I love these monochromatic rhythm paintings! The lighting was weird when I took the pictures, so I’m not sure the colors are as vibrant as they really are. We talked about rhythm in art and how to create it by repetition. The students learned how to mix shades and tints of one color. Gold was added at the end for a final touch (so in the end, I allowed them to “cheat” on the monochromatic part, but the gold adds … Read more…
For this lesson, we learned about the artist Grant Wood and his painting “American Gothic.” The kids read a magazine article about this painting (It was from the 90’s and I think from the New Yorker). The students discussed what a parody is and saw many examples of parodies of this iconic painting. Then, the students drew their own version of the “American Gothic”. I highly recommend this series of books!
We made tiles for Mother’s Day with the Kindergartners… I know it’s early, and it’s a bit crafty, but it is something the parents love to get! Here is what we did: 1. I purchased a bunch of glossy floor tiles (glazed already) at our local Habitat for Humanity Re-Store (which is like a surplus/recycling store for building supplies). Super cheap… like 25 cents each I think. I love these tiles and they are fun to just draw on also, … Read more…
Cross-hatching is fun, but a difficult art technique (at least in my opinion). The third/fourth grade class picked out some animals from Zoobooks magazines and drew them in pencil. Then, we looked at Brian Selznick’s books for inspiration. Wonderstruck His novels are full of beautiful cross-hatched drawings, alternating with the chapters. Plus, the two books I have read by him are charming and wonderful stories. Read them! You’ll love them too, I guarantee it. They are listed below. I think … Read more…
These beautiful bird paintings were drawn and painted by first graders. The students learned about the artist John James Audubon and we read a book about his life. I love this book about Audubon, because it has beautiful pictures and ties science and art together nicely. The students looked at pictures of birds and drew them with crayons. Then we painted the background with tempera cakes. This is a lovely picture.. too bad we didn’t use thicker paper, it wrinkled … Read more…
Here are some fun pictures we made by creating our own stencils. First, the kids looked at little animal figurines for ideas. I did not limit them to drawing just the animals, so some chose to turn their animals into mythical creatures or draw something else entirely. They drew their animal on tag board, cut it out and then used that as a stencil. The students traced their animal stencil over and over again, flipping it around and arranging their … Read more…
And the winner is….. Katie Morris! Email me your address and you will get a copy of the Pick and Draw game. I went to a party at my sister-in-law’s house and they had these very cute cupcakes there!
Are you bummed because you didn’t get to go to the NAEA Conference this year? Did you go to the conference and miss a session you wanted to see because you were busy scoring free samples? Have you never heard of the NAEA conference and want to know what kinds of things go on there? The session handouts are up on the NAEA website. So, if a presenter uploaded their session powerpoints or handouts they are there. It’s a great … Read more…
First, DON’T FORGET TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY FOR THE PICK AND DRAW GAME!! I will be picking a winner on April 1. Rainbow Fish is an awesome kids book to go with fish art projects. The kindergartners made rainbow fish sculptures from water bottles. I learned about this idea at the NAEA conference. The lady who presented it did it with large 2 liter bottles, but I used little water bottles instead. Steps:1. Cut off the bottoms of the water … Read more…
Rich Davis, creator of a new drawing game called Pick and Draw, sent me a copy of his game to play with my kids. I love this idea! I can’t believe no one has invented this card game already. 🙂 The concept is simple. The deck of cards contains face shapes, eyes, noses, mouths and hair. Pick a card from the face pile, draw it. Then pick the other facial features. You can add your own creativity by changing … Read more…
Contour Drawings The students observed the details and lines on their shoes. They completed a contour line study of their footwear. Next, they turned these drawings into “miniature playgrounds” for stick people. Contour drawing helps define and explore edges through line and locates one object in relationship to another. It also establishes an expressive and accurate representation of the subject by the richness of the lines, thick or thin, crisp or soft, and the speed and rhythm with which they … Read more…
I went to the State Capitol today to see the Youth Art Month Art Show put on by the WAEA (Wisconsin Art Ed. Association). The show includes artworks from K-12 students from all over the state. Our school has two artworks in the show. One from the middle school teacher and one from one of my students. I’m so glad hers got chosen for the show because 1) it is a wonderful painting in my opinion! and 2) she was … Read more…
<a href=”http://www.blogpoll.com”>Free Blog Poll</a> Any other ideas.. let me know!
The kindergartners made these lively paper weavings with colored paper strips and paper strips cut from scrapbook and wrapping paper. Then, I stapled them to a white piece of paper and the students stamped a border with gadgets, caps and random objects. After the weavings, the students played with the gadgets and made a design with paints.
