Shelly the Turtle, with a shell full of patterns!

Today we started a project that the children will be working on for two class periods. We began by drawing turtles (in honor of Shelly, the class pet) using permanent black marker. Then after having a discussion about what constitutes a pattern, the children divided the shell into sections and added patterns to each section.

The next step was to color the turtles using watercolor colored pencils. These pencils are almost magic because you use them like colored pencils, but then brush on water, and they turn into watercolor paints!

During our next art class, we will use crayons and construction paper to create an aquarium scene for our turtles. Stay tuned!

(Happy winter break!)

Poinsettia Paintings Inspired by Georgia O'Keeffe

Today, we ventured into painting and printmaking. We began this lesson by reading the book "My Name is Georgia" by Jeanette Winter, and learning a little bit about the artist, Georgia O'Keeffe. We looked at pictures of her large flower paintings and talked about the parts of the flowers. Next, we talked about the poinsettia flowers that can be seen everywhere this time of year. We learned that these flowers are originally from Mexico and that the red parts are actually leaves, just like the green parts. The actual flowers are the tiny, yellow centers. Then the children got to work using sponges and tempera paint to create large-scale poinsettia flower paintings.

 The final step was to tear, then crumple bits of yellow tissue paper and glue them to the centers of the poinsettias to create the blossoms, (and add some 3-dimensional interest). Some children also chose to paint in the background. Very festive!

Winter Tree Landscape 

This week, as the wintry weather returned to Oak Park, we created a seasonal landscape in our art class. We began the class by looking at photos and paintings of evergreen trees in winter. We discussed the difference between coniferous (evergreen) and deciduous trees. There were also miniature evergreen trees on each table for the children to pick up and handle. We introduced the art word "landscape" and talked about what makes a work of art a landscape.

  Then we got to work practicing drawing triangles for the trees and rectangles for the trunks, then adding branches and texture with oil pastels. The children cut out their trees, added a blanket of snow to blue paper, and some snowflakes or other decorations of their choosing with white oil pastels on the background.

  In the final steps, the children arranged their trees on the paper and glued them down. We talked about how the smaller trees should be behind the larger trees on the paper to make it look like they were farther away. Several of the children understood and tried this technique after just one discussion!

 A little bit of glitter was the finishing touch.  I think they look great!

Learning to see lines in art.

Today we looked at a variety of famous works of art featuring strong lines. We then read the book "Little Green" by Keith Baker. In this story, a hummingbird flies around a little boy's garden in loops, spirals and zig zags. As the boy watches the hummingbird, he copies its movements onto paper, creating colorful line art. In our class, the children used their hands and arms to make lines in the air like the hummingbird, and then transferred these lines onto paper using markers.