Mixed+Media+Projects+and+Assignments

Due Date: February 24
The objective of this art piece is to make an image of an everyday object out of a variety of materials. The challenge is to choose materials purposefully. This challenge is at the heart of Mixed Media artwork. For example many watercolor artists do not consider choosing materials. They are a watercolor artist and therefore confined to that material and challenge themselves through other compositional, conceptual or theoretical ways. On the other hand, a Mixed Media artist can use anything to build their artwork and therefore that choice of material becomes of paramount importance.

Conceptually, you should be asking yourself, “What is my idea?” If you don’t have idea at the beginning, do not fret; your idea may come mid-process. However, you need to have a complete idea before finishing the piece. Secondly, you should be asking yourself, “How can I show my object differently?”

Compositionally, you need to consider Variety and Balance/Unity. When dealing with Variety, you should ask yourself, “How can I place enough different media sections to show my idea fully?” Almost conversely, when dealing with Balance/Unity you should be asking yourself, “How can I make it appear like it all goes together?”

Click on Useful Mixed Media Links to find out more information on how artists work within this genre. Click on Mixed Media Study 1 Rubric to see your assessment tool. Click on Mixed Media Study 1 Exemplars to see examples of successful art pieces. Click on reflection tool to see your guiding questions. (reflection rubric)

Due Date: March 15
You will use Wassily Kandinsky as inspiration for your artwork. You can learn more about him by clicking on Useful Mixed Media Links. You will listen to music and created visual designs to represent the auditory sounds your ears are selecting. This is very similar to what many art historians believe Kandinsky did for some of his designs. Physically you will demonstrate your skill in applying color to a two dimensional space out of a variety of materials (MIXED MEDIA). There is a focus on blending colors. You need to have several overlapping shapes of color.

The elements of LINE, SHAPE, COLOR, and SPACE are covered. Conceptually, you will demonstrate your understanding of the art principles EMPHASIS, MOVEMENT, VARIETY, BALANCE and UNITY. With Emphasis your should be asking yourself, "How have I used (Line, Shape, Color, Space) to bring out the most important areas of my work?" With Movement you should be asking yourself. "How have I used (Line, Shape, Color, Space) to guide a viewers eye across my artwork?" With Balance/Unity you should be asking yourself, "How Have I used (Line, Shape, Color, Space) as tools to add balance and bring together my artwork?"

Click on Useful Mixed Media Links to find out more on Kandinsky and his artwork. Click on Kandinsky Mixed Media Rubric to see your assessment tool. Click on Kandinsky Mixed Media Study Exemplar to see an example of a successful art piece. Click on reflection tool to see your guiding questions. (reflection rubric)

Due Date: April 8
The objective of this art piece is to make a portrait out of a variety of materials. Again, one of the challenges is to choose materials purposefully. However, the game has stepped up a level. The human face is the most recognizable image on the planet. Believe it or not, you have spent over ten thousand hours staring and study the human face. (Average PhD = just over 5000) Therefore, your second challenge is to make something recognizable as a face, but also something that no one has seen before. This is a tall order.

There are only two steps. First, you will find or create a human portrait. Starting with an interesting portrait will probably prove to be important. Then you will recreate that portrait using your mixed media skills.

Conceptually, you should be asking yourself, “What is my idea?” If you don’t have idea at the beginning, do not fret; your idea may come mid-process. However, you need to have a complete idea before finishing the piece. Secondly, you should be asking yourself, “How can I show my object differently?”

Compositionally, you need to consider Variety and Balance/Unity. When dealing with Variety, you should ask yourself, “How can I place enough different media sections to show my idea fully?” Almost conversely, when dealing with Balance/Unity you should be asking yourself, “How can I make it appear like it all goes together?”

Lastly, the way in which you put your portrait together will be paramount. You have worked several weeks in mixed media. You have had experiences with many materials and now is the time to start making intelligent and purposeful decisions on how you go about the process of making your portrait. You portrait needs to be crafted with high skill and look like a finished product.

Click on Useful Mixed Media Links to find out more information on Portraits and Mixed Media. Click on Mixed Media Portrait Study Rubric to see your assessment tool. Click on Mixed Media Portrait Study Exemplar to see an example of a successful art piece. Click on Mixed Media Portrait Study Reflection to review your guiding questions.

Romare Bearden Mixed Media Study
Due Date: to be announced

//“You should always respect what you are and you culture because if your art is going to mean anything that is where it comes from"//


 * Romare Bearden and Charlene Hunter Gault, "Rhythm on Canvas," discussion of Bearden's forty-year retrospective exhibition at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York, WNET/PBS, "The MacNeil/Lehrer Report," June 26, 1987

Your main objective is to build a sense of place within your art piece. Viewers should easily identify your image as Bangladesh and should have a feeling of not only space, but of the mood you are trying to persuade them to see and feel.

There are three challenges that add to you objective of illustrating a Bangla sense of place. First, you need to use local materials in your artwork. Second, you need to integrate drawing into your artwork. Lastly, you need to incorporate humans into your scene. For each of these challenges there is no constraining factor of how much or how little. Just that you used your local materials, drawings and humans thoughtfully and creatively. Your ‘sense of place’ will be the defining factor of how many humans, local materials and drawings you do.

As always, the quality of your work will be assessed. You need to be diligent in making every part a finished product and of high quality.

Click on Useful Mixed Media Links to find more information on Romare Bearden. Click on Romare Bearden Mixed Media Study Rubric to see your assessment tool. Click on Romare Bearden Mixed Media Study Reflection to review your guiding questions.