Definecontourline.Discusshowthestudentswillusethecontourlineasonestepintheirartwork.
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ReflectionPoint(AssessmentofLearningObjectives)• Canthestudenttellmeaboutmicrography?• Didthestudentcreatealineself-portraitusingwordstoportraythemselves?
InstructionsforLessonDemonstratetheprocessfortheclass.
1. Eachstudentwillstartwiththeirblackandwhiteheadshot.
2. Tapethetracingpapertothepicture.TraceverybasicoutlinesofthefacewiththelargerfinetipSharpieincludingtheneck,shoulders,eyebrows,hairlines.Avoidtracingteethanddonotmakeatriangleforthenose.Insteadmakean“L”shape,thebridgeandnostrilswillworkbest.
3. Hangthephotopagethatisnowtracedwithblackmarker,inawindowandtapetracingpaperoverit.Tracewiththelarge,finetipSharpieoverthesamelines.
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4. HangtracingpaperwiththeSharpieoutline(thecontourlines)inwindowwithcopypaperontop.
5. Tracetheoutlines,LIGHTLYwithpenciloncopypaper.
6. Takethecopypaperbacktothedesk.WiththesmallerSharpie(ultra-finetip)writewordsorsentencesthatdescribeyouasyoufollowthepencilcontourlines.Largespacesofhaircanbefilledinwithwordsorleftasanoutline.Thesizeoftheletterscanbestretchedbiggertofillinaspacelikethelipsoreyebrows.Docentsmaywanttogivepromptstostudentslikefavoritecolor,sport,bookorhavethestudentswritealistofpositivecharacteristicsaboutthemselvesaheadoftime.
7. Erasepencillines.
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ReferencesandAttributions:https://www.incredibleart.org/lessons/high/micrography.html
http://art-paper-scissors.blogspot.com/2011/01/micrography-portrait.html
Imagesfrom:http://gawno.com/2009/05/micrography-text-art-and-typography/.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/a-menorah-and-micrography-judaic-treasures/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micrography
https://blogs.loc.gov/international-collections/2018/02/micrography-in-the-jewish-tradition/
NotesforEducators
21stCenturyThinkingSkillsObserving–Usingyoursensestolearnaboutsomethingindetail.Makingconnections–Connectingnewinformationwithschema.
WAStateLearningStandards(VA:Cr.1.1.5)Creating–Investigate,plan,make.Combineideastogenerateaninnovativeideaforartmaking.(VA:Cr2.1.5)Creating–Investigate.Experimentanddevelopskillsinmultipleart-makingtechniquesandapproachesthroughpractice.(VA:Re7.2.5)Responding–Perceiveandanalyzeartisticwork.Identifyandanalyzeculturalassociationssuggestedbyvisualimagery.
ArtsIntegrationOpportunitiesStudentscanwriteanautobiography;usepoetryforthetext.