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Working
Procedure
I took a desk at the front of the class and students came
to me to ask questions or show their work. When evaluating
one student’s work it was beneficial if other students
were there listening and watching. Sometimes I would ask another
student to critique the work in front of me. This procedure
stimulated student interest and participation. Also, it was
an inducement to articulate what they were doing which aids
the learning process. Throughout the entire program, the teacher
must control the class in terms of student behavior. The studio
should be absolutely quiet with no visiting, radios or headphones.
If students need to talk, encourage them to step out of the
studio to do so. Stress concentration on the work. Point out
how talking or unnecessary moving around not only destroys
their concentration, but also that of others around them.
Typical
Criticisms
•)
This
line is broken. Can you show me where?
•)
There
are flat places in the curves, mark them for me.
•)
This
is a wet spaghetti line with no tension.
•)
All
the curves are about the same scale. Try making some larger
and others smaller.
•)
Although
you have changed the scale, all the curves are the same. Mix
in pointed, asymmetrical, flat, etc. for a more interesting
line.
•)
Variety
is the spice of life and visually interesting lines!
•)
You
are bringing this curve back too far making a rather ugly
shape and one that will be difficult to work with other shapes.
•)
This
curve is limp. More tension in the line.
•)
This
shape is sagging. Don’t draw the implied shapes vertically.
Try and keep them more to the horizontal so they can work
in a dynamic (oppositional) relationship to the other lines.
•)
The
peak of the curve is in the exact middle of the line. Move
it up or down.
•)
You
are entering the picture plane at too much of an angle creating
an ugly triangular foot which will give you problems at the
composition stage.
•)
You
are pushing too hard on the pencil. By pushing too hard, you
lose control.
•)
Your
pencil is too dull and you are losing line quality. Sharpen
the pencil!
•)
You
are holding the pencil at too much of an angle and the strokes
are too broad. Hold the pencil at a more vertical angle and
use the point.
•)
On
this shape closure (4 line), the neck is too long and the
lines too parallel.
•)
On
this shape (line 4), if I draw a horizontal line through the
middle, the top half is exactly the same as the bottom half.
Play one line against the other to make the shape more interesting.
•)
The
line (4 line) has equal activity from top to bottom which
reduces the illusion of activity. Within the line, play the
highly active segment against the relatively static segments.
•)
Too
many curves for this line. You need the contrast of curves
to straight.
•)
Restrict
activity to a segment of the line.
•)
Construct
the line! You cannot draw it with a single stroke.
•)
You
are bringing the bottom (or top) of the curve too far back
creating an ugly negative shape.
•)
Try
to visualize the line and then draw it. Feel the line as you
draw it.
•)
Use
the pencil with sensitivity.
•)
You
must concentrate on the line as you draw it. You cannot be
thinking about something else or visiting with your neighbor
and be successful.
•)
This
part of the line looks good but this part does not work.
•)
Save
the good part and erase the other and try some alternative
variations.
•)
On
this closure, the ends of the implied shape are tangential
which allows the eye to skip by the shape. Try extending either
the bottom or top line of the closure creating an oppositional
relationship between the two lines.
•)
Try
to avoid the tangential relationships.
•)
Chatter!
Chatter! Chatter! It is impossible to talk and work on lines
at the same time. If each of you is concentrating as you should,
this room would be absolutely quiet.
•)
You
know the criteria. Before you bring work to me, ask yourself
the questions related to criteria, make the judgments and
corrections before bringing the work for discussion.
•)
Get
out of here! You have been to me every five minutes. Go back
to your desk and work. You are becoming dependent on me when
you should be dependent on yourself. I don’t want to
see you again until the end of the period.
Line
Composition
The
next step is to arrange the lines as a composition in a 10-inch
square on tracing paper. On the composition, students may
turn lines upside down, flop them, or modify lines as necessary
to improve the composition. They may draw entirely new lines
if it makes the composition better. Lines cannot touch or
overlap and must enter and exit the picture plane vertically.
In order to control interval, students use the lines to define
a major and minor shape. They cannot incorporate side edges
as part of either shape. Major and minor shapes relate to
enclosed areas, and the distinction between the two should
be extreme. The spaces between lines become shapes and the
lines become edges or contours. Students should be made aware
and sensitive to shapes and which ones are visually interesting
and those that are not. The typical student approach to the
composition problem is to take a clean piece of tracing paper
and draw a 10-inch square in the center; the lines on the
save sheet are individually cut out. The students then arrange
the lines under the 10-inch square. Students experiment with
turning lines upside down, flopped and in different combinations
until they ind something worth redrawing on another piece
of tracing paper. I encourage this approach as it requires
multiple decisions within a short period of time, and each
decision is a critical judgement. This activity is most inductive
to self-discovery by students, and as such, it is an important
part of the learning experience.
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