3rd grade Eric Carle Inspired Collages

Eric Carle is a great source of inspiration in the Art room. Second grade created mixed-up chameleons and now third grade is finishing up their Eric Carle collages. We spent an art class dedicated to creating texture on paper with paint and some very neat paint-scraping tools. There are so many color combinations and ways to use the tools, the possibilities are nearly endless.

After this, we looked at some Eric Carle books, like "Animals, Animals" for inspiration. Students drew a sketch on newsprint paper (not pictured) to get a better understanding of the shapes of the objects and/or animals and then drew those objects and/or animals on the back of the textured paper and cut them out. Since everyone needed many colors, we created a "community" texture paper bin so we could all share.

(Eric Carle's work pictured above)

Finally, we chose a color for a background, arranged our pieces before gluing them down, and added small details with oil pastels. Their ideas blew me away... I am one proud art teacher!

4th Grade Asian Ink Paintings

One of my favorites... 4th grade is learning what value is and how to use this in creating artwork. We first measured, marked, and created a watercolor value scale (Value is the lightness or darkness of a color). Students learned about the process and skill of *Asian ink painting and first practiced a special technique for painting bamboo. Next students painted on long scroll-like paper and started with a very light value wash, slowly adding darker and darker value layers. We are putting the finishing touched on and they should be completed very soon.

Here's an example of a value scale:

 4th grade Asian Ink Paintings...

* Asian ink painting has been a very prestigious skill in China and Japan for well over a thousand years. The subject matter is based on animals, landscapes, people... in nature. The traditional ink paintings are created with water and an ink stone and bamboo brushes. There are different techniques for painting - a special flick of the wrist for bamboo leaves, a drier brush for a more textured brushstroke, etc. Some paintings may have a pop of color in them. They are usually created on silk or very thin rice paper and often the items or animals portrayed have a distinct abstract style to them. The red squarish seal (or chop) is usually the stamped on with a red paste, which is the signature of the artist.

4th Grade Michigan Bird Paintings

These tempera paintings are of non-migrating Michigan birds. We started with a list and some research on those particular birds. I demonstrated drawing one of the birds and we created a sketch in our sketchbooks. Next we drew in pencil on our final paper, making sure to create an interesting background and our bird large enough so that it could be our focal point. Students learned some paintbrush techniques for creating texture and mixing colors and they turned out phenomenal!

Here are a few from Mrs. Essenmacher's class...

2nd Grade Paper Weavings

These pieces started out as texture rubbings (some with watercolor) that we turned into paper weavings. They have helped us to better understand texture and pattern. We also did peer teaching with this lesson and  the students loved working in pairs and helping each other to understand how to create the checkerboard-like pattern that was used.

1st Grade Rocket Ship Art

First Grade is currently working on rocket ships in outer space, which is a mixed media piece. First we built our rocket ship (or space shuttle) out of a variety of matte board shapes and popsicle sticks with glue. We worked on a "launch pad" (manila paper). After the glue dried, we painted our rocket ships with a variety of metallic colors:  gold, silver, bronze, copper, and antique gold. To research our background, we browsed the NASA websites for images of the sun, the planets, and other outer space objects like comets, asteroids, moons, etc. I highly recommend the student website:  http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html  (I was mesmerized by the images!) Our background is being drawn on dark paper with crayon and soon we will arrange and glue our rocket ships down. Here are some pictures from Mrs. Allen's class:

3rd Grade Basket Weavings

Third grade has spent some time learning about what a weaving is and all the different kinds of weaving, looking at different examples. We also discussed how weavings are often functional art, or they serve a purpose. To create these basket weavings, we cut an ODD number of cuts on a plastic cup, taped one end of a roll of yarn on the inside of the basket, and in an "over and under" pattern, we weaved the yarn until the plastic container was covered. Beads were added for extra decoration and the inside bottom was painted with acrylic paints. They did an awesome job!

5th Grade Textured Clay Pots

5th Grade are in the process of the glazing their textured clay pots right now. We created four categories for textures (hard, soft, rough, smooth) and brainstormed different items with others that possess these textures and shared them with the class. Next we made a texture rubbing chart and experimented with making texture on a small piece of clay. The following class students began to roll out a rectangular slab and create their own unique texture; some used tools, some used charms or other jewelry to press into the clay. We cut out and attached a bottom for our pot and some decided to add a handle or a top. Here are some pictures from Mrs. Prone's class of the process!