Web Publishing: Kaufman

Mrs. Valerie Lambert

Campus: Kaufman High School

Job Title: Art Educator

Teaching Experience: 21 years

Education: BA, Mississippi State University

MS, Texas A & M University, Commerce

Valerie Lucius Lambert

Department of Fine Arts

Kaufman, Texas 75062

Office:972-932-2811 ext. 1635

Professional Appointments

Kaufman High School; Kaufman, Texas

Chair of the Fine Arts Department

Mississippi State University; Starkville, Mississippi

Texas A & M University Commerce; Commerce, Texas

Curriculum and Instruction, M.S, 1991

Current and Past Teaching Assignments

Pre-Advanced Placement Art I

Pre-Advanced Placement Art II

Advanced Placement Studio Art 2-D Design

Advanced Placement Studio Art Drawing

I teach students creative problem solving skills. Developing their critical thinking skills is one of the keys to opening more successful life choices for the youth of today. It is essential for my students to have the tools to think for themselves. In this ever changing world, it is of great importance for students to readily think outside the box in solving problems in art class and in their personal lives and community. My desire is to see them live with greater freedom as a result of being better problem solvers.

Key Awards/Affiliations/Professional Memberships

Kaufman High School Educator of the Year, 1999

Kaufman High School Educator of the Year, 2005

Kaufman Independent School District Educator of the Year, 2005

Teacher of the Year, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3905 & Ladies Auxiliary, 2006-2007

KISD Golden Apple Award, Daneira Garmon, 2000

KISD Golden Apple Award, Josh Puckett, 2000

KISD Golden Apple Award, April Wilson, 2000

KISD Golden Apple Award, Christy Frank, 2001

KISD Golden Apple Award, Tami Trail, 2001

KISD Golden Apple Award, David Poe, 2002

KISD Golden Apple Award, Crystal Rippy, 2003

KISD Golden Apple Award, Jennifer Bassett, 2004

KISD Golden Apple Award, Sara Couch, 2005

KISD Inspiration Award, Haylee Parker, 2006

KISD Inspiration Award, Itzel Gonzalez, 2007

Claes, Nobel Educator of Distinction,

National Society of High School Scholars, Andrew Boze, 2008

Texas Art Education Association

Southwest Watercolor Society

Professional Experiences

Elected Member of the Campus Education and Improvement Committee

Chair of the Fine Arts Department

Lead Sponsor of the Freshman Class

Lead Sponsor of the Sophomore Class

Started and taught the first A.P. Studio Art 2-D Design course

Started and taught the first A.P. Studio Art Drawing course

National Endowment for the Humanities Picturing America Grant, 2008

Advanced Placement Summer Conferences Attended

Advanced Placement Summer Institute for Studio Art. Texas Tech University. July

Advanced Placement Summer Institute for Studio Art. University of Texas Dallas. July 2006

Advanced Placement Summer Institute for Studio Art. University of Dallas. July 2008

Advanced Placement Summer Institute for Studio Art. University of Texas Arlington. June 2009

Pre-Advanced Placement Studio Art I

Sketchbooks/Journals

IPORTANT: Sketchbooks/journals will be DUE THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS, NO EXCEPTIONS.

They will be each student's initial inspiration for an entire school year of artistic investigation. Students will, of course, want to continue working in their sketchbooks even after school starts - and, hopefully, for the rest of their artistic lives - but when they arrive at school in August with this treasure chest of ideas, they should have more than enough to springboard them successfully into several months of artistic production.

SIZE: Your sketchbook will be No smaller than 9x12", hard bound, with good quality paper, available at art supply and craft stores.

Finished Pages: Minimum 1/4 sketchbook.

Composition: Students decide how to compose each page. Will they look more like finished works of art? Or will they look more like pages in a notebook for another class? Will they be mostly made up of your sketches or other people's images glued into the book? Will there be a little or a lot of writing? Will students glue in envelopes stuffed with images?

