This week I asked the kids to make book covers. What book was up to them, and what age. I showed them some examples, and we talked about what makes a good cover, how you need to match the font to the style and content of the book, how book covers indicate for what age they are meant etc. And then of course, some weren’t satisfied with just a cover and made a whole book!
Some of our older children wanted instead to practice their portraits, so I gave them a session unrelated to the theme of text oainting first skulls (to understand the structure of the face and head) and then drawing self-portraits in the mirror. For those self-portraits I gave them a range of challenges including continuous line drawing, three minute drawing and ending with Auerbach inspired charcoal drawing with a rubber – this is when first you cover the paper with charcoal and then make your drawing with a rubber, adding more charcoal to make corrections and reworking with the rubber. Auerbach would do this so many times that the paper tore. Unfortunately, we did not have the time for this – maybe next time!
