Studio Sculpture Syllabus



AP Studio Art: 3D Design

Syllabus

Ms. Yenior

Christian Fenger High School

Chicago, Illinois

School Profile

School Location/ Environment

Christian Fenger High School is located on the south side of Chicago and serves 9-12 grade students.

Total Enrollment

Approximately 650 students as of fall 2011

Percentage Minority

100%. The students of Fenger High School are predominately African American (99%) with a very small Latino population (1%)

Arts Requirements

Each student at Fenger is required to take one year of visual arts and one year of music.

Course Sequence Leading to AP Studio Art

Fenger is a Chicago neighborhood public high school of less than 700 students. With three full time visual arts teachers, art courses offer students options in drawing and painting, sculpture and graphic arts beyond the introductory course. Ideally Advanced Placement students have taken the Art 1 and Studio Sculpture classes before AP. However, in some cases, students may enroll in AP after Art 1, based on teacher discretion. Therefore, some of the AP students will be creating their portfolios with only one year of art experience on the high school level. Several of our students have participated in one of the several extra curricular arts programs that are made available by public and private organizations throughout the city.

Our school year begins the 2nd week in August. During the first week of class, we will look at digital images of AP students work and examples of 4-and 5-point portfolio work. We will spend a good deal of time discussing the expectations and requirements of an AP studio course and students will become familiar with portfolio components. At this time students will begin a sustained investigation of all three aspects of the AP portfolio development: quality, concentration, and breadth. Many of these students will have had experience in an Advanced Placement English or Math Courses. I want to be sure that all of them understand the unique aspects of an advanced visual arts course and the rigor involved. We will also address the importance of time management skills. Many of our students have commitments and responsibilities outside of school-family obligations, part-time jobs, sports and other extracurricular activities. I want them to be prepared to make the time that this course demands and have strategies for doing so.

Students will begin, and hopefully complete, one piece during this week, so that they get a feel for the caliber of work that is expected of them (and of which I am sure that each of them is capable).

Advanced Placement Coursework:

Students participating in Advanced Placement program will be expected to be working on artwork both in and outside of class for the majority of the school year. Student’s will also be expected to conduct research outside of the classroom via the internet, library, art museums, and community galleries. Each students progress will be kept on an in-class chart, posted in the sculpture room. During our one-on-one check-ins, we will periodically discuss their work in each area of the class and portfolio.

During the first semester of the school year, class time will be spent focusing on a variety of concepts and approaches in 3D design so that students are able to demonstrate a range of abilities and versatility with problem solving. It is my goal that all students will be able to demonstrate their understanding and college level mastery of these techniques and materials. The early lessons and activities to be completed at this time include, but are not limited to:

Variety of Concepts and Approaches that will be Explored

• Conceptualization practice/ nature object sketching

• Composition practice in various materials

• Reduction and carving detail and texture out of Clay

• Relief in Plaster Paris

• Clay Abstract Vessels/ Using school grounds and community nature as inspiration

• Texture stamping from nature materials

• Representational Vessels out of clay

• Slab/ Coil/ Construction and problem solving in clay

• Woven Vessels Study/ Using community cultures for inspiration

• Yarn stitching

• Clay Tea Pot Creation/ Clay Vessel Construction

• Homemade Paper and Wood Lanterns/ Using natural materials from the school grounds

• Wire Jewelry Experiment

• Paper Making

• Plaster Crafter Body adornment

• Neck, Head, and Appendage Body Adornment

• Bi-weekly sketchbook assignments (attached)

Completing the Portfolio

Lessons and projects are designed so that students can actually use them in their portfolios, should they be of high enough quality. If our early work does not fit into the students concentration, it may be included in the breadth section. Projects are designed to help students develop a cohesive body of work investigating a visual idea. This course will teach students to uphold artistic quality and integrity. Students will be allowed to use photographs, published images, and other artists’ work as inspiration only. Students will be taught how to develop their own work through brainstorming and alteration lists, beyond the use of someone else’s idea and work, as well as what constitutes as plagiarism of work.

The AP students will participate in a series of brainstorming activities to narrow down their 3D Design interests and determine their concentration topics. Each student will develop and follow a strong coherent plan of action to help themselves be successful in creating their concentration part of the portfolio. Upon completion of these activities and success plan, students will be expected to decide on a concentration for their portfolio that focuses on them developing a cohesive body of work that investigates a strong underlying visual idea in 3D Design. If a specific concentration has not been determined, we will try to narrow down ideas and place them into a broader category. At this time students will begin to work on their first two concentration pieces-one in class, and one that is being worked on outside of class.

The AP 3D Design class has been scheduled to meet three times a week; twice as a 90 minute blocks and once for a 30 minute period. The 30 minute meetings are a great time for individual check-ins and group discussions and critiques which will be a very important part of the AP 3D design learning process. Students are encouraged to utilize the studio hours available in the sculpture room after school. When possible, the afternoons of early dismissal days may also be used as studio time. As an added convenience, each student will have a storage space for their work and materials in the classroom.

The second semester of this course will be conducted much like an independent study, allowing students to draw on their prior skills and knowledge to complete their concentration while in class. Homework assignments will still be given, critiques and assessed to fulfill the other portfolio sections.

Students will be provided with quarterly calendars (attached) which will include project deadlines, dates designated to shoot work, portfolio preparation and artist’s statement writing. Once a week, I meet with students individually to assess their progress according to these dues dates and deadlines. As work is deemed appropriate for submission, photos will be taken and uploaded. It is my hope that as the portfolio deadline approaches, work will be ready to go.

Course Benefits

Completing the AP 3D Design portfolio requires a great deal of commitment on the part of the students. I hold my students to high standards and try to cater to their individual skills, strengths and interests. The concentration portion of the portfolio provides students the opportunity to pursue and develop their artistic interests. Even if students choose not to pursue the visual arts on a postsecondary level, they will still have had the opportunity to participate in a fast-paced, college level course. This class will require them to set individual goals and stick to them, while developing essential time management skills.

Resources

Contemporary Sculpting Techniques by Master Artists. The Figure in Clay. Lark Books, 2007.

Lightwood, Ann. Working with Paperclay and Other Additives. Crowood Pr, 2000.

Zelanski, Paul and Mary Pat Fisher. The Art of Seeing-Sixth Edition. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download