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

Georgia O'Keefe Skull Project

 By Aston 

In 5th Grade today we are doing a Georgia Okeefe Lesson, but I changed it up, instead of the flowers, we're doing her Cow Skulls,  I'm teaching 2 classrooms at the same time, I'll be running back and forth between the two.  We'll see how it works.  One classroom I'll have them working on a southwest inspired tissue paper landscape, complete with mesas and cactus.  The other classroom will work on putting details on and painting pre cut out cow skull.
Here is a link to the slide talk....
GeorgiaOKeefe slide talk

It was a success.  I used large pieces of water color paper for the background, and placed out a stack of tissue paper.  I told them to wet their paper with modge podge,  in sections.  Starting with the sky, they put a sheet of light blue tissue paper on the top half of the watercolor paper.

Then I told them to use two shades of the same color, dark for the background mountains and lighter color for the foreground mountains,  layering them gives a middle ground.  I also encouraged them to tear the paper, and to try to leave plateaus in the background, (flat topped mountains) to give it a more southwest look.  

All the Tissue paper was put down with modge podge, or diluted glue, careful not to tear the paper, then the desert colors were put down on the bottom third.  They used Browns, tanks, whatever they chose for the colors, some put a wide swath of brown and decided not to put any green cactus in, anything is ok.  

While those were drying, I had them work on the cow skulls,  I precut them out so they didn't have to do that part.  I showed them a few samples of where markings could go on them, and had them use brown sharpies to mark the eyes, nostrils, horns, details, then they could either wash them with a diluted metallic terra on the way! Brown paint, or do watercolor designs.  Whatever they wanted to do.

The next day, I had them put a last layer of modge podge over the background to give it a shine and make it even.  They put the skulls onto their southwest backgrounds with glue.

They look great!

By Caleb

By London

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!

Salvador Dali Surrealism Dream Boxes

Salvador Dali-(1904–89), Spanish painter. A surrealist, he portrayed dream images with almost photographic realism against backgrounds of arid Catalan landscapes. Notable works: The Persistence of Memory (1931) and Christ of St. John of the Cross (1951).

We traveled to Cadeques Spain when our son Devon was little to view Salvador Dali's amazing quirky house.  I was so surprised that this world renowned amazing artist, grew up and resided in this small seaside village in the south of Spain.

His house was as colorful and imaginative as he
was,  I bet he has some great parties there!!

I wrote this art project with my son Devon's 5th grade class in mind,  I want them to go out in a bang this year, loving art!  They're going to create Dream Boxes, after they learn all about Dali and Surrealism.  

Materials:
boxes- we bought flat top wooden one's or similar from the craft store.
sky blue paint, brushes for background
white paint and cotton balls for clouds
pencils to sketch
miscellaneous paints, small brushes, colored sharpies or even oil pastels.
for the inside I was going to have them cut out quirky objects or designs they liked 
   out of magazines, mod podge it to the inside of the box and 
hot glue gun a small toy to the bottom.  I don't know why I added the little toy part,
   but it sounded cute and an additional way to purge my kids junk drawers!

Here's the link to the Salvador Dali Slideshow

Let me know if you do something different with your dream boxes, and I'lll show you mine when they're done!

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...

Paul Cezanne's Chalk Pumpkins

Cézanne, Paul |sāˈzän|

(1839–1906), French painter. He is closely identified with post-Impressionism, and his later work had an important influence on cubism. Notable works: Still Life with Cupid (1895) and Bathers (sequence of paintings, 1890–1905).

During Paul's life, hardly anyone noticed or cared about his paintings.  Only a few people, including 

Claude Monet, Renoir, Pissarro , Picasso, Matisse, Van Gogh and Gauguin realized what an important artist Paul was.  Many of these soon-to-be-famous artists felt that Paul Cezanne may have been the greatest of them all.

Here is the link to the Paul Cezanne  slideshow.

There are so many talks you can do with Cezanne, what a great artist.  We wanted to do something for fall, and he was a natural tie- in since he did so many still life's.  

Materials:
black art paper
colored artists chalk
black oil pastel
pencils

After you give the slide talk, the kids will draw a pumpkin in sections on their paper.  You want them to do the pumpkin big enough so it will be easy to color and shade.
I bring a pumpkin in so they can see that it is not perfectly round, or perfectly shaped in any way.  Show them how to draw each segment starting with the middle segment individually.  After their pumpkin is drawn, then they will go over the lines with the black oil pastel.  This will keep the chalk from drifting.
Each segment will be colored in separately with dark orange at the bottom, medium orange, then yellow at the top.  I tell them it should look like candy corn, they will then blend it together lightly with their fingers. Add the green stem in chalk, and then draw a black line through the middle of the background.  Have them choose two bold bright colors to fill in the background.

