add/drop reminders

Tuesday, Sept. 14, the fifth day of classes, is:

• the last day to drop first quarter classes without mark of “WS”
• the last day to add first quarter classes and choose CR/NC grade option

Tuesday, Sept. 21, the 10th day of classes, is:

• the last day to register for semester classes
• the last day to drop semester classes without mark of “WS”
• the last day to add semester classes and choose CR/NC grade option 
• the last day to drop a full semester class and get a full refund

Drop cards must have instructors’ permission and signatures and be delivered in person to the Registration and Records office, Bowman Hall room 109.

student work, spring 2010

Following are drawings from two students' (Jacob Sandstrom & Tyler Haas) final portfolios from Life Drawing I at UW–Stout, Spring 2010.

For more excellent examples from several other students, check out the galleries on flickr: shells, Manikens, gesture drawings, and long drawings. 

left: Jacob Sandstrom, Self-Portrait
below: Jacob Sandstrom, Shell with Ink Wash

 

left: Tyler Haas, Long Pose/Torso Study
below: Tyler Haas, Gesture Drawing
far below: Tyler Haas, Shell Cross Contour

Rib Cage and Abdominals

 

image: Michelangelo Buonarotti (1475- 1564)

Male Nude with Proportions Indicated

red chalk, 11 1/2" x 7 1/8" (289 x 180 mm)

The Royal Collection © 2010, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II RL 12765

Click HERE for a chapter on the rib cage and abdominal muscles from Anatomy Lessons from the Great Masters by Robert Beverly Hale.

spinal erectors, abdominals

here is a link (click here) to an earlier blog post on the spinal erectors and abdominal muscles. you should have your spinal erectors well under way and revised by now. we will begin abdominal muscles tomorrow and thursday.

field trip

 

Our Life Drawing I field trip will be Wednesday, February 24. We are scheduled to board the bus at 9:15 am, outside the Applied Arts building along 13th Avenue, near the loading dock entrance.

We will be going first to the Walker Art Center to view the exhibitions, then to the Bell Museum of Natural History on the campus of the University of Minnesota.

Check out this article (click here)–of special interest to you graphic and multi-media designers–by Brent Gustafson (New Media Designer at the Walker) on the creation of a touch-screen kiosk for the Walker's Benches and Binoculars exhibit, which will be on view during our visit.

While at the Bell Museum, you will each be expected to complete a one-hour contour drawing of the specimen of your choice (the Touch & See room has a great collection of bones, insects, fossils, etc.).

 

hip bone, wolf

(a photo I took during my last visit to the

Bell Museum of Natural History, from the exhibit,

"Wolves and Wild Lands in the 21st Century")

You can do this drawing in your sketchbook or on your larger drawing paper--but if you use your larger paper you'll want to bring a drawing board along, as well. Bring non-messy drawing tools (graphite pencil, charcoal pencil, conte crayon or pencil, pen, etc.).

You will need to bring something to eat, since we will not have time to stop for lunch. Usually we eat on the bus in between the museums. There is a coffee/snack cart at the Walker, just in case.

We will return no later than 5:30 pm.

Last trip, our bus was equipped with wi-fi, so feel free to bring your laptops along.

Please email me with names and emails of non-Art & Design professors I need to send an announcement to. I will automatically notify all Art & Design instructors.

exercises for the spinal erectors

how to strengthen your low back

watching this video and performing the exercises shown (before, during, or after building the spinal erectors on your maniken) will give an even greater understanding of the muscles. the more body awareness you can create for yourself this way, the quicker you will catch on to what the muscle is like, what it does, where its greatest stress and action occur on the body.

try it!

visible body

 

here is the link to visiblebody.com

I have the best luck with the website when I use Safari as my browser.

line variation and sensitivity

click here to access "Line Variation and Sensitivity," pp. 52 - 65 from Chapter 1: "Essential Skills and Information: What Every Student Should Know About Drawing."

