Summer Assignments for DP Students

hey ya'll, here is the soft copy of my summer assignments that I gave you the last week of school.  hope all is well.  Please feel free to post something here and I'll be happy to respond ASAP.  I'll be in Peru for most of July and be coming in the first week of August.  In the mean time, your better off writing to me in June...I'll be at Texas Tech for my Master's Exhibit.  Again, I look forward to teaching and guiding you all for the next couple of years.  and remember, this is a group effort on both the teacher and student...so lets work hard together to build a body of artwork you can be proud of!  

First-Year IB Summer Assignment

Dear Beginning IB Visual Art Students (Both HL & SL)

Your Official SUMMER ART ASSIGNMENT

...guaranteed to feed those creative fires and prepare you for the rigorous demands of the IB curriculum. If you start your artistic routine during the summer you will have a much more successful year in IB Art. The following is a necessary summer foundation to prepare you for the first year of IB art class, and involves approximately 24 hours of work. It’s not hard, and will hopefully even be enjoyable.

The first step: All of the art you make in this course over the next one or two years will start in your sketchbook—or as IB calls it: Investigation Workbook. This is a requirement for IB art, and will become your brain, your cognitive journal for inspirations, raw ideas, media experiments, random sketches, and references  in book form.

The Investigation Workbook counts for 40% of your total grade in this course and in your final IB assessment (Internal visual art exam in your senior year-Mar.-April). It is not for finished works of art. It is a collector for brainstorming, experimentation, research, exploration, journaling, reflections, and all range and manner of sketches and notes. Like your brain, the Investigation Workbook is always a work in progress and never a finished product, so it doesn’t have to be ―beautiful‖ or ―perfect (whatever perfect entails!)  And like your brain, you should take your book with you wherever you go, and add to it often.

If you had Ms.Rodriguez for class, you were already practicing this within your Developmental Workbook. If not, please buy yourself a good quality Hardbound sketchbook. It should be a hardcover, permanently bound 8 1⁄2 x 11 (regular sheet size) sketchbook that contains 80 – 120 sheets of good quality blank white paper. Good quality paper ranges from 85lbs. to 120 lbs. paper…you will generally see this on the front cover of every sketchbook lable.  Look carefully on the fine print…you might want to get a sketchbook that says “multi-media”, meaning that the paper can take all medias like pencil, charcoal, pen, ink, watercolor, paint, etc.  Basically, the “thicker” the paper the better.  Also, Durability is the key—pages that are perforated or designed to tear out will not last. These are approximately $10 – $15 and are available in art stores and book stores like Michael’s Art and Hobby Lobby.  Be smart, PRINT COUPONS from their respective websites, they are always 30-40% off weekly with coupons.  Some of the best sketchbooks can be ordered from on-line stores like Nasco, Dick Blicks, Jerry’s Art o-rama in Houston.  You can also get really good deals in Amazon. 

         If we were living in a perfect world, I would highly and strongly suggest buying a larger sketchbook (14x18in), which gives you more space to work freely and broad.  You can find these at the on-line stores I suggested. 

Your summer project has three parts:

1.)Looking at art 2.)Reading and thinking about artists with whom you identify (your influences and inspirations) 3.)Recording your ideas and experiences in an Investigation Workbook

****Your work on these summer assignments is due at the end of the first week of school!***  The assignments will be graded as a summative assessment and will make up a significant portion of your grade for the first marking period (1^st Qrt.)

1.         Local Museum/Gallery visit:  If you look hard, the Valley has its hotspots for museums and galleries around the area.  Some of the major galleries and museums are found in McAllen’s art district located on old 83 and Main St.  Here is a list of local galleries:

McAllen International Museum: 1900 West Nolana, McAllen (956) 682-0123

STC campus (library): McAllen (Pecan campus or Weslaco campus)

McAllen Creative Incubator: 1001 South 16^th St. McAllen, (956) 687-2787

Nuevo Santander Gallery: 717 N. Main. St. McAllen  (956) 618-4959

University Texas Pan American:1201 W. University Dr. Edinburg. (956) 381-3480

The Art Village:1301-B North Main St. McAllen  (956) 687-2787

Weslaco Museum- Texas Ave. (historic downtown)

Brownsville Museum

* if your planning to travel to major cities for vacation, try going to their respective museums.  They normally have a wider rage of fine art and major artists like Picasso, Degas, Van Gogh, Rembrants, etc. 

1.2   You also have the option of visiting several famous virtual online galleries if you cannot attend these local ones during the summer.  Search for major cities like New York who have several famous museums like: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Guggenheim Museum, Museum of Modern Art.  Or The Chicago Art Institute, San Francisco Museum of Art, National Museum of Art in D.C., Dallas Museum of Art, St. Louis Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Louvre in Paris (highly suggested!), or any of your choice when “surfing” the web.  They all have wonderful sites where you can tour their private collections and current exhibits.  You can also upload a few very impressive apps on your iphone, ipad, or android phone..just go to the apple store and click “art” then you’ll have a few apps that you can download for cheap.  They have great images and basic information on many artist of your choice.   

