At Home Art (about 200 words)
This journal entry will focus on media, i.e., the materials and tools artists use to make art.
First, create an artwork that tells something about you. Keep it simple (!), and use ordinary, inexpensive things you can find around the house: paper, cardboard, pens, pencils, markers, cotton balls, photos, personal items, etc.
(If you want to paint, or sculpt, etc., that’s fine, but definitely not required!).
In your journal entry, tell what media (materials) you used, why you used those media, and what your artwork tells about you (family, friends, career goals, life stories, sports, hobbies, pets, etc., anything that makes you, ‘you’!).
Include a photograph as part of the entry so I can see the artwork you made.
For this entry, you are not graded on your ‘art skills,’ but on doing and completing the assignment!
Contrast and Compare (about 200 words)
This journal entry will focus on how artists communicate ideas, meaning, purpose, and use through art.
For this entry, first select two artworks from the art history checklist, or from other sources (with permission from me).
Then, describe a SIMILARITY or similarities between your two artworks. What do they have in common in what they meant, symbolized, or how they were used?
After that, describe a DIFFERENCE or difference between the two artworks in the choices the artist made. or the impact, appearance or meaning of the art.
Be as specific and detailed as possible in comparing and contrasting (we’ll also discuss these more in class, since each pair of artworks creates different comparisons and contrasts).
You do not need citations (footnotes), but if you use any outside sources please mention those in your journal.
Art in My World (200 words)
This journal entry will be about art that is personally meaningful to you.
This can be about anything—-a music video, moment in a movie, TV show, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, mural, painting in a museum, a building, personal or family item, something from travels or from another country—-anything that is personal and meaningful to you, as long as it has a visual element (something we can see).
In your journal entry, first tell me WHY your choice is meaningful to you (shared with best friend, helped me when I had challenges in school, favorite memories with family, etc.).
Then describe HOW your choice does that so well (what makes it so distinctive and meaningful for you, how has it been part of your life)? Be detailed, and really think about how the artwork communicated with you.
I’m also happy to discuss this with you, or any of the journal entries, as well!