Picasso-stein

Okay, let me begin by sharing, this was not my project idea.  I needed one more quick project for October and a fellow art teacher friend shared this one with me.  First, I presented a brief history on the life of Picasso where we focused on the development of cubism.  The lesson was presented in a directed drawing format.  I always like to keep them guessing when I present a lesson this way.  Instead of revealing what we are drawing, I focus on shapes and lines and how they are combined to create form.  It doesn't take too many steps until students begin to guess what they are creating.  This one took awhile but they did quickly catch on to the fact we were creating like Picasso.  They are drawn on construction paper and colored with construction paper crayons and texture plates.  Texture had to be added in at least one area but could be utilized as much as the student wanted.

Cinco de Mayo - Fiesta!

One of my buildings always puts on a school dance around this time of the year where the teachers work to raise money for the PTA.  The theme for this year was Fiesta.  Art students create the decorations for the dance.  Fourth grades students created patterns in lively colors on white paper that had been cut into 9 x 4.5 sheets.  I had envisioned them as the skirts for Senoritas but once the papers were accordion folded; they didn't quite measure up in size.  The folds immediately brought to mind the beautiful fans Senoritas waved as they danced and the work took it's own life.  The fans made beautiful decorations.   The lesson incorporated math with the patterns along with an exposure to the culture of Cinco de Mayo with vibrant color and dance.

Lines, Patterns and Emphasis

I recently introduced my students to Zentangles.  Although I have an instructional poster which I shared with you previously here, I encouraged my students to be totally original with their doodle designs.  I introduced the lesson by having them practice on another piece of paper.  Then they created the box and divided it with a string.  The focus then went to our vocabulary wall where we reviewed basic lines and talked about pattern.  They were then encouraged to create patterns using line and repetition.  The last step was to add a shape or three with a fine sharpie as an overlay on their work.  Colored pencils were added to highlight the shape for an emphasis in their work.  This is the first completed project.  I will post more as they are finished.  This lesson was from 3rd grade and it seemed to be a perfect age.  They really jumped into this project with enthusiasm.  I think I may have started something, hopefully it won't interfere with their other classroom work.  These will definitely be frame-able!

Drawing Turkeys in Kindergarten

What do you do in the days prior to Thanksgiving break when all the kids can think about is a holiday?  It's useless to try to begin a new project because that always ends in disappointment so I decided to incorporate a lesson on shapes and lines into a drawing a turkey with my kinders this year.  After all, if  you can't beat the problem, find a way to make it work for you.  They turned out so darling I had to share the finished products with all of you.  I started by having the students do a "directed drawing".  I borrowed that term from another blogger over at the Tiny Art Room because I really like how official  it sounds.   I've always called these "follow the leader drawings."  Don't you like the Directed Drawing term better?  Students drew a long thin curved line for the head, added a zigzag collar underneath and then drew a circle beginning on one side of the curved line, extending underneath and stopping at the other side.  It was a precursor to the discovery of using space in art which was further practiced as tail feathers made by drawing long skinny curves were added behind the turkey's body and head.  Parallel curved lines with zig zag line feet completed the legs and feet and curved lines added to the sides of the circle created wings.  An angle for the beak and oval, circle, and dot created the eyes.  At this point student's personal creativity kicked in as they completed the backgrounds and added color to their turkey creations.  I love how these came out.  With Kinders it is the constant encouragement to take it one step further and develop a completed composition but I am always thrilled as they take hold of their work and imaginatively create their art.

She was very busy spinning her web

 Kinders enjoyed a reading of Eric Carle's The Very Busy Spider this past week.  The repetition of this book makes for a fun reading as students soon catch on and recite along with the book.

With a focus on line and shape, students then created a web using a white crayon.  Vocabulary included horizontal, vertical, diagonal, and angle.  A black crayon was used to create the spider with circles that are colored in slowly around the edges to become dots.  The magic of the lesson occurs as a liquid watercolor wash is applied over the compositions.  The students were delighted with their busy spider creations.

