Erin A. Bilbrey

Bilbrey 1

Erin A. Bilbrey

Interconnection

1. Interconnection

2. Year Eight/Nine
3. Length: 4 days (1 hour 15 minute lessons)

4. Objectives:

Critical Inquiry: Students will observe the textile art of the Geez Bend Quilters, Anne Groufsky, Ruth McMonagle, and West African Adinkra and list similarities and differences in the process and product using a Venn diagram during a large group activity.

Art History: Students will list specific characteristics of the artists’ cultures in the process and products of their artworks during a small group activity.

Aesthetics: Students will describe how people from different cultures are connected through an individual sketching exercise.

Studio-Media: Students will create one 2”x 2” (4cm x 4cm) plate of a symbol representative of their personal culture using printmaking techniques and one 9”x 9” (22cm x 22cm) fabric square, which will be sewn together to create a class quilt.

Studio-Elements & Principles: Students will use one instance of both positive and negative space on their printmaking plate and repeat their tile at least 5 times on their fabric square.

1. Interconnection

2. Day One
3. Objectives

Art History: Students will list specific characteristics of the artists’ cultures in the process and products of their artworks during a small group activity.

Studio-Elements & Principles: Students will use one instance of both positive and negative space on their printmaking plate and repeat their tile at least 5 times on their fabric square.

4. Materials:

-Laminated visuals:

Gees Bend Quilters

Anne Groufsky Christchurch-The Garden City (2008)

Ruth McDonagle Four Seasons in One Day (2008)

-Computer

-PowerPoint Presentation

-Studio:

(15) 9”x 9” canvas squares

(10) bottles of acrylic paint- one of each color

(30) paintbrushes- varying sizes

(15) artist smocks

Newspaper to cover tables

(5) Sponges

-Studio Model

5. Procedure:

Introduction: I will direct students to get a chair and sit around the front table as they come in the door.I will welcome the class and review any rules that may need attention. (1 minute)

Opening Activity: I will first ask the class if anyone has a quilt in their home. After I hear student answers, I will start my Powerpoint presentation and ask students to guess where they think the visuals I hold up are from. Once they have guessed, I will click the next slide so they can see if they were right. I will praise them on the answers they got correct and start by discussing the New Zealand quilts.

Discussion: At this point, I will bring out the other visual of the New Zealand quilt, Anne Groufsky’s Christchurch-The Garden City. I will say that both of these are quilts are from New Zealand and I will ask if they know which cities they are portraying. I will hear student guesses for each quilt and stop when they say the correct answers. I will ask how they knew the answer and upon hearing their answers, tell the history of each quilt. McMonagle’s quilt was portraying Auckland, where the students currently live. The title, Four Seasons in One Day, is a common phrase around the Auckland area, as the weather changes very frequently. If it is hot in the morning, it will be raining by afternoon and by dinner time it will be freezing.I will comment on the weather I have experienced thus far; I have definitely felt four seasons in one day. Groufsky’s quilt depicts gardens that are prevalent in Christchurch, New Zealand. I will ask how many of my students have been to Christchurch and how they think that Groufsky did portraying the Garden City.

Next are the Gee’s Bend Quilts. I will show on a map of the world where the Gee’s Bend is located in Alabama. I will show the quilt made of jeans first and tell students to guess the material that made it. If anyone says denim or blue jeans, I will stop them. I will then explain that the Gee’s Bend quilters made quilts out of anything that they had available. They recycled different textiles that they had to make these beautiful quilts. Because of their socioeconomic status, they could not buy new materials to create blankets, so they used what they had. When they did so, however, they created incredible patterns by cutting different fabrics and putting them back together in interesting ways. They usually cut shapes out and sewed them together to make the quilt interesting. (7 minutes)

