To find out more about this lesson, and view photos of students creating their own Victorian homes, read below students finished artwork!
This lesson took about (6) 40 minute art
classes to complete. I think absolutely worth every class though! Students took
their time to carefully craft their unique house!
4th Graders learned what architecture is, learned about some of the common characteristics found within the Victorian architectural style (Gables, bay windows, fish-scale shingles, turrets, towers, front porches, gingerbread details, multiple chimneys to name a few), and then created a drawing of their own Victorian style house that included some of those elements!
We also reviewed the Elements of Art and how students would be utilizing 6 out of the 7 elements of art to draw their homes; Line, Shape, Color, Space, Texture, and Value.
Students also made the connection between art and math since we talked about acute and obtuse angles for the gables, as well as using rulers to draw any straight lines.
DAY 1
On the first day, I showed students a PowerPoint with photos of various Victorian homes, which pointed out these particular common elements.
Here are some of the slides I show my students from my Powerpoint.
Then I ask students to raise their hand and share what similarities they see that these two Victorian houses have.
Then I showed students a variety of Victorian house drawings students created from previous years, as well as my own examples. We also talked about how many of us noticed Victorian houses in the North Attleboro area, and how some students live in one or have relatives that do!
I asked students if they had any architects in their family, or if they knew of anyone who was one. Many students did, and it was great to hear so many fun stories about the connections they already have with architecture!
After that I demonstrated under the doc camera how to draw some of the Victorian elements. I showed them how to draw a bay window, fish scale shingles, turrets and towers, 3-D steps that lead to the front door, gables, and bricks (for chimneys or on the house).
Students then practiced drawing these elements on a double-sided worksheet. Students each received a “step-by-step” how to draw Victorian elements packet that I created to help them if needed.
DAY 2
First, I showed them what they needed to include in their drawing, and went over each item.
Then I showed them my Victorian handouts (with the descriptors) that they could use while drawing (as a reference)
and that they could use the same step-by-step how to draw sheets that they used when they did the practice sheets. I explained to not “copy” but to look at the various images for inspiration to create their own unique Victorian house and to be creative!
Then I did a demonstration drawing a Victorian house under the doc camera. I explained they could hold their paper vertically (explaining their house would be taller and less wide if they did), or horizontally (their house would be wider and less tall). I explained their house needed to be almost as large as their paper but leaving room around the edges and especially near the bottom to include the 3-D steps that would lead to their front door. I suggested to start drawing the gables first, drawing the rooflines working their way down.
I posted the goals for the drawing on the board again, and students passed out handouts, rulers and 9×12″ 80# paper and began drawing their own unique homes!
DAYS 3 – 6
Once students finished drawing their houses,
they carefully colored them in using colored pencils with any colors they
wanted.
I demonstrated how to color in the chimney’s
bricks (or other brick details within the house) using a variety of reds,
browns, white, tans, and pinks and suggested to stagger the same color just
like in real chimneys. And to color any stones with neutral colors; browns,
black, greys, tans and white.
CLICK Here to a link to download my FREEPRINTABLE step-by-step Victorian details drawing handouts on my Teachers Pay Teachers page as well as my own Victorian Architecture PowerPoint (which can also be printed out for students to use for reference in your classroom).
To view additional Victorian house drawings by 4th grade from previous years, click on “4th Grade Art Lessons” and scroll down.
Thank you so much for stopping by! I will be blogging about NEW art lessons later this week and next! Be sure to pop on by again real soon to check it out!
Do you remember that show “Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego” … that educational / detective game show on PBS for kids from the 90’s?
When I was trying to think of a good title for
this blog entry, the jingle for that show popped in my head, so I couldn’t
resist mentioning it.
Anyhoo…..YIKES?! Has it REALLY been since June that I last posted?! Where does the time go?! Well, from now on, until the end of the school year, I’ll be posting regularly (at least once a month).
I’ve got a lot to catch up with! Here’s what all my students have been working on since the start of the school year!
I’ll start with 5th grade artwork and work backwards to 1st grade.
ALSO… There are some NEW art lessons that
I’m starting with my students for ALL grades!
Here is a collection of my teacher examples for all the NEW art lessons students will be starting in the next week or two! More details on these lessons under each grade level discussed below.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT- 1ST GRADE WINTER LANDSCAPE, 5TH GRADE PAINTBRUSHES, 3RD GRADE POLAR BEAR, 2ND GRADE BEARS WITH SWEATERS, 4TH GRADE POSITIVE/NEGATIVE TREES
5TH GRADE
SUPERHERO
SKETCHBOOK COVERS
This lesson took about (6) 40 minute art
classes to finish
In the beginning of every year I have all grades create their own sketchbook that will be used periodically throughout the year in art class.
Each grade level has a different drawing lesson to create the cover for their sketchbooks.
Sketchbooks are used during class to: practice drawing before creating a final version, free draw in if finished with a lesson early, to write down information that they’ve learned from a particular lesson, and to experiment with various art materials.
On the first day of the lesson I showed them my PowerPoint
slideshow of various famous comic book covers from the 1950’s onward, as well
as previous 5th grade student artwork before drawing. They LOVED it
and it got them excited to come up with their own ideas!
Students then filled out a worksheet to plan their drawing (what
was their name going to be? Were they human? An animal? A mystical creature? An
inanimate object? Food? Where did they fight crime?, What were their superpowers?,
Did they have a sidekick? etc.) to help with final decisions. Then on the back
of the worksheet students sketched ideas for their superhero and outfit.
On day 2, students drew the title, then started drawing their own
unique superheroes (something that hasn’t existed before, creating their own!) demonstrating
their superpowers. Students had a packet of various superhero poses and
superheroes in action to use a reference when drawing.
They had a choice of creating sidekicks, whether they wanted to
include a villain and needed to create a background scene.
Drawings were then outlined in black sharpie and colored in with
a choice of marker or colored pencil or both.
I love this drawing lesson because it allows so much creativity! Each one is so unique!
FALLING FOR FORESHORTENING – 5TH GRADE
This art lesson takes about 4 to 5 (40 minute) art classes
For this art lesson, students learn about a type of perspective called foreshortening, and continue to expand their knowledge on ways to create something that appears to have depth and a sense of space on a flat piece of paper.
Foreshortening is a drawing technique used to create the illusion where parts of something or someone appear to come out at the viewer strongly, making those areas seem closest to the viewer, and some parts appearing to recede strongly, making those areas seem the furthest away from the viewer.
Students used this technique by drawing a person that appears to
be falling backwards into something, with their arms and legs outstretched, by
tracing their hands along the top of the paper, and their feet along the bottom
of the paper, leaving space in the middle. They then drew the head, neck, arms,
and legs of a person smaller, to create the illusion that the body was further
away than the feet and hands.
Students were instructed to pay special attention to the soles
of their shoes, and hands, being sure to add details and texture.
