IMAGINATIVE ARTS MARCH 2020 MAKE GOOD ART

-APRENTICE-
STUDY AND LEARN

• Read How to Seduce a Sasquatch pg. 60-90 (Sections 41- 70)
• Read Calvin and Hobbes : Bill Watterson (Any of it you may have or can find)
• Read Steven Pressfield The War of Art pp.125-126 LARGO (included in the blog)
• Watch Make Good Art Neil Gaiman
• Watch Everything's A Remix (Just watch the first 3 episodes (its all in one video and should be about 22 minutes). You can watch part 4 if you like but it just deals with defining copyright laws.)
•Watch How to Make a Flipbook and  Flipbooks I Made as a Kid By ANDYMATION


KNOW AND UNDERSTAND

• While reading How to Seduce a Sasquatch write some thoughts in your common place book.  Which advice do you agree with? What don't you like? How can applying these things help you?

• Reading Calvin and Hobbes-  Pay attention to the way Mr. Watterson tells the story with the pictures. How is Calvin and Hobbes similar to an animated movie? How is Hobbes drawn when Calvin is alone with him vs. when other people are around? What does that communicate? Read as much as you like. Enjoy it. Calvin and Hobbes is the best!

• Read Largo  from The War of Art (attached at the end of the blog) and watch Make Good Art and Everything's A Remix. Record your thoughts in your commonplace book. How do these three different concepts approach the problem of creativity? Which do you most agree with? Why or why not? What insights did you learn while reading/watching? 

• Watch ANDYMATION Flipbook videos. How cool is that? Do you want to make a flipbook? Have you noticed the flipbook in your sasquatch book? What is a simple story you could tell with a flipbook? 

• Create something. What? Anything. Given what you've studied- take some time to make something. Use your voice. Copy some great art. Make something new. Remix something into your own story. Make a comic strip. Make a flipbook. Have fun. What the heck are you gonna do?

BECOME AND SERVE

• Write in your journal about your creativity. What gets your imagination going? How can you use creativity to help others? What is the most creative thing you've ever done? How did it feel?

-JOURNEYMAN-

STUDY AND LEARN

• Watch a movie. 

KNOW AND UNDERSTAND

• Watch a favorite movie. Any movie. Watch it and enjoy it. Think about all the research that went into making that movie. Did they remix someone else's work? Did they figure out how the story would work visually before filming it like a comic strip( in movies this is called the Storyboard)? Is it fantastically original? Is it similar to other movies? That's it. Just watch a movie and enjoy it.

BECOME AND SERVE

• Spend a day observing art. Paintings, Sculpture, Books, Music, Movies, etc.  Soak it in. How does good art make you feel? How can art improve your day? Why is art important?


Steven Pressfield The War of Art pp.125-126 LARGO

In my twenties I drove tractor-trailers for a company called Burton Lines in Durham, North Carolina. I wasn’t very good at it; my self-destruction demons had me. Only blind luck kept me from killing myself and any other poor suckers who happened to be on the highway at the same time. It was a tough period. I was broke, estranged from my wife and my family.

One night I had this dream:

I was part of the crew of an aircraft carrier. Only the ship was stuck on dry land. It was still launching its jets and doing its thing, but it was marooned half a mile from the ocean. The sailors all knew how screwed up the situation was; they felt it as a keen and constant distress. The only bright spot was there was a Marine gunnery sergeant on board nicknamed “Largo.” In the dream it seemed like the coolest name anyone could possibly have. Largo. I loved it. Largo was one of those hard-core senior noncoms like the Burt Lancaster character, Warden, in From Here to Eternity. The one guy on the ship who knows exactly what’s going on, the tough old sarge who makes all the decisions and actually runs the show. 

But where was Largo? I was standing miserably by the rail when the captain came over and started talking to me. Even he was lost. It was his ship, but he didn’t know how to get it off dry land. I was nervous, finding myself in conversation with the brass, and couldn’t think of a thing to say. The skipper didn’t seem to notice; he just turned to me casually and said, “What the [heck] are we gonna do, Largo?” 

I woke up electrified. I was Largo! I was the salty old Gunny. The power to take charge was in my hands; all I had to do was believe it.

