Focus on Art: Portraits

Last month I had the third in a new series of programs for tweens and teens called Focus on Art.  This time we focused on portraits.

I decided to put the program on hiatus for the summer so I could offer other programs and evaluate whether to continue Focus on Art in the fall.  I do plan to bring it back.  Each month I had more attendees and both the kids and the adults repeatedly asked when the next program will be.

Back to May’s event.  I had seven children attend: two seventh graders, one fifth grader, three fourth graders and one second grader (the younger brother of another attendee). 

We started the program by playing a game called Roll-a-Picasso. 

After about ten minutes of this fun activity, we then continued on with a discussion of portraits and looked at examples, several of which I had displayed on the wall of the meeting room. 
 

 I showed that portraits can be done in any medium and style.  I also showed them how one person may make an original portrait and another turn that into something different, using the 2006 photograph of Barack Obama by freelance photographer Mannie Garcia and the subsequent poster designed by Shepard Fairey in 2008.  This in turn led into a shot discussion on copyright.

We then started working on drawing portraits.  The attendees could draw a portrait of someone else in the room, from their memory, from one of the books available or from one of the examples on display.  For the next 40 minutes they unleashed their creativity. 

We will be planning our fall programs soon, so I am thinking of themes for future Focus on Art events.  I hope they continue to grow in popularity!

Here's my Pinterest board for Focus on Art: Portraits.