What do the objects you own say about

What do the objects you own say about you?

� What is a still life? � Why would someone choose to draw a still life? � How can you create a self-portrait without drawing your face?

Cornell made series of boxed assemblages that reflected his various interests – in a way they became their own time capsules.

� If you were to bury a time capsule for generations after you, what objects would you include? � How can you use objects as symbols for parts of your personality, life, and heritage?

� Realism means that you are striving for an image that looks as close to nature as possible � Realism is not always an important goal, but it is helpful to learn how to draw it right, so that you can choose to draw it wrong!

� Drawing realistically is hard to master. It take years of practice. � The best way to get better at drawing realistically is to practice. Draw anything! Draw your classroom, your classmates, a crumpled piece of paper, your dinner plate…. � Realism is enhanced through use of SHADING & VALUE

� In the language of art, Value is how light or dark something is. � In the example to the right, there is a large Range of Values. �The are light values, medium values, and dark values. �This helps move our eye around the picture. It would be boring just to stare at one part of the picture!

�Value can give the feeling of form �Form is 3 -D �Shape is 2 -D

1. Coloring Book rendering of John Singer Sargen’ts “Madame X, ” from Enchanted Learning 2. John Singer Sargent, “Madame X” from John Singer Sargent Virtual Gallery

� Turn the image (and your drawing) upside down � Break your image up into smaller pieces � Look at your object 90% of the time, and your paper 10% of the time � Trust your eyes, not your brain!

� Try this graphing exercise. The image is broken up into smaller pieces and moved around so the just look like shapes. � Draw & shade each box in the correct place, and an image will appear when you are done. � You will be surprised at how realistic it looks!

� Collect 3 -7 objects from home that “say” something about you: �Things you use everyday �Something you have worn down with use �Old items that hold memories �Things that you cherish � 3 -D objects only- no photos! HOME WORK!! Take photos of your still life: Bring a Black and white copy in next week!

� Lighting �If you can, use a spotlight � Backgrounds �Keep it simple! Use a plain wall, or drape a sheet behind still life to get rid of extra information � Composition �Move objects around to find the best composition �Think in triangles that are higher at one end and taper off. Use items that differ in size, color and add different textures to your shot. �Try moving your camera around too as just moving it a few inches to either side might make all the difference to the shot.

� Complete “Bar Graph Challenge” � This is a trick artists use to help us draw better � Discover the image when you finish drawing the squares!