Who We Are Mixed Media Artworks

I love starting off the school year with this unit in art class. It is the perfect way to get to know a new group of students by focusing on identity and a variety of mark making techniques. 

The students start off by creating a mind map or brainstorm about themselves in their sketchbooks. They list all of their favorite things, personality, and anything that is important about who they are. 

The students then practice a variety of art techniques to create different patterns and textures. They keep track of the materials and tools they use in their sketchbooks and choose which ones they enjoy the most to add to their final piece. 

The students also learn about Romero Britto and his fun colorful artworks for some artist inspiration. After mind-mapping, material experiments and artist study, students then beginning designing and planning their final mixed media artwork. 

Once their plans are finished, the real magic begins! Here are a few examples of some Grade 5 student work. Aren't they amazing? 

Artist Trading Cards

Grade 4 students had a blast with this year’s Artist Trading Card unit. They inquired into the central idea of investigation leads to possibilities under the theme of Sharing the Planet.

The students started off the unit by investigating a variety of materials and mixed media to find out which mark making techniques they enjoyed working with. They kept a record of their experiments in their sketchbooks to use as a reference.

 

As the students continued investigating techniques, they were introduced to Artist Trading Cards or ATC’s. Artist Trading Cards are 2.5 x 3.5 inches and are created for a variety of reasons using multiple layers and different mediums. Most importantly, Artist Trading Cards are meant to be traded.

This year Grade 4 students had an exciting opportunity to trade their cards with a school in Iowa, USA. They were absolutely thrilled to send their cards overseas from China! The students were required to donate one card to send to the United States and donate another card to trade with Grade 4 students at our school. They were able to keep the rest of their collection.

Their next artistic challenge was to create a series of cards based on a specific theme, message, or global issue of their choice. They designed their cards with their message in mind and chose specific materials from their technique investigations.

The students did a fantastic job creating quality Artist Trading Cards with a variety of materials and special messages. They had so much fun trading and receiving cards from a different country and each other. I can’t wait to do this unit again!   

Rousseau Animals

I am absolutely in love with these Grade 1 paintings! As our last unit of the school year, we focused on art history under the theme of Where We Are in Place and Time by inquiring into the central idea of understanding others inspires us.

The students were introduced to Henri Rousseau by watching a Mati and Dada video about the artist. We also read the book The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau by Michelle Markel and Amanda Hall.

They then brainstormed about animals they were interested in and chose one for their final artwork. In their sketchbooks, the students listed their chosen animal and the animal's habitat. They thought about the best lines and colors that could represent their animal's habitat in an abstract way in order to plan their background.

The background was then created with oil pastels and water colors based on their sketchbook plan. Their animal was drawn large on a separate paper and filled in with water color as well. I had a lot of scrap painted paper that had been saved through out the year, and this was used to collage extra details into their background like grass, seaweed, or flowers. Myself and the students were so impressed with their final results, I couldn't be a happier art teacher!

Process Art

Who doesn't love process art? I love the freedom that comes with experimenting from a variety of mediums, techniques, and materials. The possibilities are endless and the students are always thrilled with their success as well as their new discoveries!

This year during my nursery class we had been learning about color mixing and handling new materials to work on fine motor skills. In order to reinforce their learning the students set out on a large scale multi-media adventure!

Large pieces of white butcher paper were laid out on tables including an assortment of paints and materials. The students could trade places as they worked the only rule was to share what was available at each table. Some students were hesitant at first, but in the end we all enjoyed getting a bit messy!

     

The large papers were painted, printed, collaged, and glittered on for four lessons in a row. The students were not afraid to cover up previous work and layers were added throughout each lesson. Their final masterpieces are a true work of art!