MicrographySelf-Portrait

Grade:5th

Medium:Drawing

LearningObjective:Studentswilldrawaself-portraitusingthearttechniqueofmicrography.

Author:HeatherMcClure-Coleman

ElementsofArtLine:anelementofvisualarts;theflatpathofadotthroughspaceusedbyartiststocontroltheviewer’seyemovement;alongnarrowmarkorstrokemadeonorinasurface;athinmarkmadebyapencil,pen,orbrush.Therepetitionoflines(and/orshapes)isusedtocreatetexture,pattern,andgradationsofvalue.AdditionalVocabularyWordsContourline:thelinethatdefinesaformortheedgeofanobjectsoutline.Contourlinedrawing:alinedrawingthatfollowsthevisibleedgesofashapeorform,bothexteriorandinterior.Micrography:artworkcreatedfromtextthatformsanimagewhenviewedatadistance.Aninterplaybetweenthetextandimage.Self-portrait:animageofoneselfdrawnorpaintedbytheartist.Materials&Supplies

• 8.5x11”studentphotographsinblackandwhite

• Pencil• Eraser• FinePointSharpie• Ultra-FinePointSharpie

• 8.5x11”whitecopypaper• 8.5x11”tracingpaper• Tapeforhanginginwindowwhile

tracing• Camera• Printer

Context(Historyand/orArtists)Wikipediadefinition:“Micrography,alsocalledmicrocalligraphy,isaJewishartformdevelopedinthe9thcentury,withparallelsinChristianityandIslam,utilizingminuteHebrewletterstoform

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representational,geometricandabstractdesigns.Coloredmicrographyisespeciallydistinctivebecausetheserareartworksarecustomarilyrenderedinblackandwhite.”Micrographydrawsadesign,portrait,orsceneassociatedwiththesubjectbyusingwordscomposedoftinyletters,whoseformsarebarelylegibletothenakedeye.WidelyusedinmedievalHebrewmanuscripts,micrographyexperiencedarevivalattheendofthenineteenthandthebeginningofthetwentiethcentury.IthasbeenesteemedbyJews,becauseitmakesitpossibletodrawapictureofasacredeventwithout"castingaway"thesacredwordswhichdescribeitinaclassicalreligioustext;thus,micrographypermitstheweldingtogetherofthevisageofasaintorsagewiththeverywordsheutteredorwhichwerewritteninpraiseofhim.

ImagefromtheLibraryofCongress:MicrographyfromthecollectionsoftheHebraicSection.Thislithographofamicrographywascompletedin1881byMosesElijahGoldstein.

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Imagefromhttp://gawno.com/2009/05/micrography-text-art-and-typography/.

Imagefromhttp://gawno.com/2009/05/micrography-text-art-and-typography/.

AdvancedPreparationTakeblackandwhitephotosofeachstudent.Thepictureshouldbeaheadshotandincludetheneckandsomeshoulders.Tips&TricksSincestudentswillbewritingpositivecommentsaboutthemselves,youmaylettheteacherknowaheadoftime,sostudentswillhavemanyideastoincludeintheirportrait.Studentscouldwrite40positivecommentsaheadoftimeandbringthelisttotheartlesson.DiscussionPoints

• ThislessonisinspiredbytheartformofMicrography.Showtheexampleoftheship.Askthequestion,“Whatishappeningintheartwork?”Askforevidence,“Howdoyouknowthat?”or“Pointtothepartyouaretalkingabout.”

• Discusshowpeopleusedthisartformtoconveybothwordsandimageryinasinglepicture.Intheshipimage,themaninfront,isthepersonwhosaysthewordsthatcreatestheshipimagery.

• ShowcontemporaryexamplesofimagesofMicrography.Discusstheworksofart.Askwhattypeoffeelingtheartworkconveys.

• Defineanddiscussdifferenttypesofportraitsandself-portraits.Ask,“Whyisitmeaningfultomakeself-portraits?”

• Definecontourline.Discusshowthestudentswillusethecontourlineasonestepintheirartwork.

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ReflectionPoint(AssessmentofLearningObjectives)• Canthestudenttellmeaboutmicrography?• Didthestudentcreatealineself-portraitusingwordstoportraythemselves?

InstructionsforLessonDemonstratetheprocessfortheclass.

1. Eachstudentwillstartwiththeirblackandwhiteheadshot.

2. Tapethetracingpapertothepicture.TraceverybasicoutlinesofthefacewiththelargerfinetipSharpieincludingtheneck,shoulders,eyebrows,hairlines.Avoidtracingteethanddonotmakeatriangleforthenose.Insteadmakean“L”shape,thebridgeandnostrilswillworkbest.

3. Hangthephotopagethatisnowtracedwithblackmarker,inawindowandtapetracingpaperoverit.Tracewiththelarge,finetipSharpieoverthesamelines.

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4. HangtracingpaperwiththeSharpieoutline(thecontourlines)inwindowwithcopypaperontop.

5. Tracetheoutlines,LIGHTLYwithpenciloncopypaper.

6. Takethecopypaperbacktothedesk.WiththesmallerSharpie(ultra-finetip)writewordsorsentencesthatdescribeyouasyoufollowthepencilcontourlines.Largespacesofhaircanbefilledinwithwordsorleftasanoutline.Thesizeoftheletterscanbestretchedbiggertofillinaspacelikethelipsoreyebrows.Docentsmaywanttogivepromptstostudentslikefavoritecolor,sport,bookorhavethestudentswritealistofpositivecharacteristicsaboutthemselvesaheadoftime.

7. Erasepencillines.

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ReferencesandAttributions:https://www.incredibleart.org/lessons/high/micrography.html

http://art-paper-scissors.blogspot.com/2011/01/micrography-portrait.html

Imagesfrom:http://gawno.com/2009/05/micrography-text-art-and-typography/.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/a-menorah-and-micrography-judaic-treasures/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micrography

https://blogs.loc.gov/international-collections/2018/02/micrography-in-the-jewish-tradition/

NotesforEducators

21stCenturyThinkingSkillsObserving–Usingyoursensestolearnaboutsomethingindetail.Makingconnections–Connectingnewinformationwithschema.

WAStateLearningStandards(VA:Cr.1.1.5)Creating–Investigate,plan,make.Combineideastogenerateaninnovativeideaforartmaking.(VA:Cr2.1.5)Creating–Investigate.Experimentanddevelopskillsinmultipleart-makingtechniquesandapproachesthroughpractice.(VA:Re7.2.5)Responding–Perceiveandanalyzeartisticwork.Identifyandanalyzeculturalassociationssuggestedbyvisualimagery.

ArtsIntegrationOpportunitiesStudentscanwriteanautobiography;usepoetryforthetext.