Last week, we took a break from color and focused on line and pattern. We started our lesson discussing pattern, and I shared my Zentangle for Kids cards. These Zentangle cards take intricate patterns and breaks them down into do-able steps. Some students got really excited about these, others stuck to more simple lines and […]
Amedeo Modigliani was an Italian artist known for his unique style of portraits. This past summer, I participated in Carla Sonheim’s “Kid’s Art Week.” This was one of the projects. I loved the clean simplicity of this project but struggled to find a place for it in my curriculum. Our fall still life project was […]
Last week was the final class of this session. Everyone completed their fall still life. I am so glad I kept their projects one more week. Even just 20 more minutes of work made such a difference in the finished pieces. I was worried that some students would not want to work on their projects […]
I try to do one still life project each session. My goal is to at least introduce students to the idea of drawing what they see, not what they know is there. This is the first step to moving away from drawing symbols for objects. Drawing is really about seeing and allowing our eyes and […]
Most of the students finished their collages this week. The really got to individualize their pieces this week. Many came up with great stories to go with their pictures. First we finished the hands and feet together, then they were free to use any colors they wanted. Some students really loved adding the detail. I […]
Henri Matisse described collage as “drawing with scissors.” I love that description. Collage also challenges your brain, like a puzzle. It can appear deceptively simple, but so many skills are engaged. Last week, we began a collage using the master of collage, Henri Matisse for inspiration. Normally, I only read one book during class, but […]
When I was about 14, inspired by a travel ad for Russia, I did a painting of buildings similar to St Basil’s Cathedral. I came across it recently and thought it would be fun for my classes to do. We started out discussing St Basil’s Cathedral, its location in Moscow, and a little history. Then […]
We only had about 30-45 min to complete one last project for this session. Picasso Roosters were perfect. We looked at pictures of Picasso’s “Rooster” and talked about how he drew multiple views of an object at one time. The students enjoyed the animated look of the rooster. These were drawn in white oil pastel […]
Last week we put the finishing touches on our Matisse apples. Each student was given charcoal and white chalk pastel. We talked about the location of the light source for our still life and how that would affect our shading and highlights. The shading gave their apples three dimensional form. They also learned about charcoal, […]
Drawing from observation can be a real challenge for some students. This apple project was a gentle introduction into drawing from life. Our inspiration was a painting of apples by Matisse. I have seen other teachers do similar projects based on this painting, tracing or stamping the apple shapes, but I really wanted them to […]
Recent Comments