Delft pottery. A nod to the Dutch

In upstate New York there is a strong connection to Dutch culture and traditions.  This was one of many lessons my students took part in.  This weekend is the annual tulip festival celebrating those traditions.
We used paper plates to depict scenes relevant to Holland such as tulips, windmills and seascapes.  A variety of shades of blue markers were set out for coloring these iconic images. Patterning was used on the outer rim of the plate to represent the variety of edge designs found on this beautiful pottery.
We also discussed how the tin glaze method used on the pottery made it very affordable for the common man as opposed to the more expensive porcelain pottery.  We discussed similar designs found on dutch wooden shoes and tiles.  Our plates turned out beautiful and are on display for the children's families to enjoy  at the our Special persons day event.

Reflecting on Monet, Grades 1 & 2

This was a painting lesson that I did with my second and third grade classes.  

It's a lesson I love to do every year.  Sometimes the grade level varies as was the case this year with my younger students.

 I gave them a palette of shades of blue paint and white and let them blend directly on their paper. We talked about how the brush strokes should convey a somewhat still feeling in the painting.

I love their application of paint and the way they portrayed the bridge with its highlights and shadows.  We incorporated some cut paper water lily pads along with some brightly colored tissue paper.  The students took two forty  minute class sessions to complete their work.  Although not as involved as my older students work I was happy with the impressionistic feeling of their work.

James Rizzi skyscrapers

I've seen this lesson on a few blogs lately, in particular over at the following link. http://www.deepspacesparkle.com/2012/02/03/james-rizzi-skyscraper-art-lesson/
They were so colorful and fun I had to give it a try with my own art students.  I did this lesson with grades 4 through 6.  We began by viewing images of Rizzi's skyscrapers.  We noted in particular the wonderful colors and bold lines.  Watercolor paints were used after the drawings were done.  We used both watercolor cakes and liquid watercolor.  It took three 40 minute art classes.
Enjoy these whimsical little masterpieces.

March Lions

These fanciful lions were created during a late winter snow storm here in the northeast!

March certainly is coming in like a lion in these parts.  

We began this lesson with a short drawing lesson reinforcing line, shape and texture.

Afterwards we used liquid watercolors in yellow, orange and brown to paint the lions.

Lastly the students were given two strips of green construction paper and construction paper crayons.  Leaves were drawn on the strips and then colored in with the crayons.  

Lastly a zigzag line was drawn vertically on the strips of paper and then cut out and glued along the border of the painting.

The resulting images were full of character, charm and an added sense of dimension created by the border design.

Keith Haring 3-D cubes

My middle school students created these three dimensional paper cubes in the style of Keith Haring.  The lesson began by watching a presentation of the life and works of the artist.  The students returned to their seats with a brown paper lunch bag.  The bag contained a few images which I had printed out and laminated for the students.  A questionnaire was also included which asked the students to write down on a separate sheet of paper a list of their likes, hobbies, family members and any other pertinent information about themselves.  A pattern of the cube had been copied onto a sheet of 12" x 18" white drawing paper.  When the students were ready they began to draw Haring type figures on each of the individual sides of the cube.  When the drawing was completed the students colored in their images with markers and outlined the images with Sharpies.  
To complete the assignment the students were asked to draw an enlarged figure of their choice onto 9" x 12" construction paper and then cut it out. I generally have my students write a brief artist statement giving the viewer an insight into their thought process or feelings towards their work.

These are a few of the cubes that I stacked up before I hung them from the ceiling.

This student's mom is about to give birth to her fifth child.  This image depicts the four siblings surrounding the unborn child!

Here they are suspended from the ceiling.

Part of the display consisted of a few Keith Haring images along with the students artist statements.

Lastly I must admit I had trouble photographing these pieces as they hung from the ceiling.  The photos don't do them justice but I think you will be able to enjoy them just the same.

Chinese New Year Dragons - Grade 2

Anna's Dragon

Here is a small sampling of a few of the dragons we painted in second grade last week in honor of the Chinese New Year.  
If you read my last post on weaving with straws you will know that I was totally consumed with that project. What you  may not know is that in my small Montessori school I teach students at the Primary level which consists of children as young as three years old up to middle school.  It is quite a range and consists of me accomplishing all of this in three days!
I didn't however want the opportunity to go by without sharing a few of the dragons which for a very impromptu and quick little lesson turned out nicely!  
If you're situation is at all like mine you will understand the balancing act it requires to manage so many different age levels.
We started this lesson by talking about line, we always practice drawing lines in the air, on the floor and on the palm of our hands.  Using pencil we next "whispered" with the pencil to draw a curvy line for the dragon's body.  I suggested drawing the number two and then extending it out to the edge of the paper.
I set out a palette of red, green, yellow and purple paint.  We printed over the pencil line with our fingertips and used black crayon to add any further detail.  As always I love how my students creatively interpret the concepts introduced to them!  It was a simple and rewarding lesson which was accomplished in one forty minute art lesson.  Just what I needed so I could get back to dealing with the "straw weaving's!"

We call them "Floppy Friends". Weaving with drinking straws by Grades 4 - 6.

If you've never woven with drinking straws you don't know what you're missing!  It is so much fun for the kids but I must warn you it is exhausting for the teacher.  We spent four weeks creating what we like to call our "floppy friends".  The technique is challenging but my students rose to the occasion with a lot of support from me.  We finished today and I warned them that I would not be taking out yarn again for a long time!  I did this lesson with all of my upper elementary students.  We started with four drinking straws and inserted the warp threads, which consisted of a multitude of different colored yarn.  It's fun to suck the yarn up through the straw and have it end up in your mouth.  The kids all giggled and laughed at this new weird experience.  The warp threads were roughly two feet long.  We tape a small tail at the top of the straw and gather up all the warp threads at the bottom and tie an over hand knot so the treads are secure.  To begin the weaving we use a over hand knot and attach it to the first straw on the left and the first straw on the right if   the student is left handed.  The weaving process is the traditional over under under over.  Once the first few rows are done it becomes much easier to manage holding the straws in one hand and the weft in the other. The weft threads are no more then 15' long by the way.  Any longer and it becomes too hard to handle.  If the student runs out of weft thread it can easily be tied on.  I tell my students that weaving is a very forgiving art form.  This helps as the children can become concerned about these minor issues.  The weaving when complete is about 5" to 6" long.  
When the students are finished weaving the knot at the bottom of the straw loom is untied and the students push the weaving off of the straws.  This step is a little scary because it seems like things are going to fall apart, fortunately they don't.  The warp threads need to be tied securely at the top and bottom then trimmed. We begin at the bottom of the weaving first.  We tie two threads at a time as opposed to all of the warp threads at once.  Next it's time to slide the straws off.  It's really important to be careful during this step.  As you recall we had taped a small tail over the edge of the straw to secure it and prohibit it from slipping down into the straw.  You should have enough extra yarn at the top, at least 10" or so to prevent the warp thread from being pulled down into the body of the weaving.  Once this happens you pretty much have to start over as it's practically impossible to retrieve.  I only had one student who met up with this misfortune and we all stopped and observed a moment of silence for our fallen floppy friend!
The kids did a great job with the abundance of collage materials I had on hand coupled with a healthy dose of imagination.