Drawing Essentials: A Guide to Drawing from Observation

Oxford University Press, New York, 2009

by Deborah Rockman

gestural expression

Experienced artists, even before they ask themselves, "What does the subject look like?" ask,

 "What is the subject doing?"

That is, how does the arrangement of the major parts of the figure, the flower, the lamp, or the landscape allude to movement? What suggestions are there in the subject of directed energies coursing through its forms? For virtually everything we see implies some kind and degree of moving action. Such actions are inherent in the subject's formation and structure. The gentle curve of a tree limb or a human one, the forceful thrust of a church spire or a schooner, the graceful spiral of a staircase or a seashell, all these suggest moving actions–types of animated behavior; in other words, they all disclose some kind of gestural expression.

–Nathan Goldstein, The Art of Responsive Drawing, Chapter 1, "Gestural Expression," page 3.

image:Rembrandt Van Rijn (1606-1669), Saskia Asleep, Pen, brush, and ink, 13 x 17.1 cm, The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York. I, 180.

Here is a link to Chapter 1, "Gestural Expression," from Nathan Goldstein, The Art of Responsive Drawing. 

The link will direct you to the blue drive.

The username and password are the same as your UW-Stout email.

Click here to get the chapter.

spring 2010 syllabus (ART 301-001 and ART 301-002)

Life Drawing I • Spring 2010
Applied Arts 303

ART 301-001

Monday/Wednesday • 2:30 – 5:35 pm

ART 301-002

Tuesday/Thursday • 11:15 – 2:20 pm

Amy Fichter

Associate Professor

Applied Arts 306B

Office hours:

Fridays, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

& by appointment

ext. 5335

fichtera@uwstout.edu

PreRequisites

Students must have completed Drawing I (ART 100) and Drawing II (ART 200) before participating in Life Drawing I (ART 301).

Course Objectives

Through participation in Life Drawing I, you will:

1) Understand and use a structural approach to drawing

• Perceive three-dimensional form and translate this form to the two-dimensional picture plane
• Comprehend a subject’s planar make-up and correctly prioritize primary and secondary planes
• Use a linear, as opposed to painterly, approach to drawing the figure, including value

2) Develop a working knowledge of artistic anatomy through lectures, drawings, and clay modeling

• Draw a structural representation of the human figure utilizing long axis, cross contour, and muscle attachment lines
• Demonstrate anatomical understanding through drawing anatomical landmarks
• Build a convincing and well-crafted clay model of the muscles important for drawing

3) Refine your mark-making skills and ability to make and understand how line creates a sense of space on the picture plane.

• Practice gesture drawing and contour drawing separately, in order to achieve a synthesis of the two
• Become aware of your own kinesthetic sense and its ability to teach yourself about the body and drawing

4) Communicate effectively about the drawing process via writing, blog posting, image sharing, class critiques, and one-on-one critiques with the instructor.

• Keep a class blog that will serve as space for posting images, text, responding to other students, and reflecting upon your learning in the course
• Be responsible to yourself and the other students in the class for having meaningful class discussions and becoming better artists through those discussions

Evaluations & Expectations

I expect you to complete:

• In-class drawings. (30%)
• Homework drawings (Shells). Homework will be graded on the quality of the drawing and the demonstrated understanding of the topics covered in that particular assignment. This includes the final homework assignment (self-portrait). (25%)
• Assigned clay building on your Maniken, both in-class and for homework. Maniken assignments will be graded on the quality of clay building, accuracy of form and attachments, and completeness of work. (25%)
• Blog assignments/weekly reflections. (20%)

Field Trip

There is a mandatory field trip for this class. The date is set for Wednesday, February 24. You must make arrangements with other professors and/or work obligations to be gone from 8:00 am - 5:30 pm on this day. Please email me the names and email addresses of other professors you have on that day and I will send a note for you. I can also give a hand-written note if necessary. I am planning a trip for us to visit the Bell Museum of National History on the University of Minnesota campus and the Walker Art Center. The only cost of the field trip for you will be food.

Attendance

It’s important that you are in class—for access to the model, to hear comments I make, and to experience drawing in a studio setting. The class happens because all of you are here working together.

