Art, Nature, and Soul

The complete curriculum with 5 lessons: Art, Nature, and Soul (Curriculum)

Art, Nature, and Soul

“Art, nature, and soul.” Is the theme for this curriculum unit. Seeing art, nature, and life (our souls) with different eyes. These elements combined will enhance students’ awareness, creativity, and learn to be present at the moment. Students will learn and practice breathing exercises, mindful exercises, and create with/from nature. Land art and Andy Goldsworthy’s work fit greatly into this theme. Land art emerges with the intent to bring art and nature together, and Andy Goldsworthy’s work does just that. Goldsworthy will be the focus artist, and form is the element of art that will be emphasized.

Lessons:
(See individual lessons for the time frame, several variations)
Lesson 1: Historical and Cultural Context (3 Classes) ……. Page 10
Lesson 2: Artistic Perception (3 Classes) ………………. Page 37
Lesson 3: Creative Expression: Skill-Building (2 Classes) … Page 68
Lesson 4: Creative Expression: Artmaking (2 Classes) …….. Page 79
Lesson 5: Aesthetic Valuing (4 Classes) ………………… Page 91

Focus Artwork:

Objectives/Student Learning Outcomes:
Students will:
Practice breath and mindfulness exercises.
Be able to describe and identify Land art.
Summarize Andy Goldsworthy’s life and inspiration for his artwork.
Apply form and learned material to create their own Land art artwork.
Present and critique using the Feldman Model – description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation or/and Barrett’s Model – What does the artwork mean to me? Does it change my view of the world? Does it affect my life?

Materials and Resources:
Art Material and Tools:
Pencils, erasers, pen, markers and sharpies of varying colors and sizes.
White art paper.
Rulers and Geometric Stencils.

Instructional Resources:
Lesson 1 (Historical and Cultural Context)
Andy Goldsworthy is a sculptor, photographer and environmentalist. He has worked with creating outdoor pieces, also museum exhibitions, and commissioned work, therefore, the connections, relationships, and applications strand could be addressed by sharing information about commercial art careers such as sculptor, photographer, art exhibitor and advertising.

Article: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Article: Natural talent
Poster and Worksheet: 5 Senses Mindful
Slideshow: “The intertwinement of art, nature, and soul.”
Slideshow: Land art
Sheet: Square Breath
Video The Case for Land Art
Video Andy Goldsworthy – Land Art
Worksheet: Land art

Lesson 2 (Artistic Perception – Form)
In the lesson, Artistic Perception, the connections, relationships, and applications strand is addressed through students learning and engaging with various geometric forms (cone, cube, cylinder, organic (or free-form), pyramid and sphere) that can be use to create their artwork. Therefore, geometry, another subject, is incorporated into the lesson.

Article: Analyzing the Elements of Art | Four Ways to Think About Form
Chapter 5: Art Talk, pages 97-102
Game sheet: Trick Art
Movie: “Leaning into the Wind” by Andy Goldsworthy
Sheet: Square Breath
Worksheet: Form

Lesson 3 (Creative Expression: Skill-Building)
In the lesson, Creative Expression: Skill Building, the connections, relationships, and applications strand is addressed through students learning and engaging with their 5 senses, being in nature, and working in group. Mindfulness skills will help students be more focused, and present in their life. Working in groups help students learn how to be in society, how to be problem solvers and cultivate healthy communication skills.

Sheet: Square Breath
Teacher-made example: Worksheet
Teacher-made example: Fieldwork
Worksheet: 5 Senses Mindful
Worksheet: Land art (outside)
Worksheet: Environmental art and Land art

Lesson 4 (Creative Expression: Artmaking)
In the lesson, Creative Expression: Artmaking Lesson, the connections, relationships, and applications strand is addressed through students learning and engaging with nature. Being aware of their environment and themselves are skills essential to have a healthy life. Helping students see that art goes beyond paint, is a great form of having them look at their lives with different eyes.

