Unit One:
Understanding,
Appreciating,
& Creating Art
Purpose of Unit:
 Chapter 1: You will be introduced to
the elements and principles of art.
 Chapter 2: Teaches you how to
analyze and evaluate artwork.
 Chapter 3: Exposes you to the
different types of art through history.
 Chapter 4: Career opportunities in art.
Chapter 1:
The Language of Art
Exercise:
 Look through the illustrations
in Chapters 1-4 and choose a
favorite. Write down what
about that artwork appeals to
you. (5 minutes).
 Share.
Purpose of this Chapter:
 The purpose of Chapter 1 is to teach
you the correct vocabulary to use
when you describe artworks.
 Read pages 5 – 6 stop when you get
to the 2nd paragraph “The Elements of
Art”
 Create an outline of the things you
think are important for you to know.
Important things to know
from this section:
 Art is a way to communicate without having
to use words.
 Art has no language barriers, everyone
around the world can understand it.
 Art has its own language.
 When you learn the elements and principles
of art, you will learn the language of art.
Read starting at “The
Elements of Art”
paragraph and stop
when you get to “The
Principles of Design”.
Continue making your outline.
Important things to know
from this section:



In art we use visual symbols to
communicate ideas.
The elements of art are the basic visual
symbols that an artist uses.
The elements of art are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Line
Shape
Form
Space
Color
Value
Texture
All artwork will have at least one of the
elements of art.
Read starting at “The
Principles of Design”
and stop at the “Media
and Processes of Art”
Continue making your outline.
Important things to know
from this section:



The Principles of Design are how the elements of
art can be organized to create different effects.
The principles of design are the rules you use
when creating art.
The principles of design are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Rhythm
Movement
Balance
Proportion
Variety
Emphasis
Harmony
Unity
Exercise:
 Choose one element of art.
 Create an abstract composition emphasizing that
element by eliminating the other elements.
 For example, if you choose shape, you would
change the shape, but keep the color the same.
 What is an abstract composition???
 Art that does not depict recognizable scenes or
objects.
DAY TWO
Read starting at “The
Media and Processes
of Art” and stop at the
end of page 10.
Continue making your outline .
Important information
from this reading:
 Medium is the material used to make art.
 If you are talking about more than one medium at
the same time, you use the plural word media.
 Examples of media: graphite pencils, colored
pencils, markers, charcoal, pastels, paint,
watercolor, clay (and many more).
 A type of medium: Drawing – The process of
moving a pointed instrument over a smooth
surface to leave a mark.
 It is important to develop perception. Perception is
the act of looking at something carefully and
thinking deeply about what is seen.
 It is important to draw sketches to record your
ideas and improve you perception of things.
Activity:
 Each student gets a blank piece of paper,
write you name in the top right corner.
 Begin a drawing with one object or
shape.
 You have 30 seconds before you have to
pass the drawing to the next person.
 Continue the process until your original
drawing gets back to you.
Activity continued
 How did doing this affect what you
originally started to draw?
 How did having various other people
add to the picture affect the drawing?
Read page 11 and
stop reading at the
end of “Painting”
section
Continue making you outline.
Important information from
this reading:
 Painting: The process of applying color to a
surface using tools.
 The surface is the material the paint is applied to.
 The way a painting looks depends on the different
media, tools, and surface the artist uses.
 Examples of different types of paints are: acrylic,
tempera, oil, and watercolor. They all are made up
of different components that create different
effects.
Activity:
 Work with a partner.
 Brainstorm examples of the types of
media, tools, and surfaces that painters
use or might use.
 Think about what you have already read
and about other possibilities.
 Write them all down to discuss with the
rest of the class.
DAY THREE
Read beginning with
the “Printmaking”
section and stop on
page 14.
Continue making your outline.
Important information
from reading:
 Printmaking: the artist makes multiple
original images from one prepared surface.
 The 3 steps of printmaking:
 Creating a printing plate.
 Inking the plate.
 Transferring the image.
 A series of prints made from the same plate
is called an edition.
The 4 Printmaking techniques
① Relief printing: the artist cuts away the
parts of the surface not meant to hold ink.
The image is printed of the raised surface.
② Intaglio: Means “to cut into”. Ink is forced
into lines that have been cut into a metal
surface.
The 4 Printmaking techniques
③ Lithography: based on the fact that grease
and water do not mix. The image is drawn
on a surface with a greasy type of crayon.