Media: Students decide what media to use. All pencil? All pen? All collage? Everything? Experiment. Mix them. Students should keep in mind that they might want a cover sheep or fixative over pastel and charcoal. Painted pages should be thoroughly dried before closing.

Organization: Everyone thinks differently, so everyone will want to organize his or her sketchbook differently. However, all sketchbooks must have each of the components, listed somewhere in them.

**Image File in Sketchbook?Journal:

Design Elements and Principles: Lines and shapes, interesting patterns and textures, evocative and unusual color and value combinations, dynamic movement and rhythm, focal point, unity, balance, repetition.

Appearances: surfaces, reflections, shadows, etc.

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Pre - Advanced Placement Studio Art II

Sketchbooks/ Journals

IMPORTANT: Sketchbooks/journals will be due on the first day of class, no exceptions .

They will be each student’s initial inspiration for an entire school year of artistic investigation. Students will, of course, want to continue working in their sketchbooks even after school starts—and, hopefully, for the rest of their artistic lives—but when they arrive at school in August with this treasure chest of ideas, they should have more than enough to springboard them successfully into several months of artistic production.

Size: Your No smaller than 9 x 12”, hard bound, with good quality paper, available at art supply and craft stores.

Finished Pages: Minimum ½ sketchbook.

Composition: Students decide how to compose each page. Will they look more like finished works of art? Or will they look more like pages in a notebook for another class? Will they be mostly made up of your sketches or other people’s images glued into the book? Will there be a little or a lot of writing? Will students glue in envelopes stuffed with images?

Media: Students decide what media to use. All pencil? All pen? All collage? Everything? Experiment. Mix them. Students should keep in mind that they might want a cover sheet or fixative over pastel and charcoal. Painted pages should be thoroughly dried before closing.

Everyone thinks differently, so everyone will want to organize his or her sketchbook differently. However, all sketchbooks must have each of the components, listed on the following page, somewhere in them.

Design Elements and Principles: lines and shapes, interesting patterns and textures, evocative and unusual color and value combinations, dynamic movement and rhythm, focal point, unity, balance, repetition

Appearances: surfaces, reflections, shadows, etc.

The use of various spatial systems, such as linear perspective, the illusion of three-dimensional forms, aerial views, and other ways of creating and organizing space.

The use of the various subjects, such as the human figure, landscapes, and still-life objects, etc.

Positive/Negative or Figure/Ground relationships

The use of various kinds of content, such as that derived form observation; an expressionistic viewpoint; political statements; and other personal interest.

1. Draw a piece of furniture …or a piece of equipment from an unusual angle…. fill the space…. this can be color or black and white.

2. Draw the corner of your living room….

3. Draw a family member . . .

4. Draw your hand…show the tensions of holding something fill in the space.

5. Pile of boxes…. draw addressing different textures, patterns, shape, and values.

Collecting of things:

Start a folder to collect things and colors you like…. pictures you have, magazine picture and layouts you like. This is for ideas during the year…. we will consult this but not copy the pictures….

You may include this as an attachment to your sketchbook.

**Important note: remember that, as artists of integrity, students must use other artists’ work as inspiration only, developing his or her ideas, making them one’s own, and moving beyond duplication.

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Advanced Placement Studio Art/ 2-D Design and Drawing

Sketchbooks/ Journals

IMPORTANT: Sketchbooks/journals will be due on the first day of class, no exceptions .

Size: Your No smaller than 9 x 12”, hard bound, with good quality paper, available at art supply and craft stores.

Finished Pages: Minimum ¾ sketchbook.

Composition: Students decide how to compose each page. Will they look more like finished works of art? Or will they look more like pages in a notebook for another class? Will they be mostly made up of your sketches or other people’s images glued into the book? Will there be a little or a lot of writing? Will students glue in envelopes stuffed with images?

