Building Ourselves up Through Art

In this course, we will look at five different forms of art and how we can use art to uplift ourselves. The class will begin with a mini lecture on the art form (self-portrait, landscape, sculpture, found art, and abstract art) we are addressing for the day. Then, I will have the learners do a small writing exercise which will focus on how to incorporate things they like about themselves into their art. What I want us to do is focus less on the art itself being perfect as much as allowing the art to be a way of expressing ourselves. This particular time in a person's life can be difficult to navigate. I want this class to be fun, informative, and a safe space for each learner to explore who they are through their art. Each week will have a form of art as well as a short writing assignment that will be used to guide them in their creation of their work. Knowledge of art isn't necessary, just a want to be social and a willingness to be introspective. 
The weekly schedule:
Week 1 (11/17/2020): Self-Portraits
  - Class will start with introductions of myself and the learners.
  - Next, I will give a short lecture on the history of self-portraits and show some famous paintings.
  - Then, we will do a writing assignment in which we will write down things we like about ourselves (Three physical and three emotional). 
  - After that, we will create our self-portraits and incorporate the things we like about ourselves.
  ** The goal of this exercise is to have a better understanding of the art form and to use it as a way to focus on what we love about ourselves. **

Week 2 (11/24/2020): Landscapes
 - Class will start with new learners introducing themselves. If there are no new learners we will just jump into watching a video on how artist use landscapes to express other emotions.
 - Next, I will give a short lecture on the history of landscapes and show some famous landscapes.
 - Then, we will do a writing assignment in which the learners will write down all the emotions they have been feeling lately.
 - After that, we will create our landscapes and try to express one or all of the emotions we have been feeling. 
** The goal of this exercise is to learning about landscapes as well as seeing how you can use the form to express our emotions.**

Week 3 (12/1/2020): Sculpture
 - Class will start with new learners introducing themselves. If there are no new learners we will jump into a video about sculpture.
 - Next, I will give a short lecture on sculpture and show some famous sculptures.
 -Then, we will do a short writing assignment in which the learners will look at how social media and different technologies affect the way they think about themselves.
 - After, we will create sculptures that incorporate either aspect from media that affects their opinions of themselves or express how them media makes them see themselves (this will be explained in more detail in the class).
** The goal of this exercise is to better understand sculptures and how you can use the art form to express how they feel about themselves and the world around them. **

Week 4 (12/8/2020): Found Art
 - Class will start with new learners introducing themselves. If there are now students them we will watch a video on found art. I will also ask the students to make sure they did the  homework assignment which was to research a topic they would like to have their art focused on and to make sure they had their found materials ready.
- Next, I will give a lecture on the history of found art and show some famous found art pieces.
- Then, we will do a writing assignment based on the subject they researched. They will write about why they picked the topic and how is makes them feel. This should be something they are passionate about.
- After, we will create our found art pieces that are influenced by the subject they researched. It can either be a direct representation of the subject or it can be an expression of how this subject makes them feel.
** The goal of this exercise is for the students to learn about found art and how they can use this form to express how they feel about current events.**

Week 5 (12/15/2020): Abstract Art
 - Class will start with any new learners introducing themselves. If there are no new learners, we will watch a video about how to use brush strokes to express emotions.
 - Next, I will give a lecture on the history of abstract art and show some famous works. 
 - Then, we will do a writing assignment in which the learners can write about something that makes them feel a strong emotion and why it makes them feel that way ( i.e. The ocean because it makes me feel happy.)
 - After, we will create our own abstract art focusing on the emotion talked about in the writing assignment.
**The goal of this exercise is to learn about abstract art and how to use it to express emotions.**

(This is a tentative schedule and only did until Week 5 depending on holidays and what works for everyone.)