LESSON THREE: THE ESSENCE OF SPIRIT

Spontaneous architect sketch on napkin. Robert Van Berkel

What makes a house a house? How do you know it is a house? How come any other building
cannot be a house? Sometimes, the simplest of questions lead to complex discussions. This
lesson focuses on the spirit of things. How do break down objects and ideas into their
essence? Sometimes when an artist needs to put something down on paper fast, they
roughly sketch out the spirit of what they were thinking about. It would be almost impossible
to record every detail in only a moment without losing the intense thoughtful inspiration that
drove the artist to record it in the first place. To help them record it fast, they only draw the
gesture or essence of whatever it was they needed to record. This could be the basic shape,
the forms, the connected or unconnected parts, or only a single line. These moments and
gestures are valuable and are among some of the most expressive works. This is a
supporting activity for the next lesson to help students consider and practice
translating the spirit into artwork.

I. Lesson Three, High School Art I, The Essence of Spirit, 90 mins

II. Lesson Rationale:
Art starts with a spontaneous idea. Students should exercise the ability to
illustrate ideas as simply and efficiently as possible. Artists have been known to
jot down the ideas for incredible works on everyday materials like paper towels,
hotel note pads, or business cards because the major idea was more important
than the materials or details needed describe it. Students will be given a chance
to experience a traditional media in a new way a spiritual way! Students will
have a better understanding of spirit when they can understand a traditional
gesture drawing as the spirit in a moment.
III. Key Concepts:
Spirit starts out as an idea.
IV. Essential Question:
How does spirit develop?

1996 - 'Abstract landscape in line' art on paper no. 6.199a' Indian ink drawing on paper;
Dutch Abstract Expressionism art / Hollands abstract-expressionisme; free image in public
domain / Commons, CC-BY painter-artist, Fons Heijnsbroek
V. Lesson Objectives:
 After the lesson, the students will be able to differentiate gestural/abstract
techniques from other figurative rendering methods. The lesson will be as
assessed by monitoring students when they create gestural drawings of their
peers in sketchbook.
After the lesson, students will be able to describe any object or form in gesture by
repeated practice in class.
VI. Specific Art Content:
Drawing, gestures, coordination
VII. Resources & Materials for Teacher:
Dry erase markers, dry erase board, sketchbook, pencils, sharpeners, timer
VIII. Resources & Materials for Students:
Dry erase markers, dry erase board, sketchbook, pencils, sharpeners

In its primary aspect, a painting has no more spiritual message

than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass. The channels by
which all noble and imaginative work in painting should touch the
soul are not those of the truths of lives. Oscar Wilde
IX. Instruction and Its Sequencing:
Day One
1. Introduction/Motivation 10 mins:
Start random scribbling on the dry erase board for a moment. Turn around
Did you know that this counts as a successful gesture drawing? Famous
artists sometimes practice their drawing skills by drawing very quickly. They
call it a gesture drawing because you are only drawing the basic lines and
movements that make whatever you are drawing- it! It almost looks like the
object is still in motion or a ghost. You could even say that you are seeing
through objects or people and drawing their spirit. Show examples of gesture
drawing. When you start drawing your gestures, you do not want to worry
about how much or how well you record your subject. I am only looking to see
that you can draw a spirit quickly.
Explain that today is a gesture drawing day but students should feel
relaxed. Art is a form of meditation. Meditation is a way to keep in touch
with our inner lives or our essence It can take us beyond the boundary of self
by focusing on the awareness of our physical intellectual, and emotional
states, bringing attention to and being in the moment.
2. Guided Practice 10 mins:
Demonstrate a simple gesture of the Eiffel tower in less than 10 seconds.
Emphasize that you can make a gesture of drawing of anything. Explain how
you managed to capture the spirit with only 3-5 lines. Ask a student to model
a pose for you while you create a 4-5-minute gesture drawing. Explain the
steps:

Mark the major areas (head, feet, pelvis, back form,)

Mark joints and limbs.

Use fast strokes to gesture the dimensions of the body.

