Jim Dine embossed hearts project.

Jim Dine (born June 16, 1935) is an American pop artist. He is sometimes considered to be a part of the Neo-Dada movement.

I am going to have the kiddos learn about Jim Dine today with a fabulous slideshow and make embossed 6 x 6 hearts. 

For the materials I purchased this roll of 36 gauge embossing aluminum.  I couldn't beat the price on Amazon, and it comes in a 12 x 25 foot roll.  It is easy to cut with scissors. Plenty for 2 classrooms.

 I also  bought cuticle sticks to use as cheap embossing tools.



Here is the link to the slideshow on Jim Dine....
I'll let you know how it goes

Making adorable felt animal ornaments

For our school auction Christmas tree we are going to have the fifth-grade class so and stuff Woodland animal ornaments for the tree.

Here is the ornaments that were going to do.

 I cut the felt over a few days, and preassembled the animals for the kiddos. They just need to stitch around the edges. For those that don't want to so a.k.a. (boys )they can also assemble cute pinecones owls for the tree.

How to do a basket stitch. 

I don't remember where I found the link to the felt ornaments, and directions, but it was on Pinterest, My favorite go to site for ideas.  I'm always on it.  Well, the craft went well,  of course half the class took awhile to figure it out,  I precut the thread into manageable sizes and put an entire animal ornament and thread into one Baggie.  In hindsight, I should have pre threaded the needles for them.  But with 42 kids in two classes, that would have taken a loooong time.  Once they stitched their ornaments,  I had them hot glue the eyes and noses etc on.  Later, I took the ornaments and threaded them with string to hang them on the tree.  Voila, a camping themed tree for the auction.  They loved stringing popcorn too,  I recommend doing that outside,  more ended up on the floor and in their mouth than on the strings.



 This is the felt that I purchased for this project.

Pointillism Hearts

Seurat, Georges Pierre |səˈrä| (1859–91), French painter. The founder of neo-impressionism, he is chiefly associated with pointillism, which he developed during the 1880s. Among his major paintings using this technique is Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884–86).I can't believe this whole time I haven't done an art masterpiece on Seurat  I just love his work! For going to do a pointillism work just in time for Valentine's Day. I cut out heart templates and using painters tape, taped them onto watercolor paper.

I decided to use cool colors with different values for the background and warm colors with different values for the heart. 

The acrylic paints are nice and thick instead of tempura. I cut Q-tips in half so there was a tip for each color on their palette. Sometimes the Q-tips get a little squishy, so it helps to have more.
I started them off painting the background. We talked about color and value. They tried to make the edges of the painting and heart were darker in value. Make sure they overlap the edge of the heart. 

Nice dots, random pattern, use all the colors. 

When the back is done, remove the heart template and fill the heart in with dots of warm colors. Concentrate the darker shades in the edges, lighter shades toward the middle, also denser and lighter towards the center to give it shape.  

The last step I showed them how to use a little black sparingly to dot around the edges.

We will be doing a pointillism painting for valentine's day after we learn a little about Seurat and Pointillism!

Here is the link to the slideshow.

Hey! I'm a photographer!

The history of photography is a very interesting one, and today we'll learn all about it!  starting with the first photos every taken with the first cameras, to famous photographers, and then we'll learn some tricks to take some of great photos of our own! 

Now its your turn to be the photographer! Each of you will pair up and take a turn being the photographer and then the model for the portrait.  

moms- this is what you'll need,  digital cameras, white sheets for backdrops, clip or tape on wall, tripods- they may also just want to hold the cameras.  I also have them bring in their favorite stuffed animal for one of the photos.  The photos I upload, crop, change to black and white and pick the best 4 expressions of each child.  The frames are from the dollar store.  Tada! the best Christmas present ever!  Don't forget the labels on the back with the date, class, etc.

Here the link to the slideshow on photography!

Remember- 

1. Make sure the camera is focused and still
2. Make your subject feel comfortable,
    tell them nicely how you want them to pose.
3. You want to get 4 different looks from them, make sure 1 is a nice smiling one.       How about happy, thoughtful, goofy, sad, sleepy, dreamy, excited or cuddly!
4. Take about 3 photos per expression. Take your time !
HAVE FUN!

