Art Foundations 

On The Square

Unlike working together in the classroom setting, online learning presents us with one challenge - the distance. Students have to organize their work space and tackle the projects on their own with the instructor’s guidance which is remote. The element of inspiration which comes from working side-by-side will certainly be missed. One of the solutions came upon reflection on our past experience. The format we choose for this year is in the name - all lessons, experiments and projects will be completed on 4x4 in squares resulting in unique collages of square tiles of all sorts by the end of the year. The small scale proves to be less intimidating to students and increases the chance of completion during the lesson, the work space set-up will be more manageable at home. The students will have a chance to practice learned techniques and experiment with their ideas on additional squares in their spare time, as many or as few as they wish. This format will not pose any limits on the variety of techniques, materials and artistic concepts we will explore in the course of the year. On the contrary, from traditional to contemporary, from abstract to representational, decorative or conceptual - all will be a part of our exploration, on canvas and paper, with a variety of mediums and techniques. Our year course will consist of three segments, about 10 classes each:

Part 1. Square One.

“back to square one – back to the beginning, the basics”

• A series of projects focusing on the basic elements of design: line, shape, texture, pattern and color and the fundamental principles of composition.

Part 2. Square the Circle.

“to square the circle – to attempt something challenging”

• A series of projects employing the geometric advantages of a square in design. Symmetry and radial symmetry are among the principles of composition we will explore in this segment.

Part 3. Square Away.

“to square away – to deal with something satisfactorily, to put something in order” 

• In the third and last segment we will learn the process of artistic montage - a technique of selecting, editing, and piecing together separate sections or fragments of art into a new composite whole. We will look at the idea behind creating a triptych, learn the art of tessellating, mosaic and collage.

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Advanced Art

Symbolism in Art

I. Through History and Around the World.

Symbols: Universal vs Contextual.

• Color symbolism
• Natural elements

Folk Art Motifs

• Symbolic study of patterns
• Epics and Fables

Symbolism in indigenous cultures - storytelling

• Oceanic
• African
• Cultures of Americas

Ancient Civilizations Symbolism

• Myths and Legends

From East to West

• Animal symbolism
• Bestiaries and Heraldry

II. Being a Symbolist

• Symbolism Art Movement of the late 19th century
• Art and Literary connections
• Metaphor in Art
• Allegory in Art
• Paradox in Art
• Conceptual Art

III. The Art of Symbols in contemporary design

Bonus topic - if we have any time left.