Blooming Into Spring- Crayon Resist (Peer Lesson)

 

 

 



     This project was incorporated into a lesson that taught us about the artist Georgia O'Keeffe.  We learned about the style that this artist uses and the concepts and techniques she incorporates into her artwork.  This project demonstrated the concept of the resistance created by oil pastels with tempera paint.  This was a very fun and creative activity, and I really liked that I got to be messy and make a drastic change to a piece of art.
 
     Instructions:
          1. We began this project by drawing an enlarged flower on a 9"x9" piece of drawing paper with either bright crayons or oil pastels.  I chose to use oil pastels as they are not a medium that I get many opportunities to work with.  We had to make sure to press down with the crayon or oil pastel very hard while completing this first step, to ensure that the later steps would work best. 
          2. The teachers then mixed black tempera paint with water in a plastic cup.  The consistency of the paint was very watery to ensure that it worked best with our project.
          3. We then painted the mixture over the entire flower drawing.  Next, we used either our fingers or a paper towel to move the paint in the direction of the petals and drawing overall. 
          4. The final step was allowing the painting to dry, as the tempera paint over the entire project was very wet when we finished painting. 

    

 



      Extension Activity:
    
   I think this would be a great project to use with either younger or older students in the classroom.  This can be used as an art activity in itself, or can be incorporated into learning about science and mixtures or how things change when added to with another medium.  I think I would probably use this method like in the example I found above with smaller areas of crayon or oil pastel to really show the contrast and differences of the piece when black paint was added. 

Hidden Safari

 

          This project was a lot of fun and incorporated a hidden picture which is something I have only ever seen previously, and this allowed me to create one of my own for a great new project.  For this project, we drew a simple picture of a jungle animal using light blue colored pencil and then hid the picture using warm colors to offset the picture we drew. 

        

          Instructions:

     1. We began this lesson by making 'magic ruby red glasses'.  These were glasses traced onto construction paper and cut out, then we glued red cellophane to the glasses to create the lenses.  These were set aside to be used later in the lesson. 

     2. Students practiced drawing several objects upside down- beginning with a simple pattern then moving on to more complicated drawings.  The professor explained that this technique of drawing upside down helps to stimulate our brain into completing a task in a creative new way, and to prepare our minds for the 'trick' of hiding the drawings later, only to have them be revealed using the special red glasses. 

     3. We then chose an animal from a packet of jungle animals.  I chose to draw a little elephant with a few trees in the background.  For this drawing, we were able to flip the picture the correct way to draw instead of continuing to draw the more complicated picture upside down.  The picture was lightly drawn with a light blue colored pencil onto construction paper. 

     4. Once our picture was drawn in blue, we began to layer the picture with warm colors- yellows, reds, oranges to create patterns and layers.  The layers that are added help hide the picture that was drawn, and helped draw attention away from the light blue marks on the page through the larger, darker objects I had drawn.  From time to time, it was helpful to use the red glasses to visualize where more warm colors needed to be added, and if there had been enough added.   

     5.   A frame was added to the project, and then we were really able to appreciate the effect of the colors we used to create a hidden picture.  In wearing the glasses, our eyes filter out the layers that were added on top of the blue picture, and we were able to see the color in blue clearly.   To finish the project, we added three clues to help other students guess what our animal and picture was of. 

 

           Extension Activity:

 

     I think this project is a great way to incorporate many different subject matters.  Obviously, this would be a great project to be completed during art time.  One of the best things about this particular project is that any and everything can be drawn in and then layered.  I can think of using this for many subject matters, such as drawing words or sentences for language arts, pictures for science, countries and continents for social studies, and math concepts for mathematics.  This is also a great way for students to spend free time when assignments are completed, and can be used over and over- which allows students for many fun and creative pictures to view. 

Eric Carle Inspired Story Collage

          For this project, we first learned about the artist and author Eric Carle.  We studied the method that he uses to create his own papers then later incorporates all of these papers into his art and books.  I really enjoyed this project and thought it would be great to incorporate into an upper elementary classroom.  The effect looks very complicated, but the process itself is alot of fun and does not seem to take as much effort as it looks at first glance. 

     Instructions:
          1. We began this project by creating our own Eric Carle styled papers by painting various colors and patterns onto a pieces of papers to be used in our project later.  These papers would be later used for the background piece, characters, and components of the story collage.   
          2. We created characters and decided on a scene from a story or created our own for our story collage.  Once we decided on the characters and components of the scene, we sketched these out on scratch paper. 
          3. Once selecting which papers would be used for background and collage pieces, we traced the shapes on the background and paste paper. 
         4. Pieces were cut out and assembled to create our collage and then glued down carefully. 
         5. The final step was to add lettering to the story collage to create our own storybook page. 


