Matisse Name Plates

my very stapley example

I can't remember the website I saw this on but I believe it was www.deepspacesparkle.com

I showed the students artwork from Henri Matisse, particularly the cut paper ones, or the ones that appeared to be cut paper. We discussed and analyzed these works.

Next I gave the students a 6 x 15" sheet of white paper and various color scraps I've had left over. The students were to cut and paste their name and a border. The catch was that they could not draw the letters, we were 'drawing' with the scissor. I explained that the letters will have a unique and artistic style when we make them free form.  Plus drawing them would take too long and they come out small. I showed them some tricks, like using the negative scraps left over from a letter to make the same letter, and cutting 'into' the letter to cut out the inside instead of folding it. We used glue sticks to stick the letters and shapes down and then added designs and borders.

Some of the students figured out they could etch into the paper with the scissor to 'draw' on it. I reminded them that I rarely draw letters before I cut them out, and I think that gave them some confidence. They had fun and got into it regardless. I'll be doing this lesson again next year.

3-D Lizards

These paper lizards can be completed in one or two lessons and they teach children about shades and tints, as well as paper sculpture strategies. I got this lesson off of someone's website and I can't remember what his website is called!

To start put several different shades and tints of green construction paper on each table, enough for each child to select one. Even if they don't get the color they prefer, they are all going to wind up sharing the paper anyway. 

Next the children fold the paper in half length-wise. They draw the profile of a lizard with marker, trying to fill up the whole paper. I rarely set out pencils for the children to use. They make things too small and they erase practically everything. We've had a much easier time with the Sharpies. The profile of the lizard is shown below. I don't give them a stencil to use, I like how they come out when the children draw their own. The two lines in the middle are a tab to help the finished lizard stand up.

Next the children cut out the lizard. They will have two tails when they open it up. Have them cut off one tail if they choose.  Many of my students wanted to keep both tails. 

Next its time to fold the tab and glue it in place. Depending on how thick they made the body they may need to trim the tab a little bit. 

They then put the scraps back in the middle so other children can use them. Using a scrap that is different than their original color, they cut and paste decorations.

My students' lizards are currently hanging up on the wall so I don't have any photos. They look cute when arranged in different directions on a bulletin board or a cork strip, they look like they are crawling all over the wall!

Here are some samples I made. I'll update them soon. 

Beautiful Pandas

This is a lesson based on some pandas I saw on Artsonia.

We start by watching a Youtube video that just shows some pandas playing in a playpen. Very cute. The children love watching them. I ask them to pay special attention to which part of the panda is black and which part is white. After the video we discuss the panda's coloring.

Next we do a very simple drawing of a panda. The one distinction we make is to draw the fur around the eyes like tilted ovals.

Now its time to sponge paint. We use small round sponges and liquid tempera paint. It's best if the sponges are damp. The children start with the white parts of the panda and then move on to the black. The following week we glue on some plastic eyes and draw some bamboo in the background.

The fun part about this lesson is viewing the live cameras at the Washington Zoo while waiting for the paint to dry.. You can find a link on their website. The kids love watching the pandas walk around, and I do as well!

First grade work:

Torn Paper Owls

A variation on lots of torn paper owls I've seen online, mostly inspired by Mrs. Brown's Art.

We draw a simple picture of an owl using sharpie. If the children draw their's small they may draw another owl friend.

We paste on various strips of paper torn into squares. I stick to brown tones. We use watery glue applied with paintbrushes to make the process go fast.

Next we cut out eyes and a moon from white paper and glue to our pictures. We add a beak and feet made from orange paper. A brown crayon fills in the branch the owl is perched upon.

Clay birds

My fifth graders at Royal Oaks did this project.
We divided a slab of clay into two sections, one for the next and the other for the bird, eggs, and flowers. The children created the nest by using a pinch pot method. The birds were created by pinching, the eggs by rolling, and the flowers by rolling clay into a worm, flattening it, and coiling it up. Instead of trying to attach it up we put them in individually labelled plastic bags and waited for next week.

The clay kept nicely and we were able to scratch attach the pieces without too much of a problem. I wasn't at school for one of the 'attaching' days but thankfully my sub is a pro at clay and the projects came out just fine.

Next time to fire at cone 06, glaze, and fire again! Some of the birds fell off but we just glue them back on.

Finished Birds

Giraffes

Two day drawing and painting lesson I got from www.Deep Space Sparkle.com.

I demonstrate drawing the giraffe. It helps to give the children handouts of giraffes to follow along. Make sure the paper they are using is too thick to trace, but determined children are resourceful and you will catch them trying to hold the paper up to the light and trace.

Anyway, we start with the eye and go from there. I assure children that if their giraffe's ears don't fit on the paper it looks just fine. We color or paint with yellows, oranges, and browns, and the children decided on a background!

Symmetry Bugs

Pretty simple project involving monoprint.
Children paint a blob in the middle of a wax paper with colored ink. They fold it in half and roll with a brayer to mix the colors. They open it up and have a stamp to print on their 'good' paper. They role it with their brayer to stamp and peal off the wax paper.
After drying, the children draw on bug features like wings, eyes, and legs.

First Grade work:

My Family

I found this lesson on the Silver Graphics website.

