Middle school students have been exploring the element of line in art class. As a group, we discussed how a line can create an identifiable path for the eye to follow by defining the edges of a form (an outline). The technical term for this is called “contour line drawing.” To practice this firsthand, students drew blind contour portraits of themselves and each other. The blind contour method involves carefully observing a subject and slowly recording it’s contours with a continuous line without looking at the paper. This way of drawing helps develop hand-eye communication and spatial relationships. It can be a challenge to draw what you see without looking at the paper, but each student embraced the process and allowed themselves to let go of perfection. The results were beautiful, abstract line portraits with a twist of humor 🙂

We then looked at the wire portraits of American artist Alexander Calder, who developed an innovative method of sculpting, bending, and twisting wire to create three-dimensional “drawings in space.” Each student created their own unique “drawing in space ” by following the lines of their blind contour drawing with wire. To stabilize and display the wire portraits, we attached them to colorfully painted wooden bases using a staple gun. They will be on display for the whole school to see next week!