Christmas Nutcrackers in Oil Pastel

jackson- 2nd grade

WOODEN TOY SOLDIER NUTCRACKERS
This is such a great and easy project,  given a step by step instructions for the basic shape of the nutcracker, the kids have such a fun time customizing their nutcrackers after that.
The history is such an interesting part, and I also speak a bit about the Nutcracker Ballet- LOVE IT!
Here's some more great 2nd grade creations,  this is great for any grade!  The key is to really cover your black paper completely with the oil pastel.

by London 2nd grade

by Aston 2nd grade

The nutcrackers that we are used to seeing at Christmas time, we call the wooden toy soldier nutcrackers even though they come in many different characters besides the traditional soldier. These nutcrackers were seen in many homes in the Erzgebirge (the mountainous region in the eastern part of Germany which borders the Czech Republic) even before 1800. This was a mining region, and during the long winter months, the men spent their time making wooden products for the family. It was tradition that a nutcracker in the window kept the family safe from evil spirits and danger. The first nutcrackers were made in the design of kings and soldiers. They were made by common folk, who liked to have the kings and soldiers working for them, cracking their nuts.
 READ MORE...

Self-Portrait Goals for the School Year

Let's start the school year off right!  Here's a short slideshow with instructions for the project.  I bought frames from the dollar store so the kids could frame their masterpiece and hang it on their wall.
They draw a self-portrait and then write their top three goals for the school year.

It could be anything from:
Work hard to get good grades this year.
Make sure to turn in all my assignments on time.
Read a book a week.
Finish my AR goal on time.
Give encouragement to someone every day or week.
Be extra kind to my family and siblings
Earn my bible verse trophy this year.


Encourage them to really think about realistic goals that they could accomplish by the end of the year.
Also encourage them to be specific in attaining their goals.
In other words..." read loads of books" is vague, but " read a book a week" is something they could strive for and at the end of the year have a feeling of accomplishment.


Materials:
dollar store frames
colored pencils
link to template
pencils, erasers

The instructions to the project on on the slide show here....   self-portraits goals slideshow

This fun project is from www.artprojectsforkids.org

European style self-portraits

Our last art masterpiece of second grade, I like to do something that will be a remembrance of the year. I do a yearly end of year memory book, and this I thought would be a great self -portrait.
The history and varied styles of self-portraits is fascinating.



link to slide talk on self-portraits

A Treasure Hunt for the Lascaux Caves!

A Treasure Hunt for the Lascaux Caves!

On September 8, 1940, 17-year-old Marcel Ravidat and three of his friends were looking for a lost treasure supposedly buried in a secret tunnel in the woods near Montignac, France. His dog Robot ran on ahead and became stuck in a hole. As the boys pulled Robot to safety, they discovered that the hole seemed bottomless.
Marcel Ravidat and his friends were certain that they had found an entrance to the treasure-filled tunnel.  Ravidat first tried to explore the site himself, but without a light, he didn't get far.  On September 13, he and his friends returned, this time prepared with a homemade lantern.Carefully, they made their way down into the cave and across a large room, about 100 feet long and 40 feet wide.  It turned into a narrow passage and as they entered it, they raised their lamp higher and discovered that the walls were filled with the shapes of many animals.    The next day, the boys made another remarkable discovery. Near the back of the cave was a shaft (now called The Pit) that Ravidat decided to explore. As his three friends held a rope, Ravidat climbed sixteen feet to the bottom of The Pit. He took a few steps, quickly realizing that The Pit was a dead end. But when Ravidat turned to retrace his steps, he discovered a painting of a bison knocking down a person: the person had a bird's head and four-fingered hands.    Soon the boys decided to tell their schoolteacher, Leon Laval, about their discovery. They knew Laval was interested in archaeology and would know what to do about their fantastic find.    Monsieur Laval explored the cave and wrote the following description of his adventure:        Once I arrived in the great hall accompanied by my young heroes, I uttered cries of admiration at the magnificent sight that met my eyes.... Thus I visited the galleries and remained just as enthusiastic when confronted with the unexpected revelations which increased as I advanced. I had literally gone mad.    In a short time, word spread about the fantastic paintings of Lascaux.

Link to Lascaux Cave Slidetalk

www.savelascaux.org

Official Lascaux Site, amazing virtual tours!

American Folk Art

American Folk Art- American folk artists were generally self-taught artists who wanted to tell a story, through pictures, about specific events depicting life in rural areas.                The most famous is Grandma Moses- (1860–1961), US painter; full name Anna Mary Robertson Moses. She took up painting as a hobby when widowed in 1927 and produced more than a thousand paintings in a primitive style, mostly of rural life.  see American Folk Art Museum

The Checkered House- Grandma Moses

The kids are going to do a Watercolor and Salt Painting I had seen on a great blog, Art Projects For Kids

Materials needed:
White paper
 Oil pastels, I used dark purple, they just need one to draw with.
pencils

Folk Art Chicken by Devon Roe

Water colors and palettes to put it in. you can use watercolor pans and have them pick and choose what colors they like,  or you can use liquid watercolor which is highly pigmented and limit the colors used. 
salt
brushes




Show them the slideshow below and then,


Demonstrate and have them do the following...


1.The students will first draw a round circle on the upper left for the head.  Then a line is drawn to the right, and curve below to make a large half circle for the body. Two legs are added, curves for the tail, and details on the head.  All these lines are traced with a oil pastel when complete. 

