This is a great lesson for a number of reasons. For one thing, shoes have a lot of information. We wear them on our feet all the time, but do we ever take time to really examine them? Also, the details on most shoes are very linear, making them a great subject for this project.
Drawing your shoes could be tedious, so I give the students a fun lesson to make it more enjoyable. One of the reasons I like a process that mechanically produces the art, like printmaking or ceramics, is that the end product is a surprise for the artist. It comes together all at once before the creator's eyes. In this regard, the process is responsible for finishing the project (to a certain degree) and the artist sees it fresh as soon as it is finished. With ink transfer, he or she can make adjustments easily, too.
I have the students remove their shoes. Now, I realize in some places this is not allowed for health reasons, for fire safety, or because it could be considered abusive. I never had any trouble with it, but you could get a bunch of shoes from Goodwill if it makes everyone more comfortable. It's one way to avoid the inevitable stinky feet jokes. One of my teachers brought a box of shoes to class and it turned into a major series of paintings for her. Shoes are fun!
Anyway, my kids used their own shoes, which is cool because they are paying more attention to something they have with them all day long and don't know much about. I generally have them place one shoe flat on the sole and the other turned on its side to expose the bottom. This can be challenging as an ink transfer. They could retrace their drawing if it doesn't work, but who wants to draw something this hard twice? So, take a look at my ink transfer lesson plan to see the process and make sure it works for them. Don't let them get too far if the transfer isn't happening.
Here are some results. I'm amazed, looking back on these, that they were done by children! I can't help wondering if the process makes it psychologically easier to draw them. Notice how most of them have a slight overlap. I must have made sure the students arranged them that way. For the older students, some foreshortening is in order. Note how a number of these students got the foreshortening!