Let me know via e-mail if you can’t make it to class.

Rely on your classmates to show you drawings and notes you may have missed.

After 3 absences, your grade may be lowered.

After 7 absences, you may fail the class.

Grading Policy

• Your grade will be based primarily on your final e-portfolio in which you showcase your learning over the semester and best examples from the class. This e-portfolio will include in-class drawings (gesture drawings and long-pose drawings), homework drawings, maniken work, and blog reflections. This portfolio will consist of a blog summary with a link to a flickr or photobucket account that includes a larger set of images (drawings, maniken photos) from the semester.

• A mid-term e-portfolio will be graded to give you an idea of your standing in the class at that point, but may be overridden by the quality of your final portfolio. In other words, the two grades will not be “averaged” for your final grade.

• Your grade will also be affected by such “subjective” qualities as these:

1. Are you present?

2. In mind as well as body?

3. Open to suggestions?

4. Helpful in class discussions?

5. Awake during lecture time?

It is part of my job—my responsibility—to give you a grade that lets you and other art “authorities” (other professors, employers, grad schools, gallery owners, etc.) know how your final portfolio and overall attitude during class measure up to given standards.

One useful way to think about grades is to consider them guides as to how other art professionals (besides me) would view your portfolio. How would a design firm see your work? A graduate school acceptance committee? Other professors in the Art & Design department? Gallery owners?

If I imagine I am an employer of designers, an A would mean you could start right away, a B would mean you might get hired if you get some more experience and refine your portfolio, a C would mean you are not ready for the job.

Likewise, if you are considering graduate school, an A would mean your work is of the quality that would get you accepted into a grad program, a B would indicate that you might get accepted if you worked on your portfolio some more, a C would mean you are not ready to apply for graduate studies (in Drawing/Life Drawing, anyway).

Save and document all your drawings from the semester.

Materials

Newsprint 18" x 24" or 24” x 36”

Canson "Biggie" white drawing paper (Biggie pad) 18” x 24” or larger

Drawing board

Clips

Charcoal

Charcoal pencils

Conte

Conte pencils

X-acto knife

Sandpaper

Pencil sharpener

White plastic eraser

Clic eraser (refillable)

Masking tape

Clay tools

For shell drawings, beginning Wednesday, February 17:

22” x 30” Stonehenge or similar high-quality drawing paper (minimum 4 sheets)

masking tape

ink (india ink, black, brown, sepia, red, etc.)

bamboo brush

varnish brush

cups for ink and water

Atlas of Human Musculature in Clay (volumes 1 – 5), Jon Zahourek, ed. Kenneth Morgareidge, Zahourek Systems, Inc., 1994.

In addition to the texts, each student will be checked out a half Maniken for his/her use during the semester. The Manikens are property of UW-Stout Instructional Resources Services. You are responsible for the Maniken checked out to you. If any part of the Maniken is missing, lost, damaged, etc., the student will be financially responsible to replace it through IRS.

Videos

World Famous Lectures on Artistic Anatomy & Figure Drawing

Robert Beverly Hale

Lecture 1 Rib Cage 78 Minutes

Lecture 2 Pelvis 81 minutes

Lecture 3 Leg 74 minutes

Lecture 4 Foot 72 minutes

Lecture 5 Shoulder Girdle I 77 minutes

Lecture 6 Shoulder Girdle ll 68 minutes

Lecture 7 Arm 76 minutes

Lecture 8 Hand 80 minutes

Lecture 9 Head/Skull 80 minutes

Lecture 10 Head and Features 97 minutes

These are available for checkout in the library.

Art Education Artifacts

The course objectives of this course meet:

• Wisconsin Standard 1: The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches.

• UW Stout School of Education Domain 1a: Demonstrating knowledge of content and pedagogy.

• Wisconsin Standard 9: The teacher is a reflective practitioner.

Portfolio Artifact: best work as determined by student and professor

• Art education students will be required to reflect in writing on this artifact.

• Art education students will be required to upload papers and digital images of their studio works into their e-portfolios.