Medium: Mixed Media Fiber Art: Sticks, acrylic paint, yarn and wool
Grade: Pre-K (can be modified for any age, including adults)
***Allow at least two days for this project, more time if you want students to dye the wool themselves.
I was very excited to do this project with my students. I have always enjoyed fiber arts and wanted to invite my four and five year old students to explore a new medium. I have done traditional weavings for years, using a cardboard loom with yarn for the weaving and while these are always a very rewarding and fun project I wanted to tweak it a bit. As an Art Educator it is very important to keep your own excitement as you are teaching; if you are bored with the project your kids will definitely be bored :)
I decided that I could get the fresh approach I needed by changing the medium from yarn (which my five year olds would not have had the patience to work with) to a thicker staple of raw wool. To make it more exciting still, I washed the wool at my house and after it was dry dyed it all the colors of the rainbow. While my wool was drying I went on a stick hunt and found perfect twigs to construct 17 looms for my students to paint. I used a hot glue gun to tack them at the corners and would wrap with twine AFTER the kids painted them with acrylic.
***helpful hint: wool washing is a time consuming process but is worth it for the reaction from the kids. I found several DIY tips on pinterest.
When I brought the wool back to school the kids were so excited. I showed them the wool before it was washed and asked them to touch it, smell it and describe it. Most of them were not too crazy about the fresh farm smell that crept from the box :) But after washing and coloring the kids could not keep their hands off of it! So it was time to start our project officially! I know it seems like we have already done a lot but, the joy of being an Art Teacher, that was all just prep work :)
I like to start lessons by inviting my children to make observations. We had a conversation about wool and learned about shearing sheep, using wool and what that tuft of wool could be turned into. I showed them examples like my mittens, a small felted bird, my wool coat and some yarn. This is not needed but I like to offer them many opportunities to learn something new:
Time to paint the looms: Each student is given their own loom (pre-made) and they were asked to add all the colors they wanted and elements of design like dots, stripes and other patterns. Let the looms dry and let the kids go to recess :)
Looms are dry: Time to transform them into looms. Start by securing them and wrapping the corners with twine. Then use either a fine yarn or embroidery thread to string the loom. When you are doing this you need to make sure that the string is securely attached to the top and then run a taught string to the parallel bottom. Do this four our five times. When done your loom should have four parallel strings running from top to bottom.
Time to weave: I invited all of my students to sit in a circle with me and in the middle I put my SUPER LOOM. It is about 2'x2'. I asked the children to come up one at a time to practice weaving. Using scraps of colored fabric we practiced together and when we were done we made a beautiful floppy rug type thing :) But the kids also were prepared to do their own projects now.
Allow the kids to choose their colors. I also kept some natural color wool incase the children wanted to use that instead of all colors. Here is the basket they chose from:
Many of them chose to make a pattern like an AB, ABC, or they chose to make a rainbow starting with red and ending with violet. Starting with their first color the children wove over one string and under the next and then they repeated the pattern until the end of the row. Then they went to their next color.
I loved watching them invent these textures and explore this new medium. It was very rewarding and all the work was worth it! Take a look at the results:
-Art Lady
Medium: Mixed: Buttons, Foam, Pasta, Raffia and Acrylic Paint
Grade: Pre-K
Plan on this being at least a two session project.
During Multi-Cultural Month we tried to incorporate different forms of expression from around the globe. For this lesson we focused on the masks that many African cultures have been using for centuries as a form of art, dance and story telling. We began by looking at some examples of the masks and made our own observations. Many of the students clung to the scary look of many of the masks.
They found them to be startling and sometimes frightening. After they shared this, I informed them that there is a reason for the frightening looks as many tribes and cultural groups used these masks to scare away evil and spirits that were not welcome.
After we discussed the emotional responses, we then made our observations based on design. They noted that many of the masks used similar colors, expressions and also were made with interesting patterns and lines. The masks were filled with shapes and other things that the children recognized and could make themselves.
Day One: On day one the students used Elmer's glue to glue on different objects they found on the table such as pasta, buttons, woodsies, raffia, black-eyed peas, lentils, baby food jar lids, cut straws and really anything else we had in the classroom. After they decorated the foam (a rectangle cut from a styrofoam meat tray) we left the masks to dry. They did not look that special after this step, but step two is where they really come to life!
Day Two: On day two I invited the children to come up five at a time to add acrylic paint to the mask. They used one solid color to cover the entire mask as a base coat. After that they could choose more colors to add their design details such as dots, lines, squares and other design elements. It was very exciting to see the children create these masks as it was a way for them to express a sense of emotion, whether it was a silly emotion, a sad emotion, and animal like emotion or a scary emotion. They created wonderful examples of interactive art.
