Working with bikes in creative ways is an ongoing theme for this blog.
So is education.
So it makes me particularly happy when I see these two passions combined.
Previously, I’ve posted on a wide range of bike art projects, like:
- Dissident Bicycles (5 part art series)
- @Artcrank makes me happy
- The Adelaide Bike Art Trail
- Street Art – Bicycle Murals in Buenous Aires
- Bike Shop Art Residency
- MTB Trail Art – Trail Trolls
- Women get fruits in a basket Art Bike (by guest blogger Sachie Togashiki from Japan)
- Melbourne Art Bike Grand Prix
- Cyclisk
This week, I found an article written by Deb West (Adjunct Instructor at The Art of Education University). Deb is a retired art teacher of 25 years experience whose motto is ‘Together we ART better!’ The article I read was Why bike studies are the perfect end-of-the-year project (see below).
..and I loved how thoughtfully she had combined bikes, art, and education!
In her lesson (see below), Deb outlines an art lesson that uses various techniques focused on bikes as ‘the subject’. She also explains the reasoning for each step, ideas for extensions and how to ‘level up’ this activity.
As a teacher, I appreciate her generous ideas, resources, and suggestions – it is all outlined clearly with samples of students work-in-develop to illustrate each technique. So helpful!
Regardless of whether you are an art teacher or not, if you are teaching kids at school, home, or yourself, this is a great activity for everyone.
So let’s dive into Deb’s bike art class!
Happy art biking!
All below content and images are attributed to Deb West.
Why Bike Studies are The Perfect End-of-the-Year Project
You know you have a great lesson when you keep coming back to it, refining it, and changing it up year after year. That’s how I feel about this bike study drawing lesson. I’m always excited to introduce it to my students, and they always anticipate doing it!
Like many good lessons, this lesson is challenging. I save it for the end of the semester in my Art II class, so I know they are well-prepared.
Why bikes?
There are 3 main reasons I like to have my students draw bikes.
- It helps develop their skills even further. Although my students draw from life daily, drawing bikes takes their skills to the next level. There are so many details to observe and capture.
- The assignment can help build students’ portfolios. Some art colleges require bike studies as part of their application process.
- It can lead to scholarships. This lesson can also be a great way to get your students to create a scholarship-winning piece because, let’s face it, drawing bikes is tough! Students have to look, measure, and be exact. And, they have to pay attention to details that often go unnoticed.
The Lesson
I’ve been teaching this bike study lesson for ten years. I’d love to share how to get started as well as some ways to take the lesson to the next level.
Step 1: Contour Studies
I always have students start with several contour studies of a bicycle. These are quick sketches to loosen them up and calm their artistic nerves.
Step 2: Graphite
Once the contour studies are complete, students begin focusing on specific areas of the bike and draw with graphite in full detail. We discuss how the light reflects off the metal and how to capture that reflection through drawing.
Step 4: Charcoal
Finally, students finish up their study by working in charcoal.
Throughout the first four steps, students are encouraged to take photos of the bike. They draw both from life and their photos. This method gives them the ability to evaluate the details needed to make these drawings believable.
Step 5: Putting It All Together
The most fun part of this lesson comes right when they think they are finished. This is when I give them three days to create a composition using their bike studies creatively. I set the art room up as an open studio. Students can create reliefs, collages, and add mixed media into their negative space. Of course, throughout this process, they are considering how these additions will help emphasize the bike work. These works remain black and white and are always a big hit when we display them!
Taking it to the Next Level
You could amp up this lesson in so many ways. This past year, instead of having just one bicycle, I added a few more. Our setup even included an antique Radio Flyer tricycle I found at a local thrift shop.
In addition, I had a colleague visiting from overseas who helped me brainstorm another way to make this lesson even more engaging. Dr. Lexi Lasczik is a mark-making master artist who came to my school to work with my students for several days.
Her idea was to have students use their whole bodies as they drew quick studies of the bike on 24” x 36” drawing paper in sixteen timed sections. We challenged students to complete studies in ten to thirty-second bursts. We even made them switch hands!
It was beyond exciting to watch the students! They were so energized. After the first few studies, they lost their fear of failure and began to realize this exercise could be an amazing learning tool!
Once they completed the first sixteen timed studies, they turned their papers over and did another sixteen, but this time they used ink and sticks and again, the room palpitated with artistic excitement!
In this case, for the final project, students took their three detailed studies as well as their mark-making studies and combined them into a new composition.
I also had them incorporate one color into their piece, and the results were spectacular!
It’s always fun to see how the learning process shows up in the final work. I believe it’s learning at its best!
What objects do you use to teach your students still life?
Have you used bikes to teach your students to draw?