This is one of my teacher aids setting up a spring display in our door way window. I am so grateful for my 2 aids this quarter. They are the best and the students love them being around. They make projects and planning a breeze.
Paper Lace and Layers February 13, 2012
7th grade students just finished an art assignment involving paper cutting and layering colors. This lesson was originally from School Arts Magazine and written by Helaine Schechtman.
We started by cutting colored construction paper into 9×9 inch squares. Students measured and drew a 3/4 inch border on all sides of the paper. Next I demonstrated cutting techniques with an Xacto knife. I focused and stressed on repetition and pattern in their paper cutting. The idea is to have a top layer with lots of detail and design, a second layer with one repeating unifying pattern, and a bottom plain paper layer. Once all layers are complete, they need to carefully be glued together. I had to stress to the students to glue all the parts of the layers down including the small details.
Layer 1
Layer 2
All 3 layered together
Student work!
Pop Art Portraits February 9, 2012
7th grade art students are creating Pop Art drawings focusing on the style of artist, Roy Lichtenstein.
We started by taking digital images of each student and making a graphite transfer. Since my 7th grade art class is required by all 7th graders, I find that when they can start with a lesson that always has positive results they are more willing to try harder lessons. It breaks that fear of art and they have a better self-esteem. Once the photo was taken and printed, each student outlined their features in pencil. I encouraged them to make the lines thick and dark for a better transfer.
Tape the picture to another sheet of paper face down. Using a wooden stick, press only the pencil lines to transfer the graphite to the new sheet.
Peel a corner back to check how well the pencil in transferring. Our printer ink would transfer if rubbed on, so I encouraged the students to only press on the pencil lines. When finished peel off.
The new drawing would be a mirror image of the first and the pencil will be very light. Students went back over the lines with pencil to bring them out again.
The next step is to draw over the pencil lines with black permanent marker for the cartoon/ comic book style of Roy Lichtenstein. Erase any leftover pencil marks for a clean finish.
Next, using marker, add benday dots in a staggering pattern to recreate the dots that make up printed materials such as magazines and newspapers.
Some items in your drawing can be solid to create an effect more like Roy’s.
HERE IS SOME STUDENT WORK!
Drawing and Painting From Observation January 18, 2012
2nd grade students just finished what started as drawing from observation. Each student was handed fake flowers to draw from. They ranged from daisies, sunflowers, and roses. We discussed perspective, line quality, and details. Students practiced drawing their flowers in pencil on paper. I asked them to add a patterned background.
The next class we added watercolor to the pencil drawing. Last, we retraced the pencil with black tempera.
7th Grade Sketchbooks
7th grade students made their sketchbooks today. They started with a sheet of white construction paper for their cover filled with 4 sheets of drawing paper. Folding the stack like a book.
Using a hole punch, 5 holes were punched along the binding. Students used yarn to hold the binding together. I told them to come up with their own binding pattern. The way they thread the yearn will create a pattern in the binding.
We decorated the cover with crayon designs and painted over with watercolor creating a wax resist. The design still shows through the paint because the wax does not allow any paint to be absorbed. When the paper was dry, they used Sharpie to add more details and designs.
Sketchbooks will be used in class for writing, sketching, and drawing ideas.
Optical Illusions with Mr. E January 17, 2012
This lesson was found on Mr. E’s site. Thanks for the great lesson!
3rd grade students are drawing an optical illusion from lines and shading. With simple steps each 3rd grade student was able to create “tubes” or “tornadoes”.
1. Draw a horizontal wavy line.
2. Draw 7 dots along the line.
3. Connect the dots with hills on both the top and bottom of the original line.
4. Continue drawing hills over each preceding hill until you get to the end of the paper.
I demonstrated gradation of value and had each student practice on a scratch paper. I focused on having them press more firmly in the corners of the tube and gradually easing up on their pressure as the moved to the center of each tube. I allowed them to choose 4-5 colors that look nice together. We spend so much time on color families on other projects, I thought they would like to just pick colors they like. We have not gotten very far, but they are looking good!
Extra Marker Caps?
Turn them into stamps!
2nd grade are using old marker caps to stamp the background of their latest artwork, and they LOVED it! Click Here to see what we did with our stamped papers.
Multicultural Paper Dolls January 13, 2012
6th grade students are working on a Multicultural project of making paper doll examples of people from countries all over the world.
Students started by choosing from a list of all the countries in the world. We started in the computer lab having each student research their country. I use this worksheet to guide their research.
Students need to find visual examples of traditional dress from their country for a male and a female. They draw and color examples of their findings.
The next class period we begin creating the paper dolls. I have the students use some nice patterned and decorative papers as well as solid construction paper. The patterned paper makes the dolls have a more rich look. I encourage them to add a lot of details down to jewelry, clasps, buttons, etc. The more details, the more finished their doll will look.
When the dolls are done, we make a flip card for the back of each doll. I hang them in the hallway asking, “Where in the world am I from?” People can simply lift the doll to see where the home location is.
Having a Hoot with Kinders January 10, 2012
Before break, Kindergarten had one more art time so I pulled out a quick and easy lesson for them. Using googly eyes, an owl tracer, and cutting basic triangles and circles, Kinders easily created a cute owl. They used 2 handprints for the wings. We chatted about symmetry because the owl is the same on both sides.
Simple, but adorable and perfect for when you only have one day to make a project.
Romero Britto Inspired Paintings January 9, 2012
4th graders have started a painting inspired by the artist Romero Britto.
He creates very bright and fun paintings full of great lines and shapes. 4th graders identified what made his work unique and created a sketch of their own. Once they finished a sketch in pencil, they used watercolors to fill in the shapes. I ask the students to jump around the page to that their watercolor does not bleed together. Again for this project I am using my new intermediate watercolors rather than the regular shades.
Next students will use black tempera and small brushes to add the thick black lines like Romero uses. The students noticed how much the lines made the colors POP!
GMG Art 