Class Activity: I will then explain that we will be making a quilt as a class. Each student will receive a square of canvas that was recycled from old mail sacks. We will be painting the square using big, bold shapes and then we will be printing over them next class. I will show the class my model to give them an example. I will explain that they must use both geometric and organic shapes to cover the entire canvas. I will ask the class what a geometric shape is. I will wait for thought and hear student answers. I expect to hear that a geometric shape is a shape that uses straight lines or that it is a shape with a name. Geometric shapes are shapes that are “perfect;” they are familiar and generally have a common name, like triangles, circles, rectangles, ovals, ect. I will then ask the class what an organic shape is. I will allow time for thought and hear student answers. I expect to hear that an organic shape is the opposite of a geometric one; there are not generally straight lines and they are irregular. These shapes do not really have names, except for maybe ameba shaped. These are shapes you would find in nature, thus the name organic. I will have 10 examples of geometric and organic shapes on the blackboard. I will then point to each shape and ask the students to say “geometric” or “organic.” I will hear their answers and write a “G” or “O” in the center of the shape as they answer. When we are finished, I will go over any that were incorrect and ask why it is the other kind of shape. After this exercise, I will start the demonstration. (5 minutes)

Demonstration: I will again show my model quilt square. I will remind students that they are to paint the entire square using at least one geometric shape and one organic shape. I will ask them to point out a geometric shape on my square. I will choose one student to point one out, and then I will ask another student to point out an organic shape. After the student has done so, I will tell students to think about what kind of shapes they want to use as I am demonstrating. I will tell students that they are using acrylic paint to create their fabric square. Painting on the unprimed canvas square applies the same rules as painting on paper, except it absorbs more paint. At least two coats will be necessary to make the colors rich and bold. I will remind students to have control of their brushes to create clean lines by holding it as close to the silver part as they are comfortable. I will remind them that they can mask edges with newspaper to get straight lines for geometric shapes, as well. I will also remind them that if they want to mix paint they mix the darker color into the lighter color. Since our last project involved a lot of painting, the demonstration will be fairly quick. Finally, I will remind them that they will be printing overtop of their design, so they do not need to make it super detailed; big, bold shapes will be perfect. I will ask for any questions and answer any that arise. Then I will tell students to cover their table with newspaper, pick up a canvas square, and start painting. I will also tell students that I want them to finish painting their square by the end of the session. Since they are not creating too much detail, they should be able to accomplish this feat. (5 minutes)

Individual Work: As students work individually, I will walk around the room and ask them to point out their geometric shapes and organic shapes. I will give pacing reminders at 30, 20, 10, and five minutes. I will give suggestions, make comments, help students, and answer any questions they might have. I will enforce rules and make sure that students are using proper techniques for painting their canvas. (35 minutes)

Clean-Up: When 17 minutes remain in class, I will announce that it is time to clean up. Everyone will put their painting on the drying racks and then go back to their tables. One person from each table will collect all of the paintbrushes and wash them in the sinks. Another person will throw away all of the newspaper and another will get a sponge and wipe down their table. When everything is neat and tidy, students can put their smocks away, stack their chairs by the window, and stand quietly by the tables where I direct them. (5 minutes)

Closure: As students are going back to their tables, I will direct them to four tables to make 4 groups. I will give each group a visual and explain that I want them to try and remember everything that we learned about the quilt that they received. Two groups will have a Gee’s Bend quilt and two will have the quilts from New Zealand. I will give each group a piece of paper and a pencil and they will designate a writer. They will have 2 minutes to write down everything they know about the artist’s quilt. When two minutes pass, I will ask the similar groups to get together and compare lists. They will have two minutes to see if they missed anything that the other group thought of. Then, I will have one student from each large group read their list. When this activity is completed, I will ask the class to point out any similarities between the two groups. I will allow time for thought and wait for student answers. When they are finished, I will remind them of the next session’s activities: we will be learning about one more culture, and we will be creating a stamp to use for printmaking overtop of the canvas square they painted today. I will wish them a good day and ask them to line up by the door and dismiss them when the bell rings.

6. Evaluative Tool: I will know my students have completed the Art History objective when I hear their answers during the comparison activity during closure. I will be able to see that they used one geometric shape and one organic shape and painted the entire canvas squareand know whether or not they completed the studio objective.
1. Interconnection

2. Day Two
3. Objectives:

Art History: Students will list specific characteristics of the artists’ cultures in the process and products of their artworks during a small group activity.

Studio-Elements & Principles: Students will use one instance of both positive and negative space on their printmaking plate and repeat their tile at least 5 times on their fabric square.