IMAGINATIVE ARTS JANUARY 2020 : CHARACTER DESIGN

CHARACTER DESIGN

-APPRENTICE-
STUDY AND LEARN :

• Read How to Seduce a Sasquatch pg. 38-60 (Sections 21- 40)

• Read What is Character Design? : Tom Bancroft

• Read Seven Steps to Great Character Design by Aaron Blaise-  Included in this article is a 45 minute video of Aaron's process- you can watch if you want but it is not necessary.

• Watch  Character Design and the Illusion of Life : Chris Oatley

• Go to a store, Walmart, or the Mall. Spend some time people watching.

• Read Walk Cycles : Thinking Animation

• Watch 100 Different Ways To Walk 

• Watch Mary Poppins (Disney1964)

• Read or listen to What Do You Really Want to Be When You Grow Up? Robert H. Todd


KNOW AND UNDERSTAND :

• While reading How to Seduce a Sasquatch write some thoughts in your common place book. What are some things you'd like to change about yourself? What kind of person do you want to be? What things can you do different?

• Reading What is Character Design? and Seven Steps to Great Character Design - This will give you an idea of what goes into Character Design from the visual art perspective. What is important in designing a character? What is more important- the drawing or the character traits and backstory?

• While watching Character Design and the Illusion of Life - Record any thoughts you have about what they discuss. How can you put "soul" into a character? They talk a lot about drawing people they observe in coffee shops or stores etc. What can you learn about someone by observing them?

• At Walmart or the Mall - go somewhere with lots of different people. Spend 1/2 hour to 1 hour watching them.  No need to draw them (though you are welcome to)---  Look at their shapes, sizes, colors, etc. What can you tell about their character? What do their clothes say about them? What makes them unique? How do they walk? Take some notes about interesting characters. Who was the most unique person you saw? Write down everything you can about them.

• Read about Walk Cycles and watch 100 Different Ways to Walk- This talks about walk cycles in animation and how they tell you much about a character.  Think about someone who is confident, shy, brave, etc. How do they walk?

• Watch Mary Poppins (1964) Pay attention to the unique characters. What makes them unique? How have the actors, writer, director etc. made the characters interesting? Which is your favorite character and why? What about them fascinates you? Do any of the characters have a ridiculous characteristic? How does it effect them as a character? How do they walk?


BECOME AND SERVE :

• Look for ways to lift others up. “Cease to find fault.”  Ask our Heavenly Father how you might help someone feel more loved, more trusted, more understood, and more valued and appreciated for their efforts.

• What kind of person do you want to be? Go and do that.

-JOURNEYMAN-

STUDY AND LEARN, KNOW AND UNDERSTAND:

• Design a character- Given what you have learned-- now design a character. What questions do you need to answer? Name? Age? Height? Weight? Build? Hair? Human? Real? Fantasy? Personality? Past? Motivation? Faults?  etc. etc. etc. ---  Come to class with an image of your character that you have created (drawing, collage, photograph) also be prepared to tell us about your character and show us how they walk(this will take some practice on your part to develop a walk.) You will do this walk in front of the class.
     1. Image of Character
     2. A paragraph about your character (name, talents, desires, etc.)
     3. A character walk
All 3 should work together.

 

BECOME AND SERVE:

• Who do you want to be today? Become a character. Stay in character as long as you can. Walk and talk like that character all day. Don't break character. Bonus points if you dress up.

-MASTERS- 

STUDY AND LEARN:

• Read Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers 1934

KNOW AND UNDERSTAND:


• Read Mary Poppins -- Compare to the film version. How are characters similar? What characteristics did the characters in the film share with those in the book? How were they different? Who was your favorite character int he book? Why? How did they differ from the movie? How does the author describe the characters?

BECOME AND SERVE :

• Change something about you. Which of your own characteristics bothers you? Can you change it? Can you choose to do or be different?

