Open it up to research - I mean come on, you're already on the internet.

One of the greatest parts about blogging is that it's on the internet (for more information on the internet go HERE). I frequently find myself asking the students to find imagery, articles or artists that interest THEM. This way they can feel more attached to the assignments and find exemplars of artwork that could influence their designs. Similar to when the students are making a post on their own work, I provide them with a few brief questions to get them going.

An example post I had them research was:
Find an image online that you find interesting. Write 4-5 sentences on why you are interested in it, what you would like to learn from it and how it could help benefit your artwork. Make sure to include a link and an image of the artists work.

Here is Mikayla's response to the questions:

Interesting Image

"This picture really interests me. I think that it is so cool how you can take words and from them into a picture. I also like how not only is it a picture but it also uses color within the picture so that it is not just a solid color. It is also amazing how even though there are words making the picture the artist was still able to use different shades of colors to produce the overall picture. Another thing I like is how even though the entire picture is flat, the lips stick out at you because they are not done with words. I would like to learn how to create these types of pictures with turning words into pictures. This can help me with my artwork because I love doing things that are different from everyone else and out of the ordinary. Using this kind of technique would set me apart from everyone else even more so. This picture is sooo cool and interesting to just look at."