food face...

Last year I went to the National Gallery in D.C. and saw an awesome exhibition on Giuseppe Arcimboldo. His paintings are incredibly detailed and super interesting. I have been dying to do a project that relates to his art.

Finally, the time has come. 3rd grade is studying botany. They had a whole bunch of veggies brought to school and they studied, drew, dissected, and tasted all the different vegetables. When they were finished examining the veggies, I had them brought to art class. We learned about Mr. Arcimboldo and created some faces from the vegetables! So cool. It was also a great exercise in working groups and to get another use out the vegetables!

The final product... (all waste was composted and will be used in the school gardens!)

 

Artwork at the top of post:

Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Vertumnus, 1590

Van Gogh Flowers...

 

Spring is in the air here at school. Even I have spring fever... (like seriously) I introduced Van Gogh to the Kindergarten and read them the biography Vincent van Gogh Sunflowers and Swirly Stars by Brad Buck and Joan Holub. I specifically focused on his flower paintings. The sunflowers and the iris paintings are just lovely. We talked about what impressionism means... I always tell my young students that impressionists put their IMPRESSION in the painting. Not what something really looks like but, the artists impression of the what something looks like.

This was the kindergartners first time using oil pastels in my class. I showed them how they could blend the colors and smear the pastels.

The students were instructed to create a vase full of flowers...using their impression... 

Artwork at the top of post:
Vincent Van Gogh, Vase with Twelve Sunflowers, 1888

slavery quilts...

4th grade has begun studying slavery and the Civil War. In art, we talk about Harriet Powers and her famous quilts. We learn about her life, why her quilts were meaningful, and her applique techniques.

I love this project for the following reasons:

1. Kids get to illustrate a favorite memory.
2. Kids will make a quilt square out of felt.
3. Kids will learn to sew.

Big giant felt mess!!!!

Stitching!!!

Slavery quilts...

 

Artwork at the top of the post:

Harriet Powers, Bible Quilts, 1886

patience children...

You will finish... eventually!

Here it is... the pointillism project! Whoot whoot...

This project to great for the 4th grade because:
1. they have enough skills to produce a nice drawing
2. they are impatient and this teaches them they can not rush
3. it is a great way to remind them of foreground, middle ground, and background
4. they like to see all the tiny dots in the paintings

So first we talk in depth about the art "isms" ... I have them name as many as they can... Almost everyone knows about impressionism, so it easy for them to understand that pointillism was developed from impressionism.

I go into detail about why these artists use dots, how the colors are applied next to each other and the eye blends them, even that the name pointillism was making fun of the art (back in the day)... I show many examples and details of the paintings.

The students must:
-create a landscape
-have foreground, middle ground, and background


We use markers to make our pointillism pictures...

 The finished product...

Artwork at the top of post:
Georges Seurat, Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, 1884-86


P.S. If they complain a lot just tell them it took Mr. Seurat two years to complete the one painting. That will make them think for at least a minute.

fantasy windows...

Oh how I love the brightly colored paintings of one Henri Mattise...

He is my inspiration for this fun second grade project... For the past few weeks the students have been working on drawing from pictures that they brought to school. They are illustrating (and writing in L.A.) their autobiographies. It is taking a bit longer ( and by bit I mean a LOT longer) and the kids were getting bored with it.

We stopped illustrating to look at Mr. Mattise's paintings. Specifically the paintings he did that included windows!

We discussed the color and the style in which he created art. We also talked about what fantasy was... I could really see the kids getting excited about Mattise!

The project requirements were:
Must include a window
Must be fantastical

That is all. And the kids were SO pumped! I gave them the choice to use markers, color pencils, or crayons. They also chose 3 large things that they were allowed to paint. (They drew very small and detailed, that is why I made them choose 3)

Here are the final creations...

I just love how creative kids are... flying horses, candy houses with aliens, stairs to space... just plain awesome.


Artwork at the top of post:
Henry Matisse, Armonía en rojo, 1908.

are you brave...

Well then have a Jackson Pollock day...

First, I read the first grade the book Action Jackson by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan.This book has awesome illustrations!! I showed certain parts from the 1951 movie of Pollock painting. He has a bud in his month (not appropriate), but I wanted them to see him at work. I choose some sections were they were focused on his feet/ canvas. We talked all about action painting, expression, movement, etc.

We went over Pollock Painting rules...

Rules:
No throwing paint (at eachother)
Aim for the paper
Be flexible (don't worry if you get a little paint on you, share colors, etc.)
Be expressive
Have fun

Before we started I had the kids take their shoes and socks off. This alone made the kids act like it was freaking Christmas...

Kids in actions...

 

I had everything set and ready to go on my back patio... I am not going to lie... it took me a hot second to get everything ready! 

I recruited two upper school students to help out and the classroom teacher was there to supervise. 

We had a few mishaps... one student dropped a cup of paint... and it was like a geyser of red paint!!! It went all over her face, feet and a couple of the other kids. It was hilarious. Of course we ran out of time, and the kids feet were covered in paint. And yes I wiped them off the best I could; put their socks and shoes back on and sent them on their way. I am sure the parents were a little shocked when it was bath time.

It was all worth it when I heard the kids say... this was the best day ever because of art!!!