2D/3D Abstract Splats

This is a lesson that students and myself absolutely loved. I taught this with my grade 5 students while still working in Saudi Arabia, so I thought I would share!

To begin this lesson my students viewed and discussed abstract paintings by Jackson Pollock. They looked at the movement created by the splashes of paint mixing with other colors.

We then discussed contemporary artist Martin Klimas who photographs brightly colored paints being bounced around by sound vibrations. We also watched a video of the process he goes through to capture these beautiful images. My students were amazed!

To make things even more fun, we also took a look at the famous performance artists, The Blue Man Group. My students had never heard of them before and loved the amazing things they can do with music, humor, and brilliant colors. 

After our discussions and comparisons between these three types of art, we began our own art making process. The students first designed an abstract shape inspired by the bouncing blobs of paint from the videos, photographs, and paintings viewed previously. Once the drawing was complete, students were in for a surprise. They had to construct their abstract splat into a three dimensional form with clay. The students loved creating the final piece, especially when they were able to paint with neon colors. 

I thought this lesson was a great way of showing students how contemporary artists are influenced from artists throughout history. The final product was a huge hit at the end of the year art show! 

Landscape Studies

What I enjoy about teaching IB is that the program encourages students to go deeper within their studies. To inquire, think critically, and communicate their thought processes. While teaching this unit about the varieties of landscape art to my PYP 4 students, they were able to utilize those skills successfully and develop a deeper understanding of their personal creative approach.

The unit was started with investigating different types of landscape art that have been made by artists throughout history. We broke these types of landscapes down into three categories including representational landscape (or realism), impressionism, and abstract landscape. As a class we viewed artists involved with each category and discussed the differences.

After discussion, the students also learned a new set of vocabulary and how to create perspective within their drawings and paintings. The first task was to create their own landscape using perspective and value as seen in this student's painting and sketchbook work.

The next task was to introduce a new technique and style of painting. After reviewing impressionist artists and famous works, the students were ready to try their own impressionist style paintings. The students used a brand new pencil that had not been sharpened to dip into colors to create the bold dots or brush strokes seen within this style. The students had a lot of fun mixing colors to their landscape with something other than a paint brush! 

The final task for this unit was by far the best, according to my students. Together, we took a look at Australian artist John Olsen and his famous abstract landscape paintings. The students discussed the different colors used by this artist and how that influences the feel of what type of landscape is represented.  

After discussion, each student was given a picture of a map with an aerial view of a landscape. In their sketchbooks, students designed a line drawing based on the bold lines found within their aerial maps. When their drawing was finalized, the messy (and most fun) part began! 

Each student was given a small canvas, glue, and pieces of white tissue paper. The students rolled their tissue paper into a line, dipped the "line" into glue, and arranged the "line" on their canvas as it was in their sketchbook drawing. When all of the gluey lines were dry, the students chose specific colors based on what type of landscape they wanted to represent. 

They were so engaged during this assignment you could hear a pin drop! The students loved the final results of their mixed media abstract landscapes and were really impressed with how unique everyone's was. I loved teaching this unit and feel like each student was successful and gained a deeper understanding of the creative process and art history! 

Clay Looms & Weaving

I have been seeing other Bloggers and Pinterest Pinners posting things about clay looms. Every post I have seen shows a unique approach for these hand made looms and I just couldn't wait any longer to try it out with one of my PYP classes.

As a class we had been investigating texture and had just gone through new art vocabulary while practicing some clay techniques. What a great time to try out these looms and add in some weaving skills!

We began by doing some practice radial weaving on paper plates. The students used a template to cut notches in their paper plate and wound yarn through the notches during teacher demonstration.

During the next lesson, students wedged and rolled out their own slab of clay. This slab was cut into a shape of their choice, with a circle stamped out from the middle. 19 holes were then punched with a straw evenly around the circle that was cut from the middle. Before the loom was complete, students had fun pressing a variety of materials into the wet clay to create texture. They used shells and other natural materials to get interesting shapes and designs.

Once the looms had dried and were fired in the kiln, they colored the finished clay with a crayon and chalk technique. The students then strung up their looms as we had practiced before with paper plates and began weaving with different colors.

Although the weaving was difficult for students at first, they all were successful with practice! Here are some students finishing their weaving below. 

The completed looms were absolutely beautiful. I wanted to take them home myself!

A few of my happy students being proud of their finished work!

   

Cultural Identity

Wow, it has been a very long time since I have been involved in the blogging world! About a year to be exact, and it has been an exciting year to say the least.

I have moved from the International Programs School of Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia to the EtonHouse International School of Wuxi, China. Besides moving to a new country, I have also been busy learning how to use the International Baccalaureate program for MYP, PYP, and Early Years students. It has been an interesting transition and I feel as though I have grown immensely in my approach to teaching visual arts through out the year. I am excited to start sharing my lessons again and I am so proud of my students' creative works of art!

My MYP 2-3 students just wrapped up their final unit of the year. While investigating a variety of cultures around the world, the students were also discussing cultural identity and how that is represented through different forms of art. They researched a variety of of cultural costumes, masks, and body art and infused their findings into a final piece. The final work was a mask made out of chosen materials (plaster, cardboard or clay) that combined elements of cultural identity from different parts of the globe.

This is an example from a student's process journal with their unit title page and cultural research. 

After the research was complete, students used inspiration from their investigation to start a series of designs for their final product. When the final design was decided, the initial drawing was developed into further detail and materials were chosen as shown below. 

Once the final design was complete, students began creating their mask with the medium of their choice. This student decided to work with clay and acrylic paints. The results were fantastic!

Here are a few more examples of students' final work made with clay, cardboard, or plaster.

The students and myself really enjoyed this unit. I personally love cultural art and collect masks among other things during my travels. I was able to bring in those items and share with the class, which sparked even more creativity as well as student discussion. The MYP 2-3 class worked very hard and each them have a unique piece as a final product!