Day Three (week 2): Dodgy Paintings

Field Trip!
Although the day was cloudy, it was the first day that it wasn't pouring. We piled into the van with paper, buckets and paint (no paint brushes!) and headed to Dodge Point. We brainstormed what we could use to paint if we didn't have any brushes. Our finger Points! We looked at how the horizon lines divides the image and that we are looking at colors, not objects. The only rule was that we had to cover the page. The artists found themselves very quiet and observant.

Bird Watching

I found this lesson on http://www.deepspacesparkle.com. I thought it was a great way to quickly assess the students for the upcoming conference week. I typically do not need to do formal assessments, but I like to provide the classroom teachers with any observations that I have about a student's fine motor skills and ability to follow multi-step instructions without doing art "under stress". The students were asked to imagine being the explorer who discovered a brand new bird species. Their job was to record the visual details of how the bird appeared. The students used a combination of oil pastels, Sharpies, and watercolors to document this newly observed bird! 

Wiggle Lines

After reading "Lines That Wiggle", by Candace Whitman, each student drew a random line on his/her paper. I collected all the papers and passed them out to different students. Students were encouraged to turn their papers around and figure out WHAT kind of wiggle line they had. Next we added glitter to make the line "pizzazzy" and drew an environment around it. Using our imaginations was the focus of this project.

Georgia's Garden

Nothing says spring like looking Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings... No matter how many times I teach this lesson, I never tire of the results. I have taught this to at least 400 different students over the years, and I have yet to see 2 of a kind. As simple as it is, it never ceases to bring smiles to everyone! 

Self Portraits

Students worked on their self portraits for three weeks. The first week was based on students drawing themselves. We discussed how we can “build a person” by using basic shapes and drawing the horizon so our person is not floating. The following week students drew their favorite place behind them after looking at Frida Kahlo for inspiration. Kindergartners finished off their work with markers, crayons, oil pastels and paint.

Pumpkin Heads!

Yellow + Red = Pumpkin Head! The first week of the project, the students learned how to mix yellow and red paint to make orange. Focus was on painting the whole page, holding the paint brush correctly and mixing colors. In the following weeks, the students cut out pumpkins from their orange painting and decorated using black, green, and brown paper. The class discussed the use of facial expressions to tell how someone, or some pumpkin, was feeling. 

And all that jazzzz.....

Second graders looked at Wassily Kandinsky’s compositional paintings. The classes discussed the layers that he used to create a mood. His paintings express rhythms and patterns to express energy and movement. As the students listed to Jazz, they created layers of paint, paper and glue that built into a completed work. The class discussed how the similarities between musical and visual compositions. Go ahead and listen!

Seeing Music

Inspired by the artist Wassily Kandisnsky, first and second-graders drew lines while listening to Bach. We discussed how lines can be used to “draw” different types of sound and music. After drawing to the music, the students used tissue paper and watercolors to fill in the background, allowing their lines to “sing!”

Pickles on Parade!

Pickle People, Pickle Princesses, Pickle Pets, even Pickle Fish! Mixing yellow and blue paint allowed the students to experience first-hand how green is made. In the following two weeks, each student made a unique pickle character and used paper and markers to add details and “pizzazz!”

Easy as A, B, C!

The students looked at Jasper Johns work. The class discussed the way he brought attention to everyday symbols and objects. The students recognized that the letters and numbers in his paint­ings were unlike those that they use in their class work. Using tempera paints, the students turned their letters and numbers into unique colorful art. The students learned that creativity can begin by using “building blocks” from their existing body of knowledge.

Curious Flowers

First graders created “exquisite” flowers based on the Surrealist art technique. Each artist draws a part of the flower without seeing the previously drawn sections. Afterwards, the original artist outlines and adds colors to their new and unique flower!

Who Let the (BLUE) Dogs Out?

Second graders learned about the art of George Rodrigue and his popular Blue Dog portraits. George Rodrigue, a native of New Orleans, has painted hundreds images of his dog Tiffany in a variety of environments. The class discussed the emotional qualities of colors and decided on a color for their own dog portraits. The students then created an environment for their colorful canines!