The Very Busy Spider

Fingerprint Birds with Kindergarten

Inspiration Project from Mrs. Weber's Art Class

I found this cute little project on pinterest from Mrs. Weber's Art Class and was inspired to do this lesson with my kindergarten classes.  My focus in kindergarten is all line and shape so this project really meshed well with my curriculum.  First students defined the horizon on their paper and then used a curved line to create some hills above the horizon line.  This most reflects the environment where we live and I wanted our landscapes to become familiar.  Then using shapes, houses were added to the landscape.  Parallel lines defined the trunks of trees and curvy, cloud like shapes formed the leaves.  Next parallel lines were used to create modern looking telephone poles which were connected with curve lines to represent the wire.  Stamp pads were used to print birds using just the tip of the pointer fingers.  Beaks, feet, eyes and wings were added to each little bird prior to coloring the composition using crayons.  Here are in progress photos from my students.  I always allow time for them to add their own personal touches to a project to avoid cookie cutter art.  I used this wonderful book, Birds by Kevin Henkes prior to the project.  It actually has illustrations of birds on telephone wires.  I think it was a perfect read!

student at work

This flock appears to be taking off

completed composition

student at work

dig the pink and purple house

student work with large beak birds

more of a community look with added truck

busy coloring 

Books from the bookshelf - final installment (for now!)

Here are the last ten books from my bookshelf along with a brief overview of how I use them in the Art room.  As I've mention in previous post, I most often use these books with my Kindergarten classes.  The books I commonly use with older students are more artist specific such as the Getting to Know the Worlds Greatest Artist series by Mike Venezia.  I have included a few older student books in this list as well.

Action Jackson by Jan Greenberg is one of older student books.  This is a biographical story that I use to introduce the artist and his life to students.  Elementary students love the idea of painting like Jackson Pollock, just be prepared and organized so splatter painting doesn't go wild!


How is a budding young artist suppose to cope when Mom takes away her crayons?  This is the story line in the book A Day with no Crayons by Elizabeth Rusch.  This is a cute tale that I do use with younger students.  I do not incorporate a specific lesson plan to this book but use it more to stress creativity and also the proper use of materials.  It's a cute little book.



Kathryn Otoshi has written a poignant little tale about difference and importance in her book, One.  As the colors argue about their importance, one comes into the picture and helps everyone to see that they all count.  It's a great book to use if you are having difficulty with name calling or students not getting along.  I try to squeeze a few books into my library on this subject.  Teaching social skills is so important in school and test focus leaves little time to help youngster work on those skills.  Books like this can create an opportunity for dialogue, even in the Art room.  It could be used to introduce a cooperative project or to just set the proper mood and expectations for the Art room.

My sister purchased the next two books for me late in the school year last year.  I read them both to students and the discussion led to creative imagination and the empowerment of creativity.  They are great books and can be found free on several book sites to download to you computer.  Antoinette Portis is the author of Not A Box and Not a Stick.

Another creative inspiration book is Ish by Peter Reynolds.  The story line is that Art doesn't have to be perfectly realistic and can be treasured for what it is, regardless how "ish".  There is also a wonderful video to accompany this book.  Many of Peter Reynolds books can be found on those free download sites for classroom use as well as on youtube.





I generally introduce 2nd grade students to Georgia O'Keefe as a spring lesson.  I have done this lesson in a few different ways over the years but I think my favorite lesson was one inspired by an overabundant supply of felt squares.  Students chose a colored square and oil pastels are used to create an O'Keefe flower large enough to fill the 12" x 12" square.  The book I use to share her biography is by Jen Bryant and titled Georgia's Bones.  A friend has a real skull that she uses and has student's draw a skull for this lesson.  I also use the book Through Georgia's Eyes by  Julie Paschkis. A third O'Keefe title is Georgia O'Keefe: The Artist in the Desert - Adventures in Art from Prestel Press.  This book includes wonderful photographs of the artist along with some great prints of her work.  It is more biographical in nature for her later years of life.   Prestel Press


Lastly, and by no means last in importance, is Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson.  This book has withstood the test of time and still remains relevant and entertaining for young students. Scholastic has a wonder video of the story and numerous online resources are available for downloading the book to your computer.  I like using Harold with Kindergarten students anytime during the year but it is especially good when introducing line and how line makes shape.



The following is a list of newly acquired books that I have not incorporated into lesson plans as of yet but am currently working on.

The Art of Silliness by Carla Sonheim
A Splash of Red the life and art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant
Colorful Dreamer the Story of Artist Henri Matisse by Marjorie Blain Parker
Sky Color by Peter Reynolds
Magritte's Marvelous Hat by D.B. Johnson
Andrew Drew and Drew by Barney Saltzberg
Anholt's Artist Activity Book by Laurence Anholt

One of my goals for the remainder of Spring Break is to create lessons using at least two of these books.  Wish me luck!!!