Students also had to draw the person’s facial expression to match whatever it was they were falling into (something scary, or something soft and fun), and to show movement in the hair.
Once the person was drawn, they outlined in black sharpie, then drew a background depicting what their person was falling into, and colored in everything using colored pencils.
Students are currently working on this lesson and haven’t finished yet. Here are a few drawings in the works!
The ones below are finished drawings by my previous 5th graders just to show some final versions!
I’ll be posting CURRENT 5th grade students finished Falling For Foreshortening artwork soon!
Students and Parents- My Monday 5th grade class (5Y) have only had 7 art classes so far since September due to holiday’s and ½ day PD days so they are a bit behind. Because of this, I’ve decided to have them start HOLIDAY LIGHTS first, since it’s a short 2 day lesson and THEN move on to the “falling for foreshortening” lesson.
HOLIDAY LIGHTS! – 5TH GRADE
This art lesson takes just 2 (40 minute) art
classes to finish!
We use oil pastels, chalk pastels, glue
sticks, scissors and Sax black Art paper for this lesson. Students review VALUE
and learn how adding white to colors create TINTS.
I got this wonderful lesson idea by the AMAZING art teacher artwithmrsnguyen
Go check out her awesome website if you haven’t already!
Students will be working on this lesson soon– if they haven’t already! So, no photos to share of this year’s 5th graders final creations yet! But, I will be sure to post their finished artwork as well as photos of students creating them shortly!
Just so you can see what they look like–These are some photos of my 5th grade student’s “Holiday Lights” drawings from previous years!
Jim Dine Inspired PAINTBRUSHES – 5TH GRADE
I got this amazing art lesson idea from art teacher, Lauralee Chambers (her Insta account is @2art.chambers )
My Teacher example below- I had so much fun creating thisand I know my 5th graders will too!
I am SOOO EXCITED about this lesson guys! I cannot wait!!
5th graders will start this one
after “Falling for Foreshortening” and “Holiday Lights”!
We will use sharpies, black oil pastel, and watercolors to create them.
More details coming soon….
4th
GRADE
SKETCHBOOK
COVER DRAWINGS
So, for this particular sketchbook cover drawing lesson, fourth
graders created a personalized drawing using their initials.
First, students created a tracer (template) of their
initials by drawing them in block
letter style on a small piece of manila tagboard and then
carefully cut them out as one piece. I explained to
students that the letters had to touch somewhere, but not overlap in order for
this to work. Students could draw their letters backwards, stack them on top of
each other or have them side-by-side. To cut out smaller areas (like the
triangles in the letter “A”, or openings in the letter “O”) they used a hole
puncher or scissors to open it up before cutting.
Once cut out as one piece, students were then challenged to create an interesting design by tracing their initials template at least 8 times without overlapping on a piece of 8×11 80# paper. Students had the choice of drawing some initials coming off the page, and could trace them turned in any direction they wanted.
Once outlined with black sharpie, students then created an interesting background design using lines and/or shapes with pencil then colored in with an analogous color palette using colored pencils. The letters were left white to pop and stand out against the background. Students overlapped colors together where needed to achieve the necessary analogous color. Pieces of scrap paper were used to test out color combinations before coloring on their final drawing.
VICTORIAN ARCHITECTURE – 4th GRADE
This lesson takes (6) 40 minute art classes to complete. I think absolutely worth every class though! Students are taking their time carefully crafting their unique houses!
4th Graders learned what architecture is, learned about some of the common characteristics found within the Victorian architectural style (Gables, bay windows, fish-scale shingles, turrets, towers, front porches, gingerbread details, multiple chimneys to name a few), and then created a drawing of their own Victorian style house that included some of those elements!
On the first day, I showed students a PowerPoint of various Victorian homes, which pointed out these particular elements. I also showed students a variety of Victorian house drawings students created from previous years, as well as my own examples. We talked about how many of us noticed Victorian houses in the area as well, and how some students live in one or have relatives that do.
We also reviewed the Elements of Art and how students would be utilizing 6 out of the 7 elements of art to draw their homes; Line, Shape, Color, Space, Texture, and Value.
After I did a demonstration on how to draw some of the Victorian elements, students practiced drawing them on a worksheet.
Each student received a “step-by-step” how to draw Victorian elements packet that I created if they needed, as well as handouts of various Victorian style homes to use as reference while drawing.
I explained to not “copy” but to look at the various images for inspiration to create their own unique Victorian house.
Students certainly did! Check out the beautiful drawings in progress below!
I asked students if they had any architects in their family, or if they knew of anyone who was one. Many students did and it was great to hear so many fun stories about the connections they already have with architecture!
Once students finished drawing their houses, they carefully colored them in using colored pencils with any colors they wanted.
I demonstrated how to color in the chimney’s bricks (or other
brick details within the house) using a variety of reds, browns, white, tans,
and pinks and suggested to stagger the same color just like in real chimneys.
And to color any stones with browns, black, greys, tans and white.
Most students are still creating their houses, but here are some finished ones as well as ones in process!!
Students are doing a fabulous job! I LOVE how unique each one is!
I’LL BE SURE TO POST MORE FINISHED VICTORIAN HOUSES ONCE ADDITIONAL CLASSES COMPLETE VERY SOON!
CLICK Here to a link to download my FREE PRINTABLE step-by-step Victorian detail drawing handouts on my Teachers Pay Teachers page as well as my own Victorian Architecture PowerPoint (which can also be printed out for students to use for reference in your classroom).
POSITIVE / NEGATIVE TREES– 4th GRADE
This is one of the new art lessons that 4th graders will start very soon!
It’s a 1 day (40 minute) art lesson and uses construction paper, scissors and glue sticks to create.
This lesson is from LauraLee Chambers (@2art.chambers )
4th Graders will review complementary colors, positive/negative space, and symmetry while creating a cut out tree design on 1 sheet of 9×12” and 1 sheet of 9×6” colored construction paper.
BELOW ARE SOME OF MY TEACHER EXAMPLES TO SHOW STUDENTS
I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING WHAT MY 4TH GRADERS CREATE! I KNOW THEY ARE GOING TO LOOK AMAZING!
3RD
GRADE
SKETCHBOOK
COVERS
3rd graders were allowed to draw whatever they wanted for the cover of their sketchbooks this year. I encouraged students to draw large and clear, and to use bright bold colors when coloring in. Students could use markers or colored pencils to color with after outlining their drawing in sharpie.
They were very creative with their drawings!
DAY OF THE DEAD SKULLS– 3RD GRADE
This lesson took about 4 (40 minute) art classes to finish.
On day 1 -3rd graders learned about the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos (Day of the dead) and looked at a slideshow of images of the celebrations and festivals with people in costume celebrating the holiday as well as students skull artwork from previous years.
Students chose a black and white skull image that had been lightened in the photocopier. They taped their selected skull image to a 9×12″ sheet of tagboard that was wrapped in tinfoil (taped at the top only) with masking tape. Then students traced over all the lines of the skull image with a dull pencil to transfer the image onto the tinfoil.
