Course Outline:
Fine Arts 7 is the combination of art, drama, dance, and music.
The grade seven students will learn all of the required core competencies through units focused on specific cultures.
We have begun the year with a focus on China.
The grade seven students will learn all of the required core competencies through units focused on specific cultures.
We have begun the year with a focus on China.
All students are given a paper copy of the course outline at the beginning of class. If students lose their copy, they are responsible for printing another one. ---------------->
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Student Gallery
Go ahead and press the button and see what we've been up to... We know you want to! |
Some of the activities we've been working on so far:
- Principles and Elements of design - Chinese Koi fish and Dragon sketches - Creating Chinese fans - Reader's Theatre presentation of Chinese stories - Chinese instruments and music appreciation with sketch assignment - Greek mythology charcoal drawings - Greek Gods/Goddesses proportion sketches - Christi Belcourt artist study - Coast Salish design - Ktunaxa stories |
Important Concepts:
Principles and Elements of Design
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Composition Guidelines
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Principles and Elements Grid
*Students are given a blank template like the one above and create their own principles and elements grid. The principles and elements are key to creating numerous types of artwork including: sketching, painting, and photography.
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China:
1) Koi Fish (Carp) and Dragons (sketching proportion and colouring assignment)
The Threshold of the Dragon's Gate
"Beneath the serene quiet of the water lilies a young carp senses a calling . . . swelling up in her heart like the swirling waters at the base of a great waterfall, Somehow summoned to go beyond the barrier of crashing water and veiled mist The churning waters of the waterfall’s bottom matches that of the young carp’s desires Finally with a burst of enthusiasm the carp has launched herself up the wall of rushing water cresting the first falls with a surge of effort only to be met with relentless rushing water. Persevering from one cataract to the next the carp makes it to the summit’s last falls. Regrouping her energies in a pocket of scouring effervescence every essence of strength, courage, and spirit is consumed in the launching over the fall’s summit. And the dragon’s gate accepts her efforts a transforming gate of fire Revealing the birth of a new Dragon born of the seed of desire planted in the heart of a small carp that once hid in the shallows." - Howard Schroeder, Threshold of the Dragon's Gate |
2) Chinese Fans (sketching, colouring, painting, folding, gluing, and decorating assignment)
History
Chinese fan boasts a long history of over thousands years. As far back as in the Shang Dynasty, the embryonic form of Chinese fan has already taken shape. Originally, Chinese fan is not used for relieving summer heat, but for symbolizing the status and power of the user. Real fan-making started during the Western Han Dynasty. The calligraphy on the fan cover was firstly recorded on the story of Wang Xizhi(most famous calligraphist in China)wrote calligraphy on some of the lady’s fans. Folding fans appeared in the Song Dynasty and gained popularity among literati and officials during the Ming Dynasty. They wrote poems or even painted on the fans. These fans with poems or paintings on them serve as artistic symbol for social status. The paintings cover a wide range from landscapes, flowers, figures, and so on. In the Qing Dynasty, being widely favored by men of letters, Chinese fan was in full flourish. |
3) Reader's Theatre (drama performance and mask creation)
Students are assigned a group and a story. The group must present their Reader's theatre and create masks to accompany their performance.
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4) Chinese Instruments and Music (cultural music appreciation & using music for artistic inspiration)
Students are asked to close their eyes while listening to the traditional Chinese song "The Fisherman's Song at Dusk" and to let the music create an image or scene in their mind to sketch. Students also write an accompanying paragraphing describing what they pictured as the music played.
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Greece:
1) Greek Mythology and Monsters (charcoal drawing assignment)
2) Gods/Goddesses/Heroes (sketching assignment focused on realism and proportion)
3) Greek Stories (acrylic painting techniques on canvas)
Students use the link
https://www.storynory.com/category/myths/greek-myths/ to read a variety of famous Greek tales. They identify their favorite story and choose a scene from it that they would like to paint. All stories are available in text, but also have audio options. Students use the painting techniques taught in class to create their artwork. |
Picture: The Twelve Labors of Hercules
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Indigenous Peoples:
1) Metis Jigging and Musical Performance - The Fine Arts 7 students were very lucky to have some special guests come into the school to play for them and to teach them about traditional Metis music. They also learned about Metis spoons and how to use them, and participated in Metis jigging.
2) Artist Study - Christi Belcourt - Metis Dot Artist
http://christibelcourt.com/ <--------- Link to Christi's web page
Students study Christi Belcourt, read her biography, watch some of her interviews, view her artwork, and learn about her individual style and inspiration. Students then create a painting (pointillism) based on Christi's artwork. There are specific guidelines to follow.
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"The roots are shown in all the paintings that I do. Showing the roots is symbolic of that there's more to life than what we see on the surface, that our ancestry has great influence over our lives, and that we need nurturing from Mother Earth to survive. That's what the roots mean."
3) Coast Salish Design
Students were introduced to the elements of Coast Salish design through videos, images, and written information. They used this information, and the traditional rules for creating designs, to produce a piece of artwork of an animal. The animal they chose was specific to their own personality, beliefs, and/or characteristics.
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4) Inuit soap carving
Students will learn about Inuit history and art forms. They will focus on carvings, and choose an animal to carve themselves.
Students will learn about Inuit history and art forms. They will focus on carvings, and choose an animal to carve themselves.
5) Ktunaxa story shadow theatre
Students read, discuss, and then create characters from Ktunaxa stories to present to the class. Some of the stories we have focused on are: Grandmother Frog, Chipmunk, and Owl, Frog and Chickadee, Coyote, Woodpecker, and Cricket, Coyote and Owl, and Fast Runner and the Monster.
Students read, discuss, and then create characters from Ktunaxa stories to present to the class. Some of the stories we have focused on are: Grandmother Frog, Chipmunk, and Owl, Frog and Chickadee, Coyote, Woodpecker, and Cricket, Coyote and Owl, and Fast Runner and the Monster.