Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Ms. Healy to Present at Dallas 2013 NAEA

Ms. Healy will be presenting "Transfer Plate Prints: A Community Project" at the NAEA. The session, which will include a demonstration of this fabulous process, will take place on Saturday, March 9 at 2 p.m. Handouts will be distributed to all attendees.

Current News

Julia Healy is available to facilitate professional development for K-12 art teachers, classroom teachers and administrators. She is also booking artist in residence sessions for your students. Workshops can be custom-designed, or you can choose from the list below. To contact her, call 646.285.7976 or email her at jhealy@hofstra.edu

Workshops

General
  •  Art for Academic Learning--Integrating Art into Your Teaching--Teacher Workshop
  •  The Creative Teacher--Teacher Workshop
  •  What Do I Do Now? Art Activities for Students Who Are "Done"--Art Teacher Workshop

Printmaking
  • Transfer Plate Prints (no press needed)--Ages 11 & up
  • Frottage: The Art of Texture (no press needed)--Ages 8 and up
  • Solar Plate Prints (Press needed)--Ages 15 & up
  • Monotypes (Press Needed)--Ages 15 & up
Drawing
  • Teaching Advanced Drawing on the High School Level--Teacher Workshop
Group Projects
  • Murals, Group Projects and Beyond--Ages 8 & up
Sculpture
  • From 2D to 3D-Fabulous Sculpture Lessons--Art Teacher Workshop
  • Finger Puppets/Stick Puppets and Model Magic Puppets--Ages K & up
  • Self-Portrait Masks in Plaster Craft--Ages10 & up
Mixed Media
  • Using "Failed Art" in New and Exciting Art Project--Art Teacher Workshop 
Book Arts
  • Pop-Up Books--Ages 10 & up
  • Shape Books, Accordion Books, Star Books and more--Teacher Workshop



Student Work: Self-Portrait


Transfer Plate Workshop Students


Monday, March 5, 2012

NAEA Handout

“New Perspectives in Teaching Advanced Drawing in a High School Program”
Julia Healy
NAEA--March 1, 2012
Hooking your teenage audience: Hone your own skills
Power of observational drawing
Add a twist to get rid of the boring still lives
Starters: Harry Wong
Apply ideas of structured classroom
Do-Nows That Surprise
We mostly used 4B pencils on simple copy paper that I eventually put into book form with my binding machine. At the end of the year, the students had a book of their work.
Packet has 5 of them, ready to copy. Book of all 100 available
Some are very simple: drawing a water puddle, dried up leaf, dryer lint, your thumb or a melting ice cube. Others need odds and ends that you collect, scavenge or buy cheaply. A few examples are baby shoes, small toys, yarn, pickle slices, carpet swatches, etc. Some are designed to encourage creativity: draw a deep, deep space, make a landscape that look foggy, draw a feeling, etc. Please email me if you are interested in purchasing a book containing all 100 of the Do-Nows plus a brief introduction. (Juiahealy@aol.com)
Be ready
Make what you are doing worth your students’ while
Be consistent
Recipe for an elegant problem à la Ken Vieth
1. Start with an idea that is stimulating to you and your students
2. Have a set of objectives that will allow for multiple outcomes
3. Add a technical challenge that requires and builds skills
4. Make sure to provide an opportunity for students to reflect on what they have learned through this process
Exquisite Corpse in Oil Pastel to start or other group-forming activity
“Big” Assignments
1. Gradations in pencil
2. Gradations into collages
Observational Work
3. “White Stuff” Still Life in charcoal or conte—I sometimes skip this one, if the class already has done a similar assignment in another class
Gesso Listerine bottles, coke bottles, things students might recognize the shapes of such as old toys, broken electronics, Name-brand sneakers or shoes, etc. Make a still life with a twist.
Importance of Lighting—troll yard sales for desk lamps and extension cords. I color code the lights and cords and make the students responsible for their set-up.
4. Contour plants pencil first
Optional: Adding color and tone, if desired, ink, watercolor, caran d’ache
5. Large Fake Plant Leaves—shading emphasized
6. Hand from plaster model/figure drawing outside of school
7. Fabric Still Life
Teaching creativity—important, yet students need skills, too.
8. Something from an unusual perspective—students are able to personalize the assignment and add a creative piece here.
9. Self-portrait using grid method, pencil lightly first, choice of medium later
Meaningful background added—again, there is a lot of room for creativity here.
10. Reflective Still Life—car parts, mirrors, kitchen pots, teapots, candlestick holders, etc.
11. Free Choice—students are charged with making something amazing. This is often the beginning of their Advanced Placement concentration
Other Ideas for mixing things up:
The Drawing Game
Upside Down Drawings
Art Problems
Pictionary, personalized for your students (Example: Draw your school mascot)
doodlelines
Nouns and Adjectives Game
Nasco’s Sketchables Contest
Taxidermy
True Mirror
Junk of any kind—old tools, broken appliances, junk drawer items

To contact Julia Healy email Juliahealy@aol.com or call 212.358.1640.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

National Art Education Presentation, March 1, 2012

I will be presenting a 50 minute "Best Practices" lecture at the NAEA annual conference in New York City on March 1, 2012. Titled "New Perspectives in Teaching Advanced Drawing," it will show unusual approaches to teaching observational drawing to high school students.