Children talk about their family and I demonstrate drawing my family. We discuss different shapes we can use for each body part. I encourage the children to draw each person from their head to their feet. We get a lot of heads with legs, especially when its their very first art project. The children color their picture with crayons and add a background drawing, like suns, ground, clouds, and flowers.

Next the children paint the background using a wash of liquid watercolors. I limit their colors to three analogous colors, (red orange yellow; yellow green blue; blue purple red etc) so even if they mix they look nice.  The children love seeing the effects of the crayon resist!

Kindergarten work:

Portraits

Simple portrait lesson with cute results. See Deep Space Sparkle.
I do a portrait lesson in almost every grade every year. For this, we start with oval and rectangle stencils. There's no way around it, kindergarten students cannot consistently draw an oval the proper size or shape for a head. By first grade they're experts but save some paper and move the class along by giving them the stencils. It's good practice for stenciling anyway.
The children trace the head shape on a paper toned like their skin. I explain that its not going to be perfectly like their skin color, but close enough. I usually just have three tones to keep it simple. If a child wants a different color I don't mind at all.
The children cut out the head shape and a rectangle for the neck and glue it down. Pass out the white paper and have them draw two eyes. They color circles inside for their irises, trying to match their eye color.

The next week, the children draw on the rest of their facial features including ears. I show them how to draw each feature but they usually have their own ideas and that's fine. Then we glue on some yarn hair with glue set in a dish and painted on their paper with old brushes. They can cut the hair to match their hair length. Children like to mix yellow and brown hair to get a more realistic blonde.

The last week we cut out a shirt and decorate it. Sometimes they draw the shirt they are wearing that day!

Folk Art Lighthouses.

 

(Fourth grade work)

This is another lighthouse themed lesson. I chose this one this year from Deep Space Sparkle. We just added a healthy dose of Modge Podge and some real sea shells collected for me from a coworker's trip to the beach.

First we look at some folk art and discuss how artists simplified images into symbols to create a child-like world.

Next we drew the island, waves, and some clouds and painted them with tempera cakes.

We drew a tiny lighthouse and a whale with Sharpie and colored and pasted to the picture. The children added their own details, like boats, swimmers, and of course sharks to the scene. 

We pasted on a handful of seashells. For the first couple of classes I set out dishes of Modge Podge for the children to coat on their paintings. It makes them look like acrylic art. I stopped using it because of poor classroom ventilation. Even with both doors to my art trailer open the smell was pretty awful and chemically. I won't be using any more Modge Podge. But the one's who managed to get it on have beautiful shiny artwork. This was a favorite lesson of many of the children. They all turned out quite nice.
Fourth Grade work:

Lighthouses

Every year I do a lighthouse project with fourth grade. Fourth Graders study our state in North Carolina and everyone's seen the North Carolina lighthouses.

The background:
Using a pencil (this is one of the few projects I allow pencil for) students divide their paper horizontally into thirds by drawing two lines, a line for the horizon and a line for the shore. Next I show them a wet-on-wet technique of adding watercolor to create an ocean and sky. Children love to add sunsets as well because they can reflect them in the water. They paint the sand (the bottom third) with a neutral color and sprinkle salt on it to give it a sandy texture look. I put a small amount of salt in a medicine cup in the center of their tables and let them grab as needed.

The following week, the children draw a cylinder and practice shading with pencil. When they've had enough practice, they draw and color a lighthouse using Sharpie. I show a few examples of North Carolina lighthouses. We talk about all the details they can add to their lighthouse: top, railing, windows, door, stripes. The children color the stripes in with Sharpie and then shade the whole thing with pencil. Students cut out their lighthouses and glue to their background paper (after dusting off the salt). To make it extra pretty, paint with Modge Podge. Although I stopped using it because of the fumes. I recommend it in a well ventilated room.

For the winter scene we limit our pallet to cool colors, and dot on white paint for snow.

Slab birds

This has been one of my more successful clay projects. They seem to hold together nicely and don't crack.

First I give each child a slab of clay.

Next I demonstrate drawing a bird's beak, head, body, and tail using one fluid line on the clay. When the children are satisfied they use a wooden dowel to puncture through the clay and they drag it, cutting out the shape. With the remaining clay, the children draw a wing, and then attach the two using 'scratch attach'. I keep a supply of slip mixed and divided into six bowls. Next, while I write the children's names with a toothpick and puncture a hole in their bird for a ribbon to later adorn, the children add features like beaks, eyes, and designs with the dowel.

The children then glaze their pieces when their birds return from the kiln.

After another trip to the kiln, the children glue on feathers and tie on strings to complete their ornaments!

Clay Hands

This year the fourth graders made hands of out clay. I start with a slab of clay I cut for each child.

Next we put our hands on top of the slab and use a small pointy dowel to cut. I have the children work on top of fabric samples. They press down with the dowel until they can feel the fabric below and trace their hands. One tip: have them keep all their fingers together and just DRAW the lines between their fingers with the dowel or a toothpick lightly in the clay. The fingers when separated are especially vulnerable to breakage.  I was having the children draw the lines of their hands with the toothpick but this seemed to weaken the piece so I stopped that.

After a period of time I fire them and bring the surviving hands back up to the art room where most of the children are able to paint with glazes. I set out two colors on each table and have the children paint them, rotating around the room at five minute intervals. This is a great time to 'redo' several hands.

 

Finished Hands