Students could alter their image by drawing additional designs
while tracing.
The traced print out image is then removed, revealing their
transferred image on the foil.
On days 2-4, they colored in the designs of their skull on the
tinfoil with colored sharpies.
Although a very simple art project, students love it. It also introduces them to various transferring methods which they will further explore this year when they start printmaking with Styrofoam.
SELF-PORTRAITS WITH PERSONAL SYMBOLS -3rd GRADE
This lesson takes about 4 (40 minute) art classes to complete.
This lesson was inspired by the artist Frida Kahlo, who is well known for
her self-portrait paintings
and often incorporating symbols into
her artwork.
DAY 1:
Students were introduced to Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, and learned about her interesting life and beautiful artwork!
We looked at a variety of her self-portrait paintings and some photos as well showing her with her many unique pets! (Students loved seeing her with her pet spider monkey, 4 parrots, a deer, a hawk and other interesting creatures! She loved animals and had a lot of unique pets throughout her life!
Students also learned how she originally wanted to be a doctor
and studied medicine, but then was in a terrible trolley accident which left
her bedridden in the hospital for a very long time. Her mother gave her paints
and drawing supplies to help her pass the time in the hospital and set up a
mirror above her bed, which led her to her love of painting, becoming an artist
and creating her many self-portraits!
After discussing her use of symbolism in some of her self-portraits, and discussing what a symbol was, students looked at a variety of student examples as well as my teacher examples.
For the lesson, I explained they needed to draw themselves large on the paper vertically, only including their head, neck and shoulders, (like in their school photos!) then to draw 6 – 7 symbols around them that reflect their interests and personality. The symbols should be drawn large and at least as big as their closed fist (making sure the objects are clearly identifiable and easy to outline and color in later on).
Then, I reviewed with students how to draw the shape of the head
and facial details as well as facial detail placement on the head, under the
doc camera on 12 x18″ 80# paper. I had facial detail handouts to use and refer
to as they drew with a variety of eyes, noses, and mouth images if they wanted
to use them, but didn’t have to.
Students then started drawing soon after with pencil, drawing
lightly in case they needed to erase.
DAYS
2-4:
Students continued drawing and once all details were added and 6-7
symbols were drawn around them, they outlined all lines with a black sharpie.
Students used crayons (pressing firmly, so the colors would be vibrant) to color in. I explained to find a crayon or two, (overlapping and blending the two colors if needed) that best matched their unique skin color, hair color and eye color.
As a final step, students chose one color to color in the
background, to make their self-portrait and symbols stand out, filling in the
entire paper so no white paper was showing.
Students are currently still working on these. Here are some photos of them creating their self-portraits! I will post finished artwork once complete soon!
Thank you Kaitlyn (Art with Mrs E) for this helpful facial expressions sheet! My students loved it! You can get a copy in her TpT account. Her insta account is (@artwithmrs.e)
POLAR BEARS – 3RD GRADE
This is another NEW art lesson that 3rd graders will begin very soon!
These adorable polar bears will take about 2 (40 minute) art classes to complete.
This lesson idea came from art teacher Lauralee Chambers (insta account is @2art.chambers)
We will create them using liquid watercolors,
salt, and black oil pastel on 80# 12×18” paper. More details to come!….
Here is a photo of my teacher example
2ND
GRADE
WARM/COOL
HAND WITH PATTERNS SKETCHBOOK COVERS
This lesson takes about 3-4 (40 minute) art classes.
So for this particular sketchbook cover drawing lesson, second grade students created a hand drawing using warm and cool colorswithpatterns.
Students first traced their hand and drew a pattern inside their hand. Then they drew a different pattern in the background filling in the entire page.
After outlining with a black sharpie, they colored inside their hand using only warm colors, and colored in their background using only cool colors with markers.
Although unfinished, this design is quite impressive for 2nd grade!
MONSTERS – 2ND GRADE
Second graders had a blast creating these super adorable silly
monsters!
On day one (of two) for this lesson, students drew a simple monster head shape with two pointy parts for ears, on their chosen 9×12″ colored construction paper background with pencil. They then dipped the edge of a 2″x4″ piece of thin cardboard into black paint and “stamped” short black lines along the edge and within their monster to create texture for fur. These were left to dry until the next class.
On the second day of the lesson, students then cut out their
monsters, leaving a little color around the edge and glued onto a 12×12″ piece
of black construction paper.
They added big eyes with punched out white paper circles and smaller punch-outs from black paper for the pupils, then cut their own mouth and fangs!
I LOVE all the different expressions! Thank you @mrsallainart (via Instagram) for the inspiration!
POSITIVE/ NEGATIVE HANDS -2ND GRADE
For this lesson, students learned about positive and negative space in artwork and
used their previous knowledge (from their sketchbook cover lesson) on warm and
cool colors to create this colorful vibrant painting.
First, students painted a 9×12″ paper using either onlywarm colors, only cool colors, using liquid watercolors.
On the second day of the lesson, they traced their hand on the
back of their painting using pencil, then using scissors, cut a line going up
to their palm and carefully cut out their hand as one piece and set it aside.
They took the remaining paper with the hand cut out, and glued
down to the left side of a sheet of 12×18″ black construction paper, being sure
to line up the edges.
Students then folded the positive cut out of their hand in half and drew a half circle (or any other half shape) in the middle, cut out and glued to the center.
The remaining hand with the shape cut from its center was then
glued to the right side of the black paper.
This lesson will take about 3 to 4 (40 minute) art classes to complete.
This is also a NEW art lesson this year! This lesson was inspired by art teachers Art Room Britt and Lauralee Chambers (insta account is @2art.chambers)
2nd graders have already started these adorable bears with loads and loads of texture for fur and can’t wait to share their finished results!! They are doing an amazing job creating them so far!
We will incorporate some math in the mix when creating our patterned sweaters using dice as well!
Here are my teacher examples below
Here are some photos of my 2nd grade students creating their bears!
I’ll post finished bears with further details on how we created them once students complete them very soon!
1ST
GRADE
LINES
THAT WIGGLE SKETCHBOOK COVERS
So for this particular sketchbook cover drawing lesson, first graders drew overlapping, loopy lines to create an abstract drawing.
Students drew 8 loopy lines from one side of their paper to another in pencil. I encouraged them to draw large loops so it wouldn’t be too time consuming when it was time to color. Lines could overlap one another and I pointed out while demonstrating, that when a line connects it creates a shape! Plenty of shapes were created once the 8 loopy, overlapping lines were drawn. Students then went over all their lines with a thick black sharpie, then colored in each shape carefully with different colored markers. I demonstrated how to use larger markers for larger areas to fill in and thin tipped markers for smaller areas. Students were encouraged to fill in all the white spaces on their paper. 1st graders learned that artist’s use sketchbooks to plan out ideas for paintings or other artwork, to jot down ideas and other information, to experiment before making final decisions and to practice their drawing.
