Figure/Ground Study

Lesson Title: Figure/Ground Study

Theme of Unit: Graphic Arts

Level: Beginning Graphics

DBAE Objectives:
Art Aesthetic: Students will choose lines and shapes to use for their study.
Art Production: Students will create a piece where the figure and ground can be reversed. Students will then scan their study and use photoshop to repeat the image and create a pattern out of them.
Art Criticism: Students will write a critique of their piece and one other to be shared with the class.

Materials: paper, black paint, sharpie markers, black paint, scissors, glue/glue sticks, computers with photoshop, printer, scanner.

Preparation: Find examples where the foreground and background could be either (example: face/vase).

Vocabulary: Figure, Positive space, Negative space, Composition, Shape, rhythm, repetition, pattern

Activity Procedure:
1. Students will look at examples where the figure and ground are skewed. Where either the black or white can be foreground or background.
2. Students will create at least 20 thumbnails of abstract figure/ground studies.
3. Students will choose their best 3 to be mounted.
4. Students will choose one to recreate, larger, onto a bigger sheet of paper with paint.
5. Students will write a critique of their work and one other and share them with the class.
6. Students will scan their study and open it in photoshop.
7. Students will resize their image to 1"x1" and the canvas size to 8"x8".
8. Students will copy and paste their image to form a repeating pattern to fill up the page.
9. Students will rotate some of the figure/ground studies to create an aesthetically interesting pattern.
10. Students will print out their finished pattern and mount it on black or white tag board.
11. Original figure/ground painting is to be mounted too and displayed along with the finished pattern.

Assessment Procedure:
(20 pts.) 3 mounted figure/ground studies.
10 pts: successful figure/ground relation
10 pts: neatness of studies and mounting
(20 pts.) Large figure/ground study.
10 pts: neatness with paint
10 pts: interesting composition
(10 pts.) Written critique of own and others work.
5 pts: thought put into critique
5 pts: understanding of figure/ground study
(50 pts.) Pattern made with figure/ground study.
25 pts: interesting pattern
25 pts: use and understanding of technology

Integration with other Curriculum Areas:
English- written critique
Math- geometric shapes and angles

National Content Standards Addressed:
*Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes.
*Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas.
*Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their work and the work of others.
*Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines.