Color studies make great art auction pieces for your school fundraiser.
According to the President's Council on the Arts, school art programs are suffering budget cuts across the United States. Holding a school art auction is a great way to get families involved while raising money for your school's arts program. With some pre-planning, a little seed money, and a great crew of volunteers and students, your 7th grade art fundraiser can be a brilliant success.
Pre-Planning
Prior to holding the fund raiser, solicit donations of materials, frames, and mats. This will help cut costs for the project. Put together an event planning committee made up of 7th grade students, parent volunteers, and staff to facilitate the project from start to finish. Assign roles so everyone knows who is doing what job, and when each task needs to be completed. Consider seeking the services of a professional auctioneer for a donation or discounted rate. A professional auctioneer can increase the success of your event.
Color Studies
When doing a color study, an artist can either choose one color and create a piece of abstract art, changing and muting the chosen color by adding other colors to it, or create a study of warm and cool colors. These abstract pieces, when matted and/or framed, make magnificent pieces, even for 7th grade students with little art experience. You will need acrylic or tempera paint, brushes, and heavy paper to facilitate this project.
Portrait Studies
Portrait studies are great for fundraisers because parents and grandparents are sure to bid on portraits of their children and grandchildren. Portrait studies can be done in a variety of media: chalk pastel, pen and ink line drawing, watercolor, acrylic, or tempera paint. Have 7th grade students draw for a partner and take turns drawing each other. This can be done several times with different partners. Matting the pieces gives them increased saleability.
The Great Outdoors
Landscapes and cityscapes are another marketable item for an art fundraiser. As with portrait rendering, landscapes can be done in a variety of media from pastels to paints. Chalk pastels lend a nice quality to landscapes that feature trees, mountains, and foliage, while the hard lines of cityscapes are successfully rendered in pen, ink, and watercolor.
Shoe Drawings
A line drawing of a single shoe or boot on a stark white background is another sure seller. Have 7th grade students bring in unusual shoes or boots to use as subjects. Create the drawings with black ink on plain white paper, then mat and frame the pieces.