**Image File in Sketchbook/Journal:

Breadth. Now the fun begins. Start looking for inspiration to accomplish the above. Look at books, magazines (art journals or even popular magazines), web sites and CD covers. Look at children’s picture books at Barnes and Noble. Look at photographs in the newspaper. Spend a rainy morning at the public library. Visit the AP Central web site and look at other student work. Cut out, print out or sketch images and begin stuffing that sketchbook. Include appealing images even if the reason is not clear: maybe it’s the style, maybe it’s the color scheme, maybe it’s the use of media, maybe it’s the message. Search the web under “contemporary still life” or “site-specific sculpture” or whatever (!) and see what pops up. Print the images out. Insert them in your sketchbook/journal. Make photographs with a digital camera. Sketch what is around you at home, outdoors or in the mall. Make notes about personal responses to all of these images. Come to the first class with GREAT concepts for the first five Breadth pieces you want to do.

Concentration. And the fun continues. As students do the above, they should begin to think about what they might want to explore for their concentration. They can keep track of ideas any way they choose, e.g. a separate section in their sketchbook/journal or interspersed throughout. Students should come to the first class with at least three ideas for their Concentrations and what they MIGHT do for the first five pieces.

Stuck? Students should consider looking for the following more specific images in books, journals/magazines, newspapers, web sites and more, or sketch from their observations/imagination:

Appearances: surfaces, reflections, shadows, etc.

Personal Issues: future plans, appearance, health, relationships, beliefs, passions (like food or surfing!), aversions, etc.

Social Issues: uses and abuses of technology, war, cloning, politics and policy, religion, capitalism, drugs/crime, the environment, poverty, patriotism, etc.

Psychologically Potent Environments: empty streets, objects in places where you wouldn’t expect to find them (e.g. a tractor on an unmade bed), lonely rooms, etc.

Miscellaneous Content: Conflict or contrast; dreams; a favorite quote, motto, bumper sticker, slogan or even a fortune from a fortune cookie, mystery, ambiguity or hidden meaning

Pairs of natural and man-made objects with similar shapes, forms or patterns

1. Your Concentration…

Look at the body of works you have and think about what it is you would like to concentrate on for the next year. Look and read enclosed information about concentrations before you decide on a final concept.

You must be able to answer the following questions on the AP exam.

A. Briefly define the nature of your concentration project.

B. Briefly describe the development of your concentration and the sources of your ideas.

C. What medium or media did you use? (For digital art in the General Portfolio you must specify the program(s) and how you used them).

2. Two Landscape Drawings…

a) a close up of leaves, rocks, wildflowers, bark, and any textural area.

b) a view of an object or landscape you actually observed.

Think of these as a composition as well as a texture exercise. You can use this for color/design or for drawing sections. Research artist such as Edward Hopper, Winslow Homer, Ansel Adams, John Constable, Andrea Montegna, Paul Gauguin, and others.

3. Passageways seek out a doorway/entrance that has remarkable features either by design or by lighting effects. Try a mixed media piece as a final project after you gather a few sketches.

4. Still Life…at home set up a group of objects. Some should have a reflective surface, some texture, and transparencies. Take time selecting your objects. Consider the size relationships as well as the objects themselves. Think of where you will set them up in front of a window, fireplace, on a table….think of whole composition not just the still life objects themselves. Also consider your lighting…Natural, artificial…this should play an important part of your composition. Do a series of thumbnail sketches in your sketchbook of different views…different lighting…and then create a composition using the best of all ideas. Media can be pencil, ink, and colored pencil mixed media. Think about the areas of your portfolio. Drawing, Color/Design, Concentration, Sculpture.

5. Dissection…Do a study of fruit/vegetable/plant/animals? And their cross sections. Arrange the parts on a surface with other objects related or not related and study the TEXTURAL qualities.

6.Who am I, REALLY?…Still life with “Character”: Create a piece that involves a still life or room interior that describes the character of a particular person (real or imaginary) without showing that person. Include specifically selected subjects: all objects must have a specific meaning to or for this character in order to be included.