**** YEAR PROJECT UPDATE ****

Hey friends- I've decided to change the big project for the end of year. If you have been working on a children's book or ad campaign I am impressed and I apologize. We are instead going to design a t-shirt that you will get to print at the end of the year. We will spend some time during imaginative arts apprentice time the next 2 months looking at ideas and working on a great idea for each of you. We will talk more about it soon but for now start thinking about what you would want to put on a t-shirt.

IMAGINATIVE ARTS NOVEMBER 2019- PICTURE BOOKS

 

PICTURE BOOKS

-APPRENTICE-
STUDY AND LEARN:

• Read How to Seduce a Sasquatch pp. 8-38 (from the front side of the book *no barcode*) - This will include the first 20 sections.

• Read Poor Man's Bible

• Read 7 Things You Might Not Know About Illuminated Manuscripts

• Watch The Power of Pictures: Chris Oatley

• Go to a library or bookstore. Spend some time in the picture book section.

KNOW AND UNDERSTAND:

•While reading How to Seduce a Sasquatch write some thoughts in your common place book. What are some obstacles to creativity? How can you make it easier to tap into your own creativity?

•Reading  Poor Man's Bible and 7 Things About Illuminated Manuscripts -  This is kind of the birthplace of illustration and picture books. Read this etymology of the word Illustration--

illustration (n.) c. 1400, "a shining;" early 15c., "a manifestation;" mid-15c., "a spiritual illumination," from Old French illustration "apparition, appearance" (13c.) and directly from Latin illustrationem (nominative illustratio) "vivid representation" (in writing), literally "an enlightening," from past participle stem of illustrare "light up, make light, illuminate;" figuratively "make clear, disclose, explain; adorn, render distinguished," from assimilated form of in- "in" (from PIE root *en "in") + lustrare "make bright, illuminate," from suffixed form of PIE root *leuk- "light, brightness." Mental sense of "act of making clear in the mind" is from 1580s. Meaning "an illustrative picture" is from 1816. 

-- How are pictures used to illuminate the illiterate? How did the stained glass windows illuminate the people? Can pictures do the same today? Record your thoughts in your common place book.

•While watching the The Power of Pictures - Record your thoughts on using pictures to tell stories. What pictures have had an impact on you? How can pictures show instead of tell? How does that let the audience participate in the story?

•At the library- Read at least 10 picture books (especially Caldecott award winners). What catches your eye? What art styles do you like? Does the art tell more to the story than the words or does it simply show what the words say? Pick a favorite picture book to share with the class. What do you like about it? Is there a message or lesson learned? How does the art add to the story?


BECOME AND SERVE:

• What roadblocks make it hard for you to be creative? Section #8 in the Sasquatch book talks about being still. Take some time to be still this week. Turn off your phone. Turn off the music. Go for a walk. Get out of your own way and let your mind wander. See what great ideas pop into your mind.

• Look for times when things are shown and not told. Try to do more showing instead of telling this week. Don't just tell your mom, "I love you." Do something for her that really shows her how you feel.

• Spend a day communicating without speaking.


-JOURNEYMAN-
STUDY AND LEARN:

• Watch - Mr. Bean at the Beach

• Watch - Mr. Bean Late for the Dentist


• Create- a story using pictures. NO WORDS. Tell your story through a sequence of about 5-7 still images, from the sources listed below. It should take a thoughtful viewer no more than a couple minutes to “process” the story you’re telling.



KNOW AND UNDERSTAND:

• Pay attention to how Mr Bean does not say anything but you know exactly what is going on in the story. How does Mr. Bean use visual cues to tell the story? How does the viewer participate in the story?

• Create- a story using pictures. NO WORDS. Tell your story through a sequence of about 5-7 still images, from the sources listed below. It should take a thoughtful viewer no more than a couple minutes to “process” the story you’re telling.

SOURCES
Your Photos- Photos of you and/or friends or family members from your past (, or photos you capture specifically for this project.

Your Images- Drawings, graphics, or other non-photographic images you made in the past or that you create for this project. That includes original art you draw as well as images you create using digital tools for creating images or comics.

Found Images- Photos or art found from magazines, internet etc.   Emojis.

STRATEGIES

Telling a story through images requires a much narrower focus than than telling a story for audio delivery, partly because viewers need more time to process the story than they might if you simply tell it to them. While visual messages are often more powerful than those composed only of words, they also tend to compress the amount of material the storyteller can convey.

