Linda, I saved this lesson in onof my folders and now I would like to know if you can remember the issue of Arts & Activities that it was in . It sounds like fun. MJ
>From: "linda"
>Reply-To: "ArtsEdNet Talk"
>To: "ArtsEdNet Talk"
>Subject: "funny Face" self portraits
>Date: Sat, 21 Sep 2002 17:38:27 -0700
>
>I do a project nearly every year with my fifth graders. I use the digital
>camera to take a photo of them making a hilarious, horrible, scary,
>extremely joyful, or whatever emotion Facial expression. I ask that they
>get their hands into it in some way, too. At least one hand. I let them
>practice in front of a mirror...stretched faces, pushed in faces, the
>hardest belly laugh, rage, whatever. I take a picture of them, and they
>they have to draw themselves in tonal values. It's a big proportion
>lesson, too. I have them start with one eye...use an axis line to get the
>angle of the eyes right. I tell them to "dry trace" the photo to notice
>detail and shape, parallel lines, shadows, etc. What I mean by "dry
>tracing" is to just slowly explore line and shadow with a pencil point
>without actually leaving a mark. See how far a line travels before it
>ends, etc. And, true to "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain", I tell
>them not to name any facial feature...just describe it in detail as they
>draw it. I remind them to look back and forth, back and forth, from the
>photo to their drawing, constantly. I show them a value scale and
>drawings with good value ranges and mushy ones with all mid tones. They
>see the difference. I also tell them to imagine that there is a steel bar
>that connects their eye looking over what they are drawing like a little
>ant, and that their drawing hand follows at the same speed, same time,
>same direction, as if connected by a steel bar.
>
>Ok...after all this talk prior to drawing, they draw their first eye.
>Then they use it as a measuring stick to see how many eyes away the second
>eye is. I ask them to use an axis line again from corner to corner of
>their second eye to get the angles right. Check for parallel lines, look
>where the blackest blacks and the whitest whites are. When the second eye
>is drawn, they can use both eyes as a measuring stick to see how long
>their nose should be, or how many eyes it is to the chin, to the top of
>the head, etc. WE continue with this looking and measuring and exploring
>and comparing and contrasting and describing game until the whole face is
>drawn in tones and lines where applicable. I am CONSTANTLY amazed by how
>great these turn out. At first they freak, but within 10 minutes you can
>hear a pin drop. Hair is last, after the chin and hands are drawn. ANd
>their shirt collars, etc. I wrote an article for Arts and Activities
>about this a few years ago, and it was published. I'd have to look up the
>date, though. THey draw SO MUCH LAUGHTER when they are put up. So much
>more fun than just another pretty face. I use some of Da Vinci's faces as
>examples. Now that I have my power point projector, help me think of some
>other faces that are distorted that I could show as examples.
>
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