High School Art 1 - House Elevation Drawings

In the High School Art 1 classes we just finished a focus on drawing with perspective, houses, and buildings with a look at some basic architectural house styles. We also had a visit from a real architect, Joseph Kammerer, who works with the DiBello Architects here in New Braunfels. Mr. Kammerer shared with us what it's like to be an architect and how an idea and the plans for a house is developed. We also got to see some of his drawings and sketches. One of the architectural terms we learned is "elevation." An elevation is a one-sided view of a house or building structure. For their project, students got to draw a front elevation idea for a house. They could make one up or use reference pictures for their drawing.  Some drew more realistically and some had some pretty creative ideas. Enjoy their elevation drawings above and below. Which one would you like to live in?

(Click on photos to see more closely.)

Middle School Art - Hojalata

The next country that inspired the Middle School Art classes was our neighbor to the south, Mexico! We learned about a popular form of embossed metal art there called "Hojalata" which is one of the Spanish words for "tin." Since we didn't have sheets of tin to cut or emboss we used cardboard, yarn, glue, and aluminum foil. After the students glued down the yarn onto the outline of their design, they covered it with the foil and filled in the flat areas with acrylic paint to give their art a similar look. They did a great job! Que hermoso! 

(Click on the photos to more closely.)

High School Art 1 - Mini-Village

After drawing pictures of houses and buildings with one- and two-point perspective, students got to take a break from 2-D projects with our mini-village 3-D project. Each student created their own house or building using stiff paper. We had some very creative architectural ideas! I even enjoyed making one to add to the village. Enjoy our creations! 

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Middle School Art - Celtic Illuminations

The middle school art students enjoyed a "visit to the British Isles" where we learned about Celtic Illuminated letters. During the middle ages, when clerics and scribes translated the Bible and other manuscripts for the church or kings, they would sometimes decorate, or illuminate the first letter of a paragraph. Students got to see some real examples from a book of illuminated scriptures. They then got to choose a letter to illuminate of their own. Some chose one of their initials and some just chose a letter that they liked and had an idea for. One of my many talented students, Teagan Madden, even did some research and illuminated her family's last name and initial with her family crest. Enjoy these wonderful masterpieces! (Click on each photo to see more closely.)