1.3   You will research and write/reflect about 10 works of art that you have a connection to and like.  In your Investigation Workbook, reserve a few pages (10-15pp) to write down your constructive analysis of works that you chose. Note: try to understand and practice how to analyze, it will be very important for all your DP classes.    Remember, they do not have to be just paintings…look at Printmaking, sculptures, installations, Earthworks, conceptual works, Pop art, Pop Surrealism, Fabrics & Textiles, Jewelry, Masks, Stoneworks, Silkscreens, Ceramics, etc.  You choice of art is endless and not constricted by just Western Art (classical art)

1.4   When writing about your inspirational findings, try reserving space for a photograph of the work then apply the 4 step critical method…1.) Describe   2.) Analyze  3.) Interpret   4.) Evaluate.  Also, most important, ask yourself why you specifically like this piece of art?  What aspects of the work intrigue you?  What did the artist do to make this work unique?   What do you think/feel of when viewing this work?  What medium (material) did they use?  How will these works help you with your style and theme?  What themes do you notice in the works you have chosen?  How can you “mold” them into your personal style?  Why?  These are just a few questions that you may ponder on while reflecting on what to write.  Remember: all writing (not sketching!) MUST be done in BLACK or BLUE pen.  You must also number each page of your sketchbook on the bottom right hand corner…PLEASE make your writing Legible!!  I cannot stress this enough, so many of my students last year failed to do this simple task and lost points because of this. Advice…when you purchase your sketchbook, you first want to number all your pages (front and back).  This will help you document your academic progression throughout your time with me. 

Look through the entire collection of art. In your Investigation Workbook, write about the works that make the strongest impression on you. Why do you like them? Write down what you see in the order you see it for each work. This will help you become aware of the different elements of design that make up each piece. Most museums will not allow you to take photos, so sketch the works into your books (usually only pencils are allowed). Be sure to include the artist, date, and what materials (media) were used. Describe what each work makes you feel and think about. (Summer expectation: 4 hours work)

2.Research artists: Go to your local bookstore and look in a current issue of an art magazine (Borders and Barnes and Noble have huge sections of these. They include: Art in America, ArtForum, Juxtapoz, Hi-Fructose,  Art News, SouthWestern Art, Drawing Mag,..) Make a list of 10-15 artists whose work really interests you. This may take more than one magazine. Write down their names and the titles of the artworks, and then write a brief explanation of what it is about the work that attracts you. Think about what you are actually seeing, and how it makes you feel. Ask yourself (and answer in your Investigation Workbook) if you would like to make something similar, and how it would relate to your own life or experiences. Remember to cite your sources carefully, next to your images.  (Summer expectation: 6 hours work)

3.      Draw and think: In your Investigation Workbook, fill at least 15-20 pages max. with the images around you. Don’t worry about making these pages into “Masterworks”. I know this sounds weird, but I encourage you to make mistakes and mistakes you WILL make, but realize that’s how we learn and grow in anything.  Just open your senses to shapes, lines, colors, value, composition, texture, etc.   You should draw people and objects and also collect scraps from the world around you and clippings and images from magazines and newspapers, etc.  60% of drawings/sketches need to be observational studies-meaning you need to draw your objects or subjects by really looking.  Again, these pages are not finished works of art—simply collections of your impressions from the summer. Please write and make notes directly on these drawings. I.B. requires that any object or landscape that you draw (observations) must be recorded in you Investigation Workbook by date, location, and time. 

Don’t worry about whether or not you are good at drawing. You are not being graded on your ability at this point, but on your growth and process. As you work on an individual page, remember to step back from it and notice how the words and images (and blank spaces/Negative space.) work together to make things look interesting. NOTE: Please do not create “filler” pages.  These are pages where students usually fill up with mediocre or cleche drawings of HEARTS, NAMES, FLOWERS, BUTTERFLIES, SKULLS, ROSES, FOOTBALL NUMBERS, STARS, RAINBOWS, SUN ON CORNER OF PAGE, HAPPY FACES, ETC. PLEASE AVOID THESE CLECHE SYMBOLES AT ALL COST…YOU ARE developing academic WORK NOT LOW GRADE KITTY STUFF!  It will be counted against you if you do.

The purpose of this is to begin to notice the information and influences that surround you. In other words, to notice what it is you notice. If you do this assignment periodically throughout the summer, you will probably find it enjoyable and energizing. You will most likely see your approach to how you organize your pages change and evolve. If you do this on the night before it is due, your work will probably not show the change and growth that makes your Investigation Workbook an interesting reflection of yourself. (Summer expectation: 10 hours work)

These are the first few grades that will be accounted for when you come back from summer break.  All of you (SL/HL) will have to meet these assignments.

Grade 1: Having your Sketchbook (hard bound) EASY 100!

Grade 2: All pages # on bottom right hand corner (front and back of each sheet) EASY 100!

Grade 3: Blue and Black pen writing throughout EASY 100!

Grade 4: Museum Visit/report 2-3 pages of your experience and work that you found of interest.

Grade 5: 10 artists/artwork references (with 4 step critical method)

Grade 6: 15-20 pages filled with sketches/writings/reflections/quotes, etc.

·      If you have any questions or concerns do not hesitate to contact me through e-mail or by phone. I will be out of town all summer working on my own artwork, but you can reach me at: (956) 225-5951 or E-mail: squire3anderson@yahoo.com Have a wonderful summer and welcome to the Visual Arts Diploma Year Program!  Remember to have fun with it!!  I will also be uploading this summer assignment and more info at: marco-sonar-art@blogspot.com.   

Marco A. Sanchez

I.B. Visual Art Instructor  

Mr.Sanchez
Visual Art Teacher.