O'Keefe flowers!

Hello there!!

This post features a lesson I taught last year in the spring time, and will definitely try again this year with my third grade artists! We first talk about a few of Georgia O'Keefe's artworks - I show a progression where her flowers become closer and cropped to the point where they become abstract. (We are lucky enough to have a school garden at one of the schools where I teach, and it is so wonderful that students can go out and really see flowers and leaves close up and hands-on after our artist talk.) We talk about learning to "crop" and create an aesthetically pleasing composition on our 12"x 12"paper (avoiding placing our flowers in the exact middle of the page). 

 We also talk about all the colors O'Keefe used in her paintings - for example, its not simply a red flower, there are pinks, yellows, oranges and browns all wrapped up to create one image. They name all of the colors they see in their chosen flower before they begin drawing with oil pastel.

This lesson is also great in the fact that they learn how to work with and control oil pastels - messy and fun! We then use watercolor on the background - keeping in mind complementary colors!

The results are bright and beautiful!

Thank you for stopping by! Please come by again!

Snowman Compositions!

Hello there!

This is yet another lesson that I have never done before! Lots of experimenting going on, and learning from mistakes! I decided to try out teaching basic composition to first grade artists. It was a little tough at first, simplifying terminology. I had my first class create two different compositions of snowmen after discussing what two different compositions would look like (subject of your drawing is hopping around the page)! Much to my surprise, almost everyone understood, and even wanted a challenge! So the next class I bumped it up to three different compositions!

Some are unfinished here, but I am very impressed with the kids' enthusiasm and understanding! (It did help that we promptly had a snow day a few days later!)

Woohoo! Thank you for visiting!

Picasso Blue Period Guitars

Hello there!

So this is the first time I have ever tried this lesson, and the kids really seemed to like it!

We discussed a few of Picasso's artworks from his Blue Period - why do you think he used those colors, how do the paintings make you feel, etc. It lead to some really nice discussions!  We then drew our guitars, and used different shades of blue to paint them.

I decided to do the collage portion in stations, where each table in the classroom would have a different collage element on it. We practiced transitioning to each table (which seemed to help a lot - I didn't practice with the first class! eek! Learn by doing!) We also discussed what mixed-media means, and the different textures we could put on our guitars (corrugated cardboard, felt, construction paper, bubble wrap prints, etc.)

A problem I encountered was we could not get to all the stations in one class period. I tried to time it out correctly, but there are always a few who need a bit more time to cut or glue, and rushing is a huge no-no in the Art room! The last work day for this project sort of turned into a free-for-all, where students just went to the collage element they were missing to finish it up.  I think I need to manage my time a little better next time around!

Some of these are not quite finished, but I couldn't resist posting!

Mural "Opening"!

There was a fantastic turnout for the Mural Makers opening afternoon, where we had refreshments and talked about the mural-making process. It was great to see all the proud parents before winter break! 

3, 2, 1...

The big reveal! Applause! Applause! 

Signing our hand prints!

I am on the left, there are two enthusiastic high school volunteers and a fellow Art educator! 

After 5 great weeks, hard work and lots of acrylic paint, the mural is finished. The students did an amazing job!

Kinder Printmaking!

Kindergarten has taken up printmaking!

This was a very fun project for all of us in the Art room. Kinder artists learned about the printmaking process (simplified, of course!), and learned about what it means to make a print of an object. I love showing them the video of the artist that creates prints of teddy bears on black paper  - I found it on Pinterest!  Here is the video!

We then began making our own prints - circles on paper - counting our circles and making sure at least one overlapped with another. 

Then, we added color to our printmaking projects. We talked about making an abstract artwork, where it doesn't show "something is real life" but shows shapes, lines and colors in a different way. 

Here are some results! 

The students chose their favorite color and used watercolors to paint the background of their project. 

Thank you for checking out this lesson! 

Op Art- Gr. 3

Hello there! 

We have been working on controlling our colored pencils in grades 3 and 4. One of the students' favorites is the Op Art project. We learn about artists Bridget Riley and M.C. Escher, what Op Art represents, and we create an amazing piece with lines and value shading! The best part of this project is when the students hold up each other's work at a distance, and are so impressed with what they've just created!

 Working hard on their value shading! 
They have learned a lot about patience, because it takes a while to achieve all those different values! 

I love how proud they are of themselves after this lesson! 

Kinder Cylinder Hats!

Kindergarten artists have been concentrating on two and three dimensional shapes in their classrooms, so what better opportunity to make some 3-d shapes in the Art room! We began by looking at cylinders on our tables, describing the sizes and shapes. We then practiced drawing cylinders, learning about the parts of a cylinder along the way - ellipse, parallel lines, and the ever-important "smile" on the bottom. We then created a hat out of our cylinders, and went on to create our main artwork after lots of practice! We talked about who would wear our cylinder hats, and how we would use texture and pattern to make our hats more interesting. Here are some examples! 

The artwork above is supposed to be me! I think it's pretty accurate!!

They had a great time thinking of who would be wearing their new cylinder hats!

Thank you for visiting!