When students finished their covers, they practiced drawing other types of lines that we talked about inside their sketchbook
PUMPKINS STARRY NIGHT – 1ST GRADE
This
lesson takes 3 (40 minute) art classes to finish
On day 1 of the lesson, students looked at a slideshow
of Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings and
learned about his life and artwork. We took a close look at his painting “The Starry Night” and noticed that he
used lots and lots of short lines painted
close together in certain directions, to create a sense of movement!
Then students got to work creating their own Van Gogh inspired
masterpieces with a pumpkin!
Students followed along with me for the first steps, as I
demonstrated under a document camera.
They traced a pumpkin using a cardboard cut-out along the bottom
of their 12×18” paper. Students held their paper vertically rather than horizontally, so they would have more
room on their paper to create the starry sky.
Students then drew a line for the ground, a crescent or full moon
and small circles for stars with pencil. They then drew lines
in the pumpkins stem, and curved
lines inside the pumpkin. Students could then add a face
for their pumpkin if they wanted to.
Students then took both a yellow and a green crayon in one hand
and drew lines using both colors at the same time, all along the bottom for the
grass texture making sure to press
really hard as they drew.
They colored in the moon and stars with yellow, and outlined all
the lines within their pumpkin and stem with whatever colors they wanted,
making sure to continue pressing hard.
For a final step with the crayons, just like Van Gogh did with
his brush, students drew lots of short dashed lines with yellow, circling
all around each star. Then with blue crayon drew more dashed lines all throughout the
sky curving around their stars to create a sense of movement!
On day 2, students continued adding dashed yellow lines around the stars and dashed blue lines in the sky with crayons.
On day 3, students learned the crayon wax resist painting technique! They painted their pumpkin, grass and sky any color they wanted but each a different color, using liquid watercolor paint and learned how the waxy crayon resists the watercolors. 1st graders also learned how to properly clean their brush before selecting a different color and to not mix colors within the paint trays.
NOT SO SCARY SCARECROW COLLAGE – 1ST GRADE
This lesson takes about 3 (40 minute) art
classes
For this lesson, students
learned what a landscape is, and looked at various
landscape paintings by the artists Vincent Van Gogh, David Hockney, and
Grant Wood.
They then created their own landscapes by drawing rolling hills with different types of lines within each hill, a few clouds and a sun either setting, or up in the sky, with crayons.
On day two, they painted over their hills and sky, creating a crayon wax-resist technique using watercolors.
On day three, students created a scarecrow using little cardboard shirts, pants, and skirt tracers (that I made previously) onto different cut patterned papers, raffia for arms, buttons and glued them onto their landscapes.
For a final touch, students added additional details with sharpies and crayons, like hats, hair, facial details, and crows.
WINTER LANDSCAPES – 1ST GRADE
This is a
NEW art lesson for my 1st graders this year! I’m in love with the
colorful trees and think my students will love them too.
We will
begin this lesson after finishing up the “Not So Scary Scarecrows” very soon!
We will use colorful tissue paper cut into small sections, watered down white school glue, 12×18” 80# white drawing paper, rulers to draw the triangles for trees, black colored pencils, black construction paper, and toothbrushes dipped into watered down white tempera paint for creating snowflakes!
Here is my teacher example below
I’ll post more details with student artwork once they finish the Winter Landscape lesson very soon!
SPECIAL EDUCATION
THE DOT
Students watched an animated video of the book “The Dot” by Peter Reynolds. After the video they dipped their finger into various colored tempera paints on plates and printed their finger either all around a pre-drawn circle or within it. We created these on 12×12” 80# paper.
MARKER PRINTS – SPECIAL ED
Students each
received a small piece of Styrofoam printing sheet and drew straight
overlapping lines using a colored pencil. Then colored in each shape with
different colored markers.
On a separate 9×12” 80# piece of paper, I sprayed water and wiped gently with a damp sponge. The colored Styrofoam was placed (colored side down) onto the wet paper and students pressed with their hands to transfer the image. Students loved seeing this cool process!
TISSUE PAPER PUMPKINS – SPECIAL ED
Students created these gorgeous pumpkin collages using liquid watercolor, tissue paper, watered-down white school glue, pre-cut leaves from sponges and liquid tempera paint!
On day 1 of the lesson, students traced a pumpkin using a cardboard
tracer onto 9×12″ paper. They then glued on orange, red, yellow and pink
squares of pre-cut tissue paper using a paintbrush and watered down glue. They
brushed on a second layer of glue once a piece of tissue was placed on. They
used a brown piece for the pumpkin’s stem.
On a second sheet of 12×18″ paper, students painted a turquoise
sky with liquid watercolor paint. (Very vibrant!)
On day 2 of the lesson, students cut out their pumpkins and
glued onto the sky painting. They then glued on cut strips of various green and
yellow tissue paper for the grass using watered down school glue and a
paintbrush.
For the final step, they sponged on leaves in the sky by lightly
dipping a pre-cut sponge in the shape of a leaf into a plate of drizzled red,
yellow and orange liquid tempera paint, then gently pressed onto the sky to
create falling leaves!
Students then used a small balloon to dip into paint to create the caterpillars body on a sheet of 12×18” 80# paper.
We left that to dry and worked on creating
the apple. Students each received a 9×12” 80# sheet with a pre-drawn apple.
They glued on layers of red and pink tissue paper with watered down white school
glue within the apple shape, then a small rectangle of brown tissue for the
apple’s stem. We left these to dry as well until the following week.
Day 2- Students cut out the caterpillar’s
body and glued down with a glue stick onto a piece of 12×18” blue construction
paper. Then, they glued on green and yellow strips of tissue paper all along
the bottom overlapping the caterpillar a bit for the grass using a glue stick.
Lastly, students added cut white circles for
the eyes and added legs and antennae with black sharpie.
BATS – SPECIAL ED
For these fun fingerprint bats, I taped down 3 bat shapes with a few loops of scotch tape on the back onto a sheet of 12×18″ black construction paper.
Students printed their fingerprints that were dipped into yellow, orange and white paint all around the bats edges. Once dry, the white paper bats that were taped down were taken off, revealing the 3 bat silhouettes.
SNOWY OWL COLLAGE – SPECIAL ED
This lesson took 2 (40 minute) art classes to
finish
Students were each given a piece of 12×18″ black construction
paper, that had a pre-drawn white outline image of a snowy owl landing on a
branch.
Students added the bark by tearing small pieces of brown
construction paper then glued each piece filling the entire tree branch. They
then tore white paper into small sections for the feathers in the body of the
owl. Then added cut yellow circles for the eyes and a black cut triangle for
the beak.
As a final step, students added details with crayons to the tree
branches and sky.
I love the texture the torn white paper gives the owls!
