K and K4: Texture! Pumpkins and Indian Corn

Our little guys had a great time texturizing paper.  We talked about this term and what it means.
For our Indian Corn, the students learned how to dab autumn paint colors into a corn shape.  They then glued on scrunched-up brown paper for the husks.

For the pumpkins:  Day one involved stamping a pumpkin-shaped piece of paper with fall colors using bubble wrap.  This turned out to be messy (of course) but interesting for the students.  I had to be sure they stamped and didn't smear the wrap around.  Day two involved gluing the pumpkin down to another 9x12" piece of paper and then using a glue bottle to decorate the pumpkin using glitter.  They looked at our model pumpkin to see how there are "c" shaped lines on these gourds.  These made pretty bulletin board displays.

4th: Molas

For their cultural project during first quarter, fourth graders learned about the Kuna Indians from Panama and the gorgeous molas the women create.

http://www.sciencejoywagon.com/kwirt/mola/molas.htm

The link will direct you to some of the history and pictures of these beautiful renditions of appliqué.
Fourth grade created their own molas from colorful paper collaged onto a black background. They decided on their own simple-form animal using layers of paper and pattern.  Unfortunately, most of the fourth graders' molas have mysteriously disappeared!  Hopefully they will turn up before Christmas break as I was looking forward to displaying them at our Christmas program.

2nd and 3rd: Art to Remember

 2nd and 3rd grades used a ton of creativity and color to fill up their Art to Remember papers this year.  Many drew and painted geckos with pattern.  Several others drew butterflies or even some reptilian friends with lots of pattern.  We then employed "wax resist" by painting with bright watercolor paints.  It was fun to watch the patterns "pop" out!

K4: Art to Remember

Cute little Jr. Kinders hand-stamped their way into a beautiful bouquet for their Art to Remember project for 2011!   They also painted their own stems and leaves.

K: Art to Remember

Using handprints and fingerprints, Harvest kinders learned a bit about perspective--background and foreground--in this cute piece for our annual Art to Remember project!

1st Grade Totem Animals

1st Grade:  Totem Animals/Northern Native American Art


For first quarter, first grade learned about Northern Native Americans and some of the art they created, specifically Totems of the northwestern tribes.  Like the Greeks, much of Native Americans' art was functional along with beautiful.  This is true for the totems.

Most of the time, totems were used as symbols of a person, tribe, clan or family.  We discussed how these would be carved out of wood and then painted.

First grade drew their own version of a totem lightly in crayon.  We talked about how to make the bird appear to be a cylinder in shape by keeping the drawing long and straight.  It was also to be symmetrical and go right off the page at the bottom.  These birds don't fly!

When the student was happy with his or her drawing, they were to go over it dark in black.  The next week, we had fun with color and paint!  With painting, I usually discuss contrasting colors and what that means.  We kept the colors simple, bright, and fun.  The last thing was to add pattern to both the bird and the background.

2nd/3rd Grades--Greek Collage

2nd and 3rd Grades: Greek Collage


Okay, so we have been having problems with our internet provider....computer issues--gotta love them.  Anyhow, this caused a huge pause in my blog posting.

I am going to do my best to catch up on our first quarter lessons for this year.

Second and third grades learned many things about ancient Greece during our first quarter.  This collage took quite a bit of time and energy, but most were able to finish the entire assignment.

The first part of this collage was the scratch art Greek vases.  I got this idea from Art Lessons for Kids. http://artlessonsforkids.me/2011/04/24/papier-mache-greek-vases-in-grade-seven/

The students took a look at pictures of ancient red-figure and black-figure amphoras and kraters.  We discussed how important these artists were to the ancient Greek culture, also how these beautiful "vases" were really functional pieces of art used to hold wine, grain, olive oil, and many other things.  The children first drew there own version of an amphora or krater on paper, then plunged into their "real thing" on the scratch art paper.  They had a blast seeing what color emerged from beneath the black scratch paper.  Each vase received a unique geometric design reminiscent of early ancient Greek design.

The next part was taking a look at ancient golden death masks.  I know what you're thinking...how morbid!  But who isn't fascinated by King Tut's gorgeous gold and gem-encrusted mask:  http://wysinger.homestead.com/files/54_tut.jpg

We looked at the so-called "Mask of Agamemnon" after discussing the story of the Trojan Horse, which really fascinated the kids.

So we used cardboard from recycled cereal boxes to cut out ovals.  The kids drew a symmetrical face.  I demonstrated on the white board how to draw an accurate face.  They then traced their drawings with glue.  These were left to dry and then brushed over with a couple layers of gold acrylic paint which gave a raised effect.  We also made Greek coins in this fashion.

Finally, the last step was an in-depth look at the Greek column orders:  Doric, Ionic and Corinthian.
The kids really took to this, which is amazing--I didn't even learn about this until college!  I let them decide which one they could handle.  They practiced drawing one of these orders on newsprint.  We then took our stylus and pressed through the newsprint onto foam.  (I reuse the veggie trays from the grocery store.)  We printed these onto our 12x18" paper in white paint.  Most of these turned out pretty well.  It can be difficult if the design is not pressed deeply into the foam.

The amphoras, coins, and masks were then collaged onto the large paper.