Left: Alexa, grade ten.
Below: Stephanie, gade nine.
was reminding them to make measurement marks on all four sides of
their paper, and to align their ruler
with both marks as they created their
lines. After transferring their rough
drafts in pencil to their final draft
paper, students began to paint pixel
by pixel.
Painting the pixel-based self-portraits proceeded quickly, yet their
paintings began to appear flat. Taking
a second look at the work of Chuck
Close, we observed and discussed
how creating a variety of shades and
tints of a color helped to add depth to
their paintings.
Tamrah, grade twelve.
Reflections/Evaluation
Students were asked to reflect and
evaluate their work on this project
in three different ways. First, in the
midst of creating their project, they
took a short break to do a formative peer evaluation, which I like to
call the “¾ Critique.” This allows
students to step back from their
work and, with provided questions
that align to the lesson objectives,
reflect on their progress toward the
objectives and make adjustments as
needed.
Second, students filled out a self-evaluation, again answering questions
that aligned to the objectives of the
project as well as the guiding questions. This self-evaluation became
the script for an enhanced podcast.
The enhanced podcast, which is a
radio show coupled with a slide show
of images, became a digital gallery
experience that students could share
with their peers. It also provided the
unique experience of hearing an artist
speak about their work as it was being
viewed.
Third, students participated in a
class auction that provided a context
to the digital world their avatars
would inhabit. For this auction, students created accessories for their
avatars on small pieces of graph paper
with color pencils. Students could
create up to four accessories and
would receive a set amount of virtual
“money” to spend in the auction
depending on the number of accessories they made.
Prizes were offered for the student
who bought the most accessories
and the student who made the most
virtual money from selling their
accessories. This encouraged students
to bid wisely as well as create accessories that were desirable. The auction was a sealed-price auction where
students placed their bids in small
envelopes without knowledge of what
other students were bidding.
The exploration of self-portraiture
in a contemporary style really helped
students connect with the guiding
questions that were evident in their
responses recorded in the podcasts, as
well as in their self-evaluations. The
simple process of painting boxes in a
grid functioned well as an easy introduction to painting, and students
thoroughly enjoyed the auction as a
final event, giving them a fun way to
further explore the digital realm.
Brian Hutcheson is digital accounts manager and sales consultant for Davis Publications. bhutcheson@davisart.com
NATIONAL STANDARD
Students create multiple solutions
to specific visual arts problems that
demonstrate competence in producing effective relationships between
structural choices and artistic functions.
WEB LINk
www.secondlife.com
www.weeworld.com
Go to schoolartsonline.com
for a sample rubric and
podcast from this lesson.