CHECK BACK SOON FOR NEW
POSTS ON ALL THE NEW ART LESSONS UNDERWAY!
This lesson took (2) art classes to finish (and I had JUST enough time to squeeze in one more lesson before the end of the year)! It’s a simple one —but packs in a bunch! It incorporates the Elements of Art- Line, Shape, Color, Value and Texture! We also used overlapping, contrast and pattern in our work! Students could choose between creating a bunny, bear cub or fox.
Read below the photos of student’s artwork to see how they were created and how to get FREE bunny and bear templates!
The fox template was clearly the most adored by my 2nd graders!
DAY 1 – Creating the field of flowers background!
Students drew flowers all over their 9×12″ 80# drawing paper using markers and crayons. They were encouraged to draw the flower heads LARGE and draw LOTS!! Especially along the top and sides, since later on the animal would be placed over their painting in the center.
I
demonstrated a bunch of different ways to create the flowers first, but
students could draw them any way they wanted! I also encouraged them to use
bright colors.
Once their paper was filled, they drew green stems from each flower head going all the way to the bottom, using a green crayon as well as a green marker for each one.
Once
all the flowers and stems were drawn, using just water on a paintbrush, they went over each
flower with water. This turns the marker into almost a watercolor consistency.
I showed them how to just do one flower at a time then rinse their brush before
moving onto the next so the colors wouldn’t get muddy.
Then students went over all their stems with water. The crayon part of the stems would remain a solid line since crayons resist water. We talked about the Element of Art “Value” and how the colors of the flowers would get softer and lighter in value once water was applied.
DAY 2 – Adding the animal!
Students chose a bunny, bear OR fox template to start drawing lines with sharpie to add TEXTURE!
I downloaded and photocopied the free bunny template from a website called Teachstarter found HERE . I created the bear one myself and made copies for kids, which you can get for free on my Teachers Pay Teachers page HERE. The fox template was created by an art teacher (Mrs. Bohn from McLeansville Elementary Art, via Instagram) who shared her fox drawing template with me!
I demonstrated how to draw straight and diagonal lines close
together in between each section using sharpie. Students could leave the eye
area as it was, or go over the bunny lashes and create longer lines. We
discussed how the lines created fur- like TEXTURE.
We also discussed how the black & white vs. the colorful flower background
would create CONTRAST.
Once all the lines were drawn, students carefully cut out their animals and glued onto their flower background with a glue stick!
I just LOVE how simple yet beautiful this lesson is! Plus, kids continue to understand how they are applying the elements of art while creating!
Thank you for stopping by! To view other grade level artwork, click on the drop down menu on the main page, and select a grade to view more student art!
I will be posting again next week on 5th Grade “Grid Drawings” inspired by artist Chuck Close, and 4th Grade “Enlarged Flower drawings” inspired by artist Georgia O’Keeffe!
I can’t get over how ADORABLE these weavings are!!!! I LOVE them!!
I absolutely LOVE these fun watermelons!!! Thank you Nichole ( Mini Matisse) for sharing this wonderful lesson! My students loved creating them!
STEP 1: Creating the loom!
Students folded a sheet of 12×18″ red construction paper in half. They turned the folded paper around so the opening was at the top. Then they drew a horizontal line all the way across the top, and wrote their name above that line.
After that, they drew a short vertical line along the line where they wrote their name, starting in the center, then finding the halfway points between the center and to both the right edge and left edge of their paper. Then splitting those areas in half again and drawing 4 more vertical lines like below.
Then they drew straight vertical lines from those marks to the bottom
Then they cut along each of those lines, making sure to stop at the top horizontal line like below
STEP 2: Weaving the pink strips!
Students opened up the red paper, (the loom) horizontally, and wove 1″ x 12″ cut strips of pink paper all the way across creating a tight weave.
1st graders learned how to go over and under each horizontal cut red strip with their pink vertical strips of construction paper and noticed how it created a checkerboard pattern!
The trickiest part of this step was to be sure to reverse the pink strip every other time they wove. If the very first pink strip started on TOP of the red (like pictured above), they had to start weaving the next pink strip underneath the red, then the following pink strip started ON TOP of the red and so on so forth…. all the way across.
Art educator, Nichole Hahn’s Mini Matisse Blog had an awesome and easily explained video my students watched for this lesson. Click HERE to check it out from her blog!
Here they are watching it!
Students could choose from pink strips, magenta strips or a combo of both!
If students finished early, they became my teachers assistant and helped kids that wanted help weaving! It was so sweet and nice to see friends helping one another out!
Once all the pink strips were woven in the red loom, they glued the pink tabs along ALL the edges (both front and back) with a glue stick. This helps make sure the strips woven in won’t fall out or move out of place.
STEP 3: Adding the rind and seeds!
Students drew a GIANT letter U along a piece of 12×18″ green construction paper with pencil. Then cut out and glued to the weaving using a glue stick. Students applied glue heavily to the rind and pressed for 5 seconds to make sure it was stuck on!
Then they cut along the edge of the green rind, cutting off the extra watermelon weaving to create the watermelon shape!
For the final touch, students added watermelon seeds within each pink strip with a black sharpie!
I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post!!
More artwork coming up REAaaaaaaL SOOOooooon from 2nd grade (“Springtime Bunny, Bears or Foxes”) , 4th Grade (“Enlarged Flower Drawings”) inspired by artist Georgia O’Keeffe, and 5th Grade (“Grid Drawings”) inspired by artist Chuck Close !! Check back soon!
I think this is a great end of the year art lesson because it only takes 3 classes (maybe even 2 if your art classes are longer than 40 minutes) and it’s fun! But more importantly, it’s a nice way to review and assess students understanding on the basic elements of art; LINE (curving, wavy), SHAPE (organic vs. geometric), COLOR (primary, secondary, warm and cool as well as color mixing), as well as a review on overlapping, abstract art and composition.
Students in 3rd grade learned about the life and artwork of French artist Henri Matisse.
I
showed them a Powerpoint slideshow of his artwork throughout the years, from
his paintings to his collage work.
We
talked about how Henri Matisse used a lot of bright, bold colors, simplified shapes, and was
one of a few painters in his day who started a new style of painting
called “fauvism” -(stemming
from the word fauve, which means
“wild beast”) and how later in his career, he would paint his own personal
painted papers with many different colors that were then used for his cut paper collages.
They
also learned how Matisse would cut right into the painted papers without
drawing first, and called this technique “painting
with scissors”.
We also reviewed the word collage and students noticed how many of his cut paper shapes in his collages, resembled leaves and plant life, and learned how they were organic shapes. We talked about how organic shapes have curving, free flowing lines and can be found in nature, like in clouds, puddles, leaves, and flowers. As opposed to geometric shapes (shapes that have straight lines and are usually symmetrical).
DAY 1 – Creating the painted papers
For this Matisse inspired lesson, students created their own painted papers first, just like Matisse did!
