Batik Owls

These lovely owls were done by my 6th grade girls.  To see the  technique, please check out  the sugar skulls from the post below.

Sugar Skulls

A new version of sugar skulls!

• - I had the basic shape of a skull for them to see.  They drew their own.
• - Fill in with various lines to create areas for color
• - Fill in with fluorescent oil pastels
• - Crumble paper and open (repeat 3 times)
• - Paint over entire skull with black tempera (the paint will go into the lines to create a batik effect)
• - Rinse off in the sink with water and a sponge or big brush
• - Let them dry.
• They did all the drawing with a pencil first and then traced over the pencil with a Sharpie (they could choose any color(s).
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Torn Paper Collage

 

    Making a torn paper collage is such an engaging  experience for anyone.  The students learned what it means to tear with the grain of the paper and what it means to tear against the grain of the paper.  They  also  arranged their papers in a way that was pleasing to them as artists.  Some chose to make representational collages while others just had fun exploring tearing the paper with a new insight. This lesson really gets a chance to bloom with two class periods versus one.  On the second day,  I demonstrated how you could add details by layering colors on top of other colors.  This really helped them develop their ideas.  Toward the end of class I showed Frederick by Leo Leonni.  With their new found understanding,  they were able to differentiate which shapes were made by tearing and which were made by cutting...pretty cool.  To see all of the collages, click on the slideshow below!




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Beautiful Owls!

These wonderful clay owls were done by 2nd  graders.  I especially love how they just dove into adding texture with the tools.  Thank you to  That Artist Woman for the inspiration for this lesson!  I did tweak it a bit though.... I  like to put a bunch of tools on the table and let the kids figure out how they can be used to create the texture versus telling what to do with each one. I find it makes them  explore the materials and make new discoveries.
Here are the steps:
(First I demonstrated the process to the whole class)

1. I gave them a small piece of clay and they rolled it into a ball. 
2. Then they squished it down with their palms (just enough to flatten it a bit). 
3. Then they took the rolling pin to make the oval like shape. 
4. They  folded over the edges to give the shape of the wings. 
5. For the head you just fold the top down. 
6. For the ears they  pulled out the clay. 
7. For the eyes they used  marker tops.
8. Texture was added with various tools.  
9. Some of them decided to add a beak with a small bit of clay.

 Voila!

Happy Birthday!

 

These wonderfully delicious cakes were done by Kindergarten students.  Scroll down to see more about this lesson on a previous post!  I just had to add this new collage of pictures because I love the way they turned out!

Seed Pods

We have been working with clay in my middle school elective class.  These seed pods were made by making two pinch pots, scoring, adding slip and joining them together.  They turned the rim of one pinch pot inward and turned the rim of the other pinch pot outward and then smoothed them together.  Lastly, they added texture with various tools.  I'll add more pictures later as some of them haven't been fired yet.  I especially love the variation in tones for the green seed pod.  This student layered different glazes and was hoping to get this type of effect...it worked!

Altered Page, Artists as Designers

The 5th and 6th grade girls are working on designing an altered page with a "spooky" mood to it.  Shown above are the steps we are taking.  First,  they were to select words to make a sentence that spoke to them about creating this spooky mood.  This was actually a really fun part because they become so enthralled into finding this perfect sentence which never existed before.  Then,  I gave them a selection of images to choose from which they were to glue onto their board/page.  Then they used the oil pastels to block out the negative space.  They could use the oil pastel however they chose.  The next step was to design a frame or border (we used the scissors with a special edge for this).  The last step is to construct a small envelope and attach it to their piece. I'm encouraging them to invent a new way to make an envelope.  We are not completely finished yet but I wanted to share the work thus far.  I like this lesson a lot because I believe every part has challenged them to a new level.  

Lines and Cakes!

The focus of this lesson was the art element of line.  During one class period, we looked at photographs and artworks and discussed how lines are all around us.  I believe kids are natural explorers and love to look around and find lines in the environment!  Next,  we made a line chart while we were on the rug.  Finally,  they went to the tables to create their own line charts.  I created more excitement by letting them know that the following week they would be learning how to draw a cake and decorating it with all kinds of beautiful line designs!  

I have to give credit to Explorations in ART the K edition.   I have found it a wonderful resource for ideas.  That's where I found the line chart lesson.  The birthday cake idea probably came to me because I was craving a piece of cake!

Animal Drawings

These are from 3rd Grade.  Their challenge was to draw an animal and create the texture of the skin or fur by repeating lines or shapes.  I placed small animal figurines at each table so they could choose which ever animal they liked. When they were done with their drawings the wrote a short poem about their animal.  I'm super happy with the results!

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This Week in Art...

This past week we have been finishing up our colorful castle paintings while learning about color mixing. We are also finishing up printmaking and drawing animals to show texture. To find out more about these lessons scroll down to see the posts.