Clay Dali Portraits

This is was one of my favorite lessons in Kindergarten this year. I don't think myself or my students have ever laughed so much during a class period before.

I decided to introduce my little kinders to my absolute favorite artist, Salvador Dali. We viewed some of his surrealist paintings and discussed how imaginative they were. I also showed them a few pictures of the famous painter himself and they fell in love with his mustache!

Then came the giggles. I did a demonstration for the kids on how to roll and pinch their clay into a flat oval for the portraits face. We used rolled paper for the nose, googly eyes, and pipe cleaners for the mustache. The kids loved it!

I only have one picture of this particular project from the art show, we were having too much fun to stop and take photos during work time!

The students still talk about this project and how much they love Dali. He's now an artist they will never forget!

Routines

I really enjoy doing this project with high school students as it is very open ended and the students are free to choose what relates to them using a wide variety of materials.

As a class we discuss different types of daily routines that the majority of people do every single day. Getting up in the morning, going to school, eating lunch, household chores, and the list goes on. Once the students have compiled some ideas, I ask them to choose a specific daily routine that is personal to them. They can represent their routine any way they wish including charcoal, paint, photography, and any other techniques that we have practiced and implemented through out the school year.

The students have always come up with something completely different and I feel like it is a very successful project. Here are a few examples of the finished projects below:



 

   

3D Identities

As an introduction to sculpture this year, my combined class of freshman and sophomores completed a three dimensional self portrait.

They were instructed to choose six things that represented themselves and would then construct those items using clay, paper mache, or cardboard. The background was finalized by their choice of materials.

 I thought this was a great way to start learning and experimenting with sculpture and constructing three dimensional pieces. Overall it was pretty successful and each final product was unique!

Crazy Splatter Painted Hair

I really love doing abstract art work with younger grades. Most of them are not afraid to jump right in and explore with colors. This year I wanted to try something new with my second graders and this lesson is what inspired me: Art Projects for Kids.

To introduce the lesson I read the book "I Aint Gonna Paint No More" by Karen Beaumont. The book has great splatter painted illustrations and is bright with patterns and color.

After the story the students and I discussed the different facial expressions and emotions associated with them. I prompted them with the question, "How does art make you feel?" Based on that question, the students began drawing an expression of their choice at the bottom of their paper.

The rest of the paper was saved for the best part- splatter painting! Straws were used to drip paint near the top of the portraits head and the paint was then blown upwards. When the paint was dry, the students finished coloring their background and wrote a sentence about their chosen expression or feeling.

           

           

           

My students and myself loved this project so much. I feel like it could be done in a variety of ways and can be adapted for other grade levels. I even used these in the final school art show because they were so funny! The students different personalities can really be seen in each individual portrait. 

Kindergarten Architecture Prints

I stumbled across this art lesson while trying to come up with some new ideas for printmaking with my Kindergarten students. The original lesson can be found here: Smartest Artists. I really liked the idea of using simple materials to get a bold line for the architecture print.

At the beginning of the school year I had ordered a great book called "Roberto: The Insect Architect" by Nina Laden and have been wanting to share it in my classes for some time. I thought it would go great with this printing lesson! However, the book is quite lengthy for a Kindergarten class, so we mostly talked about the fun illustrations and different types of architecture seen through out the story.

After our book discussion, I asked the students about the different kinds of houses that they know. They described shapes, sizes, and materials that houses are built from. I then did a demonstration of how to print different lines and shapes on the paper to create a house.

Kindergartners began printing after the demonstration. They were really enthusiastic and the only materials used to print were different sizes of cardboard and recycled bottle caps for circles.

During the next class period we reviewed the different types of architecture discussed during the story and colored in the printed houses with crayon.

             

            

Recycled Maasai Dolls

As mentioned before I love Africa, especially Kenya. Every year during our culture unit, I do a project about African art with the elementary grades. A favorite in the fifth grade classes are the Maasai tribe dolls.

The students learn about the Maasai culture and way of life. We view and discuss the traditional clothing and adornments that are typical of the tribe. The kids really love the bright colored fabrics and intricate bead work that the Maasai are famous for.

After discussion, the fun begins! We start making our own class "tribe" of recycled dolls. I have found that they best way to start the doll is simply with a plastic water bottle. The students fill the bottom of the doll with sand, which is so easily accessible since we are in the desert! Filling the bottle with a bit of sand keeps the doll from falling over when adding decoration.

Once the lid is put back on the bottle, the head of the doll is then attached. The students receive a pre-cut square of black fabric that they stuff with polyester cotton, and add a rubber band around the cap to keep the fabric from popping off.

The students are then free to add their own decorations including fabric, beaded necklaces, hair, and shields if they wish. I have done this project with fifth grade boys as well and it is always a hit!

In order to further the discussion on recycling, I usually show this video to my students while they are working: Recycled Art in Kenya. The students find it incredible that such amazing art work can be made from something as simple as a discarded flip flop!

Japanese Jewelry Boxes

So, I have been saving these cool cream cheese boxes for over a year for this particular assignment. The project idea popped into my head while I was making some cream cheese frosting for a delicious pumpkin cake that I had baked.

The boxes that come with this particular cream cheese product slide open and resemble a jewelry box. Once I had enough saved, my fourth graders took a look at the history of Japanese art. The students were then introduced to Japanese calligraphy. They practiced making symbols from hand outs that I had previously gathered, and then we began to paint!

The boxes were first opened all the way and painted a solid color. Some students chose black, others red. 

          

When the boxes were dry, students began painting their chosen symbols on the tops of the boxes. 

          

Wahlah! The finished product turned out beautiful!

            

The girls had a lot of fun with this, even the ones that did not necessarily "like" jewelry. The project itself took a lot longer than I had anticipated, it took about four 45 minute class periods. The students really took their time painting the symbols and decorations. Either way, we all had a blast and ended up with something really special. 

High School Grid Portraits

Awhile back I had posted about my high school girls' portrait unit, and I haven't uploaded their final assignment.

At the end of the unit, students experimented with the grid method of making portraits. They chose a photo of someone they admired and enlarged the photo onto an A3 size paper using a measured grid. The finished product was then colored and blended with oil pastels.

Here are a few examples below of their work. 

             

Most of the students chose movie stars or singers that had inspired them. Overall I thought the students did a fantastic job!