Sculpture Class: Gargoyle Carving Concept: Fantasy (fantastic/imaginary/legendary creatures): Instructional objectives: FAC.2: Students will understand that sculpture, ceramic and craft objects can have beauty, function, value and meaning. FAC.9: Students will examine internal and external information about sculpture, ceramic and craft objects. FAC.12: Students will investigate how sculpture, ceramic and craft objects are influenced by traditions, communities, and personal values and beliefs. FAC.17: Students will develop a knowledge base from various sources for making sculpture, ceramic and craft objects. FAC.18: Students will create a sculpture, ceramic or craft object that serves a purpose. Enduring Understandings: - Art can have different values and meanings for the viewer and the artist. - Artworks can have multiple meanings. - Art is a reflection of time, place, and culture. - Art making serves different purposes such as personal, community, and global. - Art making is about experimenting and risk taking with ideas and art materials. Essential Questions: - How do we know what an artwork means? - How do our beliefs (about art or otherwise) influence the ways we perceive, interpret, and evaluate artworks? - How does the artist’s intent influence your interpretation of an artwork? - Throughout time, how have artists reflected their cultures through art? - In what ways does your artworks tell you about who you are, what you like to do, and what is important to you? Students will: KNOW: UNDERSTAND: DO: - Original/historical - Meaning/purpose of art - Webquest purposes of gargoyles changes over time with - Preliminary sketches - What is relief/reduction historical context, artist’s - Written narrative sculpture/carving intent , and viewers’ - Carve relief sculpture knowledge and gargoyles that serve a interpretation. purpose as designated - Safety concerns and by the artist. procedures for handling the materials (foam) Art-making/Design problem: - Create a gargoyle (a “stone” creature) out of foam using a reduction process and must exhibit: o Carving from at least three sides. o A space that goes all the way through the form o The student’s name carved somewhere on the block o Begin working with large basic shapes and work to fine details. o Gesso-ing (priming) the surface of the foam to seal it from deteriorating. Use paint/color to accentuate texture and depth. Learning plan: Day One: Intro to Gargoyles - WARM-UP (While students are entering, first 5 minutes): What’s it made of? Featuring Lion 2, Used tire sculpture by Yong Ho Ji. o Ss think about what the sculpture is made of and how it was made (what gives it shape/allows it to stand? Is it solid/hollow?). Is it something they could make with similar materials? (if this warm-up activity is successful, we may repeat it at the beginning of future sessions) - Greet Class. Explain that we’re going to be making gargoyles. Before we make our own gargoyles, we need to know what a gargoyle is: what they were used for, what they mean, and how they are made. - What do students know about gargoyles? What are they made of? (We’ll be making ours out of foam) What tools are used to make them? (We’ll be using tools made for foam…) What do we call this process? (Carving – specifically, reduction.) o Show Ss the foam blocks we’ll be working with and the example project. - Powerpoint presentation that introduces basic history of gargoyles and a lot of pictures. - Ss will use the computer to complete a webquest worksheet. - The final instructions on the worksheet have Ss brainstorming for and drawing the design for their own gargoyles in their sketchbook. o Students will be sketching the stages of construction, different angles from which the sculpture will be viewed, and follow a list of requirements. Must be carved from at least 3 sides. Include a space that goes completely through the form (a hole). Must be painted to look like stone. Begin with large, basic shapes and work toward fine details. Incorporate your name somewhere in the carving (can be initials or part of your name) (can also be on the bottom, out of sight). Stone carver’s advice for making gargoyles: Pick a single feature to exaggerate. Use different textures to animate the piece and give it more depth and life. “Emphasize light and shadow. Those are what make a sculpture work- Just as when in carving an eye, instead of carving the upper and lower eye lid in a way that will physically duplicate the real thing, I try to duplicate the light and shadow. Therefore I'll make the upper lid larger and the lower one smaller than they really are. Highlights and shadows are what we see when we look at sculpture, especially as we move further away or change angles. Hold up a piece in different light and move it around so [you] see the effect the shadows and texture give. Gargoyles allow the freedom of playing around with the discipline and technique used in my other work. In a way they are like doodling- I can experiment, take chances, and have fun. If the human feeling, expression and emotion come through then the piece will be successful.” - Walter S. Arnold - Clean-up: putting away computers. Collect worksheets. Day 2: Design and Safety; Carving instruction and Demonstration. - Warm-up: Ss continue designing their gargoyles. Powerpoint images will be on the screen. - Discuss safety concerns about working with the foam. o Dust: . Do not blow on the foam/dust. Keep the dust confined to a small area. Leave the block on the table as much as possible. Clean the table with damp paper towel. Wash hands and change table coverings often. Get you stuff off the table and/or cover your stuff. o Masks, table coverings, clean-up. Suggest students bring goggles if they have/want them (if everyone follows directions, there shouldn’t be a lot of dust in the air) - Practice working with small sections of foam by carving tiny heads or eyes. Allow students to experiment with available tools. Practice safe handling and clean-up procedures. Day 3 - 5: Begin carving. - Warm-up: students finish up their designs and prepare their space for working. - Review safety and clean-up procedures and considerations: o Do not blow on the foam/dust. o Keep the dust confined to a small area. o Leave the block on the table as much as possible. o Clean the table with damp paper towel. o Wash hands and change table coverings often. o Get you stuff off the table and/or cover your stuff. - Review carving process and designs: o Ss should draw the basic shapes on the sides of their blocks before carving. Use their drawings to determine what needs to be done. Teacher should guide students in this process if they are having trouble. o Work from large to small shapes and details. - Clean-up. Day 5: Priming and Painting. - Warm-up: Entry/Exit slip: Ss will check the project requirements to see where they are in the process/ what they have left to do. Write what’s left for themselves to do on a slip of paper (this will be their to-do list for the day) and leave it visibly at their table. - Before we can paint the gargoyles, we have to prime them. The foam absorbs water (and paint), so we need to make the surface something we can paint on. To prime it, we’ll use gesso or thick white acrylic. - Demonstrate Priming: o First, take an old, soft brush and brush off all the dust left on the foam – as much as possible. Continuously wipe the dust off the brush. o Put the primer on thickly. And spread it – try to keep the brush from touching the foam without a layer of paint/primer between it. Foam dust will get in the brush (the bristles catch it) – wipe it off or it will add unwanted texture to the primer and keep it from covering as well. Use small brushes to get into all the cracks and crevices. Re-check surfaces to make sure all the little holes are filled in as much as possible. This process isn’t exactly like painting: we’re trying to seal the foam so that it won’t absorb the water. o Prime all but one or two sides (because you need to be able to hold it and set it down somehow). When it’s dry enough to touch/set on another, mostly dry side, you can prime the rest. o While it dries, plan what colors you want it to be (what kind of stone do you want it to look like?) And work on the narrative or another, ongoing project. - Students should get to work on their To-Do List, mark off what they accomplish and turn it in at the end of the block as an exit-slip: also, Ss can give themselves a grade for the day (though accomplishing this will only count as participation, it will help the teacher know what kind of effort the students think they are putting forth). Day 6 +: Painting: - Demonstrate: To paint the foam to look like stone, use stone colors. Don’t just use grey or brown though: use all the colors. o Apply black and dark colors into the deep carvings to make them look deeper. o Add lighter colors to raised areas to add to the effect. o Add mossy patches or water stains. o Experiment with dry-brushing techniques to create a mottled stone look. o What other ways can you show it to be stone? - While it dries, plan what colors you want it to be (what kind of stone do you want it to look like?) And work on the narrative or another, ongoing project.