They began by folding a 12×18″ piece of paper 3 times, in order to create (8) rectangles, folding and pressing firmly each time to make sure they have visible creases to separate the 8 sections within their papers.
After unfolding the paper, students painted each rectangular section using liquid watercolors. Students were instructed to paint the top row with specific colors (Left to Right) using only primary colors, using only secondary colors, using only warm colors, and using only cool colors. In the top row, students could use those specific colors, painting any way they wanted –BUT– without mixing colors on their papers. The bottom row students could paint each section with any colors they wanted and could mix colors. I kept this up on the board for students as they painted (see pic below).
Some students were having a hard time recalling what those specific sets of colors were, so I gave them clues to jog their memory a little. For instance, for primary colors, I said – they consist of 3 colors, and when mixed they make the secondary colors. I also said, “If you start with the first color in the rainbow, red- (that’s your 1st primary color) then skip the next color, then you’ve got what? (Yellow- that’s the 2nd primary color) then skip the next color to ? blue (that’s your 3rd primary color). With warm colors, I asked them to think about what the first 3 colors in the rainbow were, plus pink, and with cool colors I suggested think about the last 3 colors of the rainbow.
Students tested colors out on a paper towel before applying paint to their paper. Sometimes the colors of liquid watercolors can be hard to see, since they are so saturated and appear very similar to one another in color within the ice cube trays.
DAY 2 – Cutting organic shapes
On day 2, we reviewed organic shapes. Students first cut out each painted rectangle from their painted paper. Then they cut out various free-flowing, organic shapes from each section, -1 large shape per section- cutting straight into their papers, without drawing first, just like Matisse did!
In addition, students chose 5-6 pieces of colored construction paper to cut organic shapes from as well, to add to their collection of cut shapes for their collage. So all in all, students had up to 13-14 shapes total.
These shapes were then all paper clipped together and students wrote their name on the back of the last one and were saved in their class folder for the next class.
DAY 3 – Creating the collage
We
reviewed abstract art (artwork that
focuses on mainly lines, shapes and colors) and what composition meant in artwork.
Students learned that composition in art, means where things (or images)
are laid out on the paper.
Students arranged at least 8 of their cut organic shapes on a sheet of 12×18″ white 80# paper, moving them around on the paper, considering the composition first before gluing, and overlapping at least 5 shapes, before gluing into place.
I really love teaching this lesson. Not only is Matisse one of my favorite artists, but the vivid colors and arrangements of shapes turn out so beautifully and each collage ends up looking so unique!
Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check back soon for my next posts on 1st Grade “Watermelon Weavings” , 2nd Grade “Springtime Bunny, Bear, or Fox!”, 4th Grade “Enlarged Flower Drawings” and 5th Grade “Grid Drawings”!
How adorable are these!! I love lessons that incorporate mixed-media and 3D elements!
This fun mixed-media lesson took 2- (40 min.) art classes to complete.
DAY 1
On a sheet of 9×12″ tagboard, with a pre-drawn horizontal line drawn near the middle of the paper, students colored each section using the side of an oil pastel. We used 2 different colors, one for the top section and one for the bottom section.
Then students painted over each section with liquid tempera paint.
Then we used a texture comb created from a recycled plastic gift card to scrape the paint while wet, to create various lines and texture!
We set them aside to dry, then began creating the model magic flowers.
Students started off with a small piece that they rolled into a ball, then pressed slightly to flatten it a bit. We used scissors to cut small triangular sections out all around, then pinched the ends to create the flowers petals.
The left over model magic that was cut out, was rolled into very small balls and flattened to make the flowers centers.
A green pipe cleaner was inserted into the flowers for the stems, and they were set aside to dry completely, until the following week!
DAY 2
Students painted their flowers with liquid tempera.
Then they painted a paper towel tube that had been pre- cut into smaller pieces.
The flowers and tubes were set aside to dry. Once dry, I hot glued the paper towel tubes to their painted papers, as well as their flowers and voila! A lovely project for springtime, with tons of color and texture!
It incorporates focusing on (5) of the 7 elements of art – (Line, Shape, Color, Form, and Texture) and is inspired by artist Claude Monet and his beautiful water lily paintings.This lesson took (5) 40 minute art classes to complete.
Read below student artwork to see the steps on how we created them, as well as view my YouTube tutorial!
DAY 1:
Students learned about Claude Monet and looked at a slideshow of some of his paintings- Especially (of course ) his water lilies!
Then they painted a sheet of 12×18” tagboard with magenta liquid watercolors.
Students also viewed a fun video on Monet once paintings were set aside to dry. This is the video they watched below.
DAY 2:
Students painted a sheet of 10×10” tagboard with turquoise liquid watercolors, and sprinkled salt on the paintings while still wet. This becomes the water background for the water lily. The salt creates a sort of “resist technique” soaking up the bits of blue watercolor paint and once dry, leaves a bit of white– Making it look like light is reflecting off of the water.
We talked about how Monet (and other Impressionist painters) tried to capture a sense of light within their paintings.
These paintings were set aside to dry. Then students cut out the petal tracers I provided, which were printed on a sheet of cardstock. The 3 petals (1 large, 1 medium and 1 small) were cut out, then each size petal was traced 6 times, resulting in 18 petals total on their magenta painted papers.
Last year, when I created this lesson, I for some reason traced all 18 petals on EVERYONE’S pink painted papers for them to cut out???!!! Glad I decided to have them cut and trace out their own this year!
I demonstrated to make sure they were traced nice and snug next to one another so all 18 would fit. And to make sure all the Large petals were in one row then mediums in 1 row below the large and the smalls all in one row.
DAY 3:
Students created their lily pad on a sheet of 10×10” 80# drawing paper. They did this by filling in a drawn circle on the paper with layers of green and yellow pre-cut tissue paper and watered down white glue, overlapping each piece. Glue was applied to an area first, then a piece of tissue, then another layer of glue. Glue was brushed on after each piece of tissue to ensure they laid nice and flat.
I showed students how they could “pick up” 1 piece of tissue at a time, without using their sticky fingers by using their “gluey” paint brush and touching it to the tissue.
The lily pads were set aside to dry and for some classes that had some time left over, I read them this great story about Monet below! It’s a lovely story with wonderful illustrations!
DAY 4:
Students cut out their green lily pad and then cut out a triangle from the circle. This was then glued down onto their blue painted paper with a glue stick. (I rubbed off all the salt from the blue paintings once dry, ahead of time and pressed them between stacks of paper to make them flat before they did this step). A lot of glue is needed here and kids pressed down for 5 seconds to ensure it laid flat and adhered to the painting.
Then, after setting aside, students cut out their traced flower petals. They cut out all the large’s first, then medium’s, then small’s– making sure to paper clip each size together and labeled “L”, “M”, or “S” on the back of the paper-clipped petal bunch.
These were then saved in individual zip lock baggies and students wrote their name and class with sharpie on the bag for the next class.
