Sketchbook-Journal:

Middle SchoolPrompts and Work Samples

Art Education

Fulton County Schools

2007

Why Sketchbook Journals?They Develop:

•Technical Skills: drawing skills, design skills, and media exploration.

•Thinking and Personal Expression through art: to learn processes for idea development; this doesn’t just happen, we have to consciously teach these processes

•Learning: Reflection on personal growth, ideas, connections among art class learning, other classes, and life outside school

Two Aspects of Sketchbook/Journals

Sketchbook

•Technical skill building

•Studies

•Micro labs

Journal•Personal ideation•Concept development•Reflection

Students need both

There are many way ways to structure the combination: sketchbook begins on one side of book, journal begins on the

other; simply intersperse both types of work or?

It’s a Developmental

Process• In middle school – prompts need to be structured so there is a sequence of learning that teaches students to think more conceptually, while learning technical skills needed for high school.

• Teachers can’t expect students to just do it without teaching.

Developing Technical Skills

Middle School

Prompt: Draw a top or side view of a tennis shoe.

Technical Skill(s): Pencil drawing: Value to model form.

Conceptual Idea: Artists work to hone existing skill while taking risks by adding new skills.

Teacher: Leslie Dennis

Middle School

Prompt:

Create a series of thumbnail sketches using direct observation to model form with value in pencil of a cup and saucer in white.

Technical Skill(s):

• Thumbnail sketches

• Value to model form

• Composition: activating the page, cropping on all four sides

Conceptual Idea:

• Artists purposefully set parameters or problems to solve in their own work.

Teacher: Susan Scofield

Middle School

Prompt:

Create a direct observation drawing using a full range of values of a wiffle ball.

Technical Skill(s):

• Thumbnail sketches

• Value to model form

• Composition: activating the page, off center area of emphasis

Conceptual Idea:

• Artists purposefully set parameters or problems to solve in their own work.

Teacher: Susan Scofield

Middle School

Prompt:

Create a series of thumbnail sketches using direct observation to model form with value in pencil. of a single object

Technical Skill(s):

• Thumbnail sketches

• Value to model form

• Composition: activating the page, cropping on all four sides

Conceptual Idea:

• Artists purposefully set parameters or problems to solve in their own work.

Teacher: Susan Scofield

Middle School

Prompt:

Unknown but cool....

Technical Skill(s):

• Composition

• Using the elements of art to drive design

Conceptual Idea:

• Artists purposefully set parameters or problems to solve in their own work.

• Principles of design are tools to communicate ideas and create pleasing compositions.

Teacher: ???

Middle School

Prompt: Create a page designed around your favorite things.

Technical Skill(s): mixed media, research skills and composition.

Conceptual Idea: developing visual interpretations of personal opinions.

Teacher: Janet Murneek

Middle School

Prompt: Design a page emphasizing movement and rhythm.

????Technical Skill(s):

• Utilizing off center focal point

• Principles of Design

Conceptual Idea:

• Artists purposefully set parameters or problems to solve in their own work.

• Seeing an everyday object through an artists eyes.

Teacher: ???

Developing Conceptual Thinking

•As skills develop in the quarter prompts can begin to become more conceptual.

•Students will still need a starting point for journal ideas.

•Words, current events, feelings, time, dreams, and surreal landscapes are all successful topics at this point in conceptual development.

Idea Generation•Teachers need to explicitly teach ways to develop ideas/concepts by developing sequential prompts that build on technical skills taught in the course.

•Then explicitly teach for moving conceptual ideas developed in the journals into other artwork

Middle School

Prompt: Use a piece of “trash” as inspiration for a journal page.

Technical Skill(s):

• Incorporate three dimensional elements in composition

• mixed media

Conceptual Idea:

• Artists purposefully set parameters or problems to solve in their own work.

• Seeing an everyday object through an artists eyes.

Teacher: Rachel Howard

Middle School

Prompt: ????

Technical Skill(s): mixed media, research skills and composition.

Conceptual Idea: developing visual interpretations of personal opinions.

Teacher: Someone from Tony’s group

Middle SchoolPrompt: Using collage create a page about race in the United States.

Technical Skill(s): mixed media, research skills and composition.

Conceptual Idea: developing visual interpretations of personal opinions.

Teacher: Janet Murneek

Middle School

Prompt: Incorporate magazine cut ours in a collage that shows movement.

Technical Skill(s):

• Composition: leading the the viewer though the composition

• Building with elements of art and organizing with Principles of design.

Conceptual Idea:

• Artists purposefully set parameters or problems to solve in their own work.

Teacher: Rachel Howard

Middle School

Prompt: develop a series of pages around a single theme.

Technical Skill(s):

• Drawing techniques: Contour line drawing

• Color

• Composition

Conceptual Idea:

• Artists purposefully set parameters or problems to solve in their own work.

Teacher: Janet Murneek

Middle School

Prompt: develop a series of pages around a single theme.

Technical Skill(s):

• Drawing techniques: Contour line drawing

• Color

• Composition

Conceptual Idea:

• Artists purposefully set parameters or problems to solve in their own work.

Teacher: Janet Murneek

Middle School

Prompt: Using compositional design techniques discussed in class use a layering design expressing how music makes you feel.

Technical Skill(s): mixed media, research skills and composition.

Conceptual Idea: developing visual interpretations of personal opinions.

Teacher: Janet Murneek

Middle School

Prompt: • Create a collage

that that illustrates a movie or book theme.

Technical Skill(s): • Composition• Elements of Art

Conceptual Idea:• developing visual

interpretations of personal opinions.

Teacher: Chris Kim

Middle SchoolPrompt: Using compositional design techniques discussed in class use a layering design to create a self expressive collage.

Technical Skill(s): mixed media, research skills and composition.

Conceptual Idea: developing visual interpretations of personal opinions.

Teacher: Katie Blanchard

Middle School

Prompt: Using compositional design techniques discussed in class use a layering design to create a self expressive collage.

Technical Skill(s): mixed media, research skills and composition.

Conceptual Idea: developing visual interpretations of personal opinions.

Teacher: Katie Blanchard