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The Grid as an Artistic Tool Jenette Noe 10-17-12 Exceptional Children for General Educators High School Art Timeline: approx. 1 week, depending on block/period schedule. More time may be added for individual assignment. Rationale: The purpose of this lesson is to teach students when and how to use grids to assist in duplicating images, as well as giving a brief introduction into the history of grid works in art. Materials:
Teacher: mosaic tiles mosaic+grid PowerPoint chalkboard or whiteboard with chalk or dry erase markers photocopied images Students: fill-in-the-blank worksheets large sheets of blank art paper pencils erasers

Objectives and Key Concepts: Content: 1. Students will see examples of mosaics in different cultural contexts. 2. Students will be able to describe the concept of making art out of smaller pieces, using puzzles or mosaics as examples. 3. Students will be introduced to the history of the grid method and famous artists who used the technique. Skills/Performance: 1. Students will be able to work in small groups to reproduce an image, each student contributing one section of the image. 2. Students will be able to mark up an image with a grid. 3. Students will be able to divide a blank sheet of paper with a grid. 4. Students will be able to transfer an image onto a gridded piece of paper using the grid technique for accurate proportions. Introduction and Anticipatory Set: The teacher will bring in a handful of small mosaic tiles, which will be passed around to the class. After the usual days introductory activities are over (artist PowerPoint or journal writing), the teacher will introduce the lesson. Have you ever put together a puzzle? I bet most of you have. What are some of the strategies you use to put together a puzzle? Raise your hand please. Answers may include putting together the border first, looking for certain colors and patterns, or just trying to fit them together by shape. These are all great ways to finish a puzzle. One of the strategies you mentioned is looking at what each piece looks

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like, and trying to pair up two pieces that match. You look to the edges to see where the design on one continues onto the next. This tactic is relevant to todays lesson about gridwork. Because puzzles are bunches of tiny pieces of art that when put together form a bigger piece of art. Kind of like a mosaic. Raise your hand if youve ever seen a mosaic. [wait time] Mosaic is an art form where small pieces of glass are cemented together with grout in such a design as to create a larger piece of art. Im going to pass around some mosaic tiles. [hands tiles out to be passed around the room] Mosaic tiles are also like puzzles, where you have to put little pieces together to form a larger, cohesive image. Here are some examples of mosaics on our PowerPoint.

Figure 3 Figure 1 A Roman tesserae (mosaic) from 150 AD used tiles to create the illusion of an unswept floor. Figure 2 Mosaic used to create a girih pattern in an Islamic mosque in Uzbekistan. A modern example of mosaic used to create Space Invaders street art.

Teaching Input: Having thus introduced the idea of small images making a larger piece of art, the teacher will then give a brief lecture and PowerPoint introducing the process of gridding in art. During this time students will have a fill-in-the-blank sheet to keep them focused and on task.

Figure 4 Albrecht Drer used a grid tool to assist him in turning a threedimensional figure into a two-dimensional drawing. Leonardo Da Vinci was also known to have used a grid.

Figure 5 Here are some gridded viewfinders that you can make, much like the one used by Drer in 1525.

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Teaching Model: After finishing the PowerPoint and allowing for a question and answer period, the teacher will write the days activities on the board and read them aloud to the class. 1. Instruction: How to Grid 2. Group Project: Piecing It Together 3. Individual Assignment (time permitting) Instruction: How to Grid The teacher will instruct students to go to their cubbies and retrieve the necessary materials for the days activities: three sheets of paper, a pencil, and an eraser. While the students are doing this, the teacher will hand out photocopies of a stock image. Once students return to their seats, the teacher will then demonstrate step-by-step how to draw a grid on the photocopies, and then how to draw a proportional grid on their own blank paper. The students should follow along on their own paper, step-by-step. The teacher will model how to use the gridlines to achieve accurate proportions,* doing this on the blackboard, whiteboard, or projector. During this guided practice, the teacher should encourage questions to clarify any confusion. *For those unfamiliar with this method, it looks something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0Bz-6Mg_Qw

Activities: Group Project: Piecing It Together: After learning how to use the grid system, students will be instructed to get into three groups (8-10 students, depending on class size). Each group will receive a photocopy of a different image. The challenge will be to divide the groups image into a 3x3 grid, labeling the axes. Each member of the group chooses one section of the grid to recreate on their own paper, using the grid method. Students will be directed to cooperate in making sure the edges of their sections match up, so as to create a cohesive whole image. The teacher may wish to show examples of the final product before students get started. While students work in their groups, the teacher should walk about the room, answering questions, assisting students and monitoring progress. When individuals have completed their own sections, they are to piece together the drawings to create one larger, unified drawing.

Figure 6 Image source

Figure 7 Image source

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Individual Practice, Assessment, and Closing Activity: Individual Assignment: After the students have assembled their group grid-art pieces, they will be given a prompt for an individual art assignment. Each student is to duplicate, on a larger scale, an image of his or choice, either chosen from a selection of images pre-selected by the teacher, or an image of the students choice which has been approved by the teacher. The student will demonstrate proficiency with the grid system by gridding their image and blank paper and reproducing the image on the paper. Example:

Image Source

Differentiation and Accommodation: This lesson has been designed to include structure accommodating to the special needs of students with ADHD. This lesson includes visual and tactile elements, such as the mosaic tiles and the PowerPoint. Students are provided with a fill-in-the-blank sheet to help keep them engaged in the potentially boring PowerPoint lecture. Throughout the lesson, students are given oral and written directions, so they know what to expect. This includes a list of the days activities, following the PowerPoint. This lesson plan includes a group activity, which encourages students to move about the room and interact with each other. This mobility is appealing to students with ADHD, who may have difficulty staying still for long periods of time. Prior to the modeling and guided practice, the teacher tells students which supplies they will need, because ADHD students may have difficulty remaining organized and remembering what materials they need. Furthermore, during the teacher modeling of gridding, students get to follow-along, keeping them active and engaged. Works Cited: Innis, Matthew D. Studio Tools: Drers Grid. Underpaintings. Sep 29 2009. Web. Oct 19 2010. <http://underpaintings.blogspot.com/2009/09/studio-tools-durers-grid.html>

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Introduction to Grid-Method Portraiture. Art-Rageous. Oct 19 2012. Web. <http://www.art-rageous.net/ GridPortraitIntro.html> kravstud3nt274. Grid Method. DeviantART. Web. Oct 19 2012. <http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/226/7/b/Grid_Method_by_kravstud3nt274.jpg> Mara Mattia. Lesson #7: Grid Drawing of Keira Knightly Continued.Mara Mattia Art. Dec 2 2008. Web. Oct 19 2012. <http://maramattiaart.blogspot.com/2008/12/lesson-7-continue-drawing-of-keira.html> Mosaic. Wikipedia. Oct 19 2012. Web. Oct 19 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosaic> TechniquesForArtists. Copying an Image to Canvas Using the Grid System. Youtube. May 20 2008. Web. Oct 19 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0Bz-6Mg_Qw>