Exploring Art Media

To the Student

Paints, pencils, ink, clay and many other materials create artwork. Many different activities, techniques and styles are all part of the art world. Some aspects of art are very serious while other areas are just plain fun.

Exploring Art Media will introduce you to the many different areas of studio art. You may sample many lessons, or you may prefer to concentrate your efforts and develop greater skills in fewer areas. Besides presenting art experiences, this book is a year curriculum for a high school fine arts program. Each semester requires approximately 8O hours of challenging artwork. The number of lessons required depends on the time and effort spent on each project. For example, one student may do a small quick one hour sketch for the Old Shoe Drawing while another student may spend several hours doing a large detailed version of the same object.

The best way to use and enjoy this book is to complete the core lessons first, because they build skills, vocabulary, and artistic awareness. After you have studied and experienced the fundamentals of art, continue to explore other art lessons to find your own artistic expressions. Take the time to expand your art knowledge and appreciation by doing the Enrichment lessons. For clarity, every section, including the Enrichment lessons, is color coded. The core lessons are enumerated in bold type under each heading of the table of contents marked by Roman numerals I-VI.

For your own artistic growth, try to do projects in all of the areas. Discover which of the areas of art are the most enjoyable for you and then concentrate your work in those areas. It is highly beneficial to repeat projects with slight variations to develop your own style. Use the evaluation form to keep track of the lessons completed and the amount of time spent on each project. You will find that the Exploring Art Media book contains more lessons and projects than a person could complete in a year. Remember you do not have to be a gifted artist to enjoy the fun projects in this book. Once you follow some simple instructions, you will see a finished artwork appear right before your eyes.

To document your artistic growth, start a portfolio (an organized collection) of your works. Write the date on all of the art pieces in order to present a chronological history of your work. Keep a variety of your efforts, including sketches and some preliminary studies, as well as complex completed pieces. As your body of work grows in both size and quality, you will probably need to record some of the images as photographs and 35-millimeter slides. This will eliminate the need to keep large artworks, as well as older, less sophisticated pieces. The portfolio's contents will help you analyze and perfect your artistic development.

Follow the lessons and assignments carefully and have many great creative and enjoyable experiences.