     Extension Activity: 



          For use in my future classroom, I would begin the lesson by showing students a similar video to the one we watched in class to first inform the students of the process that is followed.  For younger students, I think it would be great to work together as a group to complete an activity where students would paint backgrounds then cut out their own objects (much larger and simpler than those we created in class).  For older students, I would have them do the same process as we did in class, but ask them to complete a single focus of art- basically the same lesson for younger students, but more detailed and a bit more complex. 

Van Gogh Inspired Collage

For this project, we were assigned to complete our own version of Van Gogh's "Starry Night".

We first completed the sky portion of the project using tissue paper on construction paper. For this area, we were allowed to use different shapes or patterns as we wanted. After the sky portion was complete, we used construction paper to represent a landscape to the project.

For this particular lesson, we used tissue paper, construction paper, and other media. For my collage, I incorporated metallic markers to add additional lines and movement to my work. To complete the project, we added cut out designs of a landscape.

For use in my own classroom, as I am hoping to be instructing younger aged students, I think it would be good to introduce this idea using finger paints.   First, the students would be shown Van Gogh's 'Starry Night' and then have a discussion about foreground, middle ground, and background, and the students would need to recreate their own version of 'Starry Night' using their fingers and paint as a medium. 


I believe that art history, like history in general, is an important way for students to learn about the past and how it things started or later came to be.  Knowledge of the past and individuals in the past may inspire or encourage students that may need an additional push to try something new or reach for a goal.  There are many ways to incorporate art history into the classroom including many fun games, projects, and activities.  SmartBoard games and activities would be alot of fun to get students more actively involved in history of art lessons.   

Elements and Principles of Art

     The Elements and Principles of Art project was a great way to get more hands-on experience with each of these components.  Through finding our own examples of each component, I was forced to think deeper about what makes each element or principle individual (or for some- connected with others).   
     The following are my favorite 5 images that I included in my Powerpoint presentation. 

 

The picture above is a picture I took while on a train headed to Oregon.  This picture is one of my favorites that I have displayed in my home.  The components of this photograph provide a great example of space in a piece/ photo.  There are distinct areas in the photo- the close items (foreground), the items that are located towards the middle of the landscape (midground), and the trees and moutains in the furthest area from the camera (background).

 

 

The rose picture was to show contrast.  I love the way that the camera focused on the flower.  In this shot, I was able to see different areas of highlights and shadows, as well as crisp, focused lines, and other areas that are more blurred around the edges. 

 

 

The duck photograph included was to demonstrate the rhythm/ movement principle.  The waves flowing out in the water indicate that there is movement in the photograph.  Movements as indicated in the photo guide a person's eyes towards the direction that the ducks are moving. 

 

 

 The picture of my dog demonstrates the emphasis principle.  The placement of Drake on top of the snow between the snow and the trees demonstrates the main point of interest in the photograph.  The eyes of the person looking at the picture is drawn to the focal point, or the dog. 

 

 

The photo of the tree on a wall plaque I have illustrates the balance principle.  The symmetry shown in the tree shows that, though not everything is identical, the tree itself is symmetrical in shape and overall characteristics.  I love the sense of balance found in this tree. 

 

Footprint

     This footprint project is a great way to introduce students and allows them an opportunity to share with others about themselves, their interests, and the things that are important to them. 
     For this activity, students are asked to trace their foot and then cut out the outline.  The outline of their foot serves as the canvas for this project, though students are certainly able to have areas that go over the edge a bit, if needed.  Students are required to incorporate three different media types into this project.
     My footprint consists of several different components of things that are important to me and my life.  These components are music, family, education, Green Bay Packers, travel, pets, flowers, and an area for a few of my favorite books, movies, and superheroes. 
       

     There are many other ways in which to get to know your students or to have them introduce themselves to the rest of the class.  An extension activity that can be incorporated is the "I Like Art Because..." activity.  First, read "Harold and the Purple Crayon" to the students to get their imaginations going and to give them some new ideas.  The students will then be asked to draw a small 'painting' to put on their easel.  They will also draw themselves, and will be asked to explain WHY they like art, which will be included in their work in a speech bubble.  Students will finish the activity by constructing an easel with popsicle sticks and putting the pieces together.