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
Medium: Pencil on Paper
Grade: Pre-K-12
This project was intended to strengthen the student's creative improvisation. The children first selected an animal of their choice and found an image of that animal. After spending only a few minutes with the full image I cut away the majority of the image, pasted it onto a large sheet of white paper and asked the students to complete the rest.
The results were both fun and revealing. Many students proved to have a great photographic memory and could fill in the rest of the paper with an appropriate habitat and also accurately handle proportions.
This assignment can be adapted for most grade levels, with the level of expectation being raised for each grade.
Here are some examples of this great project:
-Art Lady
Medium: Crayon and Tempera on Paper
Grade: Preschool-Pre-K
This project was designed to allow the children to explore color and line. We started by discussing lines and talked about what directions lines go and where they start and where they end. Then we asked the children to draw a crazy squiggle design. The result was many smaller shapes inside of one large shape.
After the children were happy with their design they could mix colors and fill in each shape with different colors.
After the shapes are dry you can choose to leave them as-is or you can make the colors stand out greater by going over the black lines with either a black marker OR I used a blend of glue with black tempera. Mixing it up in the glue bottle is best because the kids can just use the bottle to apply. It adds a bit of dimension on an otherwise flat piece.
For a younger age group you should use crayon or oil pastels. Another medium that looks wonderful is chalk pastels.
-Art Lady
Medium: Tempera and Watercolor on Paper
Grade: Pre-K through 2
This project was intended to give my students a chance to explore multiple mediums in one project. The project should be separated into at least two different class periods to allow children enough time to develop their ideas.
The children can go on an adventure and find a few different natural elements to make the prints on the paper such as leaves, pinecones, branches and other things. The children paint the objects and use them to make nature prints. Leave to dry :)
While the prints are drying have the students draw birds in pencil. After they are secure in their drawing have them trace over the pencil lines with a black ball point pen. Let the students choose watercolor paint colors to paint a lively bird. Leave to dry :)
This is the last phase of painting! Have your students draw and then paint one tree branch.
After everything is dry the students can start cutting out their bird and branch to glue onto the monoprint paper. Students can choose the style and direction of the branch and bird but may need some help from you :)
Here are some examples. Enjoy.
-Art Lady
Medium: Tempera and Salt on Paper
Grade: Preschool-Pre-K
This was a multi step painting. First the students had to paint the "ice" and cover the wet paint with plastic wrap. This will create the cracking ice look of a glacier. Following that the children chose a color for the night sky, like a purple, blue or pink color. They then sprinkled course salt on the wet paint to create the appearance of snow falling.
Then we let the paintings dry over night.
The next day the children (or teacher) could peel off the plastic wrap and see the changes. The students were so excited to see the changes that the salt caused in the paint and how beautiful it looked from the "magic" plastic wrap. Then they took turns using a Polar Bear stencil and stamping white paint inside of it. The result is a fluffy bear over the icy terrain. You can also do this project with a black bear foraging for food in the winter months. It is a great way to tie in art to hibernation :)
-Art Lady
Medium: Tempera and Oil Pastels on Paper
Grade: Pre-K through 2
This was a study of line and nature. The children got to explore a mixed media project by first choosing leaves to make white prints with and then after they dried they were able to draw lines around the leaves to recreate the lines found in nature and in leaves.
You may want to break this into two days. First let the student choose a few or one large leaf. They then paint the leaf with white tempera paint and use it to make a print on the paper. Leave print to dry.
After the paint is entirely dry the children can start to trace around the leaf or leaves with a variety of colors. I found oil pastels were best for this step.
This was a great study and we had gorgeous drawings.
-Art Lady
Medium: Ceramic Installation
Grade: K-5
As an end of the year project I decided to invite all 400 of my students to take part in an istallation project that could stand with the building forever. We discussed the Kente Cloths of Africa, more specifically Ghana and the children learned how to tell stories wih color and shapes in place of words. Each village or house (grade level floor) was assigned three colors which had their own significant meaning. The children created geometric shapes that resembled those seen in woven fabric. After they created their own 4 inch tile, we glazed and fired them and I set them all up in one unified installation.
The results are very special to me as it was a mark of all the lessons we went over through the year.
-Art Lady
Medium: Acrylic Glaze on Clay
Grade: Pre-K through 2
This one one of the first experience with clay for most of my students. I wanted to invite them to explore by making designs and patterns to create a relief sculpture instead of a full 3-D project.
After the project dried and was ready for paint the children chose acrylic stains of their choice to make a beautifully colored fish.
-Art Lady
Medium: Paper
Grade: 4-6
This was a wonderful project for so many reasons. I spoke with my 4th and 5th grade children about the significance of the 1000 paper cranes and the relevance of the cranes in today's society. We spoke about peace and war and decided to make a statement. Instead of making our cranes from traditional paper we asked all of our parents to donate old newspapers and magazines to make our own recycled paper cranes.
The final product was breathtaking. We had rows and rows of beautiful cranes lining the halls for the month of February.
-Art Lady
Medium: Paper
Grade: 4-6
This was a project that I used to introduce the concept of organic shapes and the art of manipulating paper to create a a large sculpture. Students were asked to create one small shape with paper, such as a coil, a strigil or a loop. After finding their desired shapre they recreated it many times.
When they had at least 40 of their desired shape they started to glue them together with their handy dandy glue stick to create a new form.
The final product shows a very bright and airy sculpture that almost looks as if it is floating.
enjoy :)
-Art Lady
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