Creating Visual Movement and Rhythm

 

Creating movement with cut paper requires more than just cutting.  Your mind has to visualize and follow your idea of the line or shape before any cutting actually takes place.   Next, trying various arrangements and selecting the one that makes the piece "work" ...then you glue. At this point, what the artist sees flows backwards as Eric Jensen says, using our cognition and memory to double-check, mediate, and fill in what we see. Doing art, is a way of thinking and demonstrating the product of thinking.  What a marvelous journey, that's what I say-



Concepts:
contrast
movement
rhythm
positive and negative space
non-objective art


all artwork above by 4th grade

Slab Construction Ceramics

The middle school elective class learned how to make a slab construction ceramic piece.  In addition to the slab construction, their challenge was to infuse their piece with movement and/or personality.


 

 

Altering the Surface with Gesso

2nd grade had a lot of fun exploring texture while manipulating gesso for this project.  To create designs in the body of the animal, we moved the gesso around with paint scrapers or plastic utensils   The second day, we used watercolor crayons to paint in.  The transparency of the watercolors allows the texture of the gesso to show through beautifully.

 

The students could choose from an array of 3 dimensional animal models or could draw from memory.

Animals

These fabulous animal drawings and paintings are by K-1 kids.  Using 3 dimensional models we practiced 2 strategies for drawing animals.   The first one is the shape technique which focuses on observing the main shapes of the animal, for example the body looks like an oval, the head triangular etc.  The 2nd strategy we practiced was the outline technique.  Here, we find a starting point (the head) and use our pencil to follow the line of what we see onto paper. Giving them options on how to draw an animal helps increased their confidence as an artist as they find a way that works for them.  You can see both of these techniques in the bottom image.

 

We used one class period as a practice day, they chose various animals to try the 2 techniques with.   The second class period I returned their drawings, they chose their favorite and re-drew it larger on a new paper along with a habitat.  Super cool!

This Week in Art... from Gabriela Elizalde on Vimeo.

Free Form Collage

free form- encouraged to function or evolve without advance planning; spontaneous

Henri Matisse is a wonderful artist to study with kids, we can always relate to his joyful shapes and colors.  We talked about free form shapes, how they are kind of like recess.  When you are outside running free you're running in all directions, here and there, back and forth- not really knowing where you will go next.   They could really relate to that visual!  I demonstrated cutting out a free form shape by turning the paper not the hand that's holding the scissors, just making up the turns as I go along.  Giving the kids plenty of time to really get into the cutting and enjoy the process is a must do.   They begin to explore the possibilities as well as noticing  how the colors are working together once they begin to overlap.

Concepts discussed:
overlapping
contrast
movement
free-form shapes
composition

Sebastion, Kindergarten

All artwork by Kindergarten students

This Week in Art... from Gabriela Elizalde on Vimeo.

Scrimshaw + Printmaking

All images 3rd grade artwork

 

 

 

Sailors, whale bones, scrimshaw...what's not to like?

Process:
We etched our designs into styrofoam plates with a pencil.  Colored over the plates with oil pastels and burnished with a paper towel.  There you have the scrimshaw effect.
Printmaking came into play the following week as we put a bit of paint of top (we used purple) and burnished it in with a napkin.  We then placed a sheet of newsprint on top, burnished and pulled the print.  The pulled prints could then be reworked if desired. 

Making It Meaningful

You don't have to have a costume to be a hero.
Jaden

 

Words can have the power to make a home in our minds and even our hearts if we let them.  That's just what this project was about.  Students chose a sentence (or so) that has touched them in some way...something inspiring, then created a "cd" cover to coincide with the words.

Live like there is no tomorrow, Cheradin

Run to your destiny!
Sebastion

Believe in yourself, even if people don't believe in you- David
It's not from the outside, it's from the inside- Aastha
Peace be with you- Delfino
Live the life you love, love the life you live- Nathalie
God is always with you- Alicia
Choose the right path, for it leads to peace and happiness- Amer
I believe I can fly!- Aron
You can do it!- Syed
Never back up, stand tall- 
Believe in yourself- Mydelis

The mark wasn't just a mark.  It was the GET-OUT-FAST mark that people risk their lives for to save others. 
Claire

bottom:
 Never Give Up
Christian


I'm so comforted knowing that our future is in the hands of these children.  This lesson reminds me of a quote dear to me,
 Be the change that you wish to see in the world.
Mahatma Gandhi