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Unforgettable<br />
Bryan Valle<br />
Grade: 10<br />
School: Millennium <strong>Art</strong><br />
Academy, Bronx<br />
<strong>Art</strong> Teacher: Laura Blau<br />
Cut-magazine collage<br />
STUDENT: It is amazing to<br />
me how I can transfer<br />
my ideas to my hand and<br />
then onto paper. My art<br />
teacher, Ms.Blau, is a<br />
critical influence on my<br />
artistic development and I<br />
have learned that art can<br />
play a major role in my<br />
life as a way to express<br />
my inner thoughts. Ms.<br />
Blau motivates and pushes<br />
me when I have doubts<br />
about my own abilities.<br />
She showed me a variety<br />
of layering and cutting<br />
techniques, as well as<br />
the proper way to use<br />
an X-Acto blade. The<br />
meticulous cutting of magazine pieces<br />
into small shapes was challenging.<br />
Also challenging was being decisive<br />
when I had to permanently glue down<br />
those shapes. I gained confidence and<br />
overcame these challenges not only by<br />
mastering use of the knife and making<br />
artistic decisions, but also by seriously<br />
considering the peer feedback given to<br />
me during class critiques.<br />
TEACHER: For this mixed media<br />
collage unit that began as a drawing,<br />
students were challenged to design<br />
a well-balanced composition around<br />
a theme and subject of their own<br />
choosing. Much preparation was<br />
required as students gathered the<br />
colors, tones and photographic<br />
print textures they needed for their<br />
artwork. Consideration of the shape<br />
and layering of magazine cutouts was<br />
vital for developing emotion in the<br />
final pieces. A variety of techniques<br />
served students as tools to accomplish<br />
their long-term task. Students were<br />
taught proper use of utility blades to<br />
make desired cuts. Various methods<br />
for layering and overlapping were<br />
explored through class discussions<br />
of well-known works of art. Bryan’s<br />
piece stands out because it is wellexecuted<br />
as a collage, and because it<br />
is conceptually strong as an expressive<br />
artwork with universal appeal.<br />
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