For Earth Day, my 4th & 5th grade class drew endangered trees and birds using oil pastels. The entire lesson took about 3-4 class periods to finish. The students each used a picture of their tree or bird to recreate on a piece of 9″x12″ paper. We talked a little bit about layering and blending colors with the oil pastels. We were able to go outside on Earth Day to enjoy the sunshine while drawing. Our Earth Day committee came … Read more…
I have a fun creativity drawing project and excellent children’s book to share with you today. I came across this book called A World of Your Own by Laura Carlin and thought it looked intriguing, so I ordered it. I love the illustrations in the book and the story encourages children to think of how they would imagine a world of their own. On a day when I was out sick, I left this book for the substitute teacher to … Read more…
If you are looking for something to add a new dimension to regular painting, sand painting just might be the ticket! The tactile experience is something exciting for children. I recently taught a unit on painting with sand to my third and fourth grade class. You may remember my “how-to” blog post about this technique. If you are wondering how we did our sand paintings, check out that post for all the details. For a more advanced technique using adhesive … Read more…
I got this project idea from the Art Teachers group on Facebook. A teacher had posted a similar personal grid lesson from high schoolers with stunning results! I loved the concept and adapted it for my 4th and 5th grade class. The first step is to divide your 12″ x 18″ paper into 3 inch squares using a ruler. Then you fill in each squares with drawings and designs that are personalized to tell something about yourself. The catch is … Read more…
Have you heard of the artist Shinique Smith? I just love her artwork! It’s very gestural, colorful and it just draws me in to look at more closely. I love the use of fabric with graffiti-like painted marks. Her art combines traditional art media with non-traditional materials like clothing and stuffed animals. She is influenced by street graffiti and Japanese calligraphy. She works in paintings, drawings, installations, wrapped bundles, sculptures and videos. There was an exhibit of her artwork in … Read more…
I love non-objective art. Non-objective art means that the art does not represent or depict person, objects or places. It is a picture with lines, colors and shapes as the subject. I teach this drawing project every year and the results are always beautiful. The children learn about concepts such as types of line, organic and geometric shapes, shading, values, variety of sizes, variety in general, overlapping, texture (from rubbing plates) and how to categorize non-objective, abstract and realistic art. … Read more…
I was out for a couple days with a sub earlier this year (around Valentine’s Day) and I found this easy dot picture idea. Since it was around Valentine’s Day, I left in my plans that kids could make hearts for their design or if they wanted to draw a different design that was fine too. The steps are simple and easy, which is great for a substitute lesson. I usually don’t leave paint for sub lessons, but I figured … Read more…