2. have them paint the chickens body first with watercolor.  while the paint is still wet, sprinkle a bit of salt on it.  The salt absorbs the water, making a cool texture, and may be rubbed off when the entire painting is complete.  After the body is filled, the background may be painted in with one or more colors. 

Another fun chicken folk art

3. When it is completely dry, after a day or so, you can wipe off the salt, and take pictures for Artsonia.  The chicken looks great framed in your kitchen!

Link to slideshow

James Whistler - Nocturne in Black and Gold

(1834–1903), US painter and etcher; full name James Abbott McNeill Whistler. He mainly painted in one or two colors and sought to achieve harmony of color and tone. Notable works: Arrangement in Gray and Black: The Artist's Mother (portrait known as Whistler's Mother, 1872) and Old Battersea Bridge: Nocturne—Blue and Gold ( c. 1872–75).


James Whistler slideshow link is at bottom of post.
This project is from the Usborne Art Treasury Book.
(see link to right)
They're going to create their own Fireworks painting.
Materials:  Large purple paper
Sponges cut up into small rectangles.
Pink, Orange, Dark Purple paint
cotton balls
purple and yellow chalk or pastel.
small paint brushes for splattering.
small disposable paper plates for paint.
a couple of blow dryers

1. Draw a low horizon line on a piece of purple paper.
2.  Use a sponge to dab some pink and orange paint in patches above and below the line.
3. Rinse the sponges, or use clean ones and Press its flat side into
dark purple paint, then print a blocky shape above the line for buildings.
4.  Print more blocky shapes, they can use it any direction, or the side of it too.
Have them do the same block shapes below the horizon lines upside down to show a reflection in the water. ( you might have to demonstrate this or show this to them)
 5.  Have a couple people stationed in the back to dry the paint with a dryer if its too
wet.  It should dry pretty quickly if they don't gob it on.
6.  when the paint is dry, use a cotton ball to smudge on purple and yellow chalk or
pastel for smoke.  the smoke will be just above the horizon line hovering over the buildings.
7. Mix some runny paint in yellow and reds.  Dip in a brush, hold it over the paper and flick the bristles.
Don't forget their names on the back and take photos when they are done for Artsonia

Link to James Whistler slideshow

Jackson Pollock- Action Jackson

Jackson Pollock was an American painter, born in 1912, who became famous for his enormous drip paintings. He painted in a tool shed where he could lay his canvas on the floor, and drip and splatter paint across it without worrying about ruining the walls or floor.

Rather than paint a landscape or a portrait, Pollock wanted to paint action. When you look at one of his drip paintings, your eye wanders across the entire canvas in constant motion. In this way, Pollock achieved his goal; the creation of the painting was active and so is the viewing of the painting.







Link to lavender mist.
Don't forget to look for his handprints "signature" in the top right of painting.

Click here to make your own Jackson Pollock painting online!!!!

Video of Jackson Pollock painting


Link to my Pollock slideshow for class

Project:
Canvas boards. Whatever size is on sale or you can order in advance from art department

I used 24x24" last time, it looks great on an easel!

Lots of bottles of acrylic paint,
Brushes, large small, painters stir sticks, or Popsicle sticks
Large Red plastic cups
Drop cloths
Painters smocks from art room ( very messy project)
I prep the white canvas board by spray painting the background a lavender for girls and a blue for boys.
I will put a label on the back saying teacher, year, artist, art masterpiece date.

On the day of, make sure you have list of helpers and find a spot outdoors to lay down the drop cloths, or plastic tablecloths.
Pre-pour the paints into red cups and mix with a little water so it is a little thinner, like house paint consistency.

Show the slideshow, and the video of "action Jackson" at work.
Talk about abstract expressionism, and explain that a very important part of his work is the action and process of making it, not just the final canvas.
Have the kids take their shoes off and put a smock on to cover their clothes.
They will stand in a circle with their canvas on the plastic, and their feet off it.
They'll take turns with all the colors and drip, splash, drop, paint onto their canvas' as they stand over them. They will not touch their canvas!
When they are done with all the colors, their masterpieces will look like these! Have fun, and don't forget to take photos for Artsonia !

James Audubon

John James Audubon (1785-1851). U.S. Naturalist and artist. His most notable work is The Birds of America (1827-38), in which he portrayed even the largest birds life-size and painted them in action.

Link to Audubon slideshow






Our project today requires black paper, white oil pastel, colored art chalk,
Stencils and q-tips.

Have the children take a bird and leaves stencil and draw around them with the white pastel. Afterwards, they will outline with multiple colors of chalk, as thick as they want it, when they are done they will gently blur the edges with a q-tip.

