Elements and Principles of Design Scavanger Hunt

 In art class this week, we learned about the elements and principles of design. To reinforce our understanding of the elements and principles of design we were required to go on a scavenger hunt to find different elements and principles of design and photograph them. In the following pictures one can see different elements from around our farm. 



                                            Space: the feeling of depth in a work of art.

Fall scene on our land.

               Contrast: differences in size, values, shape and other elements.

Different sizes of used wire spools on our playground.

         Rhythm: indicating movement by the repetition of an element.

 Waves show movement.

                                               
                                               Value: the lightness and darkness of a color. 

Watermelon rind is a good example of value.

                               Texture: used to add tactile quality to a work of art.

Manufactured rock on the side of a building shows texture.

Welcome to Robert's Art Gallery!

In an NSU Art Methods Class, we were asked to create a footprint project that we used to introduce ourselves to our teacher and classmates. To create the footprint, the students first traced their feet (either barefoot or with shoes or socks) on a piece of construction paper and cut it out. Next, they brainstormed a list that included their individual interests, things that are important to them, or other symbols that best represents their life. Once the students had decided what symbols best described their life or interests, and what symbols they would like to include on their footprint, they made, drew, or colored them themselves, or they cut them out from magazines or other media, or looked for found objects that represent their life well. Then they pasted or attached the symbols to their footprint in the manner they preferred. The students used this foorprint to introduce themselves to the class, which was very informative and interesting. Here is a picture of my footprint: 

Robert's Footprint (click on picture to view it full size)

Following is a brief overview of what the symbols on my footprint represent:

• The round picture in the middle of the footprint is the community where I was born and have lived all of my life.
• The NSU sign denotes that I am currently a student at NSU
• The music notes suggest that I love singing and listening to music
• The pig means that I have worked in a hog barn for 12 years
• The flowers imply that I  love nature and spending time outdoors
• The shoes signify that I love to walk or run for recreation
• The tools suggest that I like  carpentry or other handiman work
• Hey, purple is not my favorite color, I just happened to choose it for this project.

Extention Activity: Teachers could use this project in other subject areas as well. For example, in Social Studies, when studying the movement west in America, or other migration patterns of humans, students could write down, draw, or use other symbols to represent all the points in which humans settled in their migrations. Arrows or numbers could be used to signify in which sequence the movement occured. Students could then present this to the class or just use it for their own studying purposes. Art makes learning fun and interesting!