Arts Night

I work at two elementary schools and this month they each had their Arts Night.  It is a lot of work but the results are really worth it.  This year It was artist's choice but in the future I would like to choose one project per class.  I think part of the key to a successful show is large noticeable labels (class, student name).

Value Shelves

Prior to this lesson we did some value exercises.  We folded our paper into four squares.  We traced a smaller square of card board in the corner of each square and connected them with diagonal lines.  We mixed different shades of gray by adding little dabs of black to small cups of white paint.  We started with a light gray on the bottom of the shelf then added more black to mix a medium gray for the side and mixed a darker gray for the back of the shelf.  While the shelves were drying students drew and colored objects to cut and glue onto them.  Students were asked to think about the size or proportion of the object to the shelf.

**TIP- When I do color mixing or tinting in a lesson I like to give students a small cup (ketchup sized?) of white paint into which they mix the other color.

Updated Thiebaud

Here is a different version of a Wayne Thiebaud project.  We specifically looked at his cakes and discussed what types of 3D shapes we saw (cylinder, triangular prism...) as well as his straightforward compositions- rows with shadows and a blank background.  I showed students how to draw a 3D cake slice and a 3D cake with a slice missing.  I showed them step by step (and provided some oval tracers) and then supplied them with the same instrucions written/drawn out as a reminder.  They did a great job with these!  We used oil pasted to draw details and painted in the larger areas with tempera cakes.

Dale Chihuly

Over the past two months I have had the opportunity to see some really great art shows!  Right now the MFA in Boston has a fabulous Dale Chihuly exhibit up.  For those of you who are not familiar with him he is a very well known glass blower.  Here is a sample of some of his works from the show.  Just stunning!

The Scream

 

I love the way this project came out!  We looked at Edward Munch's "The Scream" and discussed how the colors and brushstrokes used showed emotion.  Students recreated his composition using chalk pastels on black construction paper.  They then drew the scream figure on a piece of manilla paper, cut him out and glued him onto their background.

Picasso Portraits

I have seen this lesson on several blogs. Students draw abstract portraits based on Picasso's. They begin by drawing a circle and draw a profile line down the center. We discuss how he shows different points of view at once and how to draw features from the front and side. Students then divide up their drawing using a large figure 8 and horizontal and vertical lines. Students use different colors and patterns to fill in the spaces.

Tinted Winter Tree Silhouettes

In this lesson we begin by discussing what a tint is. Students choose either red or blue paint to use for their background and are given a small cup of white paint. Little by little they add their color to the white and paint in layers from bottom to top, getting darker as they go. Once the background is dry students use black paint to add silhouettes of trees showing distance by painting the tree in front larger and the tree in back smaller. Students can add any other details in silhouette- a fence, animals, person... They then use white paint to add a moon and snow falling in the sky and on tree branches. To finish off their painting they mix gray and add shadows under all their objects.