DAY 5:
Assemble
the flower!
Students finish cutting out petals (if needed) then glue down all the large petals first, then medium, then small.
I used tacky glue (pictured below) for this step. I love how easy the glue bottles are when squeezing, and the glue dries clear once dry. It also “grabs” onto the petals quickly. I bought them in packs of 5 at A.C. Moore for around $5. I also bought larger bottles.
I show students under the document camera, how to apply a dot of glue about the size of a pea, and stack the fish “tail” of each petal (we talked about how the shape of the petals looked like fish) right on top of each other– like making a sandwich –stacking the next rectangular fish tail over the previous one each time.
After each petal “fishtail” is held in place with a dab of glue for 5 seconds, students then held the tail down with one finger while bending and pressing the petals tip back to create the 3D element in the flowers petals, and makes the petals stick out.
Once ALL the petals were attached they rolled up a piece of pre-cut yellow felt fringe and glued it to the flowers center. I pre-cut 8″ x 1.5″ pieces of yellow felt and cut the fringe ahead of time for students. Students rolled their strip of fringe TIGHTLY! and then applied a lot of glue (using the same tacky glue as the petals) to the end and then a bit on the flowers center, before pressing and holding down for 20-30 seconds. If there is any extra glue coming out from the bottom, don’t worry about it because the glue dries clear as mentioned before.
And there you have it!!!
These beauties went up on the wall for display as soon as they were dry! (I like to let them dry overnight -or at least a few hours just in case).
Here’s my YouTube tutorial on this lesson below!
If your’e wondering what students are working on for the reaminder of the year (yikes only 3 or so art classes left!!) here it is!
1st Grade– Watermelon Weavings (new lesson!)
2nd Grade– Springtime Bunny, Bear OR Fox! (To view previous art on this lesson from last year, click on “2nd Grade Art Lessons” under the main menu and scroll down)
3rd Grade– Matisse Inspired Organic Shapes Collage (to view previous art on this lesson, click on “3rd Grade Art Lessons” under the main menu and scroll down)
4th Grade– Georgia O’Keeffe inspired “Enlarged Flower Drawings” (and ditto- check out previous flower drawings by going on their webpage and scrolling down)
5th Grade– Grid Drawings inspired by artist Chuck Close (yep, you got it- check out previous artwork by students under “5th Grade Art Lessons” and scrolling down!)
Thanks so much for stopping by! I’ll be posting again VERY sooooon!
This lesson was inspired by the artist Frida Kahlo, who is well known for her self-portrait paintings and often incorporating symbols into her artwork.
This lesson took about 4 (40 minute) art classes to complete.
DAY 1:
Students were introduced to Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, and learned about her interesting life and beautiful artwork!
We looked at a variety of images of her paintings as well as photos of her creating her art. We looked at photos and self-portraits of her and her many unique pets as well! (Students loved seeing her with her pet spider monkey, 4 parrots, a deer, a hawk and other interesting creatures! She loved animals and had a lot of unique pets throughout her life!
Students also learned how she originally wanted to be a doctor and studied medicine, but then was in a terrible trolley accident which left her bedridden in the hospital for a very long time. Her mother gave her paints and drawing supplies to help her pass the time in the hospital and set up a mirror above her bed, which led her to her love of painting, becoming an artist and creating her many self-portraits!
After discussing her use of symbolism in some of her self-portraits, and discussing what a SYMBOL was, students looked at a variety of student examples as well as my teacher examples.
For the lesson, I explained they needed to draw themselves large on the paper vertically, only including their head, neck and shoulders, (like in their school photos!) then to draw 6 or 7 symbols around them that reflect their interests and personality. The symbols should be drawn large and at least as big as their closed fist (making sure the objects are clearly identifiable and easy to outline and color in later on).
I reminded them to make sure the symbols should only be images, no text! They could connect to things that they enjoy doing, things that are important to them, a favorite memory, favorite foods, hobbies, seasons etc. They could however, add words in their shirt if they wanted.
Then, I reviewed with students how to draw the shape of the head and facial details as well as facial detail placement on the head, under the doc camera on 12 x18″ 80# paper. I had facial detail handouts to use and refer to as they drew with a variety of eyes, noses, and mouth images if they wanted to use them, but didn’t have to.
Students then started drawing soon after with pencil, drawing lightly in case they needed to erase.
DAYS 2-4:
Students continued drawing and once all details were added and 6-7 symbols were drawn around them, they outlined all lines with a black sharpie.
Students used crayons (pressing firmly! so the colors would be vibrant! ) to color in. I explained to find a crayon –(or two, overlapping and blending the two colors if needed) that best matched their unique skin color, hair color and eye color. (In previous years, kids used oil pastels to color in, but I wanted to switch it up and try good ol’ crayons for a change (and lets face it….less mess!)
As a final step, students chose one color to color in the background, to make their self-portrait and symbols stand out, filling in the entire paper so no white paper was showing.
Once finished, students filled out a self-assessment on their knowledge of Frida Kahlo and on their own artwork! This sheet will be taped to the back of their drawings before going home.
To my 3rd graders in school, can you tell who’s WHO in these self-portraits by looking at their drawings and symbols?? : ) Take a look below! (obviously, the first two are very evident!) 🙂
Photos of students creating their beautiful masterpieces below student artwork too! (I guess that would kinda give it away now wouldn’t it, haha)
YES, YES….. I know…… I take a TON of photos!!….. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by! Check out below for my recent post on 1st graders “Dream Houses”!
Next up for 3rd grade…….Painted Organic Shapes Collage inspired by artist Henri Matisse!
This fun 3 day art lesson—- (3) 40 minute art classes—-is inspired by the book “The Big Orange Splot” by Daniel Pinkwater.
I absolutely LOVE this book!
It’s about a man, Mr. Plumbean, who lives on a street with his neighbors who all have the same exact house on “a neat street” as they say in the story.
Then one day, a big splot of bright orange paint falls on his roof. The neighbors all get annoyed by the random splot and ask him to get rid of it so they all “have a neat street” again.
Instead of getting rid of it, he adds to the splot, and paints his home with a ton of bright, vivid colors, and pictures of fun, random things ALL over. His neighbors get really upset at him and ask him why he won’t change it back to the way it was before. He declares to all his angry neighbors “my house is me, and I am it…..my house looks like all my dreams” and doesn’t change a thing.
Soon after…. one by one… the neighbors try to have a talk with him to change it back. BUT…. after talking to Mr. Plumbean, each neighbor gets INSPIRED! and ends up changing all THEIR houses to look like their own dreams!
After reading the story, we talked about how it’s important to be yourself and to not be afraid to stand out, and talked about how boring it would be if everything looked the same. Then I showed students examples of previous 1st graders artwork, as well as a few of my own, then kids got started!
