Students who finished early this week were able to make Valentine Prints. We drew our designs on styrofoam sheets with a ball point pen. Then we colored them with washable markers. After a quick spray of water, we printed them on watercolor paper. Printmaking is always so much fun. I love the moment of anticipation […]
We spent the last two classes of this session learning about Matisse and painting apples inspired by his “Apples on a Table.” Our focus on this project was on mixing colors and creating shadows and highlights. We discussed how Matisse distorted the perspective intentionally as part of his composition. Before we drew the apples, we […]
I taught this project to a group of adults in December. That project really turned out great, so I decided to teach it to my K-6 classes. I can’t believe how well they did! Even my very youngest students (several 5 yr olds) did an amazing job. This project included so much: watercolor techniques (wet […]
With their distinct bright red coloring, cardinals make a wonderful subject for an art project. Since I have a wide variety of ages in my classes right now, I taught two different versions of this lesson. For the younger students, I did a guided directed drawing for the cardinal. The older students drew from photographs […]
For our last class of the year, we needed a project that could be done in one hour and had a Christmas theme. These jingle bells were perfect. We started out by painting white tree branches and snow on blue paper. We worked on only using the tip of our brush to paint thin lines. […]
I don’t usually use acrylic paint in class, especially not with elementary aged students. However, I came across a project that just wouldn’t work with tempera paint. This project was inspired by the book Ancient Thunder by Leo Yerxa. Yerxa’s illustrations are amazing. He studied tunics painted by the Ojibwe Indians. The original tunics were […]
This project began with the book Sandy’s Circus by Tanya Lee Stone. This book is actually about the artist, Alexander Calder. His nickname was Sandy. Calder began his career performing with a mechanical circus he built by hand. I told the kids that he basically created his own toys and was paid to let people […]
For the first project of this last session of the year, we learned about Henri Rousseau. Rousseau’s story is one of dedication and perseverance. He didn’t begin to paint until later in life and never had a lesson. The art world in Paris literally laughed at him year after year, but he kept painting. Towards […]
I love chalk pastel on black paper! The colors just glow! For this project, I made copies of animals from a Dover coloring book. Students chose an animal and drew from the picture, using a light colored chalk pastel. Using black and white coloring book pictures really helped students draw these complicated animals. It also […]
I didn’t get around to writing a Christmas gift list last year. I apologize; time got away from me. I have already had a couple of requests this year, so here it is. Good, quality materials are so important, and I am thrilled when parents ask me for advice. Don’t waste your money on poor […]
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