Fall Leaves that POP!

Students in grades 4 through 6 created these autumn inspired paintings to learn about color contrast. We began by painting an abstract cool color background as the sky. Students used white crayons to create a sense of movement in the background. During the next class, students used styrofoam to print leaves. We drew detailed contour line drawings of leaves and carved them into styrofoam. We then colored the foam with warm color markers making sure to blend the colors together. The final class was used to create textured tree branches and add the leaves in a way that fills the space for an interesting composition.

Day of the Dead Skulls

Students in grades 1-3 created these Day of the Dead skulls to learn about symmetry/balance and patterns in artwork. We began by learning about the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead. I showed students a YouTube video about the holiday and we also read the book Day of the Dead by Tony Johnston. Celebrated in the U.S. and Mexico from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, the holiday tradition calls for the creation of altars to deceased loved ones, decorated with photos, meaningful objects and their favorite foods said to attract their souls. Petals of bright yellow-orange marigold flowers are used to guide them from the cemetery, according to tradition. 

The skulls were made by drawing half of the face on a folded piece of paper, then tracing it with black crayon and rubbing it to transfer to the other side. These were then painted with watercolors- students could make them as colorful as they wanted or leave it more simple. The final class was used to create a marigold flower border around the skull. 

Glue Line Pumpkins!

This is a great project for teaching wet-on-wet painting techniques, color blending, and how to use space in an artwork.

We began by doing sketches of pumpkins. I made sure students used contour lines while drawing and focused on details like vines and leaves. Once students were comfortable sketching the pumpkins, they then transferred that drawing onto a large piece of tagboard. The students had to be very comfortable with the drawing, because the large drawing had to be done with glue! I did not let the students use pencil because once the glue dries, it becomes clear and the pencil drawing would become visible. These were left to dry overnight. The next day, I had the students use an ultra fine sharpie and outline all of the glue lines. It can be very difficult, and sometimes you may need to tilt the paper to be able to see where the glue is. Finally we were ready to paint! I showed the students how to use a wet-on-wet technique to spread color quickly, as well as how to blend analogous colors. You have to be sure to NOT paint over the glue lines, the glue does not resist the paint and can be very hard to remove.

These painting were very fun to do and extremely successful! I received many compliments and they made for a great Autumn display!

Mandalas

Mandala is the Sanskrit word for circle and is a form of art stemming from the Buddhist and Hindu traditions. A Mandala is a spiritual and ritual symbol that represents the universe and is meant to increase focus and strengthen meditation. These mandalas were created by middle school students by repeating a design to create radial symmetry. Students then outlined these designs with black sharpie and used colored pencils. We learned different techniques with the colored pencils- like blending colors, shading light to dark and creating smooth coverage. More advanced students were able to incorporate more detail into their patterning as well.

Primary Color Monsters Attack!!

PreK and kinder made these fun primary color monsters! We began by learning about shapes- students then practiced cutting large ovals, rectangles, and triangles. These shapes were made in the primary colors- called primary because they make up all the other colors. We read several books about monsters- Monsters Don't Eat Broccoli and Monsters Love Colors. Students looked at these monsters to get ideas for how to make their monsters- how to make the arms and legs, weird eyes and teeth, etc. We also extended this out to learning how to mix the primary colors to make green, purple and orange. A super fun lesson that helped teach the young ones all about color and shapes!

Watercolor Self-Portraits

Students in grades 4-6 began the school year with these vibrant self-portraits. We began by drawing a proportional self-portrait in pencil during the first week. These were then traced over with crayons before being painted in with watercolor paints. Students learned about all different styles of portraits- from Frida Kahlo to Pablo Picasso and Chuck Close. Students were given the option to do a more realistic portrait or one that was more colorful and expressive. We also cut out our names from magazines to add over the top of the portrait. I am loving the uniqueness of each piece and how it reflects each artist's personality!

Superhero Self-Portraits

Montessori students in grades 1-3 created these dynamic self-portraits. We began by drawing a realistic and proportional self-portrait. Once it was complete, we added some details to turn ourselves into superheroes- things like capes, masks, emblems, etc. Students then colored these with colored pencils and were encouraged to use bright and bold colors to mimic superheroes from comic books. We then created an abstract cityscape with cutout shapes in neutral colors. This was a cute twist on the self-portrait that really brought out each students personality and style.