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Category Archives: self portrait

Frida Kahlo and her Animalitos Art Project

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Frida Kahlo and her Animalitos Art Project

This year during Latinx Heritage Month (September 15-October 15) I will be teaching my 3rd graders about Frida Kahlo and her many pets. It is a good reminder to teach about diverse artists throughout the year and throughout your curriculum. Frida Kahlo’s had many pets including macaws, parakeets, a parrot, sparrows, a cat, a fawn, monkeys, an eagle, and hairless dogs with ancient Aztec lineage. Many of her self-portraits feature herself with animals.  The animals are like children to her, … Read more… →

Free Printable: Faith Ringgold Inspired Quilt Template

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A child's drawing of a family surrounded by a colorful mosaic frame, with a hand resting at the bottom, inspired by Faith Ringgold.

Hi!  I’m here today to share with you a meaningful art project for your younger students.  This would be good as as a “getting to know you” activity.  The following examples were all made by kindergartners near the end of the year, but I would think this lesson would be suitable for kids through grades 2. Many art teachers have taught about the artist Faith Ringgold and had their students create paper quilts.  I have a free printable for you … Read more… →

Animal Personality Drawings

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Animal Personality Drawings

Here is a really fun twist on self-portraits!  I teach the grades K-4/5 at my school and the middle school art teacher is in charge of grades 5/6-8.  We have a new art teacher at the middle school level this year and her name is Jayne Baitinger-Peterson.  She comes to our school with over 30 years teaching experience at the elementary level and she has been enjoying the change with middle school youth.  She gave me permission to share these … Read more… →

Mixed Media Self Portraits by 3rd Grade

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Mixed Media Self Portraits by 3rd Grade

My students made self portraits with construction paper, tissue paper and paint. This project is always a hit with the kids and parents.  I love it because it involves lots of good art concepts such as color mixing with paints, shades and tints, proportion, facial details and collage techniques. We start by creating the background with tissue paper and paint.  The kids are encouraged to experiment with color mixing.  I demonstrate how to make colors lighter by adding white and … Read more… →

Mixed Media Self Portraits by 3rd Graders

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Mixed Media Self Portraits by 3rd Graders

A self portrait is one of those art projects that is always fun to do with kids.  Kids often struggle to portray an accurate likeness of themselves (at least in their opinion), but their personality always shines through. I did not come up with this lesson all on my own.  I saw something similar in an art ed. magazine years ago and adapted it and reused this one many times.  In my opinion, that’s a great way to collect a … Read more… →

3rd Grade Color Mixing and Self Portraits

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A 3rd-grade child's drawing of a person with glasses and brown hair, raising both hands. The bright, abstract background showcases playful color mixing.

These 3rd grade self-portraits were charming and delightful.  We spent two class periods mixing colors for the background.  Each student experimented with combining colors to see what would happen.  Then, we used construction paper to make the faces and markers to add details.  I guided them step-by-step with tips for drawing and placing the features.  The students used mirrors when drawing their features. 

Pop Art pictures: 2nd grade

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Six colorful Campbell's Tomato Soup cans, each showcasing different Pop Art designs, celebrate 50 years of Andy Warhol's iconic artwork.

“Don’t think about making art, just get it done.  Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it.  While they are deciding, make even more art.” Andy Warhol The 2nd graders learned about Andy Warhol.  We read Getting to Know Andy Warhol, by Mike Venezia and we viewed a short video about the artist.  The students drew themselves while looking in a mirror.  Then, I photocopied each drawing so the students had multiple … Read more… →

Self Portraits–3rd grade

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A 3rd grade child's drawing of a smiling person wearing a blue cap with a hand symbol, blue shirt, and holding up both hands.

 How do artists see things differently?  What is craftsmanship?  How have artists in other cultures and times expressed themselves through self-portraits? The 3rd graders read the book Luke’s Way of Looking by Natalie Wheatley to discover how artists see things differently. Next, the class read a book about self-portraits.  They painted squares of color on a background.  Through this painting, they mixed and applied tempera paints to create tints and shades.  Then, they added tissue paper squares in places for … Read more… →

Self Portraits in the Style of Andy Warhol

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A grid of nine colorful pop art portraits of a person touching their face, styled in various bright color combinations.

Self Portraits in the Style of Andy Warhol 2nd grade             How are tools properly used in the art room?  What is a self-portrait?  What is Pop art?  These are the questions the 2nd graders explored in their first unit.  The students learned about proportion and drawing a human face.  They used mirrors to draw themselves and these were photocopied four times.  Pop art was discussed and they learned about Andy Warhol by reading a book and watching a video. … Read more… →

3rd Grade Self Portraits

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3rd Grade child's artwork of a person with glasses and raised hands, set against a colorful abstract background.

This was a lesson that I found in a magazine.. either School Arts or Arts and Activities.  This is a several step project. Day one:  Paint squares of colors using watercolor paints on a piece of 12 x18 paper.  Finish during this period. Day Two:  Cut out tissue paper squares and glue on top of your painted paper. Day Three: Use construction paper and cut out a shirt shape.  Add patterns and designs with Crayola Gel FX markers.  Glue to … Read more… →

Pop Art Portraits

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Four colorful Pop Art portraits of faces with varying skin tones, eye colors, and hair colors displayed in a grid.

These lovely Pop Art portraits were created by our 2nd graders this week.  We read a book about Andy Warhol and watched a video about Pop Art.  We looked at and discussed Andy’s use of bright colors, repetition and popular subject matter.  The artwork we focused on was his self portrait.   To prepare, cut a 9×12″ piece of paper into 4 pieces.  You will need one quarter piece for each child.  The kids looked in a mirror to draw … Read more… →

  • Banner with colorful artwork promoting an art shop featuring kindness coloring pages, artist activities, and resources for teachers.