Our Last Project of the School Year: Painted Paper Butterflies Inspired by Eric Carle

To tie in with the unit on Eric Carle that the children have been working on with Mrs. Bernstein, we created some unique butterfly collages. This was a two-week project filled with color, texture and lots of creative experimentation. Below are some photos from week one showing students creating many, many sheets of painted paper, just like the ones Eric Carle uses in his collages. The tables were grouped by color family and the students were provided with brushes, lots of white paper and some texture-creating tools.

This week (week two), the children could either draw freehand or use stencils to cut butterfly wings out of the painted paper they had created. We pooled all the painted papers together and the children did a great job of sharing them with each other. After they had cut out four wings and a body, they glued down the parts onto clean paper. We looked at photographs of butterflies and talked about symmetry, and then the children embellished their wings with spots and other free-form shapes. For a final step, they could add a little splash of sequins to their collage.

And here are the completed butterflies - I wish the real ones in our neighborhood were this colorful!:

It has been a great honor to be able to work with your children this year, to watch their confidence and abilities grow, and to be able to help nurture in them an appreciation for art and art-making!

Please have a fun and safe summer!

All the best,

Lucy Zucaro

(lesson credit: http://www.deepspacesparkle.com/)

Pastel Cats Inspired by Paul Klee

First off, let me say that I was so happy to be able to meet some of my students' families during Specials Night. I think the children really enjoyed seeing their artwork on display, and it was a fun night for everyone.

Last week in art class, we were inspired by Swiss artist Paul Klee and his painting "Cat and Bird." (See below):

I introduced chalk pastels to the children, most of whom had never used them before, and we experimented blending colors with our fingers. It's a messy medium, but the colors are so rich and beautiful. Then, using a black oil pastel on brown construction paper, we drew our kooky cat faces. The chalk pastels were then used to add color and personality. I'm so delighted with how the cats turned out: they are all unique and very expressive!

Cade

(lesson credit: http://www.deepspacesparkle.com/)

Specials Night Watercolors and Color Theory

For the past two weeks, we have been working on our artwork for Specials Night. We reviewed the color wheel and talked about mixing the primary colors. Students were given watercolor paper that was taped off into rectangular sections. Using just the three primary colors in liquid watercolor form, students began their experiments in color mixing. We used the wet-on-wet technique so the colors really spread and exploded into beautiful abstract shapes. There were a lot of exclamations of surprise and delight as the children discovered all the various hues they could create with different color combinations. The last step was to sprinkle some table salt onto the wet paint to add some visual texture.

The following week, after the paint was completely dry and the tape had been removed leaving white spaces on the paper, the children used Sharpie markers to add a variety of patterns. During Spanish class, the children wrote out their color mixing formulas and glued this to their art. These beautiful explorations in color theory are on display for Specials Night in the hallway by the art room. Hope to see you all there!