I had no rules for this art lesson except to add a pattern somewhere within their work! I wanted to let them be as creative as possible with very little instruction. Kids could draw whatever kind of house they wanted! It didn’t have to be rectangular or square like most houses—it could be any shape! It could be a diamond shaped house, a slice of cake, a puppy, a cookie, a robot, a spaceship, a boat, a unicorn, slides coming from the roof to a pool in the yard….you get the idea!
Check them out below- They came out fantastic!
(Photos of students creating them below their artwork too!)
Students drew on 12×18″ drawing paper with pencil, then outlined all lines with a black sharpie, then colored in their houses with crayons. The final step was painting the background with blue (for sky or underwater scene) or black (for space or nighttime scene) using liquid watercolors.
NEXT UP FOR FIRST GRADERS……….. “WATERMELON WEAVINGS”! STAY TUNED FOR THAT POST SOON 🙂
Thanks for stopping by! I will be posting 3rd grade self-portrait artwork inspired by artist Frida Kahlo NEXT, and 2nd grade “3D Water Lilies” inspired by Claude Monet VERY VERY SOON!
Read below to find out how we created these, see step-by-step pics and watch my YouTube tutorial on this lesson!
Printmaking is one of my favorite things to teach in art. I love it because it always has an element of surprise with the results each time. Getting all the “Ooooh’s” and “Ahhh’s” after printing is so fun and magical and is always fun to see!
4th Graders used their previous knowledge on printmaking from when they were in 3rd grade when creating their “Complementary Creature Prints”. 3rd grade students used markers to print… and this time, as 4th graders… used black tempera paint to print. We used liquid watercolors to create the background before printing a symmetrical radial design on top using black tempera paint.
I love how colorful they are and loved showing students a variation in printmaking. They did a fantastic job!
This lesson took 4 to 5 (40 minute) art classes to complete.
DAY 1 – PAINTING THE RADIAL RAINBOW DESIGN
On the first day of the lesson, we reviewed symmetry(images that are the same on both sides) and students were introduced to radial design(a design that can include any lines, shapes or colors that starts in the center, and radiates outwards in a circular way). I explained we’d be making a symmetrical radial rainbow painting.
After demonstrating, and reviewing the order of the rainbow, students then measured to locate the center of their paper, using a ruler and marked the 6″ spot with pencil. From the center out, they then painted a radial rainbow design on their 12×12″ tagboard with liquid watercolors.
DAY 2 – DRAWING THE RADIAL DESIGN
Students drew curving lines (with some space between each line) on a 6″ square piece of copy paper that had been folded into a triangle, in pencil.
Then drew different lines and/or shapes between each curving line. Making sure not to draw too small or too detailed. Simple is best. They could be a pattern of lines and shapes, but didn’t have to be.
Then students opened the paper up, and traced over their pencil lines with a black sharpie.
Then students flipped up the blank bottom half over the top half that had been traced in sharpie like below.
The drawing can be seen through the paper (as shown on the picture to the right above). Then students traced over their lines with a pencil like below.
TIP: Place a sheet of white paper underneath your work while tracing so the lines can be seen more clearly. OR place the paper on a window to allow light to shine through the backside to see more clearly as you trace. OR- rather than using copy paper folded into a triangle, use tracing paper.
Once ALL the lines have been traced, THEN unfold, by taking the bottom half out like below. You should be able to see the pencil part on top, and the backside of the sharpie part below. Here you can now see the entire design is continuous on both halves of the paper.
From here, take the paper and tape it to a 6″ square cut piece of styrofoam (the printing plate). Use clear tape and only tape it to the top in 2 areas so the paper can open and close like below. Don’t worry about the tape covering your drawing a bit.
Once the drawing is taped onto the printing plate, students started tracing over ALL the lines with a dull colored pencil. (The colored pencil lets you know where you have traced since it leaves a colored line). Press firmly as you trace. This step transfers your drawing onto the printing plate.
It’s a good idea to check to see if its transferring well enough, so flip up the taped down drawing to check how it’s coming along. As long as you can see the lines indentations on your printing plate well enough, you’re good!
Continue tracing with a dull colored pencil until the entire design is traced.
Once that’s done, students flipped over the paper they were tracing. Here you should be able to see the drawing completely transferred onto the printing plate like below.
Next, students traced over their indentations of their design on the styrofoam printing plate with a dull colored pencil. (Tracing again pressing firmly). This step is crucial and creates a nice deep indentation which creates a clear print later on. If it’s not pressed in twice (once with paper over the styrofoam, and again a second time on just the styrofoam the overall print wouldn’t be as clear when time to print.)
From here, students then colored in *some* of their shapes they created within their design with colored pencil. Again pressing firmly! Areas where it is colored in, will reveal more rainbow from the painting created. Students could fill in as much as they wanted or as little as they wanted. This step was the final step before printing, so kids were very anxious to get printing! Teacher example on left, student example on right.
Once shapes were filled in, students flipped over the styrofoam printing plate, and drew an arrow with sharpie pointing to the corner where they started their drawing.
*Technically, to print a symmetrical radial design, the arrow could be drawn pointing in ANY one chosen corner, as long as it’s in just one corner. For a complete circle design like we created, we drew the arrow in the corner where we originally started the curving lines.
HOWEVER, no matter where you place the arrow, this arrow is necessary to know where to position the printing plate on the paper each time you print. The arrow should always point to the center of the paper each time it’s printed. Doing this creates the symmetrical radial design. (More on this below). They also wrote their name and class in sharpie on the back somewhere as well.
Then the paper that was taped on gets taken off and thrown away and students were ready to print!
DAY 3 – PRACTICE PRINTING ON 12X12″ WHITE PAPER FIRST
After a printing demonstration, students created a practice print on white paper before moving onto their final copy (on their rainbow painting).
Students shared plates of black tempera paint and brayers and rolled out their brayer onto the plate of black paint a couple times. Since the paint has a slippery texture, it’s important to THEN roll the brayer onto a sheet of scrap paper to get the paint evenly distributed onto the brayer. This also gets rid of any excess paint before rolling onto the printing plate.
Then the brayer gets rolled onto the printing plate.
Once students evenly coated their printing plate with black tempera paint, they carefully lifted it up and printed onto 12×12″ white 80# paper. It’s important to have the printing plates edges lined up with the papers edges and have the arrow pointing to the center of the paper.
Then students pressed down with the flat of their hands and then used a CLEAN brayer, and rolled over the backside of their printing plate all over to transfer the design to create the first print like below.
Then, lifted it off to repeat those steps 3 more times, rotating the printing plate so the arrow pointed towards the center of their paper each time they printed.
DAY 4 – 5 FINAL STEP! PRINTING ON THE RAINBOW PAINTING!
Students reviewed the printing process and continued to print their design onto their rainbow painting that they painted on day 1!
It was fun… but very messy!!!
This is why we drew a BIG arrow! So you can see it!
If you haven’t see it yet, Here’s my YouTube video tutorial below. I hope you like it!