The most important strategy to keep in mind is that your images themselves should tell the story, so that viewers can understand what’s happening by looking at the sequence of images, without needing accompanying text passages to make sense of them. You’re not telling a story about the images, you’re telling the story THROUGH the images.

BECOME AND SERVE:

• Try to make someone laugh. Act silly and communicate something funny without using words.

-MASTERS-

STUDY AND LEARN:

• Watch -The Wizard of OZ

KNOW AND UNDERSTAND:

• The Wizard of OZ -- When do the visuals tell a story? What do you learn from the visuals of the movie? How are visuals used to communicate something other than what you are being told? How would the film have been significantly different—for better or worse—if the entire thing had been filmed either in all black and white or all Technicolor? How did the film makers use color to communicate concepts or ideas? What does the film suggest about the relationship between magic and reality? Any other insights relating to the power of pictures.

BECOME AND SERVE:

• Help someone recognize their own gifts. Help them to see that "they may already have what they're looking for."

Imaginative Arts - October 2019 - ADVERTISING

-APPRENTICE-
STUDY AND LEARN:

•Revisit the Henry B Eyring talk Child of God that we didn't talk about at Vision Day. If you want to watch or listen first, that’s great. But then read it anyway. Make some notes.

•Watch Sell and Spin A History of Advertising

•Read How to Seduce a Sasquatch.  Start with what seems like the back of the book.  (It has the barcode on it.) It's the Field Guide portion of the book. Right after page 63 the type will turn upside down and you'll suddenly be on the last page of the other side of the book.


KNOW AND UNDERSTAND:

Henry B Eyring- Child of God   Ask questions of yourself:
   •“What do I need to do to become a great learner?” 
   •“How can I be a better student?” 
   •“What do I need to learn from this talk?”, etc.  
Come prepared to discuss and share some insight you gained from President Eyring’s talk.







 Sell and Spin A History of Advertising

    • This video has a few glitches where the screen goes blank or muffled but it returns to normal eventually, it is not a problem with your computer or tv.
    • Warning- There are some naked backsides in this program. If you wish to skip them it starts at 1:06:42 and goes until 1:06:58 (16 seconds) - They are discussing research and how to find what works to get the consumer to react. "What turns them on? What turns them off? Why do they do the things they do? What values do they aspire to?" They use people being poked with pencils to help illustrate this point. 
    • Find an example of advertising to share with the rest of us. Come ready to discuss why it works or why it doesn't. Eg.- The Animal I needed the animal. It was awesome. I begged my parents nonstop. When i finally got one... it stunk. 

    • It should be either an example of good advertising that really works, whether you know why or not-- or something that just doesn't work or confuses you (you aren't sure what they are selling...). It can be a print ad or a tv commercial. Bring it with you or if it's a tv commercial please send me a link so we can watch it in class.  MY EMAIL : jaydfontano (at) gmaildotcom

While reading How to Seduce a Sasquatch write some thoughts in your common place book. If it's confusing write about that. Remember it is a metaphor for creativity. Come prepared to discuss. Start exploring some of your creativity. Pages 60-63 have some suggestions of places and activities that will help you to "Find more Sasquatches." Try some out. Record your experiences in your common place book. 

BECOME AND SERVE:

What thoughts did you have about great learners from Elder Eyring's talk? How can you apply those principles to your own learning this week?

Be aware of advertising all around you. What are they selling you? Does it work? Keep a list of what is working on you? Do you want a purple mattress just because Mallory told you to get one?


-JOURNEYMAN-
STUDY AND LEARN: 


Watch- Disney/Pixar's A Bug's Life.

Watch- Create by Elder Uchtdorf.

Create your name as a work of art. Use any medium except for the computer. (Markers, crayons, paint, collage, kidnapper ransom note, pencils, wood, legos, etc. ) Be unique, and different. Bring it to display in class.