3. Independent Practice 60 mins:

Ask students to use sketchbooks and pencils to quickly draw

architectural landmarks from around the world. You will use a
PowerPoint to slide each landmark. Students will quickly draw from the
slides as fast as they can to create gestural forms of the popular
buildings. As the slides go on, make each session faster. The students
are pushed fast enough that these drawings become very
abstract and may not resemble the structures. These drawings
are fantastic and expressive. No, they may not look much like what you
drawing, but these are considered strong gestural drawings that artists
use for inspiration.

Take a 5-minute break after 25 minutes of slides.

Now, ask each student to model for the class a pose. Students should
arrange chairs in a circle around the student pose. Each gesture will
take no more than a minute. Students will have one drawing for every
 one of their classmates. Allow brief amounts of time for students to
switch out and sharpen pencils.

Collect sketchbooks for a participation grade.

Ask students to turn to their favorite gesture and allow students

gallery time to view their peers work.
4. Closure 20 mins:
Allow time for students to clean their areas and rearrange the room the way it
was before the gesture drawing sessions. Introduce the next major project.
Be thinking about the ways we can express spirit. I want you to choose a
song for class next time that we will use to express our spirit. For example, I
like dance music so I will show you a Madonna song that I will use to create a
painting. What makes your favorite song different from other music? Why
does it stand out? How is it supposed to make a listener feel? Students are
given a homework assignment: find an appropriate song they can play for
themselves in class.
5. Formative Evaluation:
Nothing is graded other than a participation grade. Look through sketchbooks
and make a note if each student attempted the slide show gestures and made
a gesture drawing for each of their classmates. Ask students to put a star
next to the one they feel is their best gesture/spirit drawing. The
gesture drawing they have chosen themselves is the evaluationask yourself
did the student understand the ideas being taught?

6. Classroom Management Procedures:

Watch to see how students are describing their gestures. Coordinate a
classroom timer accordingly.
X. Summative Assessment and Evaluation:

I want to know that students can break structures or ideas down to the
simplest forms. Students will demonstrate this during gesture drawing.

I want to know that students are demonstrating the traditional steps for a
gesture drawing. This will be taught during the demo.

I will record the evidence of student understanding viewing sketchbook

gestures. I will interpret the information by making a note of students who
need more experience with gestures. Students who do not fully
understand the objectives will have more time to practice.
XI. Interdisciplinary Connections:
Hand-eye coordination and motor skills.
XII. References & Resources:
Google images for landmarks and gesture drawings.
XIII. Art TEKS:
 (4) Critical evaluation and response. The student responds to and analyzes the
artworks of self and others, contributing to the development of the lifelong
skills of making informed judgments and reasoned evaluations. The student is
expected to:

(A) interpret, evaluate, and justify artistic decisions in artwork by self, peers,
and other artists such as that in museums, local galleries, art exhibits,
and websites;

(B) evaluate and analyze artwork using a verbal or written method of critique
such as describing the artwork, analyzing the way it is organized,
interpreting the artist's intention, and evaluating the success of the
artwork;

(C) construct a physical or electronic portfolio by evaluating and analyzing

personal original artwork to provide evidence of learning; and

(D) select and analyze original artwork, portfolios, and exhibitions to form
precise conclusions about formal qualities, historical and cultural
contexts, intentions, and meanings.

Source: The provisions of this 117.302 adopted to be effective July 28,

2013, 38 TexReg 4575.
XIV. National Art Standards:
Visual Arts/Presenting #VA:Pr.4.1
Anchor Standard: Select, analyze and interpret artistic work for presentation.
Enduring Understanding: Artists and other presenters consider various
techniques, methods, venues, and criteria when analyzing, selecting,
and curating objects artifacts, and artworks for preservation and
presentation.
Essential Question: How are artworks cared for and by whom? What
criteria, methods, and processes are used to select work for
preservation or presentation? Why do people value objects,
artifacts, and artworks, and select them for presentation?
VA:Pr.4.1.HSII
Analyze, select, and critique personal artwork for a collection or
portfolio presentation.