Take a look and enjoy :)
-Art Lady
Medium: Oil Pastels and Watercolor
Grade: Pre-K
So we had to do at least one art project dedicated to the many writings, stories and wonderful illustrations of our dear Dr. Suess. I decided that a great step-by-step project would be to have the kids all make their own Sneetch. Now for those who are unfamiliar, the Sneetches were a gentle but sometimes unkind group of creatures. We talked about the Sneetches and re-told the story. The most profound part in the story is when the Sneetches realize that there is no difference between them, they are all Sneetches inside!
First we went back to our basic shapes. We noticed that the head was really just a circle, so together we drew our heads at the tops of our pages. We then added the roundish, smallish and pointyish beak :) Then we proceeded down the page, a long neck, a round bottom and funny flat feet. After we added the arms and feathery fingers the kids were able to make their Sneetches their own. They added lines, stars, circles and many other great designs. When they finished their pencil outline I asked them to trace over all of their lines with permanent black marker. I find that this really helps them stay within the lines they created. When through with this step they were able to choose whichever colors they liked and made their Sneetches outstanding!
Take a look! And be sure to spend some time reading at least one Dr. Seuss book this month :)
-Art Lady
Medium: Pencil, Sharpie and Watercolor
Grade: Pre-K through 12
This assignment was great practice for my kid's fine motor skills and was also a wonderful lesson in quality versus quantity. This was a multi-step project and required the student's to really invest time into their craft.
To start we began by discussing the concept of line and even had the children explain what a line meant to them. We then talked about the differences between organic and non-organic lines and where they can be found. After that we explored some images of feather patterns and also closely looked at the lines created by overlapping feathers.
The student's were encouraged to explore lines by doodling in the air with their "magic pencil" aka their pointer finger :) When we were ready we jumped into the drawing portion.
I like to take certain assignments step by step, and when you have a desired product it is sometimes necessary to break in apart for your students. The great thing about teaching owls as a subject is that they are constructed of very basic geometric shapes like circle, triangles, diamonds and curved lines.
We began with the eyes; two large circles in the center of the paper. They then added smaller circle inside of them for the pupils. After that we added the beak; a small triangle under the eyes. At this point the children could choose a body style, round and fat, long and skinny, or more boxy shaped. They began near the eye and then came all the way up to the other eye. They then added legs, a simple line with an upside-down "V" attached to the bottom. They added wings to the sides of the birds and then, the real fun began: The lines and patterns.
At this point each student began to create their own style of lines and patterns to recreate the natural feather pattern. After they had a great sketch done in pencil I gave them a permanent black marker (fine tip) and they traced over each an every one of the lines. This brought out all of the natural contrast needed for the project.
When they finished tracing they used watercolors to fill in all of the white space on the owls.
I really adore how they turned out. Here are just a few of the finished product.
-Art Lady
Medium: Oil Pastels on Paper
Grade: Pre-K through 12 (depending upon criteria)
This project was so much fun! We started by seeing examples of Pop art and then made observations such as color, shape and design. The kids did a wonderful job identifying the fun factor of these works. We mainly discussed Andy Warhol and how he transformed pre-existing images by making them bright and colorful. After the kids understood the basis of Pop art they got to do their own!
First I took close up photos of all of my students and then manipulated the images to reveal the shadows and highlights. This is important if you want your kids to focus on the dimension of the face. They then got their image and were able to color all over the paper with bright "Pop" colors. To keep the colors bright we used oil pastels. They are the ideal medium for this project.
This was a great lesson and can be built around any age level.
Take a look at the results!
-Art Lady
Medium: Acrylic glaze, linen and real fish
Grade: Pre-K-5
This project was a crossover with an art project and a science lesson. We were spending a lot of time discussing the ocean and the creatures found in the ocean. I brought in a few examples of formerly living fish from my local market and allowed the children to observe the body, gills and scales with their eyes. They really enjoyed that part!
Afterwards we talked about the Japanese traditional fish prints and talked about the symbolism of the fish itself. The children took turns choosing a fish and a few colors that they liked. They painted the fish and them pressed white linen over the body of the fish.
*for those who are uncomfortable using real fish you can find silicone or artificial fish from suppliers such as Dick Blick. Though costly they offer a reusable and cleaner way to do this project.
The results were beautiful, and it is not just because I love the art of printmaking :)
-Art Lady
Medium: Oil Pastels and Watercolor on Paper
Grade: Pre-K -12
This is one of my favorite art lessons to instruct. I love inviting the children to explore the orgranic forms found in nature and the symbol of the coil is very influential for the Maori peoples of New Zealand. In this lesson the students were asked to name a few examples of organic shapes found in nature, such as snails, spider webs, botanicals and even our thumbprints! After that we practiced drawing our coils in the air. When ready the students each drew one large "koru" on their paper in pencil. After adding details and filling the space they were asked to choose two colors and color the design in a linear fashion. When they were done adding colors they painted over the drawing with either a black or a light green watercolor to accent the composition.
The results were fantastic! Here are a few :)
-Art Lady