Wassily Kandinsky

Wassily Kandinsky: Russian painter and theorist. A pioneer of abstract art, he co-founded the Munich based Blaue Reiter group of artists in 1911.

This a really fun project that I've done in first grade, they learn about basic color mixing, talk to them about the primary colors ( red,blue,yellow) and ask them what colors do they make when they mix.

Link to Kandinsky slideshow

Elements of art covered: Color and Line

Materials for the project:
Bleeding art tissue.

Cut the colored tissue up into squares 2-3". Don't use white, black brown, only the bright colors.
Use a mixture of 50/50 water/glue, or water/mod podge. I mix it in a water bottle as I go so I can pour it easily into their cups of their tables, and refill as necessary.
Paint brushes, or sponge brushes.
Black tempura paint, thin brushes
Do a sample in advance of putting down three primary color tissue paper and gluing them with the mixture, it will show them how the blue yellow and red, primary colors will mix to make the orange, violet, and green secondary colors with the tissue paper.
Pass out a Dixie cup of glue mixture, handful of various colors of tissue squares and the foam brushes.
Don't forget their name on the back of the watercolor paper first.
Working in smaller sections, have them generously apply the glue mixture and start laying and overlapping the tissue paper on top.
**be careful that they don't brush on top of the tissue paper, it will tear when it's wet!!!***
have them completely cover the paper, leaving no white part.
For the black part, sometimes, I wrap up the lesson for the day, and let everything dry overnight, then when I come back for a 20 minute session,
Talk to them about one of the elements of art being line, and how Kandinsky
Would paint to music and feel the music with his brush strokes, not trying to paint specific shapes, but flowing lines etc. I have brought classical music in for this part too.
Pass out their dry projects, they will use thinned black paint and thin brushes. Show them the Kandinsky sample ( you can just show the one slide up on the smart board if needed)
They will paint some simple lines and shapes on their masterpieces. Keep this session very short, give them too much time and they will want to paint stars, moons, puppies, trees etc.
When it's dry take pictures and send them to me for artsonia!

Hudson River School landscapes

Thomas Cole was the founder of the Hudson River School of artists. they were a group of landscape painters that painted with romanticism and focused on a certain area of the United States.

I remember going monthly to the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, and in my early years of discovering art was fascinated by four paintings in a small gallery, I could study them for hours. They were allegorical paintings by Thomas Cole from 1840, each painting showed a different stage of a man's life, childhood, youth, manhood and old age.
They were so interesting, and so well done, there an amazing amount of details that translated and changed from each painting to the final painting. There was a linked story to each painting, that in the final painting, like any good movie, the main character learns the true meaning of his life.





"The paintings follow a voyager who travels in a boat on a river through the mid-19th century American wilderness. In each painting, accompanied by a guardian angel, the voyager rides the boat on the River of Life. The landscape, corresponding to the seasons of the year, plays a major role in telling the story. In each picture, the boat's direction of travel is reversed from the previous picture. In childhood, the infant glides from a dark cave into a rich, green landscape. As a youth, the boy takes control of the boat and aims for a shining castle in the sky. In manhood, the adult relies on prayer and religious faith to sustain him through rough waters and a threatening landscape. Finally, the man becomes old and the angel guides him to heaven across the waters of eternity." from Wikipedia.





I didn't know who Thomas Cole was at the time, but these paintings and every amazing art museum in DC changed my life as far as art goes.






Now I know that Thomas Cole was a landscape painter with an amazing attention for detail.

I wrote the slideshow to show different aspects of landscape paintings in general using the Hudson River School artists as examples.

We learn about a horizon line, where the land or sea meets the sky.
Also, aerial perspective, foreground, middle ground and background. For example, the background is paler and sometimes fuzzier to show that it is the distance.
And then we have linear perspective , when artists give a feeling of distance by making lines meet at a "vanishing point".

Link to the slideshow: Hudson River School

Materials for project:
White background water color paper, heavier stock.
Blue painters tape
Water colors in spray bottles. ( hobby lobby carries magic liquid watercolor, the only store that I know that carries it, highly pigmented, it can be watered down and put in spray bottles.)
Sharpies
Salt





For the project, pass out the paper, and have the kids write their name on the back.
Then, give them stripes of the painters tape with instructions on how to make their trees and ground. The ground is one solid piece of tape and a ripped piece on top. Have them place their tree trunks where they want. 2 or 3. Then, they rip off little strips of tape to place down for the branches.






Next step is they spray 2 or 3 colors of the spray bottled watercolors onto the paper. Wile it is still wet, they sprinkle some salt on top.











When the paper dries, (you may need some blow dryer help if some of them are too wet) help them remove the tape. The final step is taking a sharpie and drawing the lines on the trees.












Links:
Voyage of life by Thomas Cole

Hudson River School