Mixed-media Collage Self Portrait
December 2012
The Mixed-media Collage Self Portrait was the culminating project of the semester. Students had three weeks and six class sessions, with outside time to work on this project. The first class was devoted to thoroughly introducing the project. The next four class sessions were devoted to guiding the students through the project, with the emphasis on consistent progress. The sixth class was devoted to project assessment. They all engaged in peer assessment, and self-assessment.
The intent of this project was to compel students to utilize all of design principles and theory that we had covered thus far. We introduced the project with a Prezi presentation that included examples of student projects from previous semesters. We also shared with the class a variety of mixed-media samples to help get the creative juices flowing. Finally they were assigned a homework assignment that prompted students to investigate at least three artists that use collage in their work.
I sensed trepidation amongst some of the students when they became aware that the project included a self-portrait element, but we designed the lesson taking in to account that several of our students are not art and design majors. We showed them several examples of the self-portrait: both the formal version, that is a realistic rendering of the artist, usually achieved with the aid of a mirror and photographs, and self-portraits that are more symbolic abstractions of the artist’s personality.
After the project was introduced, learning objectives thoroughly explained, we guided the students through the initial hands-on phase of the project. They had to produce four to six ideas in the form of sketches, collage and color scheme samples, before they were allowed to begin production of their Mixed-media Collage Self-Portrait. Some students had concrete ideas right from the start, others were not sure which direction they wanted to go and needed more encouragement. I suggested to the latter group that they begin with a couple of sketches of themselves using a mirror, and then experiment with the symbolic metaphor. Often it is the case that students combine elements of both realistic and abstract metaphorical approaches in their final design.
As is the case with many studio projects, the hardest work for the instructor is to guide, encourage, and cajole students through the ideation process. Once they started to discover and develop their better ideas, it is often a question of offering support and feedback when needed. By the fourth class many of the students were working on their final designs. There were still a handful of students who, for various reasons, fell behind and were still trying to craft a solid idea from the sketching process. These are the students that end up getting the majority of instructor attention in the later classes leading up to the deadline.
The last day of the project is the day of the critique. The projects are due and must be finished. We organized a salon style critique, which is one of the more enjoyable critique experiences for students. I think this is because the students do most of the talking, and the instructors are simply participants in the process. I divided the class into three groups or shifts. The first group hangs their work up and the other two groups and the instructor(s) dispersed themselves amongst the artwork now hanging. The student artists introduced their projects five or six times to small groups of students as they rotated through to each of the salon stations. Their audience is instructed to question and comment on the work based on the project criteria. We repeated tis process three times so each shift of students had a chance to present their work and get feedback from everyone else in the class. This was a very positive experience as the students thoroughly enjoyed sharing their work with each other and providing, mostly positive, feedback. The final assignment of this project is the written self-evaluation, which had to be uploaded to the class website, where we read them after class was over and consider the writing and thought process while grading.
The intent of this project was to compel students to utilize all of design principles and theory that we had covered thus far. We introduced the project with a Prezi presentation that included examples of student projects from previous semesters. We also shared with the class a variety of mixed-media samples to help get the creative juices flowing. Finally they were assigned a homework assignment that prompted students to investigate at least three artists that use collage in their work.
I sensed trepidation amongst some of the students when they became aware that the project included a self-portrait element, but we designed the lesson taking in to account that several of our students are not art and design majors. We showed them several examples of the self-portrait: both the formal version, that is a realistic rendering of the artist, usually achieved with the aid of a mirror and photographs, and self-portraits that are more symbolic abstractions of the artist’s personality.
After the project was introduced, learning objectives thoroughly explained, we guided the students through the initial hands-on phase of the project. They had to produce four to six ideas in the form of sketches, collage and color scheme samples, before they were allowed to begin production of their Mixed-media Collage Self-Portrait. Some students had concrete ideas right from the start, others were not sure which direction they wanted to go and needed more encouragement. I suggested to the latter group that they begin with a couple of sketches of themselves using a mirror, and then experiment with the symbolic metaphor. Often it is the case that students combine elements of both realistic and abstract metaphorical approaches in their final design.
As is the case with many studio projects, the hardest work for the instructor is to guide, encourage, and cajole students through the ideation process. Once they started to discover and develop their better ideas, it is often a question of offering support and feedback when needed. By the fourth class many of the students were working on their final designs. There were still a handful of students who, for various reasons, fell behind and were still trying to craft a solid idea from the sketching process. These are the students that end up getting the majority of instructor attention in the later classes leading up to the deadline.
The last day of the project is the day of the critique. The projects are due and must be finished. We organized a salon style critique, which is one of the more enjoyable critique experiences for students. I think this is because the students do most of the talking, and the instructors are simply participants in the process. I divided the class into three groups or shifts. The first group hangs their work up and the other two groups and the instructor(s) dispersed themselves amongst the artwork now hanging. The student artists introduced their projects five or six times to small groups of students as they rotated through to each of the salon stations. Their audience is instructed to question and comment on the work based on the project criteria. We repeated tis process three times so each shift of students had a chance to present their work and get feedback from everyone else in the class. This was a very positive experience as the students thoroughly enjoyed sharing their work with each other and providing, mostly positive, feedback. The final assignment of this project is the written self-evaluation, which had to be uploaded to the class website, where we read them after class was over and consider the writing and thought process while grading.