Senufo Print Designs

In this 3rd grade lesson we explore the tribe of the Senufo of Africa. I usually do this lesson after our Native American Unit, which provides a great background for comparing and contrasting the purpose and asthetic of different tribes and their artwork. We create a line drawing and use designs to fill the border and chosen animal. We use powder pigment and water to create the spiritual glow of the Senufo tribe. We then add contrast with a dark oil pastel. The students really like learning about the tribe!

Winter Birch Tree Painting

This is a 4th grade lesson that explore the concepts of using relief as a technique. Students create a "drawing" using only tape to create trees and details. We then use the visual contrast of blue watercolor to fill in the paper. Removing the tape revels the contrast and relief left from the tape.

The Colorly Lion

In this 1st grade lesson we explore how color works and how color wheels can help us. We first learn how to turn 3 simple circles into a lion portrait. Then add the primary and secondary colors into the appropriate spaces. To finish we fill the lions mane with the colors and order of the rainbow. This creates a visual representation of the color basics.

Abstract Portraits a la Paul Klee

In this Kindergarden lesson students explore the differences in art styles and learn about the artist Paul Klee. They use fundamental shapes and lines to create an abstract portrait. The background is filled with color blocks using tissue paper painting technique.

This fun winter landscape was just done by my 1st grade classes. We look at the differences in realism and abstract art. We learn about the colors that make us feel cool. Then we create this cool feeling winter landscape using only the cool colors.

Snow Bug

This is a winter lesson I just finished with Kindergarteners. We used the "magic" of oil pastel alnd watercolor resist to draw a catapillar type bug with snow flakes inside each segment. We then added snow falling from the sky. The so called magic occurs when the colorful watercolor is applied overtop of the white drawing, snow and flakes magically apear, the little guys love that. To wrap up we write a collective class story about the adventure of our snow bugs.

This is part of a unit that I just finished with a group of 5th graders. We spent time studying the differences in contour and sketching lines. For the contour portion students chose and interesting clip art animal and played with layout, space and composition. Students then filled the background with pattern style contour lines. It turned out to be a cool graphic art piece.

Recycled Robots

This was a very fun project for all involved. As part of my art club students found interesting material to create a "recycled" robot. They gave them names and they all had interesting facts. They turned out to be cool industrial type sculptures.

This year for part of our Native American Unit 5th grade created coil pots. I do not have a kiln so we used air dry clay and then painted them when dry. The students really enjoyed the process and liked learning the pottery lingo.

Ode to Starry Night Mural

My art club recently finished this amazing 4ftx8ft mural with their version of Van Gogh's Starry Night. They enjoyed studying the "vibrations" and movement of the painting. We explored the way a painting can evoke an emotion. I have a great little coffee table book called "The Wisdom of a Starry Night" it shows paintings with a single question prompt. For this one we wrote about what wisdom we could find in this starry night. Some sample responses from my 4th and 5th graders were: "The stars in the sky remind me of how small we really are," "The bright starts remind me that my grandpa is always watching over me," it was a great reflective exersize to go with our mural.

Symmetrically Sketched Spiders

In this lesson my student have been exploring the differences in draing techniques. Sketching and gestrual drawing vs. complex contour designs. For an exercise in sketching students were given one half of a spider and asked to finish the spider using sketching and shading. Student show off what they have learned about value and skethcing before partaking in a contour exersize.

Pastel Spider Web

This project highlights the lines of a spider web while introducing little hands to conrolling glue and blending chalk pastels. Students first draw a dot in the middle of the paper and make ratial lines reaching to the papers edges. Students then color in each section with a different color of chalk pastel. Using two fingers student blend in a back and forth motion to smooth the colors into the paper and to blend the edges together. Students then create a glue dot and repeat the line pattern they created earlier with glue. Student then add circles that get larger to complete the web. The glue will disolve the pastels showing the black paper and leaving the blended pastels in the web's spaces.

Abstract Tree Silhouette

In this project students start by watching a Prezi that I created introducing them to the basics of what abstract art is and why we create it. Students then create a bare tree silouette with branches that strech to the edges of the paper. Students use black oil pastels to thicken thier outlines. Students then add a different color of oil pastel to every space created by the tree branches giving the work an abstract feel.

My character

This was a great kindergaten art project. Students explore how found objects can be used to create art. Students scavenger the art room in search of objects that can be used to create a face. Things such as buttons, string pieces, dust bunnies, scrap papers, crayon and eraser pieces, etc. Then using a construction paper circle students assemble a face. Student study pattern and rubbings to create an outfit. Students then sketch hands and feet. To end this project students create a drawing of the asseblage piece they have created. They give thier character a quote and learn how to write in a speech bubble. The two works are mounted and displayed together.