Fishbowls

Students in PreK and Kinder created these fun and vibrant fish tanks to learn about color, shape, movement and repetition. We began by attaching tissue paper to a 9"x12" white paper using glue water. These were later cut into fish shapes and a black eye was dabbed on to complete the look. The fish bowls were blue and green watercolor paintings where we talked about different types of lines and created a pattern to show movement in the water. The table was made by piecing together square pieces into a mosaic like pattern. 

Comic Illustrations

Middle School students recently created comic strips. We learned about the art of comic and cartoon making. Students looked at all different forms- from traditional comic strips, cartoons, anime and fan art. Students then created original characters and created a 3-4 panel story. The narrative needed to be clear and understandable and the layout needed to employ good use of the design principles. This project kept students more engaged than any other lesson I have ever taught. I displayed these outside my classroom and have seen groups of students admiring them consistently all day!

Graffiti Color Wheels

Color theory and mixing is vital for art students but can become very tedious and boring. This lesson was a fun and different way to teach color mixing and give students the chance to experiment with different lettering styles as well. We started with drawing out names in any chosen font- I gave my students the choice of bubble letters, block, graffiti or three-dimensional.Next, students divided the paper up into 12 sections. These 12 sections would include all 12 colors on the color wheel (primary, secondary and intermediates). They would have each color appear twice- once around as the letter and its complement as the background. This was a great lesson that got students to understand color theory but also put their own style and creativity into the lesson.

Expressive Self-Portraits

Middle School students began their first project of the new semester after completing one week of drawing exercises. During the first week, one of the activities we practiced was contour line drawings of hands. I extended this lesson to include a contour line self-portrait. Students used mirrors and were free to do contour line or continuous contour. Once complete, these were outlined with sharpie and then students could use watercolor paint in a variety of ways. We discussed how artists can use color to portray personality and make the portrait more expressive. 

Value Landscapes

Students in grades 4-6 created these beautiful winter landscapes exploring value and depth. We began by painting the sky. We learned about value- the lightness or darkness of a color. Students chose a cool color to paint the sky and needed to create a minimum of five values with at least two tints and two shades. We attached tissue paper to another white paper with glue water and cut that into triangles for winter trees. We talked about how artists use space in their artworks- objects that are closer are large and towards the bottom of the composition while things that are far away are smaller and higher towards the horizon line. 

Owls in Different Values

This project began with a lesson in values. We started by watching "The Value Song" video on YouTube. It's a fun and catchy song that goes over all the different vocabulary associated with value like shade, tone and tint. After watching the video, students divided a paper into five sections and mixed colors to create 5 different values of a color. During the second class, we discussed depth and texture. Students cut or tore paper to create a snow covered landscape and textured trees with branches. For the final class, students were able to design their own owls and place them into their trees. 

African Mask Sgraffito

I love trying out new techniques with my students! This was a new twist on an old favorite- African masks with some sgraffito patterns! We began by working out sketches of African masks- we looked at different examples of masks from Africa and talked about why they looked the way they do. We examined the materials used and the different ceremonies the masks are used for as well. Students then drew half the mask on a folded paper and rubbed it out to transfer to the other half. After the mask was drawn and completely symmetrical, students colored them in using oil pastels. I gave students the option of using a color scheme or using any colors they wanted. The final step was to use a pick to etch patterns into the pastels. This created a cool sgraffito effect that the kids loved.