Chelsea's Art Portfolio: 2012

Illustrate a Candidate:

Each student will paint the portrait of a political candidate running in the 2012 election. We will draw from a hat, the name of all the people running for office on the federal and the state levels. Each student will then have to research this candidate with the help of Eli and work you do in American Government. Find out about their political platform and from that pool deciding their stand on a policy, choose one that speaks to you, and will truly represent what this politician stands for. The objective is to reveal that issue or belief and incorporate it into an illustrated portrait. The inclusion of this political element should be used in either a sophisticated and subtle manner, in a brash and out-spoken burst, or anywhere in between, keeping the level and complexity of the issue in mind. The portrait should reflect the character and essence behind the issue. Chose to be dignified, or choose to be abrasive, but incorporate into the illustration a single position that might define this candidate’s platform.

Derivative Art:

For this project the students learned about plagiarizing art and how some artist took art pieces, then changes it to make in into their own.

Senior Salon:

For this project all of the seniors were told they could paint anything they wanted. I painted a bow because they are my signature thing. The only guideline we had to follow was the painting had to have a gilded frame. The students went very creative with a frame and out designs and even cut it out into different shapes, however I decided to keep mine normal. The gilded frame has an goldish/brown color to it that makes it look sort of old. That is why we name the project the Senior Salon.

Floral Impressionism:

In the manner of French Impressionist painting we will reproduce an image from our favorite painter of the genre. Our artistic medium will be dried flowers. With this unconventional art material we will attempt to imitate the loose style and immediacy of the hugely famous art movement spanning from about 1860-1910.

Accentuate the Positive/Eliminate the Negative:

To mimic this concept, we will explore a media exercise. This requires that we choose an existing image from whatever source you prefer; magazine, newspaper, internet, photograph, etc…, and paint out or obscure the negative space, leaving only the chosen positive space as the focus. It could be interesting to isolate specific items that may not be what the original intent of the source material. We will aim to put a different spin on the original intention of the source you have chosen then reverse the method to produce an artwork that will eliminate the positive elements of the source, turning the main focus of the image into an, alternate, or negative space. We are refocusing the interest.

Post-It Portrait

This is a photography project that incorporates an image of yourself, together with any number of post-it notes that are stuck to your physical person. Written or drawn on these notes should be clues to who you are, or who you want to be. It is important that the self-portrait contains these descriptive notes and that the notes are legible. This may require that you focus on a particular part of your body so the notes aren’t too small, or you get very creative with how you compose the image. Spend time developing a concept of what you desire to express about yourself, and be sure to consider the colors, text, and messages on the post-its.

Coin Painting Pop-Service Project

We will Paint the image of 18 dimes from 1933 onto stage props to be used for a performance by the Civic Dance Company, of San Diego. Dancers will perform with the Styrofoam and wood panel coin props, holding them to show the coins painted head and tap dancing on tails, the reinforced wood panel side.
We could think of this as a service project, or we could think of it as an exercise in Pop Art. We will be reproducing an over-sized silver dime, an item of popular culture. The 3-D aspect of the stage prop will give the artwork a sculptural quality and recall the art work of the great 1950's to present, Pop Artist, Claus Oldenburg. He is famous for creating large scale sculptural reproductions of common everyday objects.