In my Drawing and Painting classes, I often do this assignment.
Begin by having students draw a self portrait on an 8" x 11" piece of
paper. The better students can work from mirrors, while the less
confident may work from digital photos I take of them. (this is the
mundain part)
I then make 20 photocopies of each of the students drawn portraits.
Since I rarely use our copy machine at school, I beg our tech person for
help on this. She agrees to copy them during class as they are
finished.
Now comes the fun part. I have students brainstorm ideas as to what to
do with these portraits- attatch chewed gum, spray paint, even dance on
your face or ride your inked bike tire on it. The more creative the
better. I emphasize that if it doesn't turn out, there is little lost,
and therefore they can really take some RISKS. The only thing I ask is
that they tone in all of the skin tone, otherwise there are too many
white faces that appear unfinished.
I ask that they turn in 10 finished portraits, with 3 mounted. I try to
spend about 3 weeks total.
I get many, many groans and complaints. "I can't think of anything
else!!"
Then, a miracle often occurs when the critique is tomorrow and then,
finally, ideas begin to pour. During the critique they often say, "I
only wish we had more time!" Students have received great comments
about this assignment from college portfolio reviews. I think they
enjoy seeing evidence of the creative thinking process.
So there is a wacky idea for you. Hope it helps. I love teaching
students to take risks.
