Joycelyn Dressing
Artist | Art Educator
High School Student Teaching
James A Beneway High School
Art for Life
Mixed Media Letters
Big Idea: Identity
Essential Question: How do the intersections of culture, society, and personal experiences influence the development of personal identity?
Focus Artists: Robert Indiana, Julianna Szabo
Unit Overview: Students experimented with a variety of fonts and themes to construct a three-dimensional letter sculpture before enhancing their design with a variety of mixed media materials to further illustrate their theme.
Ceramics
Let's Face It (Personification)
Big Idea: Emotions
Essential Question: How do emotions shape our understanding of the world and influence our interactions with others?
Focus Artists: George Carruth, Gwen Murphy, Gilbert Legrand
Unit Overview: Combining a variety of handbuilding techniques learned in previous units, students chose an object to personify with an emotional expression of their choosing.
Photography
Pinhole Cameras
Big Idea: Technology
Essential Question: What relationships exist between scientific principles and artistic expression?
Focus Artists: Peter Wiklund, Spiffy Tumbleweed, Cameron Gillie
Unit Overview: Students engaged in dialogue about the history of cameras before creating their own working pinhole camera, taking exposures, practicing how to develop negatives, and creating contact prints of their negatives.