Art Curriculum- Week 16- Cubist Self Portraits

Week 16- Cubist Self Portraits

Our last lesson was on Surrealism. To view it click here.

Movement: Cubism

What you will need:

-photos
-A basic photo editing system
-glue

Time: 30 minutes

Prep was the most time consuming part. I saved 6 copies of each child's photo and cropped each one separately to zoom in on certain areas and zoom out on others. Then I copied and pasted the cropped images into a word document and sized them down to what I thought was appropriate. I had a separate folder and document for each child.

• I showed them different pictures of cubism and explained the basic concept of magnifying certain parts of a subject that the artist thought were important.
• Each child got a full page of their picture blown up and a separate sheet of paper with their cropped images that they had to cut out.
• Then it was a simple matter of placing their "pieces" on the page. I told them they could position the pieces however they wanted to (ex. upside down, to the side) as long as they put it by the original image. So the big foot would go by the feet, not the head.

Here are the finished beauties!

Overall: Easy, simple, and the kids really enjoyed it which was a relief to me because Cubism is such a strange movement to teach to kids!

(logging 1 1/2 hours for prep and execution)

Les Misérables- Acting Out Theatre

This past weekend I had the pleasure of being a minor part in the festivities surrounding Acting Out Theatre's production of one of the most beautiful musicals ever created - Les Misérables.

Acting Out Theatre is a company that "is a non-profit organization that exists to create high quality theatrical summer stock productions where the journey is always the reward."

Before the show, for the pleasure of those attending there was a "Beggars Feast" that involved food and entertainment and a photo booth with cool props.

I was kindly invited to participate and play keyboard and violin. For roughly 2 1/2 hours on and off people were serenaded with Lord of the Rings, How to Train Your Dragon, and whatever other film scores worked their way into my binder. I had several friends come to see me which was fantastic.

Next to me was Sweet & Simple Photography, in charge of the photo booth. We had a great time together. Allexandra Stone is the photographer and it was wonderful getting to see her.

Me playing Friday evening. Thank you to my niece for the picture.
Alas, I didn't think to get a picture of my own little music spot.

Friday-Sunday they formally put on the show each night under the stars (and rain clouds). I stayed for Friday and Sunday. Each night was glorious.

During last night's performance I felt a few drips and there might have been a hint of thunder, but to they made it to the end with flying colors (probably blue, white, and red!).

The cast and crew did a gorgeous job, the set of the barricade held a striking intensity in its attention to detail. I take my one and only hat off to them all with the greatest respect.

Les Misérables is one of the most moving masterpieces ever written. It's message of forgiveness and sacrifice shall always bring me joy the the bittersweet feeling that always accompanies the best stories.

Facebook links:

Acting Out Theatre
Sweet & Simple Photography

Photography- Blooming Beauties

I present without further ado...

A few artistic glimpses into the guise of Spring.

All original photography edited in Pixlr-O-Matic.

Photography- Summer Stars

I decided to play with some Fourth of July photos I've had languishing around since... Said day. No this is not wishful thinking, I'm quite content with the winter weather contrary to the public opinion.

Winter is the best month for stargazing. I guess this is me trying to show off the summer "stars."

Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Photography Spam for Autumn

edited in pixlr

I thought I'd show something different today just because. :)

Some photography from the past couple weeks.

Aha this was me trying to be all deep and philosophical.
Man/nature and all that. GO GREEN.
I stuck down the bag in the field and YES I picked it up!

Song for Fall- song (pumpkin carvings)

My niece's pumpkin. Gandalf's Mark along with his name.
I'm so proud! :)

Mine. The evil eye of Sauron!!! I spent wayyyy too much time on this. O_O

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!

Heyloeth guys, a cheery song for *shushhhhh* Fall!

*John Watson covers his ears and wishes for January 17*
_____

To the tune of Deck the Halls.

Song for Fall
Tis the season we love pumpkins
(pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pumpkins)
When we think of country bumpkins
(pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pumpkins)

Deck the fields with corn and beans
(pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pumpkins)
Squash and gourds are commonly seen
(pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pumpkins)
-----
Don bright yellow orange and red
(pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pumpkins)
Come the days we long for bed
(pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pumpkins)

Wind and rain grow ever colder
(pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pumpkins)
Snow will come but in November
(pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pumpkins)
-----
Soup and blankets all surround us
(pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pumpkins)
Marvel at the changing forests
(pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pumpkins)

Dark the days and long the nights
(pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pumpkins)
We will treat till morning light
(pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pumpkins)

Pixlr- Online Photo Editor

I've discovered a delightful photo editing program. For free, online. They offer apps for your phone also but I have yet to try those. If they're as fun as the online programs then I'd love to have them.

The photo editor, Pixlr, has 3 different editors: Advanced, Efficient, and Playful. I chose to go with Playful tonight.

Advanced offers you the chance to start from a blank canvas, choose your dimensions, etc. while Efficient has the option of creating a collage with the ability to change all of the sizes of the pictures to your exact specifications.

Playful allows you to add effects and borders from a vast variety of choices. Vintage, classic, city, snazzy, girly, faded, etc. You can spend hours just clicking through all of them and mixing styles because all of them look good. :)

Link- http://pixlr.com/

Two Steps From Hell was my inspirational music. Heavy and dramatic.

First Experiment- a drawing of mine. This is drawn from the cover of "The Children of Hurin" by JRR Tolkien, illustrated by Alan Lee. I do not own this character, or the illustration. I drew this for my pleasure and out of my admiration for all things Tolkien.

Before

                                         after1

after2

I love the mix of textures and color in "After1" though the spiderweb in the corner almost spoils the "cool/fantasy" effect.

In "After2" I get the feeling he's looking into a fire, or is about to enter something fierce and terrifying like a war. Considering this particular characters story, that might be the most accurate message.

Second Experiment- Next I took a piece from my photography stash, the flower was already blue and the background was solid black from previous edits. I decided to take it a step further. I really really like this one.

This was all for fun, because I love to mess around with creations even after I've scratched and shaded and erased them to almost perfection.

Wishing you all the best,

~Bright

"smoky blue"

So It Begins

Heyloeth, and Greetings!

This blog will be an outlet for me to share my art on all levels: sketches, photography, full blown portraits that consume my life... etc.

I never have a set goal for what I want to do with my art, I hardly have a goal for any one piece I work on.

These are my "wanderings."

~Bright

P.S. The picture above is an experiment on placement and appearances for future posts. It is actually a picture of shadows on water edited on one of my phone's apps.