Still-Lifes
Fifth and Sixth Graders have spent most of this year working on their drawing skills. We tried several of the exercises found in Betty Edward’s book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, working with line. Then, we moved on to exploring how artists create the illusion of three-dimensional form on a two-dimensional surface. This has been an age-old challenge for artists through the centuries. Artists achieve the illusion through close observation of the VALUES—the lightness and darkness—of an object. We started simple: with just a single seashell, using water-soluble charcoal pencils. Then, we moved on to a more complex still-life, using both white and black charcoal. The students showed real growth through the process.