In this lesson, student artists explore how their face is put together and discover that there are some basic rules that artists can follow to know where different features belong. They create a self-portrait by drawing along with the videdo-lesson, then edit it to fit their personal attributes.
Students will be working individually, so have materials prepared to go out to tables/desks depending on how your class is set up.
Pencil, pink eraser, drawing paper, optional: mirrors or photos (to help identify features for their portraits)
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⚲'In Bed', Ron Mueck, 2005**
Ron Mueck is an Australian hyperrealist sculptor currently working in the United Kingdom. He started out as a prop maker and puppeteer before transitioning to fine art. He makes hyperrealistic sculptures of people where you can see every wrinkle and hair follicle, but then creates them either too large or too small to be real.
Project the inspiration image where students can see it. Give students a moment to study it silently, then begin a brief discussion with the phrase, “What can we find?”. Paraphrase what students say for the benefit of the class, being careful to remain neutral, then ask “What else can we find?”.
Alternately, allow them to draw or write what they notice on a blank piece of paper or in a sketchbook.
The point of this discussion time is to have students learn and add onto each other’s thoughts. By remaining neutral and simply repeating what students say you allow students to do the heavy mental lifting and also create an environment where there is no wrong answer, fostering creativity and mental risk-taking.
NOTE: Students will be working along with the film. Pass out paper & pencils before playing the video and be prepared to pause the film when it says ‘pause’. Monitor the class and begin the film again after *most of the students have finished their work.
Check for understanding by asking, “Who was listening closely that can sum up what we are doing today?” Make sure that student artists can list all the steps and clarify anything that needs clarifying.
Tell student artists that you are going to give them the last 5 minutes to go back and revise their work. Tell them not to be overly picky, as they will be making major changes next lesson. The main focus today is to make sure all the features are in the right spot and loosely look like the student artist who drew them.
The students work independently on their work as the teacher circulates. Foster strong work habits by commenting on student artists who are focused on their work as well as student artists who seem to be pushing themselves to try new things.
The focus of this class period is for students to understand how the different features of their face relate to one another and to be to understand the correlation between their real/physical face and the drawing. Encourage students to worry less about getting an accurate portrait and more about ‘planning’ their portrait. Remind them to draw lightly, as they will probably have to erase! If there are mirrors available, the teacher can offer them to students who have successfully ‘mapped’ out their face, and they can begin refining their features to be a more accurate representation.
Use 'what, how, and why' and then take comments or questions.
Depending on the teacher’s style of classroom management, it might be helpful to only choose and train a few kids to clean. The rest of the class can be busy with the presentation. Make sure to train these helpers well in advance so that you aren’t left with a messy room.
Clean-up times will vary with materials; get to know your class and allow 5-10 minutes depending on how efficient they are and whether or not the material was messy.
Choose presenting student artists in advance and let them know during their work time so that they are prepared.
Sharing should work as follows:
Commonly, student artists will continue to draw once even after the video starts again. To counter this, consider making a game out of putting their pencils down (count down, fastest student to put their pencil in the middle of the table gets a star on their hand with washable marker, etc.). Remind students that they are just mapping out where the different parts of the face go, they will have time at the end to finesse them. They should draw lightly, and not worry too much about whether or not it looks ‘right’. It might also be helpful to repeat the instructions during the drawing time.
If student artist's are getting frustrated with their drawing abilities, or say “I can’t”, pair them with another student who is being successful at it. Ask the artist partner to help without doing it for them—they can draw on a new sheet of paper to show, but they should never draw directly on the work.
If a student artist doesn’t think that their drawing looks like them, tell them that sometimes it is difficult to see something clearly when you have been working on it for a long time. Start a group conversation with the other student artists at their table. The group can help out the student by pointing out the problem areas. The student artist can take the advice or not. Also let them know there will be some major revisions during the next lesson, so they can feel free to simply map out where the different facial features belong, then move on the free-drawing.
Get student artist's to relax; if they say something isn’t looking right, have them close their eyes pretend to be blind. They can feel the problematic portion of their face gently with their fingers. With their eyes closed, have them describe what they are feeling (a pointed chin, nose). Ask them to be more descriptive with questions like “Is is larger or smaller than your mouth” or “does it connect to anything else on your face?”
Allow early finishers to ‘free draw’ (draw whatever they wish) on copy paper. This will allow them some freedom after a rigorous assignment.
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