The students then look at many examples. We go over how to draw lettering and make it varied. Students most often select a brick background for their graffiti.
Even though it is the middle of the school year, it is like the first week of school in the art room with a brand new group of students to start the new semester. I always like to start off with a project based on the students' names. Most middle school students are excited to create personalized art. I try to pick projects all students can be successful at so they start out on a positive note. I have a few go to name projects but I always like to try new things. My counterpart and I turned to an art teacher's best friend: Pintrest.
For 6th grade, we selected this project from art projects for kids. On day one, we went over how to create a variety of block and bubble letters. Then we discussed facial proportions and created a sketch of the final project. Students then created the "Part of Me" project on 9x12 drawing paper and used colored pencils to complete it. View the Fegely Artsonia gallery to see more.
7th grade students learned about shape as an element of art through a powerpoint, notes, and discussion. The students filled out an interest survey to help them brainstorm for this project. They were then asked to come up with a shape that somehow describes them or their interests and fill the shape with their names. We discussed and practiced different lettering techniques. View the Artsonia Gallery here.
The eighth graders reviewed positive and negative space then created what I refer to as the "negative name tangle". Drawing lightly in pencil, the students wrote their names. Then, students used sharpies to fill in the negative space with a minimum of 10 patterns and designs. Once the entire page was filled, students erased the pencil lines so the negative space made the positive space visible. View the gallery here.
