How a daily “do now” became a final project.
This exploration was initially inspired by the work of Hanna Jenson Fox. I saw several videos of her work on social media and thought they were pretty amazing. She thickly coats her canvases with layers and layers of paint and then carves images into the surfaces with linocut tools. This reveals the underlying colors. I had never considered carving into layers of acrylic paint before.
To make this work, I knew I’d need to reserve some room in my classroom to do this. I also knew I did not want to dedicate too much time to each layer. If each student needed a brush on their own canvas, this might eat up a large portion of my teaching time daily.
My solution was to cover 2 large tables in the back of my room with paper. We put our names on the back of canvas boards, then we taped them all from the back like a quilt. This prevented canvases from sliding or moving. (Yes, we’ll need to cut them apart later.)
I also have students in groups, 5 of them. So I named the groups for the days of the week. The Monday group knew to go paint ALL the canvases with the paint I left for them. I had sponge-like paint rollers for them, and gallon zip-lock bags to store them. This meant they did not have to take time to clean them. It was fine if one color merged with another when the colors changed every few days.
Students got into the routine, and I offered them an extra credit point if they could complete the work before the class bell rang. It never took more than 5 minutes to coat canvases.
My solution was to cover 2 large tables in the back of my room with paper. We put our names on the back of canvas boards, then we taped them all from the back like a quilt. This prevented canvases from sliding or moving. (Yes, we’ll need to cut them apart later.)
I also have students in groups, 5 of them. So I named the groups for the days of the week. The Monday group knew to go paint ALL the canvases with the paint I left for them. I had sponge-like paint rollers for them, and gallon zip-lock bags to store them. This meant they did not have to take time to clean them. It was fine if one color merged with another when the colors changed every few days.
Students got into the routine, and I offered them an extra credit point if they could complete the work before the class bell rang. It never took more than 5 minutes to coat canvases.
This is how I set up the painting space.
After 45 to 50 days, we neared the end of our semester, and these layered canvases became their final project. For every independent assignment, student needs to do research. Though I love Hannah’s work I like students to find at least 4 artists they can consider, and even emulate.
David Allan Peters carves his canvasses into geometric compartments. Han Yung Joon carves portraits into canvas, and Gerhard Richter used an abstract expressionist approach to carving and mearing layers of paint. 4 very different approaches for students to explore.
David Allan Peters carves his canvasses into geometric compartments. Han Yung Joon carves portraits into canvas, and Gerhard Richter used an abstract expressionist approach to carving and mearing layers of paint. 4 very different approaches for students to explore.
Several students created drawings that were transferred to their canvases with white transfer paper; others just drew on the surface. But before carving on their own surfaces, I had a few extra canvases just for practicing on. This was very helpful for many.
You can see the results below. I’ll add more as students finish their work.
You can see the results below. I’ll add more as students finish their work.
RSS Feed