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Environmental Art Lesson
Plan
1. Title
Sculpture and Nature. The subject is Art for eighth grade boys at the Maharisihi School for the Age of Enlightenment, and the classtime is 50 minutes long.
2. Main Points
a) Andy Goldsworthy and Richard Long are two English artists who use natural materials to create sculptures. They place their sculpture in formal gallery settings, and in the environments where they originally found their materials.
b) Beautiful and powerful sculptures may be created from found tree parts and simple lashing techniques. The different parts of trees such as branches and leaves come in a variety of shapes, textures, and colors that offer the artist many choices for the design and look off his sculpture.
c) The artist needs to consider where to place his work as he creates his sculpture.
3. Objectives for Learning
By the end of this lesson students will :
a) be familiar with the works of two famous environmental artists
b) be able to tie tree materials together using two kinds of lashing knots
c) know how to choose appropriate tree materials for making a sculpture
4. Materials
Main points chart, art slides, slide projector, art books, video camera, video cassette, twine, tree material, scissors
5. Review
I will show slides of environmental artwork. I will discuss the slides from the perspectives of materials, site location, and the creative process. I will demonstrate lashing techniques.
6. Introductory focus
Show a clip from the movie, "The Piano" where three of the main characters are on the beach and by the end of the day they have created a beautiful sand sculpture of a fantastical sea horse. The sand sculpture is an example of environmental art inspired and created from the materials found in nature.
7. Wholeness for the Lesson
The natural world and the materials available through out the four seasons, from the cycles of creation and destruction, and rest and growth, are an endless resource for the artist to create works of art. The successful finished artwork reflects the principle that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
8. Purpose
An artist has to know where to find appropriate materials and how to use them so that he is able to manifest his ideas into 3-D sculptural works.
9. Procedures
Teaching methods include lecture, direct instruction, demonstration, cooperative problem solving, and critique
9:30-9:40 Sanskrit
9:40 Read Main points chart and give lesson overview
9:45-10:00 Show slides and book images of environmental art projects, demonstrate lashing techniques using the materials I found outdoors, pair up students for outside teamwork
10:00-10:15 Discuss guidelines and objectives for outdoor time, have teams find and lash two branches and more as time allows
10:15-10:20 Return to classroom, acknowledge the work and achievement of the lesson objectives, dismiss students
10. Fulfillment
I choose examples of lashing that display the quality of work required to create well constructed sculptures. "Work well done displays focus and attention to instructions. All of you have the ability to do this kind of work".
11. Closure
Point out to students that they now have enough experience in search and lashing to begin creating their own sculptures. They will start those tomorrow.
12. Homework
Bring in found tree materials to use for a sculpture. Bring in a lashing sample and two sketches of ideas for a sculpture.
13. Assessment strategies
Sculptures will be assessed by what materials are used and how they have been put together. Additional grading will come from the creativity of design, follow through on their chosen idea, and completion.