Fandom High School

There was a plate of sugar cookies and a carafe of hot chocolate on the teacher's desk today. Steve greeted his class with a smile and, "Good afternoon. This period has been set aside for your final. However, I couldn't think of a way to test your artistic merit, and far be it from me to expect to hold your attention with winter break so very close, so congratulations, you all pass. You can use this period to work on any projects you might not have finished that you want to from throughout the semester, or to mess around with any of the materials from the supplies. There are cookies and cocoa. Thank you, you've been an excellent class. Enjoy."

Steve seemed to be in a very good mood today. That might have something to do with how he was no longer a turkey. "We've barely scratched the surface of all the different ways art can be made this semester, I'm afraid, but our time is coming to an end in a couple of weeks, so you'll have to continue your exploration on your own. Or in another art class, who knows? Today is dedicated to one of the other major paint mediums, watercolor." Steve provided a brief lecture on what made watercolor different from some of the other paint options, with some suggestions on technique, then said, "You have your choice of paints, and your assignment for the day is to choose one of the paintings in this packet," he said as he handed copies of said packet out, "and reproduce it. It doesn't have to be an exact copy, just your interpretation. You can begin now."

Steve was in a fantastic mood today. It might have had something to do with the pony standing in the middle of the classroom, looking peeved. Yes, Steve had handwavily 'borrowed' Tony from Tyler. "Today we're going to be doing some life drawing in charcoal," Steve said. "Your subject won't be a person, it'll be a pony. This is Tony. You may know him as 'Mr. Stark,' but that's a little formal for a pony. Which he is, for the moment. Say hello, Tony."

The pony looked like it was thinking of biting him.

"If you'd like to pet the pony, you are welcome to try, but he's a bit temperamental and the school will not be held responsible for any pony-inflicted injuries." They could always try suing Tony once he was human again. "Get to it."

Oh, look, pumpkins! And sharp implements! This could only mean one thing. "If you're not from around here and no one's explained Halloween to you, I'll be happy to do so," Steve said, "but on its most basic level it's an excuse to dress up and eat ridiculous amounts of candy. Since the holiday is tomorrow, today we'll be carving Jack-o'-lanterns." Steve paused to hand out a information sheet on Jack-o'-lanterns. "Everybody has a pumpkin, and I've got a couple of extras in case something goes completely sideways, and there are several patterns to choose from. Please be careful, and feel free to take your Jack-o'-lantern with you at the end of class."

The crayons were back out, along with plain paper. "Today we're going to watch a movie about an art museum," Steve said. "The movie's mostly geared to children, but I'm sure we can enjoy it as well. I'm not going to dim the lights, so if you'd like to draw during the movie you're welcome to, and if you'd like to work with some other materials just let me know and we'll see what we can find in the supply closet." He did try to be helpful.

Steve passed around a handout as today's class started, and said, "A photograph is made, traditionally, by the process of capturing the light passing through the lens of a camera on a piece of light-sensitive film in a negative, or reversed, image, which is then developed with chemicals to produce an image of whatever was photographed. Digital photography has recently become the more popular medium and involves pixels. I'm really the wrong person to talk to about that." A lot. "Now, I handwavily asked everyone who has one to bring their camera today. If you don't have one, I have these single use cameras," and since anyone needing one might not know how they worked, he explained that briefly, too.

"Your assignment today is interactive, I want you to work together to take photographs of your classmates. You may interpret that in any way you choose so long as your works are within the bounds of good taste. You can take portraits, action shots, whatever. You also have homework: next week I want you to bring in ten photographs with some artistic merit you've taken and developed, had developed, or printed during the week. You can get started now."

There was a slice of apple pie at each student's workstation today. "Good afternoon," Steve said. "Do not eat the pie. If you have already eaten your pie, it's not that big a deal. You'll just be drawing some crumbs on a plate. Today we'll be working on still lifes, which are works of inanimate objects that have been arranged out of their natural setting. A painting of a shell on the beach is not a still life, it is a landscape. A painting of a shell on a table, or a slice of pie on a plate in this case, is. The medium you'll be working in for these still lifes is pencil and paper. You can work in black and white or in color. You may be surprised by what colors you have to use to accurately depict your subject. Again, I'm not worried about skill level, just put in your best effort and have fun. Don't get frustrated." He paused. "When you finish your still life, or when the class period is over, whichever comes first, then you may eat the pie."