Henri Matisse- Master of Color

Henri Matisse

 Henri Matisse (1869-1954)
French painter and sculptor; full name Henri Emile Benoît Matisse. His use of nonnaturalistic color led him to be considered a leader among the Fauvists. His later paintings and sculptures display a trend toward formal simplification and abstraction.
Here is a Art Masterpiece Project that was on Artsonia,  Johnny Appleseed Day is coming up and this is a great project for it.  It really is adaptable for any age group, this masterpiece below was done by a Kindergartener!  

materials:
White 12"x18" paper
Liquid Laundry Detergent Lids
Black, Red, Yellow and Green (to make "apple" green) tempera paint
Warm and Cool watercolors OR watered down tempera
Brushes
Large Circle tracer and crayon for plate
Sharpie fine point black marker

blow dryers to dry the paint

LOTS OF HELPERS!

most of these supplies can be had from the art department,  make sure to check in advance.

procedure:
1. Introduce Henri Matisse "Apples" 1916, The Art Institute of Chicago Image found  here. 

It is also found in the slide talk -link is below.

2. Compare and contrast other still life images.
3. Have the students trace large circle on 12" x 18" white paper - or to save time,
 I pre-draw the plate with brown crayon prior to distributing to the kids.
4. Discuss warm and cool colors. I have them paint the plate first and then one half with warm colors.
(I have used watercolors in the past but now I find that if I water down tempera and put it in little cups,
the effect is much nicer.) While they are painting the outside of the plate, I go around and soak up any
puddles to keep the apple print from bleeding into it.
PRINTMAKING
I made green apples by mixing tempera paints. We used liquid laundry caps (of different sizes) to make
 the print. I tell them to lift straight up and hold the paper down with their other hand if the paper sticks
to the cap. While they are printmaking inside the plate I soak up any puddles outside the plate in case
they want to show an apple falling out. We let dry until the next week.
The second week . . .or if you have helpers,  break out those blow dryers from the art department, and
 try to dry as much as possible where the apples will be printed.
1. I start with sharpie for the apple stems.
2. I premix watered down tempera for the cool colors and the black shadows. When they are doing the
 shadows, I turn the warm colors so that they are on the "right" side of the student.
3. I ask the children to draw the letter "C" ON the apple (this makes the cool side the shadow side).
Then I have them draw the letter "C" for the cast shadow and fill in. I do the two shadows separately
 because the tempera from the apples sometimes remoistens and will spread into the cast shadow.

link to slidetalk for Matisse

Don't forget to take photos - natural light, straight on, of each artwork, 

then they will be posted on Artsonia for all to see!

art by a Kindergartener.

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!

Georgia OKeeffe flowers

Georgia  O'Keeffe (November 15, 1887 – March 6, 1986) was an American artist.

Born near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, O'Keeffe first came to the attention of the New York art community in 1916, several decades before women had gained access to art training in America’s colleges and universities, and before any of its women artists were well known or highly celebrated. Within a decade, she had distinguished herself as one of America's most important modern artists, a position she maintained throughout her life. As a result, O’Keeffe not only carved out a significant place for women painters in an area of the American art community that had been exclusive to and is still dominated by men, but also she had become one of America’s most celebrated cultural icons well before her death at age 98 in 1986.

Her abstract imagery of the 1910s and early 1920s is among the most innovative of any work produced in the period by American artists. She revolutionized the tradition of flower painting in the 1920s by making large-format paintings of enlarged blossoms, presenting them close up as if seen through a magnifying lens. In addition to this, O'Keeffe's depictions of New York buildings, most of which date from the same decade, have been recognized as among the most compelling of any paintings of the modern city. Beginning in 1929, when she first began working part of the year in Northern New Mexico—which she made her permanent home in 1949—O’Keeffe depicted subjects specific to that area. Through paintings of its unique landscape configurations, adobe churches, cultural objects, and the bones and rocks she collected from the desert floor, she ultimately laid claim to this area of the American Southwest, which earlier had been celebrated primarily by male artists; the area around where she worked and lived has become known as “O’Keeffe Country."

Georgia O'Keefe slideshow

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