4. Materials Needed:

-Laminated visuals: Anne Groufsky Christchurch-The Garden City (2008)

Ruth McMonagle Four Seasons in One Day (2008)

Adinkra Cloth- Ghana

Quilts of the Gee’s Bend

-Studio:

(15) 3”x3” pieces of paper

(15) 2” x 2” squares of adhesive foam

(15) 2” x 2” blocks of wood, to stick the foam on

(15) X-acto knives

(15) pairs of scissors

(15) cutting boards

-Studio Model

5. Procedure:

Introduction: I will welcome the class to the room and direct them to the front table. I will go over any rules that need attention and praise them for following rules last time. (1 minute)

Opening Activity:I will bring out the visual of the African Adinkra Cloth. We learned where it came from in the last session, so I will ask students if they can remember where it comes from in the world. If anyone says Africa, I will stop them and say they are correct! I will tell them that this cloth is created in Ghana, in the western part of Africa. (2 minutes)

Discussion: I will start off by telling students that Adinkra cloth was created for very special occasions. It was not for everyday wear like their school uniforms. Depending on the color in the background, the cloth could have been for funerals, mourning, weddings, or a celebration. I will also ask them to point out what the design on the cloth is. I expect to hear that it is one repeated design over and over again. I will praise correct answers and say that these designs were created with a stamp. The printer just stamped the same designs right next to each other to fill up the space. I will ask how this cloth is different from the textiles we saw in the last class session. I will allow time for thought and hear student answers. I expect to hear that this is not a quilt and that they use printmaking, not sewing.I will then explain that this is what we will be doing overtop of the canvas square that they painted last time. (5 minutes)

Individual Activity: Students will be directed to sit at their work tables at this time. I will explain that the symbols used on the Adinkra cloth are very personal and tell a story. I will hand out one sheet of paper to each student and a piece of adhesive foam. I will ask the class to do the following together: trace their piece of foam onto their small square of paper. That is how big that their stamp will be. That is how much room they have to make a personal symbol that represents their story. I will show my example and explain that it is five lines with a heart shape around it. The five lines represent the five members of my family and the heart explains that I love them. They will have 15 minutes to come up with a symbol that is personal and fits inside the square. I will remind students that they are making a stamp, so they will want to make their lines thick and bold, not pencil thin as that will be difficult to cut out. As students work, I will approve of their designs and walk around the room enforcing rules, answering questions, and making comments. (15 minutes)

Demonstration: After 15 minutes, I will call students back up to the front table. If they are not finished, they will have time to work on it after I finish the demonstration. I will again explain that their symbol is going to be a stamp and they will cut it out of the piece of foam. First, they will flip over their piece of paper and scribble on the back so it is covered in dark pencil. Then, they will put the paper, dark pencil side down, onto the foam piece. Then, they will trace over their symbol design. As they trace, the pencil will rub off onto the foam and leave a mark so they will be able to see their design. When they finish tracing, they can start cutting out their design. I will explain that scissors are best to cut the outlines of the symbol and knives can be used to cut inside the shapes. I will demonstrate good cutting techniques, reminding students to always cut on a cutting board when they are using the knives. I will tell students to cut away from themselves, watch their fingers as they cut, and use controlled motions to cut their designs. When they are not using the knives, they need to cover the blade. I will ask if there are any questions and answer any that come up and then send students back to their seats to work. (5 minutes)

Individual Work: As students work, I will give pacing reminders, give suggestions, answer questions and make comments on student work. I will insure proper cutting techniques are used and help any students that need it. As students finish cutting their foam pieces, I will individually give out blocks of wood for students to stick their foam stamps onto. I will show them how to peel the backing off and arrange their pattern onto the block so it looks the same as it does on their paper. (30 minutes)

Clean-Up: When 13 minutes remain in class, I will tell students that they are to start cleaning up. All extra foam pieces must be in the trash, their names must be on their blocks, knives, cutting boards, and scissors must be placed in their proper areas and chairs must be stacked by the wall. I will dismiss students to start cleaning up starting with the quietest table and moving on from there. When all of the clean up is complete, I will instruct students to stand quietly by their tables. (10 minutes)