KNOW AND UNDERSTAND:

A Bug's Life.  Pay special attention to Flik's experiences. While watching, use your Common Place Book,  write down the things Flik does that break out of "normal" thinking. What criticisms does he get and from whom on his journey? Be specific. What are some unique ideas you have had? Why do you think we sometimes keep ideas to ourselves? Or don't follow through with them?

Create by Elder Uchtdorf. Write your thoughts about things that interest you in terms of creativity. What can you create?


BECOME AND SERVE:

Be extra nice to someone who has different thoughts or ideas this week.  Tell them their ideas are good. Lift and build them. Record your experiences.


-MASTERS-
STUDY AND LEARN:

Watch- Coca-Cola History Documentary

KNOW AND UNDERSTAND:

Research a product look at the history of that products advertising. Come prepared to discuss your product- bring examples of ads (print and/or video(send youtube links if you want to watch something in class) Come prepared to share 4-5 examples.

BECOME AND SERVE:

Be aware of advertising all around you. What are they selling you? Does it work? Keep a list of what is working on you? Do you want a purple mattress just because Mallory told you to get one?

LAST DAY OF VANGUARD

THINGS TO DO FOR THE LAST DAY OF VANGUARD

1.  If you have an end of year presentation, make sure you are prepared!

2.  Finish your 40 Logic Pages if you want the reward of playing Laser Tag later in May.

3.  Make sure you bring supplies needed for your carnival games.

4.  Remind your mom to send you with a food item for lunch.  Here is the sign up sheet sent out to them.

Food Sign Up for Vanguard End of Year Celebration

5. Memorize the Chemistry song if you want a super awesome prize.

6. Get your pictures submitted for yearbook! i.did.it.y.2019@gmail.com.

We will do presentations all morning, with some minute to win it games to break it up.  Then we will all have lunch together.  The celebration to end all wars will be at 1:00ish.  Your families are invited to join us.  It will be more fun to present your carnival games to all of your siblings, so make sure they know they are invited!

April IA Journeyman/Masters

April Journeyman/Masters

Read from "Orbiting the Giant Hairball" Chapter 20 to the end.
Write down your favorite chapter in your CPB and what you learned from it.
Also, What was the best thing that you learned from the whole book?  Write that down in your CPB.

There is not an assigned book for Master's this week.  

I hope you are all reading some fun books.

This assignment is for everyone!  Please plan to stay for Journeyman and Masters if you are able.  We will be organizing and creating some carnival games for our end of year party.

We are celebrating the end of the wars!  What better way to celebrate than with a carnival!

Be thinking of some carnival games that would be fun for the whole family.

  

April Imaginative Arts

Apprentice IA

AWESOME ART

Study/Learn:

We are going to play name that art. 

1. Below are some pictures of lots of different artists' paintings from 1860-1940. 

2. Match each picture with the artist that created it.  There is a list of artists below the pictures. Write your answers in your CPB.  There will be no phones allowed when I reveal the answers in class.

Know/Understand

1. After you have found an artist for each painting, choose one of those artists to learn about in more detail. Find out what style of painting they used. (Realism,Impressionism, Symbolism, Post Impressionism, Fauvism, Expressionism,Cubism, Surrealism, or Abstract Expressionism)

2. Find 2 more paintings that they did and tell us a little about their lives and their paintings. Bring pictures of their paintings.(print them, or take a picture, or bring it on your phone.  You will need these for our activity.)
3. Sign up for the artist that you will be studying more about HERE.  
AB.
C.D.

E.F.

G.H.

IJ

KL

M N

OP

QR

S T

U V

Rosa Bonheur

Edouard Manet

James Whistler 

Edgar Degas

Claude Monet

Auguste Renoir

Mary Cassatt 

Henri Rousseau 

Edvar Munch

Vincent Van Gogh. 

Georges Seurat 

Paul Signac

Henri Matisse 

Georges Rouault 

Maurice de Vlaminck

Wassily Kandinsky 

Andre Derain

Pablo Picasso 

Paul Klee

 Marianne Brandt 

Salvador Dali 

Jackson Pullock 

Become/Serve

Why is art such a big part of history?  Do you like art? (I'm not asking if you like to paint or draw) Do you think it's important?  How could you serve someone by using art?  Write your answers down in your CPB