Once it has been chemically treated and
rinsed with water. When inked, only the
greasy parts will hold the ink.
③ Screen printing: A stencil is placed on a
fabric screen stretched across a frame. Ink
is squeezed through the fabric not covered
by a stencil.
Read page 16 stop
before you get to
“Crafts”
Continue making your outline.
Important information from
reading:
 Sculpture takes up space.
 You can view freestanding sculpture from
all sides.
 Relief sculpture is attached to a flat
background, such as a wall.
 The processes of sculpture are modeling,
carving, casting, and assembly.
The 4 Sculpture Processes
① Modeling: a soft material is built up and
shaped. Examples of materials are clay, wax,
and plaster.
② Carving: the artist cuts or chips a form from a
mass of material.
③ Casting: use melted metal or another liquid
substance to pour into a mold to harden.
④ Assembly: the artist uses found objects of
different materials to construct a sculpture,
usually by welding.
Exercise:
 Experiment with different types of
media and processes used by artists
to create art.
 Charcoal
 Pastel
 Oil Pastel
 Modeling Clay
Discuss:
 Which materials did you like?
Why?
 Which materials did you not like?
Why?
DAY FOUR
Read Page 17 “The
Work of Art” & stop
on page 18 before
“The Credit Line”
Continue making your outline.
Important information
from reading:
 Works of art are defined by 3 basic features:
① Subject
② Composition
③ Content
①The subject is the image viewers can easily
identify in a work of art (hint: it is the
person, place, or thing)
 Nonobjective art is art that has no
recognizable subject matter. (ex: abstract
art).
Important information
from reading:
② The composition is the way you use the
principles of design to organize the
elements.
③ The content is the message the artwork
communicates (what the artist means).
Activity:
 Look at the image on page 15.
 What is the subject? What do you think is
the content? How did the artist make the
composition successful?
 Look at the image on page 4.
 What is the subject? What do you think is
the content? How did the artist make the
composition successful?
Read page 18
section “The Credit
Line”.
Continue making your outline.
Important information
from this reading:
 A credit line is the list of important facts
about a work of art.
 When artwork is in a book, magazine,
etc., it most always has a credit line.
 Most credit lines include 6 or more
facts.
A Credit Line:
1) Name of the artist.
2) Title of the work. This is always in italics.
3) Year the artwork was created. (Sometimes a “c.” appears
before the year. This is an abbreviation for circa, which
means “around” or “about” in Latin.)
4) Medium used by the artist. (If the artist used more than
one type of medium the credit line may read “mixed
media”.
5) Size of the artwork. (The 1st number is always the height,
the 2nd the width, and if its 3-d, the 3rd number indicates
the depth.
6) Location of the artwork. (Location names the gallery,
museum, or collection where the artwork is.)
What is the location?
Gustave Courbet. The Fishing Boat. 1865. Oil on canvas. 25 1/2 x 32 in.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Gift of Mary Goldenberg, 1899.
What is the title?
Michelangelo Caravaggio. The Denial of Saint Peter. Oil on canvas.
37 x 49 3/8 in. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
What is the size of the work?
How many feet is that?
Jackson Pollock. Autumn Rhythm (Number 30). 1950. Enamel on
canvas. 105in. x 207 in. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
What type of media was used?
Chuck Close. Lucas. 1986–87. Oil and pencil on canvas; 100 x 84
in. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
What is the title?
Wassily Kandinsky. The Garden of Love (Improvisation Number
27). 1912. Oil on canvas. 47 3/8 x 55 1/4 in. The Metropolitan
Museum of Art.
What is the size of the work?
J. Stanley Connor. Cain. 1883. Marble. 26 x 21 1/2 x 17 in. The
Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Who is the artist?
John Wesley Jarvis. Alexander Anderson. 1815. Oil on canvas.
34 x 27 in. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
When was this work created?
Andrea della Robbia. Virgin and Child. 15th century (ca. 1470–75).
Glazed terracotta. 37 3/8 x 21 5/8 in. The Metropolitan Museum of
Art.
Class work Assignment to
be turned in:
 Page 21 – Critiquing the Work and
Comparing the Works.
 Page23 – Chapter 1 Review. Building
Vocabulary (1-12) & Reviewing Art Facts
(1-10)
Quiz on Tuesday! All of Chapter
1. Use your notes to study.