This week's art lesson brought my daughter and I face to face with the elements of shape. For a quick recap of what the heck I'm talking about, please see last week's Art Lessons post where I explain the how and what to this madness.

According to Wikipedia; A shape is the form of an object or its external boundary, outline, or external surface, as opposed to other properties such as color, texture, material composition. Wow, it sounds kinda boring when ya say it that way. HLC and I took a bit more of a relaxed approach to our study. We explored the theory of course, but then we got busy actually making shapes by cutting construction paper into chunks of color. Then we begun laying them out to create a landscape concept.

Next we begun arranging the shapes to create a landscape concept. The assignment particulars required that we first chose a setting that stirred pleasing memories and evoked a sense of peacefulness. We both decided to craft a forest scene. Mine was of my favorite place to cast flies to monster trout, Smithgall Woods and Hannah's was of a patch of woods and walking path that meant something special to her. I didn't ask for details, I figured a girl deserves some secrets. Here's how they turned out.

Pretty cool, huh. I'm really encouraged by just how much she and I are learning by taking this straight forward approach to the classic components of design. It's easy to see using this construction paper method as a perfect way to begin compositions for much larger painting. Or as a means unto it's on end as Matisse did in the 40's. Speaking of Matisse, HLC, my wife and I got to see some of his paper cut outs up close and personally this summer when we visited the MoMA. 

I just finished my first art lesson in over 20 years – no, I didn't go back to school for my MFA – it's way better than that. My 7th grade daughter is being homeschooled this year and I've been awarded the extrem privilege of standing in as her art teacher. Here's the drill, we head out to the local beanery for a good cup of coffee and some lavender lemonade and spread out our sketch pads, pens and markers like we own the joint and then we start drawing. It's awesome. This go around we drew coffee mugs, eyeglasses, water bottles and just bout anything that wasn't nailed down.

So far the lessons are going great. We're using a text-book for general reference, and digging into the fundamental elements of art. Lesson #1 was all about lines. And even though I spend the better part of my 9-5 doing this art thing for a living, it was a lot of fun taking a step back and reading the material through fresh eyes.

Lesson #1 was all about line. Above is the blind contour drawing I did as a demo.

I think one of the neatest things about a project like this is that once you've committed time and energy to the study of something, even something you're technically familiar with, you start considering the subject matter with renewed vigor and eagerness. Reading through the material, prepping for the lesson and reliving the session during the subsequent days allowed me to experience the idea of lines all over again. I was looking for examples of line in the designs I was working on for clients, in logos I saw in passing, in TV commercials. I was acutely aware of  lines because I had been studying lines. It wasn't long before I was actively seeking new ways to explore line in my work. Viola, fresh perspective. Gotta love it when that happens.

This weeks lessons' coming up fast. I can't wait to see what we're going to discover this go round. Maybe this weeks lesson will be about shape or texture. Ain't learnin' awesome?