Kusama Pumpkins

My PYP 3 class was introduced to the art element of value by none other than a pumpkin. Yes, a pumpkin. I love everything about pumpkins and of course the season of fall! The cool weather, bright warm colors, and the delicious pumpkin treats that range from sweet to savory...I could go on and on but enough with my pumpkin obsession...back to the lesson!

We started off the first class period with a discussion about what value is by looking for highlights and shadows on our little orange pumpkin that I had brought to class. After identifying lights and darks, I showed the students how to make a value scale by pressing harder and lighter with their pencils. I also demonstrated how to add value to a drawing by smudging the pencil marks with my fingers. The students then practiced a value scale while also working on an observational drawing in their sketchbooks.

During our next class session together I showed the students a picture of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama's spotted pumpkin sculpture. We did a visible thinking routine by discussing and interpreting what the students were observing in Kusama's wonderful work. What did they see? What did they think was happening? What did they wonder about the artist? The thoughts, ideas, and questions they had were great, and made for a fantastic jumping off point for our next part of the project.

*photo credit to Google Images*

I gave the students a large piece of paper to design their own pumpkin on. Their pumpkin could have any design they chose, as long as they were drawing large and practicing mixing lights and darks to create value with their paints. Once the paintings were dry, we outlined them with permanent markers. I love the final results and how creative each student was after being inspired by Kusama's work and our class discussion!  

What is ART?

I enjoy doing a lot of online reading through fellow art teachers' blogs, Pinterest, and other art websites to gather new sources of inspiration. There are so many amazing ideas out there! I love the collaboration and sharing that goes on between educators through blogging and websites.

This bulletin board activity was one of those great ideas I stumbled upon while reading online. I thought this was a great way to start the first day of art class with sharing and discussion.

As my upper PYP students entered the room on the first day I asked them two questions: What do you think art is and why is art important? They took the questions very seriously and the answers they came up with truly made me smile.  

"....can solve problem like when you are boring." This cracked me up!

Many of my students are not native English speakers. Some felt comfortable writing full sentences while others wrote down specific words. For my students who are just beginning and really don't have the skills that writing in a new language requires, I had them write in their own language or draw a picture. The students were eager to share their answers and at the end of class we posted them all together on one of the art room bulletin boards. It was a successful activity for the first day!