Oriental Landscapes

If you're like me, you're always looking for new ways to teach about the Elements of Art and the Principles of Design.  This lesson allows for discussion and execution of many concepts that are included within these two areas. This lesson also is a multidisciplinary lesson, (aren't they all?)

One day one we looked at examples of landscapes and discussed why these were unique. Many of the early Chinese landscapes were created by artists as an escape from political chaos.  Landscapes became a retreat so that the artist could be more in tune with the peacefulness found in nature.  Landscape painting was and still is considered the highest form of Chinese painting.

Spatial relationships are easy to see in many Chinese landscapes. You can see that we created the foreground, middle and background.  Next we painted trees and added signatures with Chinese characters, using the traditional vertical format.  Blossoms were added using cotton swabs and various tints of red.  

Pumpkins!

O.K. I'll admit it.  I do love jack-o-lanterns.  I love the colors, the faces and the endless possibilities involved in creating these pumpkins filled with personality.  Our Kindergarteners listened closely to the book It's Pumpkin Time, which describes the process of growing pumpkins.   We noticed and discussed the fact that the pumpkins are various tones of orange. 

After our class discussion, it was time to get to it and create. On day one we painted our pre-drawn pumpkins.  The next week we began designing our pumpkins.  This provided a good opportunity to discuss correct scissor usage as well as how much glue to use.  I always remind them that a dot does a lot.  We discussed moods as we went.  The kids love this activity and so do I!

Still-Life With Paul Cezanne

I found it easy to discuss the concepts of space and value while introducing first grade students to the French Artist Paul Cezanne. We looked at and discussed various works by the French artist.  

Next we began our own art based on his apple still-lifes.  We spent the first day drawing and tracing our lines with black crayon.  Students got creative by using patterns for their backgrounds.

On day two, we began painting.  First we painted some green and red at the bottom of our apples. 

Still-Life with Martha Alf

I always to try to squeeze in a Martha Alf pear drawing lesson with my fifth grade students every year. This is such a good lesson in which we can review the Elements of Art and the Principles of Design.  And the end product always makes for such a stunning exhibit.  

Martha Alf is an artist from southern California.  She is well known for her pear still-lifes and landscapes.

Salvador Dali Elephants

You can't get a whole lot stranger than Salvador Dali.  As we discussed the Spanish artist known for his surrealist paintings, we we amused to hear about some of the things we learned.  We tried to imagine riding around in a car full of cauliflower or that he said that he received transmissions from outer space through his trademark curly mustache. Dali's paintings are dream-like and fun to try to interpret. 

Even though we looked at The Persistence of Memory, I decided instead to have us focus on his elephants.  The elephants are so interesting with their huge bodies perched atop the long, spindly legs that have bird feet.  We also learned about the importance of elephants in Indian society. We let the costumes that are used in annual parades of elephants in India inspire us.  The costumes really gave the pictures a pop of color.

Pattern Fish

I always love to begin the school year with the book Pattern Fish, by Trudy Harris.  My first grade students love to show just how much they know about patterns.  It's a great cross-curricular book. After we read the book and discuss patterns, students participated in a directed drawing.  I try not to use stencils unless I need things to be a certain size.  It can be challenging to get the little ones to draw large enough to fill the paper.  But we all gave it a go!

So the process went a little something like this. We began with a great big frown.  That was the key to getting them to draw large.  Then we added a smile.  Voila!  A fish body. Next we added details, such as fins, a tail and a mouth. Students then had to decide on a pattern for their fish body. After adding all of our details to our fish, we added seaweed. This is a great way to explain overlapping to the little ones. The ocean bottom was added, along with some bottom dwellers and then it was time to trace over our lines with Sharpies. 

The next time we met, students added color, remembering to use a pattern with their choice of color.  White crayons were used to add bubbles.  To wrap it up, each student painted their water using a glittery watercolor. There were lots of oohs and ahhs when they realized their water sparkled. Everyone had such success with this project!

Up, Up, and Away!

After reading Hot Air, by Marjorie Price, our little artists began planning their own hot air balloon designs.

Using chalk pastel for the background was both fun and successful.  The balloons were colored with markers.

Flowers!

I saw a post where an art teacher had her students draw flowers and then color them in, blending colors with oil pastels.  This was a great way to start our school year and a great way to review color theory and blending.

2015-2016 School Year

It's a new school year and things are moving right along.  I will soon post pictures of what we are currently working on. I'm reading The Dot, by Peter Reynolds to our newest little ones. We are discussing patterns and will soon draw and paint under-water worlds, including patterns in first grade. Second graders will begin Paul Klee castles, using simple shapes. Third graders are fascinated, (as am I), with Salvador Dali.  Hot air balloons are going to be fun for fourth graders to design and fifth graders are brushing up on their blending skills using oil pastels.  More to come!

Clay Cupcakes: 

Wayne Thiebaud & Claes Oldenburg

After studying the art of Wayne Thiebaud, (YUMMY!), we set out to make clay cupcakes. This is perfect way to introduce Claes Oldenburg. 

I bought silicone cupcake liners at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Each student was given a liner, sprinkled with baby powder to keep the clay from sticking.  We made small pinch pots and then pressed and molded them into the liners. The clay that went beyond the height of the liner was trimmed using a large paper clip. The clay was easy to pop out and now you have the bottom.

Another pinch pot would become the top. A cherry was added, with reminders to score and add slip.  The cherry added to the top of the cupcake becomes the handle for our containers.

After firing, it was time to add color! Students were asked to use one color on the bottom and then use several colors to decorate the top.  We actually finished these just in time for Mother's Day. 

Clay Fish

What is a Mandala?

A mandala, (mon-dah-lah), is various geometric designs (usually circular) symbolizing the universe; used chiefly in Hinduism and Buddhism as an aid to meditation. They allow the busy mind to take a break while the creative mind is allowed to run free.  One stares at the mandala and irritating thoughts fade away.  Mandalas are used as symbols for meditation, protection and healing. Mandalas are great examples of radial balance.

I needed to complete a lesson connecting art with the computer world.  Fortunately, our kids were issued Chromebooks this year, which made this project a lot easier.  We looked and and discussed examples of mandalas and how they are examples of radial balance.  Then it was time to create!

I was lucky to have the help and guidance of one of our Tech coaches. (Thanks Sara!)  I had not done a lesson in a long time in which I collaborated with another teacher.  It was fun and refreshing.  We got the kids ready to go and began to create using Sumo Paint. They enjoyed it as much as I did.  This is the type of project where there are unlimited possibilities.  

Picasso Cubist Self-Portraits

Pablo Picasso, a Spanish artist was know as a co-creator of Cubism. Cubism is s style of art in which the images look abstract.  The images are often incomplete or simplified into geometric shapes and forms.  There is very little defined space in Cubism.  There are often more than one points of view within one specific work of art, such as a frontal and profile of the same face.

Our fifth grade students enjoyed stepping into Picasso's shoes and creating Cubist artwork.  The funny thing is that I had to remind them not to over-think what they were drawing.  It seems that sometimes abstract art can be more difficult to create than realistic art. I think their translations of the idea turned out to be very successful.

Aboriginal Art

The Aborigines are native to Australia and have contributed richly to the art culture there. One of the more common styles incorporates dots into artwork.  Subject matter often includes animals native to the country.  Paintings are often done on natural surfaces such as bark or stone.  

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