Sheet: Square Breath
Worksheet: Artmaking Lesson Information and Example

Lesson 5 (Aesthetic Valuing)
In the lesson, Aesthetic Valuing, the connections, relationships, and applications strand is addressed through students learning and engaging with art critique, presentations and discussions. These skills are valuable for student, in their everyday lives, being a clear communicator is essential. And formally it can help them prepare for future job interviews, presentations.

Article: Art, Interpretation, and Community
Article: Feldman Model
Article: Principles for Interpreting Art
Video: 4 Tips for Crafting Great Speeches and Presentations
Video: Art Professors Explain How to Critique Art
Slideshow: “Presentation and Critique”
Sheet: Square Breath
Worksheet: Art Critique
Computer & LCD projector
Critique rubric

Vocabulary:
Art: the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.
Art Movement: art with a specific common philosophy or goal.
Avant-garde: people or works that are experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society. It is frequently characterized by aesthetic innovation and initial unacceptability. Pushes the boundaries and also promotes radical social reforms.
Environmental art: Art that encompass historical approaches to nature in art and more recent ecological and politically motivated types of works.
Land art: Art creation using on-site and natural/earth materials, such as branches, leaves, rocks, soul, vegetation, and water.
Elements of Art: Elements of art are stylistic features that are included within an art piece to help the artist communicate. The seven most common elements include line, shape, texture, form, space, color and value, with the additions of mark making, and materiality.
Flat Shape: a shape that has two dimensions – length and width.
Form: an element of art, means objects that have three dimensions. I like to think of form as a 3-D shape
Geometric Form: have specific names associated with them and are typically man-made. (cone, cube, cylinder, organic (or free-form), pyramid and sphere)
Geometric Shape: look as though they were made with a straight edge or drawing tool; square, circle, triangle and oval.
Shape: An area that stands out from the space next to or around it because of a defined boundary or because of a difference of value, color, or texture.
Organic Shape: are also called free form. These shapes are not regular or even. Their edges are curved and angular or a combination of both.
Solid Shape: a shape that has three dimensions – width, depth and height.
Art criticism: Systematic discussion of an artwork.
Barrett’s Model: method for critiquing art that was developed by Terry Michael Barrett. Barrett challenges you to understand that conventional interpretations ignore some incredibly valuable interpretive questions: What does the artwork mean to me? Does it change my view of the world? Does it affect my life?
Critique: a detailed analysis and assessment of something, especially a literary, philosophical, or political theory.
Feldman Model: a four-step method for critiquing art that was developed by Edmund Burke Feldman. The steps are: description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation.
Presentation: a speech or talk in which a new product, idea, or piece of work is shown and explained to an audience.

California Visual Arts Standards:
Historical and Cultural Context
3.3 Identify and describe trends in the visual arts and discuss how the issues of time, place, and cultural influence are reflected in selected works of art.
3.4 Discuss the purposes of art in selected contemporary cultures.

Artistic Perception
Develop Perceptual Skills and Visual Arts Vocabulary
1.1  Identify and use the principles of design to discuss, analyze, and write about visual aspects in the environment and in works of art, including their own.
1.2  Describe the principles of design as used in works of art, focusing on dominance and subordination.

Creative Expression
Skills, Processes, Materials, and Tools
2.2  Design and create maquettes for three-dimensional sculptures.
Creative Expression
Communication and Express Through Original Works of Art
2.4  Demonstrate in their own works of art a personal style and an advanced proficiency in communicating an idea, theme, or emotion.
2.5  Select a medium to use to communicate a theme in a series of works of art.

Aesthetic Valuing
Derive Meaning
4.1  Compare ideas expressed through their own works of art with ideas expressed in the work of others.
Make Informed Judgments
4.3  Use the vocabulary of art to talk about what they wanted to do in their own works of art and how they succeeded.
4.4  Use appropriate vocabulary of art to describe the successful use of an element of art in a work of art.