My 3rd and 4th graders are currently making messes with paper mache! They are building and paper maching masks. They learned about Pacific Northwest Coast masks, but also masks from around the world. Here is a sneak peek of what the masks might turn out to look like- they made some preliminary sketches.. What do you think?
I have a new art lesson plan to show you! I wrote this for a substitute lesson, but you can make it as simple or complex as you want to. My students were very interested in watching me design my snowman picture and they were amazed at how detailed the background was, but also they felt confident they could create a Pop Art snowman picture of their own. This lesson is available for purchase in my shop and includes Snowman … Read more…
My third, fourth and fifth grade students just finished up these gorgeous fall still life paintings. Over the years I have built up a collection of fall decorations, artificial leaves, pumpkins and gourds. I also brought in some real pumpkins and gourds as well. If you want to do some seasonal art and still have solid art standards covered, observational drawing is always a good go-to lesson. For this project, we talked a little about arrangement and composition, which usually … Read more…
I love the results of this dotted pumpkin project inspired by the dotted pumpkins of Yayoi Kusama. I did this art lesson with 3rd/4th grade. (Amazon Affiliate links have been used, at no extra cost to you.) I based our project after the lesson taught on the blog Plastiquem. First, I read the book Yayoi Kusama, From Here to Infinity, which is an inspirational book about her artwork and life. This is on my list of top 10 favorite books … Read more…
I often like to connect what we are doing in art to what they have learned about in science class. Insects can provide a lot of inspiration for artists. The colors and designs in insects can be intricate, beautiful and amazing. Start by showing the students pictures of many types of insects (or collect real ones, if you are brave.) Talk about the parts of an insect.. head, abdomen, thorax, antennae, wings. Looking at reference photos and begin sketching insects. … Read more…
Art History Folded Petal– Getting to Know You Activity This is a fun and educational “Getting to Know You” activity I did with some classes last year. I have these art history folded petal templates in my shop. On one side are artworks from art history with a little prompt. For example, Dog Lying in the Snow, by Franz Marc. The prompt is “Draw a favorite animal. On the reverse side of the folded petals, the students draw … Read more…
I was on a mission last year to find some excellent books about KINDNESS for kids. I found NINE books to recommend to you. There were others I came across, but these were my favorites. If you have any good recommendations for books about kindness, please share in the comments! Thank you! (Amazon Affiliate links have been used in this post at no extra cost to you.) I think kids need to be taught kindness. They need to be made … Read more…
This year, our school has been focusing on kindness and cooperation. In art class, my students created posters to display around the school about kindness, cooperation and playground etiquette. Students cooperated together to make posters about cooperation! Each group received a slip of paper with a cooperation “slogan”. The Power of Cooperation C – Care for each other – Be Kind O – Obey rules O – Offer to help others P – Participate together as a team E – … Read more…
Romero Britto‘s colorful and bold style appeals to children and many people of all ages. Why do I love Romero Britto? Because he’s making things that are HAPPY and the world needs more of that. It works great to tie in with the study of patterns. His art is full of color. Kids can relate to it. His artwork has been made into many products, which shows ways artists can make a living as a contemporary artist and the potential … Read more…
One day this summer, my daughter came home from camp with a circle design drawn using metallic gel pens. I thought it looked so cool, I wanted to try it with my students in 3rd/4th grade. I usually teach about mandalas and radial balance at this age level. Mandalas have religious and spiritual significance around the world. They have been used for meditation and relaxation. I showed the students mandalas including Tibetan and Navajo sand paintings, ancient Aztec and architecture. … Read more…
Thank you to all who entered the Beautiful Oops journal giveaway. The winner has been randomly chosen and notified… and that winner is Amanda Shaw. Congratulations! When I was at the NAEA conference two years ago, I saw a station where people were making wooden Kokeshi dolls in the vendor area. Every time I walked by it, either it was too full or I had to be on my way somewhere else. So, I didn’t make one. But, I found … Read more…
This is a simple challenge that leads to a variety of creative artworks! Choose one shape to repeat throughout your artwork. Use markers, watercolor paints or any art media of your choice. The challenge is to arrange the shapes in a unique and interesting composition. Include a variety of colors and sizes. Overlap some shapes to add interest. Add patterns or designs inside the shapes. Limitations encourage students to think in new ways.. to be creative within the constraints. Repetition is … Read more…
In my last post, I showed you some of Sabrina Ward Harrison’s artwork and talked about what she shared with us at her artist visit. Her artwork is very inspiring, messy and beautiful. Please check out the other post to learn all about this artist. After the presentation, smaller groups of kids in grades 3-6 had a collage workshop with Sabrina. She demonstrated how to use Mod-Podge to paste down pieces of her pinwheel shape. While she demonstrated the pinwheel … Read more…
We recently had artist Sabrina Ward Harrison visit our school to give an artist talk and workshop with the kids. Today I am going to introduce you to her artwork and life as an artist. In Part Two of this post, I will share with you some of the amazingly diverse mixed media collages that the students made in response to learning about her artwork. All of the artwork on this page was made by Sabrina. Her message to the … Read more…
To make these charming clay animal masks, we used plastic face molds (with a layer of plastic wrap in between) as a slump mold for the clay. Another option was to use the back side of a styrofoam bowl to shape the mask. The children added and secured the parts of the face. After firing, they were painted with clay glazes.
