Stay-At-Home Still Life

by Elizabeth Van Allen for scribblesbyartteachervanallen.blogspot.com


*this lesson is suggested for grades 6 and 
up e-learning or traditional classroom

It's March 2020 and here in the US we are currently in the age of safer-at-home and self-quarantine due to Covid-19.  With our current new normal and the rise of E-Learning, I present to you my first  2D art online lesson plan: Stay-At-Home Still Life!

Stay-At-Home Still Life

OBJECTIVES:

I will create an original still life that represents my own experience with staying at home during the Covid-19 event and that incorporates symbolism.

So that I can make more sense of what is going on around me and create art in response to current events

I will know I have it right when I have created a finished, high-quality still life that includes symbolism using the items I have with me at home.

REQUIREMENTS:

Students will:

1. Brainstorm­­­­­­

2. Create 2 completely different sketches

3. Develop 1 into a finished artwork

4. Complete the project in a timely manner

5. Complete a self-evaluation

VOCABULARY:

Composition - the placement or arrangement of visual elements or 'ingredients' in a work of art

Event - something that happens at a given place and time or a special set of circumstances

 Medium - the materials that are used to create a work of art

 Still Life - a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, books, vases, jewelry, coins, pipes, etc.).

Symbolism - using an object or a word to represent an abstract idea. 

Example: A red rose, or the color red, may stand for love or romance. Black is a symbol that represents evil or death. A ladder may stand as a symbol for a connection between heaven and earth. 

MATERIALS:

 ·  planning sheets (printer or lined paper)

·  pencil or pen

·  any other art supplies you may have access to – if you have nothing else, get creative!

Use coffee or tea to shade in areas between pen lines!  Collage together (clean) food wrappers in different colors to create images.  Use the back of cardboard packaging (cereal boxes etc.) as paper if you have none.  

DIRECTIONS

1.    Brainstorm a list of at least 5 things that are important to you during this safer-at-home period.  They can be literal objects (hand soap, face mask, canned food, etc.) or they can be symbolic, meaning that they stand for something else (an idea, a place, an activity, a person etc.).  You must have access to these items, as you will be drawing directly from them.

2.   Gather at least 3 of those items, at least 1 of which should be symbolic, and sketch 2 completely different compositions.  Don’t forget to include a background!

3.   Choose 1 to develop into a finished artwork

4.   Sketch the idea out lightly and completely.  Remember to start with simple shapes in order to draw your objects more accurately!

5.   Finish the project completely in high-quality way.  Your medium (what you create with) is up to you, based on what you have access to at home.  Don’t let a lack of resources limit your creativity.  Remember- if all you have is pen and notebook paper, make it the best still life using pen and notebook paper you have ever seen!

TIME BUDGET:

  1 week (5 days)

SUNSHINE STATE STANDARDS

VA.68.C.1.1- Apply a range of interests and contextual connections to influence the art-making and self-reflection process

VA.68.S.1- the arts are inherently experiential and actively engage learners in the processes of creating, interpreting, and responding to art.

VA.68.O.3 – Every art form uses its own unique language, verbal and non-verbal, to document and communicate with the world.

VA.68.H.2 – The arts reflect and document cultural trends and historical events, and help explain how new directions in the arts have emerged.

All images are from the painting subreddit.