7. Journey and Travel Piece/Collage: Create an artwork that documents a trip or journey either real or imaginary. You must have pictures and journal entries from that trip. You may use magazine photos, real photos, drawings, newspapers, maps, souvenirs, etc. Use your computer to look up real places and gather information with outside sources. You can age the objects to make more authentic to the place or time. Suggestions…Draw the place and add a few of the mementos from the visit, create a book (scrap book) of the vacation/trip including your objects.

8. Objects that Reflect chose a shiny, highly polished object or objects that reflect what is around them. Arrange one or more of these objects with strong lighting, so that they reflect other objects somewhere on their surfaces. Make two or three thumbnail sketches in your sketchbook that demonstrate two or more points of view. Complete a finished DRAWN composition using PENCIL. See artist Parmigianino, Janet Fish, and others.

9. Get all of you past work together….We will have a lot to photograph and or redo and improve upon.

10. Open your closet door and draw exactly what you see.

Now go to your separate Assignment Sheets and see what else is expected ……

color organization (i.e. primary, secondary, tertiary, analogous, etc.)

color theory, such as that embodied in Fauvism, Expressionism, etc

color used to create or intensify expression

positive/negative or figure ground relationships

development of modular design or repeated pattern

These works may be either 2-D or 3-D.

The use of pencil, brush, crayon, pastel, charcoal, pen and ink, paint, markers

1. Draw a bicycle from an unusual angle Fill in the space. Concentrate on the figure ground relationships. Use pen and ink or pencil. You can do this in your sketchbook and do more than one.

2. Now do it again….the bicycle…in color, create that same bicycle from different angles and include the background…using only 3 colors.

3. Draw a group of shoes…that overlap each other…concentrate on accurate perspective, depth, proportions, space and shading.

4. Logo….using three colors (including black), design a simple logo for your own business card.

5. Break up Still-life…take the same still life you drew before or set up another….and redraw about 5 times concentrating on a different element of art….(color, line, texture, space, shape, form, and value)

6. Chairs…arrange chairs in your home patio etc. and draw them in three different views concentrating on 1)the positive/ negative space relationship of the composition.2) the contour of the chairs only and 3)in a particular color scheme to accent the pos/neg. relationship.

Collecting of things:

Start a folder to collect things and colors you like….pictures you have, magazine picture and layouts you like. This is for ideas during the year….we will consult this but not copy the pictures….

You may include this as an attachment to your sketchbook.

* for #1 and 2 if you do not have a bicycle or access to one then use another toy or object. A Big Wheel, or the car in the driveway. Some other object that can be covered or manipulated.

The use of various spatial systems, such as linear perspective, the illusion of three-dimensional forms, aerial views, and other ways of creating and organizing space.

The use of the various subjects, such as the human figure, landscapes, and still-life objects, etc.

Positive/Negative or Figure/Ground relationships

The use of various kinds of content, such as that derived form observation; an expressionistic viewpoint; imaginary or psychological imagery; social commentary, political statements; and other personal interest.

The use of pencil, brush, crayon, pastel, charcoal, pen and ink, paint, markers, and other media techniques

The drawings should show that you are able to pursue advanced drawing concepts including observation of 3-D subjects and work with the invented or nonobjective forms.

1. Draw a household appliance (not a can opener)…or a piece of equipment from an unusual angle…. fill the space…. this can be color or black and white.

2. Draw the corner of your bathroom…. using reflection if the mirror in your work.

3. Draw a family member sleeping…in a chair with fabric covering only a part of their body.

4. Draw your hand…show the tensions of holding something fill in the space.

5. Pile of Clothing…. draw a detailed pile of clothing addressing different textures, patterns, shape, and values.

6. Figures in action…go to the mall or some place where there are a lot of people and just do a series of figure drawings. Use these to study the human figure.

Collecting of things:

You may include this as an attachment to your sketchbook.