Art Lesson: Walk a mile in my Shoes

Learning Goals: Create a work of art that reflects your personal experiences, beliefs and hopes to your peers. Use symbols and colour to communicate to an audience.

What is a Metaphor? What is a metaphor? A metaphor is a comparison between things that do not seem alike but share some things in common. We use metaphors everyday. For example, we might say, “My Mom is a rock.” We don’t mean she is really a rock; we mean she is strong, solid, always there. Or we might say, “I’m between a rock and a hard place,” when we mean we don’t have any good choices. We might describe someone as being a shining star, meaning that someone stands out and is highly intelligent, has a positive attitude, etc. These metaphors help explain a situation or feeling. Writers use metaphors in poetry and fiction.

What is a Symbol? What is a symbol? A symbol is an object, word, or image that stands in for or represents something else. For example, a dove is a symbol of peace. A circle with a line through it is a symbol for “Don’t!” or “No.” Can you think of other common symbols? Artists use visual metaphors and symbols to make their work richer and more meaningful.

“Don’t judge someone until Shoes as a Metaphor “Life is a Journey” “Don’t judge someone until you have walked in their shoes.” Shoes as Metaphor There is a saying “Life is a journey.” This is a common metaphor. If we explore that metaphor, we might think of all the paths and roads we have taken in our lives. Did we slog through a lot of muck? Did we skip down streets? Did we climb high mountains? You can see that if you think of the roads and paths as symbols, they stand in for a time in your life. Maybe you did not climb high mountains really, but you did go through a struggle to get something you wanted. There is a saying: “Don’t judge someone until you have walked in their shoes.” This means “Don’t judge someone until you really know what his or her life is like.” Shoes can be seen as metaphors. Once we think about the paths and roads we’ve walked down in our life journey, we can think about the shoes we have worn along the way. What about paths and roads you want to take in the future? What kinds of shoes will you need? Do you need white clogs so you can work in the medical field? Do you need sensible, low-heeled shoes for office work, or steel toed work boots for work in the field? Will you need a pair of fuzzy slippers to pamper yourself after a bath, or a pair of good running shoes to get into shape? Or both?? (Remember, the running shoes don’t have to really mean you want to be a runner; maybe they could be a metaphor for getting into shape.) Many artists have transformed old shoes into works of art. This is something you can do, too, as a way to reflect on your past life and to look ahead. Here are some things to consider if you want to use shoes as metaphors for your life journey.

A review of colour Primary colours are blue, red and yellow. Can’t be made from mixing other colours. All other colours are made from these. Secondary Colors: Green, orange and purple. These are the colors formed by mixing the primary colors. Ex. Green comes from mixing blue and yellow. Tertiary Colors: Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green & yellow-green These are the colors formed by mixing a primary and a secondary color. That's why the hue is a two word name, such as blue-green, red-violet, and yellow-orange. Color Harmony Harmony can be defined as a pleasing arrangement of parts, whether it be music, poetry, color, or even an ice cream sundae. In visual experiences, harmony is something that is pleasing to the eye. It engages the viewer and it creates an inner sense of order, a balance in the visual experience. When something is not harmonious, it's either boring or chaotic. At one extreme is a visual experience that is so bland that the viewer is not engaged. How can we create harmony? Analogous colors are any three colors which are side by side on a 12 part color wheel, such as yellow-green, yellow, and yellow-orange. Usually one of the three colors predominates. Complementary colors are any two colors which are directly opposite each other, such as red and green and red-purple and yellow-green. In the illustration above, there are several variations of yellow-green in the leaves and several variations of red-purple in the orchid. These opposing colors create maximum contrast and maximum stability.

Colour and Emotion

What story will your shoes tell? Where have I been in the past? Where do I see myself in the future? How can I decorate these shoes to show people where I want to go? How can I decorate these shoes to show people where I have been? What symbols will you use (ex. Bandaid, baseball, graduation cap, cross)? Words? What colours will you use?

Creating your shoes: Step 1 Planning, Drawing and Cutting Make a list of the ideas you want to include on your shoes Think of symbols or words to represent each idea (Pop quiz: What do we call this again?) Draw your ideas on blank paper Cut them out carefully

Creating your shoes: Step 2 Tracing Trace the outline of your images onto the shoes Tips: Plan how you will place the items (redraw if needed) Will you divide the shoes into sections? Trace lightly Poke holes to show interior details (I will show you!)

Creating your shoes: Step 3 Marker Time Outline everything you just did in pencil (Black works well. Why do you think that is?) Black makes images stand out and helps to prevent bleeding of colours.

Creating your shoes: Step 4 Colour Start with the foreground (new word) Use light colours first (How come?) Easier to cover up light colours

Success Criteria What do I have to do to be successful? I have used a variety of symbols and metaphors to share my journey with others (past, present, future) I have used colour and lines to evoke specific emotions. I can demonstrate evidence of planning, reflecting and revising my work. My work is completed neatly.