Fall classes are back in person! We just finished our first project, so I thought this would be a good time to update my neglected blog. I have a very wide age range in class right now. Hopefully, as enrollment gets back to normal, I will be able to split them up. Until then, I am trying to find projects suitable for both groups.

I decided to start with a drawing/collage project from DSS based on the book The House in the Night. I have been a big fan of Beth Krommes’ illustrations for a long time, so this was a treat for me to see how students would interpret her style. Beth uses scratchboard, which starts out black; the scratching reveals the white lines. We used construction paper and white Prismacolor pencils. We briefly discussed the perspective of the house and landscape and talked about how we would be adding lights not darks, as we normally do in drawing. This became more important as we added moonlight and texture to our landscapes. The last step was adding yellow collage paper for emphasis and adding final details. I think my favorite parts may be the sweet faces on the moons!