"Grid Design" was frequently offered to beginning and basic art classes as it is a less-threatening method of accurate drawing for those having limited art experiences. It presents possibilities to deepen skills in focus, math skills, making judgmental estimates, or "guestimates" as we called them, and the excitement of seeing small ideas expand bit by bit into larger completions--like the examples that follow.

Nice Things Start In Small Packages!

  This Introductory Art Class would generate 4 major skills in this experience: using a ruler, learning to estimate space relationships from a small diagram to its larger twin, texture review and a little bit about lettering.

  The left diagram on the top is a 3"X 4" tracing paper which has 1" grid lines measured and drawn on the back side of the paper and won't be erased.

  The middle diagram is the actual enlargement ready for finishing. The right example is the completed lettering grid.

  THE PROCESS

  This of course was preceeded by experiences in creating visual textures which would now become part of the finishing sequence. (Note: New texture inventions are required in all classes each year. We don't want to become "stale", right?)

  Our first step was to collect 3 large-sized newspaper examples of upper, lower and mixed case lettering.

  These would be arranged and then traced onto the front side of the 3"X"4" tracing paper. They could be overlapped and turned in different directions to use the total area in an interesting manner.

  Students are encouraged to "re-design" the letter shapes if they were too small, large or not liked. The collected examples were not a requirement carved in stone, and we do have the right of free thinking! However, the final design would be based upon a correct rendering of the small plan.

  Step 2 is the actual enlargement. Students are shown a "square by square" technique, using dots to pin point the starting and ending positions, and some middle ones in-between. Then the contour drawing connects them together. Erasures, readjustments and better definitions can be made whenever necessary.

  Students would use colored pencil as the primary rendering medium. Their designing could be augmented with collage materials, markers, pen and ink, or other media if desired. For instance, the middle example was executed in watercolors and collage materials. The bottom drawing had several fabric and wallpaper insertions.

Other interpretations can be seen in Part 2--where some students did a bit more.