Rousseau Inspired Collage

1st graders are studying the art of French artist, Henri Rousseau. We're focusing on Surprised! Storm in a Forest, 1891.  1st graders have been learning about the weather cycle and weather instrument in math and science.

The first day we printed textures on 6 different papers. On the second day we looked more closely at the painting and thought about how Rousseau's use of weather influenced the meaning of the scene. We watched a great video explaining the painting, then painted the top half of our paper gray with silver streaks of rain and white lightning.

The next class we discussed how Rousseau used the news, books, museums, and gardens to study plant and animals and get ideas for his subjects.  Rousseau wasn't a popular artist in his time and was often made fun of by other artist and critics. How would that make you feel? Why did he keep painting?
 Then we got to start collaging with our beautiful stamped papers starting with the trees and leaves in the background.
Next...the tiger! Stay tuned...

                         

Day of the Dead Collages

The day after Halloween is full of tired yet over sugared children.  So we had fun with Day of the Dead collages.  I found a great worksheet with skeleton pieces (on Pinterest of course). They fit on 12X18 paper and then the students chose accessories.  We started by reviewing the traditions of this Mexican holiday, November 1st & 2nd, and looking at examples of decoration and crafts.  The decorations are mostly skeletons but covered in colorful patterns.

Picasso: Blue Guitars

This was a really fun project to teach value and mixing tints and shades.  2nd graders learned about Pablo Picasso and looked at his abstract guitar sculptures and collages. Then they built guitar sculptures out of poster board.  The next time we focused on Picasso's 1903 painting The Old Guitarist. We discussed how Picasso conveys feeling of sadness through the painting.  Then students learned how to mix their own tints and shades of blue to paint their guitars.  The next time they added Sharpie lines and patterns.

                                   

Magritte Cloud Collage

How does a beautiful blue sky with fluffy white clouds make you feel?

In preparation for next summers renovations I have been cleaning out materials that have been stored in the closet for years, many have been here before I arrived 8 years ago!.  The art room receives some interesting donations...I found a roll of blue sky and clouds wall paper and I of course thought of the Belgium surrealist artist Rene Magritte (1898-1967).  As a class we discussed surrealism and I introduced some of Magritte's art focusing on his symbols: clouds, bowler hats, birds, green apples, umbrellas and pipes. We also talked about the humor in some of the artworks like Magritte's famous painting  "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" ("This is not a pipe"). We made a watercolor background and collages of symbols, some like Magritte and some original.  

Alma Thomas inspired collage

  

First graders learned about Georgia born artist and educator Alma WoodseyThomas (1891-1978). She was a pioneer for African American women in fine art. 

 Thomas is best known for her nature inspired abstract color block paintings of from the 60-70s. 

Students created torn paper collages in the style of her painting The Eclipse with an emphasis

on the colors of the rainbow.  When dry they were cut into circular shapes and look great

displayed in our new hall!

Owl Quilt Squares

    4th graders began by learning about fabric and quilting traditions around the world, with an emphasis on the applique art from Benin, Africa.  I'm into birds this year and right now owls are on everything from ads to tote bags.  Choosing a theme kept students on task and I was able to break the project into steps. We discussed owl legends from Greek mythology to the Native Americans. Each student began by making an owl pattern out of old manila folders. We looked at images of real and crafted owls for inspiration.

    While the students drew and cut out patterns I chose fabrics and ironed on “Steam a Seam” to the back. When it was time to cut out fabric I taught the students how to trace their patterns and use the fabric wisely. (Not in the middle!)  By using “Steam a Seam” every scrap of fabric could be used to make small eyes, stars, moons; even hats or bows! The fabric pieces were stored in plastic bags between class periods. When the students were finished cutting out their owls they peeled the backing and ironed it to a piece of fabric. They loved using the iron! Their original paper pattern pieces were glued to cardstock and used to make a series of collagraph prints.

Owl Painting and Patterns

 In Kindergarten and 1st grade we read the book The Little White Owl by Tracy Corduroy.  The story is about a little owl with a big imagination and a lot of confidence.  This story opened up discussion about animal habitats and nocturnal animals.

We began by drawing the owls and painting them in many colors and patterns.  The background was painted separately on black paper.  We discussed that they should only paint part of the tree to have a zoomed in point of view.

Cutting the owls out took a little cutting skill review and the students took on the challenge.  The owls were collaged onto the backgrounds and oil pastels were added. I love the results and the opportunity to cover many visual arts standards in one project.